Restaurant Review

“Dancing” to Delicious

An old restored American Central Railroad Depot is now a sophisticated restaurant known as the Gandy Dancer, which specializes in American cuisine of seafood and fresh fish dishes. The building stood out with its old fashion train station style made of white, dark grey and red granite bricks. It catches your eye along with the busy bustle of people driving up to the valet and walking in to get to their reservations on time The Gandy Dancer is a treat to the eye as well as the tongue, located just outside of the downtown area of Ann Arbor on Depot Street.

Walking in and being overwhelmed with its sophisticated style and people wearing business attire, the down to earth tones of olive and forest green on the walls jumped out to make you feel a little more at ease. An assortment of modern and historic art pieces were displayed throughout the restaurant, giving me a feeling of being in an art museum.

Live classical bands and pianists come in to serve as entertainment while you enjoy your meal. Another form of entertainment for people that may visit the Gandy Dancer often is the train that passes by just outside of the vast picture window that overlooks the track.

With little amount of walking space between each white clothed table in the dimly lit restaurant, we were placed at a corner table where servers, dressed in black slacks, a white blouse hidden underneath a black vest and red tie, quickly rushed passed us during the whole meal. Being that reservations were recommended we expected to be placed in a confined space since we just walked in.

Having to sit down for a two hour meal on a busy Friday night at 7:00 PM, the chairs made it as comfortable as lounging around at home on the couch in your sweats. The padded, green-leaved patterned chairs hugged you, wrapping around your body in a sense to make you relax.

As we were seated, a server walked right up to us and poured water in our glasses, which he continued to do during the whole meal. Following right behind him was our waitress with a warm smile and an accommodating attitude, to alleviate any of our questions or concerns.

To start, the appetizers included an array of mussels, stuffed mushrooms, and delicious Sicilian calamari. One would expect the typical calamari dish to be plain and breaded. Most of the time, ordering calamari in a restaurant that does not specialize in seafood, it is awfully rubbery, making you feel like you are chewing on rubber bands. At the Gandy Dancer, you could tell the calamari was made to order because it was incredibly tender and topped with a blood red, sweet and spicy roasted pepper sauce which gave it tremendous personality. The appetizers ranged from $9.99 to $12.75 which is pretty expectable from any dine-in restaurant including chains.

The entrees included the typical seafood assortment of crab legs, lobster, fish, and many different shrimp dishes. The crabbed stuffed shrimp was served on a plain, white dish, which was not boring because the food was displayed in an exceptionally artful manner. The shrimp curved around the plate with the crab and butter sauce toppled over it, next to a triangular rice pilaf. The shrimp was a little overdone but the crab was cooked perfectly making it moist to melt in your mouth. The butter sauce that covered the shrimp was light, but hit the spot just right. The steamed vegetables caught my eye with its vibrant colors of the red and green peppers, purple eggplant, and avocados. The vegetables were juicy and sweet and cooked to perfection without breaking down their texture. That dish cost $23.95.

The Salmon Rockefeller, costing $25.75, was salmon stuffed with bacon, jumbo lump crab meat with a shocking yellow béarnaise sauce. It was also presented marvelously with the same triangular rice pilaf and vivacious green steamed asparagus, which were a little too crunchy. The fish was excellent, not tasting to “fishy,” and the béarnaise sauce drizzled over it was just the right amount giving it a mouth watering effect.

The menu also exhibited an immense list of wines including numerous types of chardonnay, merlot, cabernet, pinot noir, pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc, interesting whites and specialty reds. There was one dessert displayed on a separate menu called the Sweet Georgia Brown, which is a sweet potato flan and black strap molasses cake with candied pecans and crème anglaise. The cost of that dessert is $7.99.

For two people, the meal cost $73.00, including tip. The meal was extremely pricey, but overall tremendously pleasant and a wonderful experience. The spotlessness of the restaurant with its creative displays made it worth my while. Never having dined in such a sophisticated restaurant, I was shocked at the service and presentation and I would definitely go back again to enjoy the wonderful tastes of the perfectly prepared seafood dishes.