Most of the time when I am in my bank, I get a cookie or two, but it was my birthday weekend or maybe birthday month and we ate at The Fed.  We were going to meet our son and his family for brunch, it was also his wife’s birthday celebration as well.  My Bride suggested one place and I suggested a new location, one that is a further drive for us, but very convenient for them.  I had read about The Fed in Clarkston, Michigan and how a couple had bought an old bank and gutted basically the entire interior save the vault and created a restaurant.  Years ago, when I was in the midst of seeing the best job I ever had disappear, because of spineless, feckless politicians and a corrupt style of eminent domain, I remember taking one of the principals to look at a potential location for a store that had a great location and was a former bank.  The concept did not work especially twenty years ago, but I always thought the idea had merit; I guess being a child of parents that survived the Great Depression, the thought of reusing something was handed down to me.  The Jossman State Bank building was erected around the turn of the last century and to be truthful, after we parked the car, I was looking for a building of grandeur and my image of old bank buildings growing up in the city of Detroit.  The building was different than what my mind’s eye had imagined and since there was no signage, I asked some people that were dining outside if I was at the right location and then at the same time I saw the front door was opened and hence I could not see the name etched on the glass. 

We went inside and got a table, because they would not take a reservation for less than a party of eight and we only had six.  My Bride and I got there before the kids who live closer, so that was good, so we could make sure that we were guaranteed that the tab would come to us.  The interior was gutted right down to the bare brick walls, so one would never realize that it was a bank until one saw the vault with the big door swung open and two tables were inside of it, with a chandelier hanging overhead from the exposed ceiling.  The immediate appearance of the restaurant conveyed casualness as the chairs and tables did not match and neither did any of the utensils, in fact it caused a bit of consternation for our one grandson, as he did not want to use a salad fork to eat his meal, so his one sister changed forks with him, so that she ended up with the largest butter knife and the smallest fork at the table.  The brunch menu was small, but well thought out and reminded my Bride and I of our favorite place for brunch in Las Vegas.  My Bride saw that they had Lemon Souffle Pancakes with Ricotta cheese, berries and raspberry syrup and she also ordered one poached egg ala carte and that is the dish she invariably orders when we have brunch in Vegas.  I ordered the classic version of Eggs Benedict with the peameal bacon, poached eggs, English Muffins, Hollandaise Sauce and breakfast potatoes and I also ordered a side of sausage patty, but I ended up with sausage links as I was told that was all they carried anymore. The rest of the crowd ordered their dishes and I had to watch my grandson eat his order of the Eggs Benedict by making the two halves combined and devoured as a sandwich and it worked for him.

We decided to have Mimosas and we had a choice of one Mimosa or bottomless Mimosas and the price differential rather precluded one Mimosa.  The glasses were brought to the table with the bubbly, but no juice.  We were informed that they have a Mimosa station with assorted juices and assorted fruits and berries to make a frou-frou design of your own.  My Bride went and made a fancy one for herself and brought me a small glass of orange juice so that I could make a tincture of color with my drink.  The bubbly was Coastal Vines Cellars Brut Cuvee NV, a ¨California Sparkling Wine. ¨ Coastal Vines Cellars is part of the much larger Bronco Wine Company and this sparkling wine was done in the Charmat Methode, also known as the bulk method.  The wine is a blend of Chardonnay, French Colombard and Fructose/Glucose.   All in all, it was a delightful brunch and then all of us decided to check out the local art fair that was going on that weekend.