out to eat Dinin round the D Twisted Tavern Esther Allweiss Ingber Writer Contributing I I t was getting old for Mark McConnell running Boogie Fever Cafe and Disco in Ferndale. So, although the dance club was still popular, he and his business partner Rob Potter closed it in April 2012 to get ready for a change of format — a "twist:' if you will. The result is Twisted Tavern, a hand- some, contemporary restaurant in the front of the building and the chic Twist Night Club down the hall. Twist also has a separate entrance. Both spots are energizing the city's night life on Woodward Avenue at Withington, one block north of Nine Mile Road. Imagine, 15 years ago this lively corner just had a drugstore. McConnell has said bye-bye to disco (most- ly) because the music played at Twist is from "the '90s to now." He hopes that timeframe, plus the upgraded decor, will bring out a more mature, but still fun-loving crowd, this time around. Twist had its grand opening on Oct. 25, and club hours are 9 p.m.-2 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Guests at Twist Night Club are treated to state-of-the-art, computerized sound and light systems. The look of the space is constantly changing due to the revolv- ing, multi-colored overhead spotlights and the patterns projected on the dance floor. Up to 400 can party in a spa- cious room that is partially covered in ruby red fabric panels. Twist offers two well-stocked bars; and anyone order- ing a bottle of wine can enjoy it sitting with friends on light gray, lounge-style couches. Other seating is available, too. The sand-colored, driftwood brick on the outside of the building shows up inside Twisted Tavern, which also features purple walls and sliding picture windows. Four huge screens for watch- ing sports are mounted at the marble bar, above liquor shelves set against a tiled backsplash. The 150-seat restau- rant under an exposed ceiling includes a polished wooden floor, triple-banded pendant lights and high-top mahogany chairs with brown seats. Twisted Tavern opens at 4:30 p.m. daily, helmed by manager Dan Wallace. Happy Hour is big here, focused on the 14 items that comprise the restau- rant's signature small-plates menu, as well as categories of salads, flatbreads and sweets.This isn't typical bar food. Executive Chef Kyle Hanley, formerly of the Detroit Golf Club, makes sure of that with his from-scratch approach to cooking. The kitchen uses fresh, sea- sonal ingredients. To mention a few of the small plates, Asian Calamari comes with peanuts and apricots in a sweet-and-sour sauce; Fried Polenta Sticks also include Beemster garlic cheese and red pepper aioli; Risoto Balls are prosciutto-stuffed with tomato jam and truffle aioli, and the Roasted Mushrooms that I tried came with flat- bread crisps for scooping a leftover sauce made with sherry cream. Another flavorful plate, Fried Brussels Sprouts, get their tang from sweet balsamic vinegar. Twisted Chicken Sliders, two per order, come with a single natural chicken breast slice, pro- sciutto, Provolone cheese and honey-mustard dress- ing. Grilling the brioche rolls is my sug- gestion for improving these otherwise tasty sandwiches. My favorite menu item so far is the Oktoberfest Flatbread. It is topped with bratwurst, knockwurst, braised cab- bage, parsley, mustard-cream sauce and Moody Blue cheese, for subtle, smoky undertones. Three more choices served on the grilled, house-made flatbread are steak, roasted veggie and white chicken. The latter includes fresh spinach and herbs, artichokes and creamy Boursin cheese spread. Arugula, chopped and Caesar are three of the salad options. Because I adore beets, I will return for the beet salad. It features candy-striped beets, bibb lettuce, hazelnuts and Chevre cheese teamed with a lemon vinaigrette dressing. For dessert, Pumpkin Spice Bread Pudding, including white choco- late and juniper cream Anglaise, sounds awfully good to me. The usual club cover charge of $5 Friday and $8 Saturday is waived for those dining at Twisted Tavern. ❑ Twisted Tavern 22901 Woodward Ferndale, MI 48220 (248) 545-6750 www.thetwistedtavern.com $$ out of $$$$ Twist Ballroom (248) 541-1600 www.twistnightclub.com MADAME B T T E F LY GIACOMO PUCCINI TICKETS AS Steven Lord conducts the Michigan Opera Theatre Orchestra LOW AS $25! November 15-23, 2014 Sung in Italian with English supertitles Saturday November 15. 7:30 PM Wednesday November 19. 7:30 PM Friday November 21.7:30 PM Saturday November 22 • 7:30 PM Sunday November 23 • 2:30 PM The 2014 Fall Opera Season made possible by Ford Motor Company MICHIGAN TICKETS & PRE-PAID PARKING CALL 313.237.SING or visit michiganopera.org 1956460 The care you need to get you back to your life. 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