Freighters Eatery & Taproom

Nestled between the Blue Water Bridge and the Culinary Institute, one would expect to enjoy a fine evening with a beautiful view at Freighters. On a chilly Saturday evening, my wife and I entered Freighters, escaping the bone chilling cold associated with the first signs of winter here in Michigan. Upon entering Freighters you are immediately struck by a modern, upbeat take on dining. There is a large bar with TV’s showing whatever sporting event happens to be most popular at the moment, a well proportioned area for large parties that need extended tables to accompany large groups, and a central and quite beautifully designed fireplace that brings a classic sense of comfort and homeliness to the decor. The vast windows facing the water allow for what is the namesake of the restaurant: an first class view of the massive freighters passing by on the water simply a few hundred yards away, which not only are the staple of the restaurant, but also a large part of the character of the Port Huron area as well.

We were seated in a booth next to a large window sporting a full view of the Blue Water Bridge. Our server was quick to greet us and offer refreshments as we perused the menu. First, our appetizer. We ordered the Maple Mustard Fried Pickles; a dish that, surprisingly, my wife chose. She’s not typically the adventurous kind when it comes to food, typically opting for something more traditional when ordering. Obviously I was keen to embrace this new ambition of my wife’s and immediately backed the idea and so we ordered. A small dish arrived carrying a portion of golden brown, deep fried pickle goodness. The morsels of pickle were coated in a thin layer breading and quickly fried. The pickle still had a slight crunch to it and for the most part tasted like a warm…well…pickle. Which, if you like pickles, is good. Proceeding on to the maple mustard sauce which was a rich dark brown color, closely resembling that of maple syrup with a much thicker consistency to it. The sauce was good, it was very sweet and paired well with the battered coating of the pickle. However, that is where the match made in heaven, turned into a not so heavenly combination. Upon crunching into the pickle and releasing that acidic, salty taste that is so common of a dill pickle, you are left with a mouthful that is far too acidic. It wasn’t quite to the level of taking a bite out of a large lemon slice, but it wasn’t pleasant or balanced either. The combination of the sauce, and the acidity of the pickle created a mouth situation which needs to be addressed. No one likes a mouth situation. Upon further investigation, the maple mustard sauce had a slight aftertaste of tart acidity to it which when combined with the pickle, was too much acidity in our dish.

Moving on to the entree portion of the meal, my wife had decided upon the lobster Mac N Cheese, an obvious classic, and this is where I went wrong. The common expression is curiosity killed the cat, however in this case, curiosity killed my meal. It beat it upside the head with a hammer fist and finished me off with a good ol fashion Randy Orton RKO. Out of curiosity I chose something of the Chef’s Featured menu, which I’m sure changed from time to time so hopefully this one is a quick change. I went with the Thomas Edison Inn Tribute - “Three Nut Chicken”. Let me first say this: I do not blame the chef for what is about to happen to my dinner, I blame the original creator of the dish at the Thomas Edison Inn. This dish was so flawed from simply its conception that it has no place on any restaurant menu. The dish consists of a chicken breast encrusted in almonds, pecans, and walnuts if I remember correctly. Let’s walk through that. So we take a delicious, juicy chicken breast, a wonderful cut of meat and one of my favorite proteins, and we encrust it in three different kinds of crushed nuts and throw it in the oven. What comes out might be akin to the monster created by Dr. Frankenstein. You are greeted with a dry clump of nuts that taste of nuts, no other seasonings or ingredients. Furthermore, when you take something like a nut that is already inherently dry, and put it in an oven to bake it loses whatever small modicum of moisture may have been tucked away in that nut and becomes something similar to the sandy beaches we long for a winter sets in. Though far less enjoyable. Honestly I think even a squirrel would shudder at what a nut becomes after it is further dried in an oven. To encrust a chicken breast in this is practically a sin and there is no place for this dish in a restaurant. The only way to describe this dish would be to say it was extremely dry and bland. Which is a shame, because the actual chicken breast itself was well cooked and juicy. But thickly encrusted by a impenetrable layer of dry nuts it never stood a chance. Not to mention, even after I removed the nuts and focused simply on the chicken, it was not seasoned well and lacked flavor, probably largely due to the encrusting. Like I said before, I do not blame the chef for this dish, it’s a tribute dish. It is in memory of a former restaurant, an earlier time. This dish was flawed in its conception, so a tribute to it may not have been the best idea. It’s not necessarily a lack of execution that let this dish down, but a poor initial concept.

So let’s talk about some positives shall we? I’m getting depressed with writing this. As previously stated, my wife order the lobster Mac N Cheese, and I love doing these reviews because it gives me an excuse to steal from her plate every time we go out. The lobster Mac N Cheese was delicious, the consistency of the cheese sauce was just right, not too creamy, not too thick. The lobster was sweet and well cooked and the asparagus spread throughout the dish added a welcome crunch as well as a delightful hint of earthiness. The parmesan crisp that garnished the plate added another texture layering and led to more delightful crunching between the creamy goodness of the Mac N Cheese. Overall, this dish was a smashing success and I would highly recommend it.

This has been a long one so let me keep the conclusion short. Did I have a subpar meal at Freighters this time? Yes I did. Was it an exception to what is typically a good restaurant? Yes. I would recommend Freighters for its scenic views and good, predominantly local food. Just, for the love of everything holy, don’t order the Three-Nut Chicken.

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