First things first, I applaud Twisted Rooster for their dedication to use high-quality, locally sourced ingredients from places like Byron Meats, Founders, and Otto Farms, as well as a drink menu that featured heavily from local breweries and distilleries.
We started off with Founder's Pale Ale cheese dip. The dip was made with Founder's Pale Ale, Michigan Cheddar cheese, bacon, and chives. It was different from many beer cheese dips I have had in that a sharp cheddar was used. It seems that many places use milder white cheeses for their dip. The bacon added a nice smokiness to the cheese and the pale ale really shined through offering a noticeable yet subtle bitterness that highlighted the other ingredients. The chips were good as well. I don't know for sure if they were fried in house, but they sure tasted fresh to me. This was a really good start to the meal
My main course was Hawaiian Wahoo tacos with a little baby greens salad. In case you are unfamiliar with wahoo, other than being a term for excitement it is also a fish caught in tropical or subtropical waters. First I'll start with the greens and then the tacos. The greens were a standard mix of field greens with arugula, red lettuce, baby spinach, etc. It was dressed in a very nice vinaigrette. It tasted like red wine vinegar was the base and cherry was also used for some sweetness. The first thing I noticed after taking a bite was the acid up front from the vinegar. It was nice and not offensive at all. Following this was a sweetness from the cherry that slowly crept up on the pallet. This nicely offset the natural bitterness often associated with field greens.
Now to the taco. It was a special they were having. This, perhaps, featured the best cooked fish I have had in Michigan to date. The wahoo was perfectly grilled so that it remained moist and did not dry out. Also, and this is very important, there was not a hint of fishy smell from the fish. Almost every time I can think of when I have had fish in Michigan, there has been a little bit of a "fishy" smell. Not like it had gone bad or anything. Just that it was not at the absolute freshness it could be. Also the texture was that of fresh caught fish, not frozen fish. So it was either brought in very fresh, or it was the most immaculately frozen fish ever. Also on the taco was a habanero cheese that added a little bit of heat in the after taste, a cilantro sour cream, romaine lettuce for crunch, and a twisted salsa that appeared to have small dices of cantaloupe, pineapple, cucumber, and either melon or pear. I think it was melon. Everything put together added to a wonderfully flavorful, yet very light tasting dish. The salsa added a freshness and balanced the heaviness of the cheese, while the sour cream worked well with the lettuce and fish. Overall a wonderfully conceived and executed dish.
Mel had the Twisted Rooster sandwich. It consisted of a (real) chicken tenders in a Founders Pale Ale batter and fried to perfection, jalapeno cheese, pepper jack cheese, and pico de gallo. On the side were their salt and pepper fries. First off, the chicken was fried perfectly and the chicken remained moist in the middle. Too often the chicken comes out dry as the outer part of the chicken cooks too fast while the center isn't done yet. The batter was well seasoned and once again the subtle flavors of the Pale Ale came through. The cheese added hint of heat and chili flavor that complimented the chicken and pico. The pico added some acidity and freshness to balance the heaviness of the fried chicken and cheese. The "bun" was a fried flatbread that honestly was the perfect choice as a vessel. I think a regular bun would have smothered and masked the flavors of the sandwich. The fries were good but nothing to brag about. Better can be found else where. However this is one of the best chicken sandwiches I have ever had and easily the best I have had in GR.
My main course was Hawaiian Wahoo tacos with a little baby greens salad. In case you are unfamiliar with wahoo, other than being a term for excitement it is also a fish caught in tropical or subtropical waters. First I'll start with the greens and then the tacos. The greens were a standard mix of field greens with arugula, red lettuce, baby spinach, etc. It was dressed in a very nice vinaigrette. It tasted like red wine vinegar was the base and cherry was also used for some sweetness. The first thing I noticed after taking a bite was the acid up front from the vinegar. It was nice and not offensive at all. Following this was a sweetness from the cherry that slowly crept up on the pallet. This nicely offset the natural bitterness often associated with field greens.
Now to the taco. It was a special they were having. This, perhaps, featured the best cooked fish I have had in Michigan to date. The wahoo was perfectly grilled so that it remained moist and did not dry out. Also, and this is very important, there was not a hint of fishy smell from the fish. Almost every time I can think of when I have had fish in Michigan, there has been a little bit of a "fishy" smell. Not like it had gone bad or anything. Just that it was not at the absolute freshness it could be. Also the texture was that of fresh caught fish, not frozen fish. So it was either brought in very fresh, or it was the most immaculately frozen fish ever. Also on the taco was a habanero cheese that added a little bit of heat in the after taste, a cilantro sour cream, romaine lettuce for crunch, and a twisted salsa that appeared to have small dices of cantaloupe, pineapple, cucumber, and either melon or pear. I think it was melon. Everything put together added to a wonderfully flavorful, yet very light tasting dish. The salsa added a freshness and balanced the heaviness of the cheese, while the sour cream worked well with the lettuce and fish. Overall a wonderfully conceived and executed dish.
We finished with a dessert of their bread pudding that they were having as another special. This was a great little dessert. The cinnamon whipped cream on top was, in my opinion, the best part and I could have eaten just that!. The bread pudding part was very good as well with a nice use of sweet spices. The texture of the bread was nice in that it held together and didn't turn to mush. A fitting end to the meal.
Overall I was very surprised with the Twisted Rooster. Like I said earlier, I thought it may be just like Applebee's, but I was dead wrong. Not even close. The service was pretty good too. Our waiter went missing for a little bit when it started getting busy at the end of our meal, but he was very courteous and definitely knew what was on tap and what was on the menu. The ambiance was casual with many tv's with sports playing on them. The prices were fantastic as well.
All of Twisted Rooster was very, very good. In fact, I highly recommend it, even over a place like San Chez. Definitely goes down as one of my Best of GR restaurants.
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