Streetside Seafood, Birmingham

A few weeks ago foodie friend Andy and I continued our tour of some of the best places in Southeast Michigan and met for dinner at Streetside Seafood in Birmingham. I'd been advised that the bread is outstanding and I'd want to fill up on it, so I ate an accordingly light lunch.

That's a total lie. I ate at Buddy's Pizza for lunch, which warrants a standalone post.

That crust. So. Buttery.

Streetside, as the cool locals call it, is nestled in downtown Birmingham. It is seriously small and we had an early dinner to ensure that we actually got to have dinner at all that night. They don't take dinner reservations. They do take your week of healthy eating and destroy it. You might think you're safe at a seafood restaurant- the healthy fats! the omega 3s!- and then you look at the dessert menu.

But before we get to dessert, we talk cioppino.

Cioppino is an Italian seafood stew. It is also an Eating Lansing family tradition- I make it every Christmas Eve. I didn't make it this Christmas Eve because we, along with most of the Lansing area, didn't have electricity. We had Chinese food instead.

I like to try cioppino when I see it on menus so I can get ideas and inspiration, so I can tighten up my seafood stew game.

This was a good one. Obviously stuffed with clams, mussels, shrimp, and a few scallops, the tomato fennel broth was also full of Israeli couscous. I dove right in, slurped it up, and mopped the bowl with the killer bread.

My dinner salad also boasted all the things I like- an egg, blue cheese, mixed greens, fresh cracked pepper, and a pungent, mustardy vinaigrette.

We had Greek calamari, but we inhaled it. I'd never thought about putting banana peppers and feta on my calamari. I've been thinking a lot about it ever since.

If we would have stopped at that- a sensible but not strictly healthy meal of salad and seafood- we'd have been fine. We'd also have to hand in our glutton club membership cards, so we soldiered on.

The dark chocolate creme brulee. With sea salt.

The memory of this dessert almost makes me want to use a swear word right here on this blog, to be read by the public.

I won't, because my grandma would be mortified. So let me say that good heavens, this creme brulee was unparalleled. I have a serious affinity for both chocolate mousse and creme brulee and combined, I'd venture to say they made one of the best desserts I've ever had.

You know I wouldn't play with you. I mean it.

Andy had the walnut bourbon pie. A la mode, with a dollop of creme fraiche.

(Oh man the last time I had creme fraiche was in England, atop sticky toffee pudding. Sob.)

Streetside Seafood- go for the bread, stay for the chocolate creme brulee. As a matter of fact, that sounds like a complete meal to me.