MI Love: Rose's Fine Food

This is a little belated, since I went to Rose's on Sunday with Rebecca on our first official date in a long time. What a wonderful day it was! We had beautiful weather, and we got to go to church together without needing to leave early for me to get to Ann Arbor for work later in the afternoon. Afterward, we drove down to Rose's Fine Foods, which is on Jefferson near Belle Isle in Detroit. Rebecca had seen an article about it - they funded their startup on Kickstarter and focus on local foods.

This place is incredibly charming - every review mentions the reclaimed wood tables, which are lovely, but we sat at the counter on another recommendation so that we could watch people prepare the food. The menu is limited, but everything was fresh and creative and local. Platters of the baked goods sit out on the counter, just asking to be ordered (we indulged in a cinnamon roll and a yeast doughnut that turned out to be glazed with orange marmalade - sooo good).

I ordered the ESD - Egg Sandwich of the Day, which on Sunday came with spicy aioli and thinly sliced pickles on the most perfect biscuit I have ever eaten. It was golden, buttery, and tender, but still stayed together enough to work as a sandwich.

Rebecca had the lamb meatball sandwich. She only let me have one bite, but oh my goodness, it was scrumptious. It had a rich tomato sauce and the right amount of cheese.

Did I mention that it's a no-tipping restaurant and that the employees are paid a living wage? I didn't think this would affect the service in a town as friendly as Detroit (I mean, really, if you haven't been to Detroit and greeted random strangers, you really need to). I'd read that the service is better, but it seemed hard to believe. And yet, I was wrong. I started laughing after the fourth person asked me if I wanted more coffee in a five minute span after I was almost done with my meal and had decided I didn't need more coffee.

Basically, every day since then, I've tried to find an excuse to go back - but I've been reasonably busy with work and they're only open 9am-3pm (the biggest disappointment).

There was so much laughing, and smiling, and light, and love.  It was a beautiful day with beautiful food and a beautiful woman. Our life and marriage have been hard lately as we adjust to Rebecca's new job and the fact that I'm taking more responsibilities with the Princeton Review, and it was an easy, calm, wonderful reminder of how much we love each other, how much we love Detroit, and how amazing some moments are in Michigan, even when things are challenging.

And that's committing in the Mitten.