One North brings elevated fare and ambience to former Reno’s West

One North brings elevated fare and ambience to former Reno’s West

By BRYAN BEVERLY

It’s been a tough summer at the He Ate household. My much better half had two knee replacements, and the pain management and recovery have been hard to witness. All the while, I’ve been attempting to corral the four lovely but energetic younger ladies in my life. I’ve become equal parts physician’s assistant, dad Uber, short-order cook and referee (and this doesn’t even include the “day” job at Michigan State University).

In short, I’ve been busy and exhausted — though extremely grateful for the support of family and friends who’ve helped out with pickups, overnights and meals. All that said, it’s been an even rarer-than-usual privilege of late to experience a nice meal with good ambience and service.

Enter this month’s food review at an address I know well, but with a new owner and menu I’m less familiar with. One North Kitchen & Bar opened in December 2020 at the site of the former Reno’s West. I’ve spent many evenings and game days at Reno’s locations across the region, and while they were known for being great places to grab a pitcher or a Long Island iced tea and enjoy a round of pool or an MSU game, One North’s menu brings another level of excitement. Featured on YouTube’s “America’s Best Restaurants Roadshow,” I was both eager to taste from the “scratch kitchen” and curious about how the new franchise would reinvigorate the space.

Classic pub fare is joined on the menu by entrees with Tuscan or Southern flair. One North is neither pretentious nor overly relaxed, both in terms of culinary options and atmosphere. It’s made good use of the massive footprint, and while you’re never far from the sightline of a TV, the modern décor, patio seating options and absence of video games from the Reno’s days provide a chicer vibe.

What’s hit or miss

Given my current domestic circumstances, my first visit was to pick up a takeout order. I placed my order through One North’s website rather than a third party, hoping to maximize the revenue going back to the restaurant. When I arrived, the hostess couldn’t find my order in the system, but after a few moments, the manager found it and had the kitchen start it immediately. Staff shared their apologies, and after another few minutes, my order was ready. Glitches happen, and the courteous response was appropriate.

On my second visit, my daughters and I deferred a school shopping trip until after brunch ($5.95-$19.95). The extensive buffet offerings of hearty breakfast staples and New American lunch items were reinforced by the incredible array of antipasti and fruit and a well-stocked salad bar. A tower of parfaits was surrounded by donuts, pies and other assorted desserts.

The ups and downs started in the breakfast area, where the cheesy eggs and Southern fried chicken tenders & waffles were a high point, but the cheesy potatoes with peppers and onions were home-fry-style, even though the ladle on the outside suggested an earlier version in the morning had shredded potatoes. I was also frustrated by my time spent foraging through the woefully undercooked bacon, searching for an edible slice — and I’ve eaten many a European breakfast where medium-rare bacon is common. Most disappointing, though, was the lack of attentiveness by the waitstaff as I waited more than 10 minutes for both of the cranberry juices I ordered, even though the bar was but one table away from us.

What’s good

The takeout dinner was better. I ordered the Brussels sprouts ($12), and while they’re not the best in town, I found them to be nicely charred, and both the Parmesan and bacon were tasty. They just needed a bit more balsamic.

I really enjoyed the torpedo shrimp ($13.75), a creamier take on sweet chili or boom-boom shrimp. Paired with a delectable Asian slaw, I would order these again.

The Michigan salad with blue cheese ($8.25/half, $12.50/full) was also a hit, from the dreamy balsamic dressing to local cherries and apple slices that sang the best of Pure Michigan.

Best bite

The pulled pork sandwich ($14.50) was on point. Slow-roasted pork was joined by pepper jack cheese, pickles, house-made barbecue sauce and a crunchy, creamy coleslaw. This handheld was tender and yummy — salty, sour and sweet all at once. Large enough to eat over two sittings, I was a fan both times.

One North brings elevated fare and ambience to former Reno’s West

By GABRIELLE LAWRENCE

A few months ago, I attended a Women Lawyers Association of Michigan networking event at One North Kitchen & Bar. I hadn’t been there in years, since well before it transitioned from Reno’s sports bar, and I was eager to see what it was all about. My first thought was that the interior is completely different, and it’s beautiful. One North has sprawling patios, big windows that let natural light in and several corner booths that you can nestle into for a quiet(er) meal. I was immediately interested in trying as many menu items as possible. 

But, because this summer was busier than I wanted it to be between T-ball games, trying to spend as much time at the pool as possible and an unexpectedly but blissfully extended family vacation, it wasn’t until many weeks later that Mr. She Ate and I were able to make a dinner visit. Our son was on his annual camping trip with my dad, his wife, my siblings and their families. We were tickled to have alone time with our daughter, who doesn’t get much of it. 

We started with the loaded tots ($12.25), which, as the menu claims, were house-made. Unfortunately, the insides of the tots were devoid of flavor. They would have benefited from an infusion of garlic, paprika, salt or virtually any other savory spice in the kitchen.

I quickly moved on to the One North grilled cheese ($10.25) and had much better luck with this. I love a grilled cheese, especially one that’s a little different than the standard version. When I read that this one included tomato jam, I was sold, and you should be, too. The four-cheese blend was set off by the sweet and spicy jam, which had me wondering why I don’t make my own tomato jam and start hammering out grilled cheeses daily. (The answer is because of the abovementioned inappropriately busy schedule, and because One North is already doing this, so I don’t need to do it myself.)

My sandwich came with fries. They were unremarkable. Mr. She Ate tried the barbecue chicken pizza ($18.50), a dish he’s loved for a long time but I’ve never been able to support. The combination of flavors just doesn’t make sense to me. Nonetheless, he enjoyed the pizza, although the crust was a bit too crispy to have been eaten without a word of caution. 

Our tiny wild woman had the kids’ pasta with red sauce ($6), which was frankly a better-tasting red sauce than she’s ever had. Who knows what our son ate that night on his camping trip? I assume twigs and raccoon kabobs, but I haven’t been camping since I was forced to sleep in a tent as a child. 

We finished the meal with a slice of One North’s homemade cheesecake ($8.50). I’ve always loved plain cheesecake, preferring the creamy confection to stand on its own without a fruit topping. I had high hopes for this one after our server sang its praises, but this might have been the biggest disappointment of the meal. It tasted like pure nothing. Cheesecake is one of those things, like mac and cheese, that I suspect people are tricked into thinking is delicious because it looks like it should be. This was no exception. It was beautiful, but if you closed your eyes and conducted a search for flavor, you’d find none. 

I later met a colleague for lunch, and while I hate to default to things that are comfortable to order, there wasn’t much more on the menu that I was dying to try. I chose the 1N Michigan salad ($8.25/half, $12.50/full), which was a fairly traditional mix of spring greens, dried cherries, thinly sliced green apples, blue cheese crumbles, bacon and walnuts. I asked for mine with grilled chicken, which was forgotten and was later delivered to me in a coffee cup on a saucer. The salad, like Mr. She Ate’s pizza, was fine. It wasn’t special, and it wasn’t even my favorite salad on the stretch of Saginaw Highway that includes ChouPli, Cheddar’s and Chick-fil-A. (I know Chick-fil-A is problematic, but its salads are dang good, and I atone in political contributions.)

My colleague chose a cheeseburger, which looked and smelled the part but remained unfinished on her plate. Uninspired, I returned to my office and continued to stream Olympic swimming, my afternoon finally given flavor by the commentating of Rowdy Gaines, an American treasure. Is anyone else still recovering from a bout of Olympic fever?