Metro Detroit: Clinton Twp’s Great Baraboo Brewing Company
If you are a long time Clinton Township resident you may remember a place called Fazzalari’s which was located at the corner of Moravian and Utica roads. It was nothing fancy. It was a typical club of the 80’s, with “new wave” music and inexpensive drinks. In 1993 the Kourelis family, who are not strangers to the restaurant industry having owned the St Clair Shores Inn for many years, bought Fazzalari’s. They tore it down, to make way for their new venture: Great Baraboo Brewing Company, this weeks fun food Friday adventure.
In the early 90’s, the craft beer boom was underway, and in 1995 the Great Baraboo was founded. According to Mary Kourelis Bricolas, it was the first brewpub in Macomb county. Here we are, 28 years later, and they are still going strong. I wish I could say we had known about this place and made a special trip, but in reality we just happened to be in the area showing a couple of houses. We drove by and noticed how packed the parking lot was so we ventured back to check it out. We figured if we could get in, it was worth checking out.
We scored a place at the bar, our favorite spot, and ordered up our drinks. A beer flight for me which included (6) 5oz pours for like $10 which is a good deal, and Teresa had her old standby, a bourbon neat. I really enjoyed the beers we choose, the Shark Tooth, Wheat and Hefeweizen were my favorites. The place was pretty packed and the interior décor was that of a sports bar (with lots of TV’s) and a brewpub with copper Brite tanks (tanks that they use to brew their beers) situated throughout the dining room. There is a lot of brick and dark wood giving you the feeling of being in a basement or old time pub.
Now on to the food:
As we always do, we ordered something to share. After seeing a lot of food go by, we decided on a burger . . . more specifically their Louisiana Cajun Burger. A half pounder which was blackened and topped with pepper jack cheese, Cajun onions, bacon, onion straws and chipotle sauce. We opted for a side of onion rings with it. The burger was delicious!! It was cooked just how we asked for it, which isn’t always the case when you order a burger.
It was huge! I almost had to unhinge my jaw to take the first bite. It was full of flavor, juicy, spicy, and savory, and the onion rings were awesome too.
As always, we couldn’t eat everything on the menu, but we saw a lot of yummy looking food go by. The spinach and artichoke dip looked good, with a nice crust of baked cheese on top of it.
There is a nice selection of salads, other burgers and sandwiches and some great looking entrees featuring Fajitas, Fish & Chips, and ribs to name a few.
But the thing that caught my eye, that makes me want to go back, was their pizza. They do a deep dish and it looks amazing. Loaded with toppings and cooked to perfection with a crunchy cheesy crust, it looks so good.
The Great Baraboo is located at 35905 Utica Road in Clinton township. They are open daily at 11AM and close till midnight Sunday-Saturday and are open until 2AM Friday and Saturday. They offer daily specials every day except Friday and also have happy hour M-F from 2-5PM offering BOGO appetizers and $1 off all drinks. They have a Sunday brunch featuring bottomless Mimosas of Bloody Mary’s for $12.95.
Until next week . . . live well, eat well and enjoy life!
-Keith & Teresa Becker