Ubee's

Ubee's
521 S. Highland
323-0900

Saturday, after a jaunt to the Pink Palace, we found ourselves starved. We sat in the parking lot discussing places to go. Warren had his stomach set on a hamburger, so I suggested Ubee's. A menu had recently appeared in our mailbox and looked interesting, so I added it to my "Places to Go" list.

It took us a minute to find it, since it is set back off of Highland next to Lenny's. As we did a drive-by, the bar inside was quite noticeable. Warren wondered out loud if it was a place we could take the kids (Satchel, 6, and Jiro, 4). I replied, "You can take kids anywhere at 4pm on a Saturday."

When we walked in, Warren calmed down a little. The bar area was completely separate from the eating area. The interior was all blue and very "Go Togers!" There were TVs everywhere and I commented that it would be a nice place to watch a Tigers' game. Then, much to my surprise, I noticed that the Tigers were actually playing.

I hadn't retained the information I read previously in the CA's review, so another happy surprise was that burgers are one of Ubee's specialties. In fact they use the same grease as Dyer's since it is owned by the same person.

Warren and Satchel both wanted hamburgers and fries. (Warren opted for a double since they were pretty thin.) I added a "slurp" to save $2.25 as the menu instructed. Jiro didn't seem too interested in eating, but agreed to try some "fried right chicken tenders." The chicken tenders were an appetizer, so I didn't have the meal deal option. I figured Satchel would probably want water, so I decided to give Jiro Satchel's drink and my side.

Warren and the boys went to sit down and watch the game, read the Flyer, and play DS. Before leaving, Warren noticed a "Free chocolate cobbler with first order" sign and instructed me to be sure and get mine. Unfortunately, it turns out that this special is only for deliveries. (I did remember the write up of this "choc therapy" in the Flyer and wanted to try it!) I decided we'd order a slice if we were still hungry after dinner.

I panicked a bit when I looked at the menu, because for once I was the only one who didn't know what to order (and frankly their menu is just a little too cutesy and therefore confusing). There wasn't a line or anything, but we were all starving. I impulsively went with the The "French 101" which is a panini filled with grilled chicken, tomato, bacon, spinach and basil aioli on a croissant. Then I impulsively ordered tater tots instead of fries, added a slurp, and called it quits.

I was a little shocked when the dude told me I owed $28.00. And in my shocked state, I didn't know whether to tip or not, so I went ahead and added $4.00. Normally, I don't tip if I place my order and then sit down, but in this case I was glad that I did because the dude cooked everything himself, brought it to the table, and even checked on us a few times.

After paying, I was given four reusable plastic tumblers and headed to the drink machine. The booths are lined up in a way as to create a direct path to the drink machine from the checkout counter, so as I passed the boys, I said, "Let's get our drinks." Normally the monkeys are very enthusiastic about this part of the dining experience, but thanks to the DS, they could care less. "I'm not getting them all," I said in protest and I put their cups on the table and went to get my own drink.

On my way back to the table, I realized how strange the booth set up was. Although you could enter the booths from both sides, having four people in the booth made it so I had to walk in a big circle to sit down. (Had the boys saved me a seat on the inside rather than the outside, this wouldn't have been an issue.) As I was circling through the restaurant, I took a peek in the "soft seating area" and thought it was a nice touch. (It had chairs, a sofa, board games, and yet another TV.) The bar was full of college students (I presume) and they seemed to be enjoying the game.

Back at the table, the boys eventually got their drinks--apparently I paid for four drinks--and came back to the table. I'm pretty sure they both took advantage of me not going with them by getting caffeinated beverages.

When our food arrived shortly there after, we all pounced. Well, everyone except Jiro.



The hamburgers and especially the french fries looked really good. So good that I immediately needed to help myself to one. Yum! My sandwich looked pretty good, but now I was really mad at myself for ordering tater tots. I happily put them on Jiro's plate and proceeded to cut his chicken strips into pieces. He wasn't too thrilled with the chicken--it was extremely salty and not as crispy as I would have expected--but ate almost a whole one and most of his tater tots.

It was at this point that I realized we had ordered nothing that could be considered healthy! They do have salads on the menu, but I was too hungry for a salad. I also noticed edamame, but I have a strict policy of not ordering edamame in a burger joint.

My panini was pretty tasty, but it was really rich and rather greasy. So much so that I offered it to Warren. He ended up eating some of it, which left me to eat more than I wanted to. (I also ended up helping Jiro with his chicken which I later regretted!) Satchel only ate about half of his burger, which was unusual for him, but he insisted that he liked it.

The game ended about halfway through our meal. (The Tigers won. Go Tigers!) We packed up the few leftovers we had and made our way out. I'm not sure that I'll be rushing back to Ubee's anytime soon, but it was a perfectly fine place to go. If I do, I'll definitely opt for a salad and a piece of choc therapy.

(We never made it to the bathroom, but the whole restaurant was fancy and new, so I am sure they were probably nice.)