This Restaurant Has Been Closed and the Building is for Sale

We loved the Blue Moon restaurant in Saugatuck, so we were interested to see how the new ownership and the new name Zing would play out.

310 Blue Star Hwy on the south side of Douglas. 269-857-3287, you can call ahead an hour to get on the list. Website is www.zingeatdrink.com

It still has the funky, fun feel of the previous ownership. There is a an outside court that is quiet and comfortable and a smaller deck out front. There is a martini lounge and a dining room on the inside. There is often live music in the summer. They definitely get an “A” for atmosphere. One of the owners was wandering around greeting people and giving advice. He said they are rotating menu items to find the best combinations.

Most things on the menu sound interesting and innovative. Many titles are enhanced with “Z’s” and “Zing” We couldn’t resist a couple of the appetizers. They have something called a a Savory Cheezecake. It sounded weird, but the owner convinced us to try it. It was just slightly sweet, but also spicy with just a hint of “heat”. It came with a variety of crackers and just slightly sweet cookies Fabulous start. We also got their version of a caprese salad which added the interesting touch of pinenuts to the tomatoes and fresh mozarella. We really didn’t need a salad, but once again we had try the interesting sounding Asian salad. It is an entree salad, but you could get a small version for $5 and my wife and I split it (it was still plenty, plenty) We were surprised to find it had almost no greens, it was pretty much a spaghetti salad, but very flavorful with a nice touch of peanut-ginger dressing. I could have even stood a little more of that good dressing.

Entrees

OK, on to the main course. The excecution of the innovative ideas was a little bit inconsistent. I got the Zingington, their version of a Wellington. The tenderloin had a layer of bacon and a topping of something like a creamy spinach dip before it was wrapped in puff pastry. Don’t order this if you need your meat well done. It was beautifully prepared and very flavorful. Probably their best dish. It had a side of asparagus and spinach.

Entree #2

My wife got the whitefish on a bed of mashed potatoes with a roasted red pepper beurre blanc sauce. This was a fairly mellow dish, but quite good nonetheless. The side dish was mixture of lobster meat and spinach and asparagus. It was a very nice mixture.

Entree #3

Chicken Saltimbocca. This one fell a little short. It was basically breaded and fried chicken that turned out too dry. It had two interesting sauces, one from sun dried tomatoes and one a bit creamy, but even those didn’t salvage it completely. All in all this place is very good and may soon be great. Don’t tell the owner, but we found the The the dessert menu a bit uninspiring, so we opted to head over to Everyday People Cafe in Douglas where there is often live music on the back patio.

They have a very large wine list. We didn’t really check out the beers, because they make a big thing about the martinis. OK, here’s the problem. I just don’t get the foo foo martini fad. They always sound fun and have provocative names like lace panties or french kiss, but they tend to be bland flavored. And for $12 , I want flavor. Unfortunately, Zing’s martinis lived up to my low expectations. I tried the Cosmo and tasted my wife’s French Kiss (so to speak). Both were large, seemed to have plenty of alcohol and came in cool glasses, but alas, no great flavor. Our friend Mary ordered a standard Tanqueray martini, which can’t be spoiled really, but that was nearly $9. The top of our list so far for flavorful martinis is the Bistro Bella Vita in Grand Rapids.

This place is pricey. Mary got a sandwich for around $13, entrees were around $30. Salads are a la carte, but entrees at least, do come with a starch.

Zing gets big points for creativity. Many of their offerings do deliver in the flavor department. Despite the big price tag, we likely will go back when we have a day of hanging around Saugatuck / Douglas planned.