Tis Me Michelle

I had this post set for months ago. Peak behind the curtains, I have posts (basically titles of recent restaurants or post ideas) set up for the next few months, but I’ve been in a funk and kept pushing them out. The first time I went to The Pinery was quite a few months ago, probably back in the spring. But I just went with my girlfriends the other day and I think I have a more well-rounded take on it now.

Tucked away off of Orange Ave, it’s right around the corner from the popular classic White Wolf Cafe. The first time I went, it was a solo brunch where I enjoyed a Kindle read outside with a view of the lake. I recall having a really great waitress who recommended a lobster something. I think it was likely the lobster benedict my friend ended up getting at this last brunch I went to. I recall liking it, she seemed to to think it was okay. To be fair, I’m not completely sure that’s what I got, just remember there was lobster involved and that the lobster was really good.

The more recent brunch was a bit underwhelming. There were a couple standout dishes. We started with a pastry board and blue crab dip. The dip was probably the highlight of the day. It was creamy with a good portion of crab paired with toasty baguette slices. I ordered the pastry board, and I was disappointed as soon as I saw it come out. There was a restaurant I went to a few months ago, where the main dishes were a miss, but the pastry board was delicious, so I was hopeful for yummy pastries. I honestly would have been happy with a good croissant. But the best thing on the pastry board were these little cinnamon sugar chips, which honestly is probably one of the simplest things to make. There was a basic apple turnover. Followed by an amateur blueberry muffin and a way too-dense blueberry scone. Rounding out the board was a promising Earl gray orange muffin type thing, it was very mid. I at least appreciated it was a bit moist. I will say the board wasn’t super expensive, but entirely lackluster.

For my main course, I went for the shrimp and grits that I enjoyed. The shrimp could have had more flavor, but I suppose they were just going for the sauce to be the main deal. The sauce was pretty good. The gouda grits were rather heavy. Good, but I wasn’t able to eat too much. I ended up taking most of it to go, but overall happy with my decision there. Seemed like my friends thought their dishes were okay or not so great. They also got drinks that they mentioned were rather alcohol-forward, I guess take that as you will. I ended up with a basic cup of coffee, which did its job.

Honestly, I think it’s a nice spot to try out once or twice. Not so much a staple go-to, but I’m glad I gave it a shot. The decor inside is very cute, but I prefer sitting outside by the lake. It just depends on how hot it is outside to opt for that.

Rating: 7.3