While I was in Detroit, there were a small handful of places that I really wanted to visit. This spot was one of them. From looking at their menu, it seemed it would be better if you could go with group of people to share small plates… So, I managed to get one of our “after work” group dinner to be at this place! Oh yeah! It was located at the alley called “The Belt,” in which I had no idea what that meant…until I saw the sign!
And this alley was so colorful, artistic, and incredibly cool! The Standby was the first door on the right, next to an impressive portrait of a man. Even though the restaurant name or sign is hard to find, but just look for this artwork, and you will see the entrance door to the restaurant right next to it.
The inside was modern, artistic, with clean lines. It was not very big, but they were still able to accommodate a big group. I believe there were about 14 of us… With heavy use of wood everywhere, and the rest of the space covered with warm earth tones, it created a nice relaxing atmosphere.
I started my night with one of their inventive cocktails. Their drink menu was separated into several base liqueur such as Whiskey, Rum, and Brandy. They also had wines such as White, Red, Rosè, Bubbles, and Beer as well. I usually prefer cocktails made with Amaro, so I chose Butterfly Tonic ($12) under Amaro. It is made with Butterfly Pea Flower Infused Lilet Blanc, Pineapple Tonic, Soda, and Angostura Bitters. I feel as though Butterfly Pea is everywhere now, in drinks and food. It is such a magical ingredients that gives wonderful color. The cocktail was refreshing, with nice sweetness from pineapple without being overly sweet, just right. And yes, it had beautiful color. Also, to my surprise, they had a stainless steel straws instead of plastic straws! How awesome to be environmentally friendly!
Then, we started to order a few small plates to share. The first one was Confit Wings ($15), made with Blackberry Agave, Jalapeños, and Cilantro. It was tangy and sweet with a little kick. Each wings were quite large, huge pieces. There were four or five pieces, pretty nice portion.
Then the Short Rib Tacos ($13). This dish usually comes with two tacos, but since we were sharing this item among the three of us, the server made it into three (extra $5 for the third taco). The short ribs were juicy and packed with flavor. It had a nice kick to it. So tasty! And I appreciated the double tortilla for sturdier taco that won’t fall apart.
We also got Blistered Shisito Peppers ($6), made with Mirin, Sesame, Chili, Tamari, and Fresh Herbs. I am a big fan of Shishito peppers (yes I know they spell it different from how I spell, but for as long as they are tasty…). They were great! Had a nice sweetness from mirin, with a little kick to it as most of their small dishes seems to have. I do like a little heat, especially with these items, I was happy with that. One of our colleagues never tried shishito peppers before, and he was very pleased with them as well. So tasty!
We were on the roll with snacks and drinks, we decided to order one more. We went with Snack Flight ($10), which comes with Spicy Chips, Marinated Olives, and Candied Nuts.
I loved the Spicy Chips, very crispy, you can tell they are homemade, with of course, a little kick to it. Went great with drinks. The candied nuts were great too, sweet, not too hard in texture, very addicting. Olives were nice pallet cleanser.
It was time to order my second drink. I again ordered under Amaro, and this time, I chose Su-Su-Subio ($14), made with Pasubio Amaro, Green Chartreuse, Lemon, Simple, Cream, and Egg White. It was creamy, sweet, and yet refreshing with the subtle lemon flavor.
At this point, I was quite full. I would’ve been happy with my sweet cocktail being my dessert and end the night. BUT, we all ordered a main dish… So the night was not yet coming to a close… The three of us at our table (who were all full) decided share one main dish, smart move, right?
We went with something interesting called Vegan Pasta ($18). It is made with Coconut Pea Broth, Roasted Chinese Eggplant, Spinach Pasta, Fresno Peppers, Tatsoi, and Lemon oil. Our server actually messed up our order, and brought two Vegan Pasta dishes at our table instead of one…!!! We did our best to eat them, but we were really stuffed, since the pasta was kind of heavy with thick cream sauce. Much heavier dish than I expected a vegan pasta to be. The noodle was stuck to each other in the very thick sauce.
Needless to say, we had no room for dessert or coffee. I felt like I need to walk for miles and miles to burn off all the food I have just consumed… Other than the vegan pasta, I enjoyed them all. Our server was ok, she was nice enough, but clearly frustrated with our big group. Which was understandable, but at the same time, I felt she came across a bit rude at times… Regardless, I was so happy to be able to have the experience of dining here, I loved the bit of speak-easy feel to it, and their delectable cocktail menus. A fun, relaxing place to get some interesting drinks and tasty food!
Standby – 225 Gratiot Ave, Detroit, MI 48226