Bread Basket Deli; Waterford, Michigan

It has been a rough few days in our household, especially when it comes to eating.  I have been dealing with my chronic pancreatitis, my wife has been in the hospital with a back injury and it is Pesach (Passover), which means that I am not eating anything with leaven in it.  So my daughter and I were on the way to see my wife at the hospital when I decided what could be a more perfect place to eat then a Jewish-style deli.  I first started eating at the Oak Park branch of the Bread Basket Deli when I was just a kid with my Bubbi (Yiddish for Grandma).  I remember eating all the classics, things like corned beef and chopped liver sandwiches, giant new pickles bigger then your forearm, and my still-favorite desert, 7-layer cake.  So I was excited for my daughter to experience some of the food of my youth.

We arrived at the deli, which is a converted Taco Bell and walked to to a huge menu.  I, of course, was completely disappointed, since I shouldn't eat anything due to it being Passover and my having an angry pancreas.  Sarahfay had her favorite, a hard salami and cheese with mustard sandwich.  Of course, she loved it.  I do applaud Bread Basket Deli on their quality of salamis.  In fact, they offer three different grades of salami, each varying on hardness...impressive.

Bring Pesach I ordered Matzo Ball Soup.  Now I must be honest from the onset, I judge all matzo balls from my Aunt Sarah's.  I like my matzo balls to be rock hard and dense.  The deli's were huge and so fluffy they fell apart at the merest touch.  The flavor was so bland it was as it was not there at all.  The soup broth on the other hand was simply horrible.  I attempted to add salt and pepper to flavor the soup, but I just could not stomach the soup.

For my wife I ordered a Jewish deli classic, corned beef on rye with swiss cheese and Russian dressing.  On her first bit she was not sure, but with each bite she grew further impressed with the sandwich.  I did order the small sandwich and as such I was impressed with the amount of meat that was given.  I have to say that as I watched my wife eat that sandwich I did wish Passover was over.

Overall, I did find the Bread Basket Deli to be a classic deli.   The incident with the soup did seem to fill the employees with concern.  I tried to explain that I was a bit of a nit-pick when it came to my matzo balls, but they were insistent on a soup refund, I find that to be managers who listen to their customers.  

The restaurant was extremely clean.

The decor was as it could be for a tiny deli in a converted Taco Bell.

Ratings:

Service:                          *****

Food:                             **1/2

Affordability:                 **

Cleanliness:                    *****

Decor:                            **

Overall:                          **1/2

Copperstones; Waterford, Michigan

I have always been a fan of going out for breakfast.  There is just something comforting about a nice plate of eggs, toast and coffee.  My family and I formerly had a usual breakfast stop, one right by the house.  I do not want to drop their name, but we had thought that they were "the bomb" of the morning meal.  With a great breakfast special and free coffee, we figured that no one would be able to top them.

But then came Copperstones...a restaurant that is a Waterford icon.  I heard of Copperstones breakfast first from my church pastor who had mentioned that this eatery had served turkey sausage.  This was a huge hit with me as I am not a pork eater.  Thus my family and I chose to give Copperstones a try.

Let me start with the coffee.  Y-U-M-M-Y!!!!!!!!  I am not sure what this place does to brew this hot drink, but somehow they have come up with coffee that has become an absolute nectar of deliciousness.  I would return to Copperstones for their coffee alone.  My wife was thrilled to find out that Copperstones offered Equal, Splenda and Sweet & Low.

The meals themselves did not disappoint us.  My family has a passion for poached eggs, and the cooks prepared their eggs properly.  The hash browns (ordered by Kolleen) and my American Fries (for me) were both delicious.  The turkey sausage was great!  I would not have been too upset to see an extra piece, but as I am not a big eater anymore because of my pancreatitis I was satisfied.  

The staff at Copperstones is incredibly friendly and is above and beyond efficient.  I have never seen a cup of coffee go below a fingers level deep before it was refilled.  

The cleanliness of the establishment was good.

The restaurant decor was that of a early modern coffee shop.  Late 70's-early 80's family restaurant...very comfy.

Ratings:

Service:                          *****

Food:                              ***1/2 (coffee 12)

Affordability:                 ***1/2

Decor:                            ***

Overall:                          ****

Wing Lauk; Waterford, Michigan

Today my wife and I took our daughter, our niece and our daughter's best friend Abby to a local Chinese restaurant called Wing Lauk.  There really should be nothing to surprising about the family going out to eat, but we had not eaten at this long established restaurant before as a family, nor as a couple.  In the past, Kolleen had quite a negative view of Wing Lauk in regards to their food.  But today Kolleen had pulled up a coupon on restaurant.com (we're big fans!) so we thought we would give it a whirl.


Walking in to the establishment I was hit with three things:  the first was with the overwhelming, but pleasant smell of plum sauce; the second was a sign showing that Wing Lauk was voted the "Best Chinese Restaurant" from 2005-2010 by the Oakland Press Reader's Choice Awards (impressive!); and finally, it seemed a bit dark for a restaurant, even with all the candles burning.  As the hostess approached she explained that the power was out, but they were still open for business since the gas was still on. They were expecting the power back at any moment.  Another important note, as we were passing the cashier I noted a sign reading that Wing Lauk offered a variety of gluten free dishes.


Now seated at our table Kolleen and I began to settle the girls in.  We knew we had our hands full as one of the three girls had never eaten Chinese food and was "picky" beyond belief.  So with the aid of a very helpful waitress with whom I was very impressed with we ordered our drinks.  Finally figuring our plan of action we decided to order three children's meals of sweet and sour chicken and almond chicken while I decided upon and order of scallops kow.  My wife and the children each had egg rolls while I had a cup of egg drop soup prior to the main entrée.

As for the soup I unfortunately for it to be a bit bland and tasteless.  A simple addition of scallions would have easily been a way to increase the taste.  The rice noodles/wantons that accompany the soup where also without flavor.


According to Kolleen the egg rolls where wonderful.  As she is severely allergic to shellfish she was great relieved to find out that these egg rolls were made with chicken and not shrimp.  She also said the plum sauce was great.


The arrival of the main entrées did not disappoint any of us.  The scallops kow were absolutely delicious.  As I had hoped for they were mild enough yet not so bland to remove the taste of the scallops or the Chinese vegetables.  The portion size was large and made up for the $10.75 cost.  The scallops were served with white rice.


The children's almond chicken was served to my daughter.  She did enjoy it to some degree, but she is a picky eater.  Her food was served fried rice.  I had the opportunity to taste her food and I must say that her almond chicken is truly one of the best almond chicken dishes I have had...ever!


The other two girls had the children's portion of sweet and sour chicken.  Just like my daughter the were both very picky eaters.  My niece refused to eat hers and a wonderfully aiding waitress brought her a replacement plate of almond chicken which she enjoyed very much.


Overall I must give high marks to Wing Lauk.  Though I was not thrilled with the appetizer courses of the meal I was in turn blown away by the almond chicken and the level of service we were provided.


Rating:
Out of 5 *
Service:                     *****
Food:                         ***
Cleanliness:               ***
Affordability:             n/a (used restaurant.com)
Decor:                       *****


Overall:                     ****