Discovered Restaurant - River Rat Restaurant & Bar

We had decided we would be eating out Friday night. Originally we were planning on going to one of our favourite places by boat but we changed our minds (reason here) and made a road trip. After checking out a couple of boats my husband was interested in we started heading back when my husband spotted a restaurant. We actually went by it and had to turn around. Now my husband has an uncanny knack of being able to spot restaurants that serve good food! As you know if you have been following this blog we tend to avoid fast food preferring to eat at good quality, sit down restaurants. We eat out on average twice a month with the exception of being on vacation.

River Rat Restaurant & Bar

River Rat Restaurant & Bar is located in historic Brown Town (aka Harrison Twp.), Harrison Twp., Michigan. It is nestled amongst several marinas in the Clinton River region of Lake St. Clair. The premises were neat and tidy with an appealing deep sea blue building with white trim. I especially liked the sign, a bit cutesy but with a relaxed, let's have fun look. The parking lot was packed, a sure sign of a good restaurant.

I would say the dress code is dress casual given the location resulting in a fair amount of boat traffic. The interior is clean, bright and homey. As far as waitstaff, you could not ask for any better. They were very friend and attentive to our every need. Address, contact information and menu can be found on their website.

Tony's Combo Platter

My husband ordered the Tony's Combo Platter ($14.95) consisting of a side salad, bread basket, lasagna, veal Parmigiana and Fettucine Alfredo. This is an eastside Italian classic and it is no wonder! The platter was loaded to the sides with very generous servings of the three pasta dishes.

The lasagna was layered high with meat and fine imported cheeses and baked with meat sauce. My husband said it was very good. The veal Parmigiana was the star of the dinner according to my husband. It was a tender piece of veal topped with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese. The Fettuccini Alfredo was fettuccini noodles tossed with their rich, creamy, homemade Alfredo sauce. He said it was a very filling meal!

Broiled Whitefish

I had the broiled Lake Superior whitefish ($13.95) served with tossed salad, bread basket, sliced house potatoes and string beans with carrots. The fish was broiled to perfection seasoned with salt, fresh ground pepper and paprika. This was a change from my normal lemon pepper broiled whitefish. The paprika gave a lovely, deep rusty orange colouring yet the fish was flavourful without being overpowered by the seasonings. I will definitely be trying broiled whitefish seasoned this was at home.

The vegetables were nicely cooked to al dente. I really hate it when restaurants serve vegetables over cooked so this was a lovely surprise! I opted for the potato of the day that was a peeled, broiled potato that had been sliced. It had a nice, slight hint of smokey flavour. The string beans and baby carrots were steamed.

We each had one alcoholic drink for a grand total of $42.59 without gratuity. The atmosphere and service was well worth the price but the food was really the highlight. It was well worth the money! River Rat is one restaurant I would really recommend if you want casual, relaxed dining with superb service and excellent food. We have added it to our list of restaurants to go back to.