Michael's SouthShore

Last week I met my high school friends for another dinner, and this time we opted for Michael's SouthShore (up near Geist).  We went on a Tuesday night, and the place was pretty empty, but I can only assume it gets a lot busier on the weekends since it's been around for awhile.  Otherwise, I have no idea how it sustains itself!

Since it was a weeknight, and I'd had a large lunch, I wasn't looking for a huge entree.  I opted to start with the Beet & Arugula Salad ($8.95).  It was a big salad (I guess it should be, for almost nine bucks)!  There was a very hearty portion of both red and gold beets, along with a bunch of arugula, pickled onions, and quite a few large discs of goat cheese which were coated in sugared pecans.  (The picture to the right is after I had mixed it all up and broken up the goat cheese--it started as quite a lovely presentation.)  It was a tasty salad, for sure, with a nice zingy balsamic dressing.  The onions also added a nice zing, and all that zinginess contrasted well with the sweet, earthy beets, bitter greens, and creamy goat cheese.  I liked the sweet crunch that the pecans gave the dish, also.  In the end, though, there was just too much--I got both full and tired of it, so I ended up just eating all of the beets and leaving the extra arugula and goat cheese. (I know--I left cheese behind!  A travesty!  But also a sign that there was probably just too much for the salad to be perfectly well-balanced.)

As for all of you beet haters out there--you are just wrong.  Try them now that you're an adult!  They are so yummy!!!

For my entree, I opted for a bowl of the Chicken Corn Chowder ($4.95).  This was super good.  It's described as "smoked pulled chicken simmered with roasted corn, red potatoes, tomatoes, poblano and green bell peppers in a creamy chicken broth," and it was exactly that.  It was creamy and a little sweet, smokey and just a touch spicy--very, very good.  I would absolutely get it again, and have been thinking about trying to re-create it at home.  It came with a side of roasted poblano cornbread, which looked like it was going to be dry but actually wasn't.  It was sweet with a touch of spice from the poblanos.  I considered it my dessert and ate it last to finish off the meal--very satisfying.

There are many items on the Michael's menu that are overpriced (particularly the pasta and entrees), but you can get a good meal there for a decent price.  The sandwiches and burgers are in the $10-12 range, and my soup and salad combo ran me $14 for the whole meal.

Website:  Michael's SouthShore