Luxe: Cheese, Wine, Bourbon

Sometimes it's just better to go out.  We celebrated Jerry's birthday on Saturday night a Luxe in the Detroit-Shoreway area.  This place is just plain cool.  I had forgotten.  I don't know if they'd describe themselves as a gastropub, but I would.   Casual and cool bar atmosphere with fantastic food.  It was a fantastic birthday celebration.  The highlights:

1.  The Cheese Plate.  You'd have thought we never ate cheese before.  You'd have thought we never ate before.  We devoured the cheese plate for four.  Local honey, tapenade, roasted garlic, grapes, pears, apples, blue cheese, olives, walnuts, brie, white cheddar and a few other cheeses, all sitting together cozily on a medium wooden platter.  We fought over the very last blue cheese crumble.

2.  The Wine.  After a decent enough but unmemorable bottle of chardonnay, we went Russian River Valley for bottle #2.  We were so struck by how good it was (and it's gotta be a $10 grocery store bottle), that I actually wrote the name of the bottle down.  I never do this.  Always wanted to, but never do.  I'll keep a running list on this blog under wines. (It was Contrada chardonnay, Russian River Valley).  It tasted like carmel-covered buttered popcorn. 

3.  The Bourbon.  The expresso machine was broken.  (This is code for the wait staff is to busy to make you a cappucino, so leave us alone).  Therefore, we were forced to peruse that apertif menu.  I tried the house-made lavendar-basil infused bourbon.  Are you kidding me?  This stuff was incredible.  Perfect for after dinner; probably too sweet for before.  The herbs brought out all of the sweetness in the bourbon.  The fragrance in the snifter just before each sip was amazing.  According to the waiter, it was his idea.  He steeps Jim Beam with ground up lavendar seeds and basil in a coffee filter for a few days.  I'm not sure what he meant by lavendar seeds, but I'm going to look it up.  I've got to try thus (or just return to Luxe for more).  Mom and Beth would love this stuff!