Friday night we decided to head up to Joe Muers on Woodward in Bloomfield Hills for their happy hour from 4 pm – 6 pm. We hadn’t eaten all day so by 4 we were starving and headed up early. We were one of the first guests in the restaurant and grabbed a couple seats at the bar.
The happy hour menu had 2 buck shucks ($2 Oysters) which is why Omar wanted to go. They had some interesting things on the dinner menu that sounded good to me, interesting salads, fish and appetizers.
Omar ordered his customary Gin martini with 3 anchovy stuffed olives. They had Roku Gin which he liked and had anchovy stuffed olives at the ready. Mike, our bartender, made a great martini. I ordered a Blanton’s Old Fashioned. There was 25% off all drinks, so I splurged with the Blantons. However, I requested very little sugar and the drink we a bit too sweet. When I got a second, I just got Blantons on the rocks which was a better option. You can’t beat Blantons. Smooth and silky, with just the right amount of burn.
For food, Omar ordered 6 East Coast Oysters, and we were going to split Tuna Tartar and the Tiger Roll. The Tiger Roll, however came topped with fish roe which just turns me off. I was already outside my comfort zone with the raw tuna, but fish roe is a bit too much for me. I thought I could scrape it off, but it was embedded in the sticky rice. Omar just ate the Tiger Roll and loved it, and I ordered King Crab California Roll. As we waited for the California Roll, Omar dug into his oysters which he said were good, but not as briny as he liked. We also dug into the Tuna Tartar.
This came with wonton chips, which looked more like tortilla chips, but they were indeed wontons. The Tuna Tartar was terribly disappointing. The tuna was just destroyed on top, looking chewed up and more like cat food than the small, cubed tuna we are used to. It sat atop some mashed avocado which was grossly under-seasoned. The dish had almost zero flavor, lacking spice and acid, and the resemblance (and taste) to cat food was very off putting. So, for Tuna Tartar, we would recommend Seasons 52 first, followed by Stoney River, then Capital Grill (for the world’s smallest portion). I would not even add Joe Muers to the list.
We requested a breadbasket, which has an assortment of pumpernickel bread, french bread, matzah type crackers and crisp baguettes. The bread was good, but not the best I have had. Ernies Kings Mill and Deer Lake much better.
The California King Crab Roll came, and frankly it was just OK. Frankly, Kona Grill’s California Rolls are far superior to this. It too, was very bland. The King Crab was under seasoned, and I had to pick some cartilage out, which always grosses me out. I was hungry so I ate the sushi but was far from impressed.
We enjoyed the drinks, and frankly I was apprehensive about ordering anything else. We were not having much luck with the food. We are terrible food bloggers too, as we always forget to take pictures of our food. I had one of the tuna tartar already dug into and some stock photos from Joe Muers. This restaurant was a good hike, when the food was so disappointing. Honestly, don’t think this restaurant will make the cut for our go-to places. The dinners may have been better, but the dishes I saw when walking out did not look to impressive. At least the drinks were good!