Redcoat Tavern, Royal Oak

Woodward Avenue is the only road in Michigan so important that it's given the designation "M-1."  You can catch Woodward where it starts, next to Jefferson in Detroit near the tunnel to Windsor, and and drive it northwest to all the way to Pontiac.  En route, you'll pass through Royal Oak, and if you look to your right, you can't miss The Redcoat Tavern.

When you walk into Redcoat you're greeted by a mannequin wearing the garb of a late 18th century British soldier, including, predictably, a red coat.  The interior features, just out of reach, enough weaponry to put some rebellious colonists in their place.  (Said weaponry could also, in the hands of rebellious colonists, be used for purposes of rebellion).  Unfortunately, I failed to get pictures of either.

Redcoat Tavern's 'Bill of Fare'

The Redcoat's interior is dimly lit, in a way that's clearly intentional.  The restaurant is fairly loud, but not in a way that makes it difficult to hear.  I went there a few months ago with Wally, who said that the Redcoat always reminds him of an old Woody Allen quote: no one goes there anymore, it's too crowded.

 The Daily Menu.  Note the date, to your burger blogger's great shame.

I have to say a word about the menus.  I loved the menus.  I couldn't name the exact font used, but the first phrase to come to mind when I read it was 'movable type.'  I also liked to Redcoat Tavern insignia in the upper left corner.  Between the font, the foot soldier, and the firearms, Redcoat was quite excellent at evoking the late 1700's, without any negative impact on the dining experience. 

Redcoat Tavern is famous for its Piedmontese Beef Burgers, it bills itself as the only restaurant in Michigan to offer it.  I didn't order the Piedmontese, I will have to review it at a later date.  The burger was delivered hot and juicy.  There was no special flavoring, just some excellent beef cooked well.  The bun is nondescript.  The burger just excels on the fundamentals.

The fries were essentially shoe-string fries, with a hint of salt (you can see a bit of them in the above photo).  Despite this, they had some good potato flavor, a definite best of both worlds fry.

On a wall at the opposite end of the restaurant from where I was sitting, there was a flag of 13 red and white stripes, with a Union Jack in the upper lefthand corner.  Once again, I failed to take a picture of it, but I managed to track down a similar image, and even find some history to go with it.  Apparently the early American revolutionary flag featured the pre-United Kingdom British flag design.  

'Redcoat' was, of course, the term for British soldiers during the revolutionary war.  But the Redcoat tavern flies the colors of early revolutionaries, and is located in the United States (as opposed to, say, Canada).  For an establishment that chooses to identify itself so closely with a military conflict, it bothers me that they're so unwilling to take sides.

The Redcoat Tavern loses points for that, but they'll have a chance to redeem themselves when I return to try the Piedmontese.

Redcoat Tavern, as seen from Woodward

Ray's Red Hots', Ann Arbor

It may surprise you to find out that when I was in college, I ate a lot of hamburgers.  But of all the burger establishments I frequented, Red Hot Lovers was always something special.  Maybe it was the ambiance (more on that later).  Maybe it had a certain mystique; for years they closed early, especially on Sundays (the day dorm kitchens were closed for dinner), so it felt like you could never go when you wanted to.  Maybe it was just that the food was really, truly excellent.  For some reason, I ate there every week.

Every week, that is, until something terrible happened.

Despite the fact that it was fairly well covered in the news, I don't really know what caused Red Hot's to close for the majority of 2009.  I do know that at some point it re-opened with little fanfare as 'Ray's Red Hots'.'*

Ray's Red Hots'.  They're known for their hot dogs, but you need to read the hot dog blog to hear about those.

Red Hots' has never had a lot of seating, at least indoors.  I was meeting a friend there, and I was worried about taking up table space, so I asked the guy behind the counter if I could wait until my friend got there.  His response: "Don't worry about just hanging out."  I think that response tells you a lot about the mood at Red Hots'.  

If their pro-hanging out policy doesn't tell you how laid back Red Hots' is, perhaps this interior shot will.

There was a lot of signage on the walls.  Most of it related to either Ann Arbor or Chicago (I don't really know what the connection to Chicago is), some of it was connected to hot dog consumption.

The burger came on a soft bun.  There was a lot of charred taste on the exterior, with some undercooked parts in the interior.  A lot of the burger juice got into the bun, which was nice.

The fries were waffle fries, which are one of Red Hots' main attractions (or at least it's the thing my friends always liked).  The waffling greatly increase's the fries' surface area, but there's still a lot of potato in the center.  There's a lot of skin on the fries, but without a lot of skin taste.  Also, they taste really, really good.  My only qualm is that my order consisted mostly small fries, without very many large fries in the basket.

Frankly, Ray's Red Hots' just isn't as good as Red Hot Lover's used to be.  Their buns are slightly worse, and they haven't figured out how to grill the patty perfectly (the old Red Hots knew how).  That's the thought that sits looms largest in my mind every time I go there.  But it's not fair to judge Ray's against the burgers of the past, and the fact is that they still make an fine burger.  In the tradition of the old Red Hots, it remains one of a handful of places good enough that I'll eat there alone.

*Is it just me, or is the second apostrophe in that name misplaced?  I followed Ray's name for this post, but I really think they meant 'Ray's Red Hots.'