At MI Table: Joe Louis Punch, Star Chicken Shotgun, Purple Gang and a restroom game (but no more oxtail)

MI Table: big windows downtown

The hairy guy's report:

It's autumn, for sure. Leaves have fallen, the weather has turned brisk and the coat is out of the closet.

It's also that time of year when cocktail fans with time on their hands think of ways to mix alcohol and produce. For instance, there's a recipe for Drambuie and acorn squash. If that sounds good, you might like gin and brussels sprouts. Or gin and pine cones. Some people ask why; others ask why not.

At MI Table, which opened in mid-September in a two-story space with large windows looking out over downtown's main corner of Center and Washington, a list of new seasonal drinks wisely sticks to fruit -- mostly apples. One, the Michigan Poison Apple, brings back a fond memory of a night long ago in a peanut-shells-on-the-floor basement bar on Detroit's east side called the Poison Apple, with a large house drink of the same name.

We have no idea what was in the old Detroit version. And a Google search for drinks called Poison Apple turns up various things, many of them green and one with edible glitter.

The MI Table version has tequila, cider and pomegranate juice. But we decided to let a pleasant memory stay that way and instead tried an Autumn Pear ($8), which has gin, vodka, ginger syrup, club soda, cinnamon and actual muddled poached chunks of pears.

How to put this? It's oddly tasty. The pear sinks to the bottom, and you can fish it out for dessert (though the restaurant's fancy paper straws aren't meant for such rough use.)

An afternoon visit to MI Table had seemed like a golden opportunity for multitasking: The new restaurant, with a good-looking bar, beckoned for a visit. And it was a chance to try out

Minimalist decor at MI Table

a pair of new high-tech hearing aids, which claim to improve life in noisy restaurants.

MI Table is a beautiful spot. And stopping in midweek at lunchtime, it was a surprise to see the place mostly full. But the interior is all hard surfaces, so it's loud. And the hearing aids fell short of the hype. Oh, well.

It turns out, though, that even people with fully functioning ears complain about noise. A Google search for "complaints of noisy restaurants" turns up 4,650,000 results. The latest Zagat survey of dining trends found noise was patrons' biggest complaint. Ditto for a Consumer Reports survey. The cause? One magazine article calls it "fashionable minimalism."

We didn't think much about this until a recent dinner at the Riverfront Grille in downtown's DoubleTree hotel. Besides some great food and a good river view, it has old-school carpet (note the hyphen; it's not old school carpet) and acoustic tiles -- making for a quiet and peaceful meal, much more conducive to conversation.

But you can't knock a trendy new restaurant for wanting to be fashionable.

And minimalism is an apt description of MI Table. Stark white walls have photos of Michigan scenes. Hanging copper lamps provide an orange glow. And that's about it, in contrast to the

Autumn Pear

warm wood that likely would have adorned the old building's original space.

This isn't a place for a cheap beer and a bag of potato chips while watching a game on TV, though three modest-sized, unobtrusive TVs are near the bar (usually showing sports and news). And sure, this is much more of a restaurant than a bar. But there is an actual bar to sit at and drink, so we consider it a bar.

You also won't find a happy hour or bagged snacks, but you could get an order of fries ($4, and they're good but nothing out of the ordinary), though you could do that most anywhere. Here you could instead get crispy chicken-fried cauliflower ($11) or bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with goat cheese ($12; they're good and definitely out of the ordinary). If you want a hamburger, the only one you'll find has a mix of venison and beef ($14 with fries).

The impressive round bar, topped by heavily epoxied natural wood with a blue inlay and small stones, gives the look of a fresh stream running through it. A quick view turned up a Petoskey stone and a bit of copper ore, in keeping with the Michigan theme. Being trendy, there is no old-fashioned footrail but there are plugs for charging cellphones.

The drinks -- beer, wine and liquor -- all come from Michigan-based producers, and the food has a Michigan connection -- supporting the MI name.

Despite being open just since mid-September, the menu has already changed a bit. At dinner early on, we had braised oxtail -- easily the best braised oxtail we've ever had. (Sure, it was the only braised oxtail we've ever had. But still, it was great.) That's already off the menu. Owner

Amberlyn Hales, MI Table's owner

Amberlyn Hales said they're "working down the animal," now offering other parts of the same cows to avoid waste.

She said sourcing for Michigan ingredients has been tough, with a need for backups, in case a supplier falls through. "Michigan had a terrible broccoli season," she said, leading to more use of cauliflower instead.

Some house cocktails have Michigan-sounding names. The Michigan White Pine ($7.50) has gin (from Ann Arbor Distilling Co.), soda, lemon juice, rosemary, simple syrup and lemon peel. It's refreshing and not overly sweet. Joe Louis Punch ($8) has vodka (from New Holland Brewing), orange juice and some other stuff. The gin-based Purple Gang ($6.50) has lime juice, lavender simple syrup and grapefruit juice. Another drink, called the Tahquamenon Phenomenon ($8.50), has whiskey, soda and some other stuff.

The menu also lists more traditional drinks -- a Manhattan, mojito and Moscow mule. The mule ($6.50) has vodka from Gypsy Vodka, based in Petoskey, and sticks to the standard recipe. We tried a MI Manhattan ($9), made with Traverse City Cherry Whiskey and the usual sweet vermouth, but with unconventional black walnut bitters and simple syrup; it was good but lacked the kick of a typical Manhattan, probably due to the syrup.

The bar can indeed make drinks that aren't on the menu (like a Manhattan, hold the syrup), but there are limits. "We don't have everything because we only have Michigan liquors, but we can usually make what we need," says Karen the daytime bartender.

And every time we think we've found the goofiest craft beer, up pops a new contender. Eight brews on tap at MI Table include PB and J'ale'y (5% ABV, $6.50 for 16 oz.) from Elk Brewing of Grand Rapids. It's described as "Blonde ale flavored with grape juice and peanut butter." We

Karen the day bartender at MI Table

always preferred strawberry jam to grape with our peanut butter, so we'll pass on that one. If you're feeling adventurous but don't want commitment, a flight of five drafts is $10.

Lots of canned beers include Star Chicken Shotgun (6.8% ABV, $5.50) from Greenbush Brewing Co. in Sawyer (which is in the state's southwest corner). "Five different hops and a juicy, citrus flavor will have you dancing like a chicken in an Elvis suit," the menu says, as if that's enticing. Our fellow traveler, the G-Man, got one and described it as a typical IPA. (And, we're delighted to report, he didn't dance or don an Elvis suit).

So there's none of the ubiquitous out-of-state Bud Light. (Karen suggests instead Solid Gold, a golden lager from Founders Brewing in Grand Rapids.

Checking out the men's room, we found something new: Instead of a men's room and a women's room, there are four one-person unisex rooms. So there's privacy and likely no wait. The hassle is that when you walk up, it's not clear which (if any) rooms are available. You pick a door (wasn't there once a TV game show like this?), hope it opens and risk a surprise if someone inside forgot to lock it (hasn't happened yet, says Karen). Surely we've all had bigger problems in life, but it turns a routine and necessary matter into an awkward moment.

MI Table is open every day for breakfast and lunch, then sort of closes for two hours before dinner. Hours are 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m. weekdays and 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. weekends, then reopening each day at 5 p.m., till 10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 9 p.m. Sunday.

We say it sort of closes for two hours because it turns out that the bar stays open and some simpler things on the menu -- starters, salads, soups and desserts -- are available. So you can hang out after a late lunch with no fear of being tossed to the street.

Karen said breakfast has been steady. And the bar is open. So you could try a Poison Apple with poutine eggs Benedict ($9.25), French toast ($8) or a classic two-eggs, potatoes, meat and toast breakfast ($9.50). Sorry, no peanut shells on the floor.

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See Doc's report on MI Table: Decor and cuisine whisper Pure Michigan

  The particulars:
  MI Table
  213 Center
  989-778-1079