The U & I Lounge on Front Street has the mix of people you would expect from its decor and location. On the inside, it appears like a local's bar. Dim lights, unglamorous fixtures, simple menu (though the Greek dishes are an unexpected bonus). Listening to bar conversation, you can hear the back and forth of regulars with the bartenders. At the same time, there are clearly people that don't live in Traverse City. I'd say the golf shirts and shorts give them away. Good for them. While the summer rush of tourism makes traffic terrible for the nicer month, TC is all about the tourists. With a population of 16,000, we certainly can't drink all this booze up here, though I certainly try to do my part.
I judge how the nachos will be based on the restaurant's decor. No, it's not scientific, but it's based on experience. The nachos at local's bars are typically out of the bag chips with whatever toppings they have, typically lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and beef. Let's see how I did:
Yep, spot on.
Another thing I've noticed about this type of nachos is that they often include black olives. Olives are terrible on nachos. I'm not sure how this trend got started, but it's not a good one and should die a quick, violent death. U & I Lounge did include black olives, but I deftly had them excluded. Yay me.
I have my biases and I wear them proudly. These nachos were a smidge above my expectations due to the nicely flavored ground beef and the salty chips. There were plenty of toppings, too - nothing dampens my nacho enjoyment more than running out of toppings with many chips to go. Along with my Oberon, all was well with my downtown Traverse City dinner choice.
I am compelled to point out that the U & I has the 3% credit card surcharge, and this means I rank them below an equivalent restaurant when choosing where to eat.
Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5