At first glance, the Root might seem
like an unlikely place for a vegan to dine. Foie Gras? Fried Bologna Sandwich?
A wide variety of different meat and seafood dishes? However, this 2012 Detroit
Free Press Restaurant of the Year does include vegan dishes on its menu. Even
their elaborate dinner tasting menu,
which lists three courses and dessert, has one side labeled House, for regular
folks, and one side for vegans. Another attractive feature of the Root, located
in White Lake, is that the restaurant actively supports local farms and
businesses, with the sources of all their meat, seafood, dairy products, and
produce listed in the lunch menu insert and also available online.
Moreover, I have been told multiple times from many of my friends, coworkers,
and some family members that I simply must try this close-to-home restaurant.
Last
night, a friend and I spontaneously decided to finally experience the Root. We
made online reservations, which was quite convenient, about a half an hour
before the time we reserved and quickly freshened up before making the
15-minute drive. This fine dining restaurant is curiously located in a suburban
strip mall, so parking was free and easy. Upon entering the restaurant, we were promptly led to a table, which had a small,
formal “Reserved” sign placed on it, making us both feel humorously important.
Shortly afterwards, we were given tall glasses of ice water, from another
polite member of the wait staff. It was evident early on that the service here
was near impeccable.
Though
one cannot tell from outside, the interior of the Root is very spacious. Each large
dining area is separated by a barrier of faux-branches, with white Christmas
lights entangled on the bottom, somehow appearing sophisticated instead of
tacky. In the back of the Root is an
open, clean-looking kitchen, where one might get a glimpse of meals being made.
The ceiling, similar to Seva, has an industrial, exposed look, but some areas
of the ceiling are covered by hanging white, geometric slabs that hold small
circular lights. These lights contributed to a low amount of lighting, as the
restaurant was a bit dark, but in a calming way. The tables seemed to be made
of smooth, dark wood, while the booths were made of some lighter woodwork.
Certain parts of the walls were also covered in this same shade of light wood,
creating a modern look.
When
our waiter approached our table, he kindly welcomed us to the Root and placed
menus in front of us. Both of us wanted to spend a minimal amount of money, so
we agreed that splitting everything would be a financially savvy way to enjoy the pricey menu items. For a starter, we got the Vegan Greenhouse Fattoush. We ordered the
Vegan Michigan Cranberry Bean and Summer Vegetable Succotash as our entrée, sharing
that, as well. After taking our order, our waiter asked us, “Are you ladies
vegans?”
I replied, “Yeah, I am. Well, trying
to be.”
He said that he would bring some
bread out shortly, after putting in our order, and said that the bread was also vegan. However, just a moment later, he returned and asked me, “You
aren’t against honey, right? The bread is actually made with honey.”
I told him that it was fine and expressed
my appreciation for checking with me. The fact that our server was concerned
enough to make sure that I wouldn’t object to honey was just a small example of
how excellent our service was throughout our meal. Though I don’t actually eat
honey, my friend is not vegan or even vegetarian, so she was indeed going to
feast on the delicious-looking focaccia that came to our table almost
immediately.
It wasn’t long until we were given
our appetizer, which was conveniently divided up into two white bowls. I had
never tasted fattoush before, but what I ate was scrumptious. The fattoush was
a delightful combination of thinly sliced radishes, watercress, thick wedges of
juicy tomatoes, chopped cucumbers, and pieces of yummy pita bread, all doused
in a sweet, tangy lemon dressing. I quickly devoured this healthy starter,
enjoying the fresh taste of each ingredient individually. On the contrary, my
friend was not particularly fond of the fattoush. She forked all of her
tomatoes over to me and ate around the radishes and cucumbers, yet she did
continue to nibble on the focaccia, which she thought was quite tasty. 
Only a moment or two later, our
starter plates were cleared away and we were given our succotash. Just looking
at the bowl of succotash on the table was visually satisfying. A red ring of “Roasted
Tomatillo Vinaigrette” surrounded the creamy onion mousse, mixed colorfully
with beans, corn, cubes of squash, dark leaves of swiss chard and topped with a
couple thin shavings of radishes and an unidentifiable garnish. It looked too
good to violate with a fork, but of course, I couldn’t help myself. The large,
meaty cranberry beans were so savory and mixed wonderfully with the sweet corn
and fresh-tasting chunks of zucchini and yellow squash. The rich flavors of the
onion mousse and the tomato vinaigrette did not overpower each other and
instead combined to form a luscious, thick medley to coat the other components
of the succotash. Each bite was immensely enjoyed. My friend liked the succotash
as well, not leaving even the smallest morsel in her bowl. Throughout the entire
meal, we were checked on regularly by our server. Also, the minute our glasses
of water became even close to being half-full, a friendly member of the wait
staff was immediately at our table to provide us with refills. 
After our server cleared our dishes, he mentioned that they had a vegan peach cobbler. We gave in and decided to split dessert,
as well. The dessert was just as decadent as our other dishes. It was topped
with a ball of frozen almond milk, which quickly melted to cool down the warm
cubes of gooey peaches. The fruit was especially flavorful and tart, encased by
a perfectly baked crust. We dove into the cobbler and finished it so quickly that
I had completely forgotten to take a photo of it, hence the image of the empty
dessert dish.
Although the nearly perfect service at the Root was the best
I’ve ever experienced and the irresistible food I ate was like nothing I’ve
ever tasted before, I couldn’t get the price of this dinner out of my mind the
whole time we were eating. We split the appetizer, the entrée, and the dessert, and both still had to empty our pockets more than we would have liked to. Since
we did split everything, our portions ended up being pretty small. I do understand
that this is standard for fine dining and that the prices were most likely more
than reasonable for the quality of the food. However, for someone who is on a budget
and who would like to have more bang for her buck, I don’t know if I could
regularly eat at the Root. Also, there simply aren’t many vegan options at this restaurant, so if I
were to return, there would not be much of a difference in what I ordered.
Nevertheless, my experience at the Root was great and I would surely recommend this
place to those who have a little extra spending money.
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