You may have heard about a new place called Punch Bowl Social that is opening on Broadway in Downtown Detroit. I got the privilege to take a tour for the press day.
The space is officially open today (12/10/14) with a grand opening party at 7p. It requires a ticket for admission (only $10) which all goes to the Salvation Army. You can buy tickets here.
The space is massive at 24,000 sq/ft. To my surprise this is the average size of a Punch Bowl Social. Across the US, there are 3 other locations with 5 planned in 2015. The first location was in Denver with the others being in Portland and Austin. Those are three pretty amazing cities so Detroit is in good company.
The space is a gastro-diner decorated in a dirty-modern style. The ceilings are exposed, there is industrial metal and the space is painted in “boy” colors but it’s augmented with beautiful fireplaces, rich furniture and classic paintings. The founder, Robert Thompson, tells you to think of Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom.
Besides a solid menu and bar, the space offers bowling, darts, shuffleboard, ping pong, arcade games & private karaoke rooms.
What got me excited was the punch. The first round of the menu features three static and one “guest” punch. You can order by the glass or in bowls. Ordering by the bowl is like the classic taverns of yore where you would grab your gentleman friends (no ladies allowed) to play a game of rummy while you consume a giant bowl of punch.
The National Beverage Director, Patrick Williams, is responsible for the cocktails on the menu and strived to bring in as much local spirits and beer as could be sourced. His cocktails are elevating what we might be use to in a bowling alley, arcade or pool hall and putting them on par with the modern bars in our area.
You Must Bring Us A Shrubbery is a beautiful looking cocktail featuring Skyy Moscato Vodka, Ccardamom syrup, watermelon shrub and red wine float. All the juices are made fresh and they have gone to great lengths to do this at scale. I’ve heard the massive operation of watermelon juicing sessions are a sight to see.
Same Thing We Do Every Night, Pinky is their featured punch and highlights two local products; Short’s Soft Parade & McCleary Bros Apple Pie Shrub. I found both punches delicious and am looking forward to new ones in the future.
Besides punches, the four full bars have a great tap selection, wines, old school cocktails and modern ones. The example above is the El Macho which is reposado tequila, cucumber, cardamom syrup & lime juice. This was a refreshing take on the margarita.
For dessert, you could have Vanilla or Chocolate Milkshake. Or you could have a decandent adult milkshake. The Milk-Xologist #4 is Branca Menta (minty/herby liqueur), St. George NOLA coffee liqueur, vanilla ice cream, whipped cream and mint.
I latched on to a tour of the kitchen with Joe Hakim of The Hungry Dudes. Having worked in a commercial kitchen, it was your usual suspects; giant cook tops, epic fryers, tons of prep stations and shelves of storage. The keg room was a cool surprise. Having four bars over their 24,000 sq/ft, there are a lot of tubes to get the beer to the taps. It took over two miles of tubing to accomplish this task. It was an impressive set-up.
Sergio Romero is the National Chef and created a mix of 80% national recipes and 20% local recipes for each space. Chicken and Waffles is an example of a local dish for Detroit. The monkey bread french toast was the star of the day. It was gooey, spongey and tasty.
The team did a great job at turning a large space into a series of conversation nooks. You don’t feel like you are in an epic warehouse but instead an eccentric hunting lounge.
I’ll be at the opening tonight with friends. Come by and say hi, if you attend as well.
Budmo!