Brunching at Browndog Barlor & Restaurant

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What initially started out as an artisanal ice cream shop, Browndog Creamery, has since grown to add both a restaurant and a bar. Now the Browndog Barlor & Restaurant, the menu includes craft cocktails to accompany their creative and locally sourced menu and the creamery’s options have expanded to boozy ice creams flavors, ice cream cocktails, beer floats, and boozy milkshakes.

We visited the Browndog location on Main Street in Northville, MI for brunch the day after we attended the Woodward Dream Cruise in Detroit. To enjoy the lovely August morning, we sat at one of the tables on their sidewalk patio which gave us views of the charming downtown area of Northville. While the second location in Farmington, MI closed October 2020 due to the Coronavirus pandemic, it has since reopened in 2022. The Northville location remained open and is about half an hour drive from Detroit.

The True Meaning of Brunch

For me to consider a meal “brunch” it must involve some yummy brunch cocktails as well as the food. Otherwise you’re just eating a late breakfast or breakfast food for lunch. To my delight, Browndog Barlor & Restaurant offers a great brunch cocktail menu including bottomless mimosas and bottomless Bloody Marys. I’ll clarify though that they use the term “bottomless” a bit loosely as they limit it to five, but I doubt you’ll need more anyway. 

The mimosas are offered with a choice of fresh squeezed orange juice or grapefruit juice which is nice as some people prefer the less sweet grapefruit juice. Though normally my go-to would be the mimosa, I chose to indulge in the La Fraise cocktail which tasted like a strawberry mimosa.

There’s a whole Bloody Mary bar for those who prefer a spicy start to their day. The server brings you a glass with ice and the vodka (or tequila) of your choice which you take to the Bloody Mary bar to build your dream cocktail. It featured both a mild Bloody Mary mix as well as a spicy version, spicy chili sauce if you really want to turn up the heat, and a variety of accoutrements to dress up your drink including cubes of cheddar cheese, sprigs of fresh basil, lime & lemon wedges, green olives, artichoke, celery stalks, carrot sticks, and gherkin pickles. My husband really enjoyed experimenting with the spice levels and various add-ons throughout our brunch.

Feeding Frenzy

Moving on to the main course, our table ordered a variety of meals which we all enjoyed. I love a good eggs Benedict so I ordered the Traditional Benedict. It was delicious, even if I would have liked a bit more of the yummy hollandaise sauce. My husband picked the Browndog burger served with fries, and he even let me steal a few of his fries (that’s how you know it’s true love). 

Our friends ordered a grilled cheese sandwich and the Meat & Potatoes which is described as a base of bacon, sausage, potatoes, and chorizo sausage gravy topped with two fried eggs and toast. They said the grilled cheese was a solid choice even though they didn’t indulge in any of the add ons that are offered such as apple-wood bacon, guac sauce, or sautéed mushrooms. As for the Meat & Potatoes, it was both huge and delicious, so be warned to wear your stretchy pants if you plan to order it.

Don’t Forget the Ice Cream

Obviously we couldn’t visit a restaurant that started out as an ice cream parlor without trying some of their ice creams! In addition to their numerous artisanal ice creams, they offer boozy milkshakes which sounded absolutely amazing as well.  

Mr. Poky Little Wanderer chose to top a waffle cone with the Bourbon Pecan Ice cream which is a bourbon ice cream with house-made pralined pecans mixed in. Be aware that the cones are huge! 

I struggled to make up my mind on which ice cream I wanted since all the flavors sounded so good, but lucky for me they offer flights of ice cream so you can choose several to sample! 

Flight of Favorites

The flavors that made the cut to be on my flight from left to right were: 

Margarita: As one of my go-to cocktails, I had to try out the margarita flavor! This scoop definitely gave me all the margarita vibes in a slightly salty lime ice cream with a tangy tequila balancing it out.

Sassy Strawberry: A sweet strawberry ice cream, with black pepper and a balsamic reduction that was delectably smooth, creamy, and flavorful. What sounded like a strange combination really just gave the strawberry flavor a slightly savory depth that I really loved.

Prosecco & Elderflower Sorbet: Both sweet & a bit tart, this boozy treat was a top contender for my favorite on the flight.

Salty Dog: Boasting the distinction of being their #1 best selling ice cream, the salted caramel ice cream has pecans, brownie pieces, and more caramel swirled throughout. A rich and creamy treat that deserves its accolades.

I did notice that the boozy ice creams have a slightly more grainy texture similar to a sherbet due to the alcohol content than the non-boozy ones. However, I wouldn’t hold that against them as they were still very good.

Inspiration

I had originally been inspired to visit Browndog based on an article listing some of the best ice cream shops to visit (which is definitely the kind of list I can get behind)! Lucky for us we had friends living nearby who didn’t need too much convincing to go for brunch at Browndog Barlor & Restaurant so we could try it out while we were visiting them. 

So was it worth the pilgrimage? 

Oh, yes.

Have you ever made a point to visit an ice cream or specialty shop when visiting another city?

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