FRENCH LAUNDRY FENTON FULL

Spanish chorizo was bright in color and flavor, a smoked sausage more peppery. Having meandered in on back roads along Kensington Metropark to see spring trees (ironically flowered when we were there with clumps of snow), we were so hungry we ordered the charcuterie board before even perusing the many-page menu. It’s nothing much to look at inside, either, with mismatched vinyl chairs and tightly packed Formica tables under old wooden beams. We did, circled around to the back alley parking lot, found it full, and ended up hunting for a spot on a side street. Adelaide, a place so unassuming you can easily miss it as you drive by. Nearly twenty years on, it’s still housed in the same former laundry building at the corner of Shiawassee and S. And long before Crust’s current big baking facility opened in Fenton’s historic center four years ago, its inspired rustic baked goods were a selling point at the Laundry, the downtown restaurant that opened (originally as the French Laundry) in 1997. Crust Bakery there ships sturdy “Saskatoon Prairie Seed” loaves, delicate pain aux raisins buns, and other treats to Argus Farm Stop, where I’ve been scarfing them up. I’ve been curious about Fenton, between Brighton and Flint on US-23, reportedly becoming something of a foodie town. In the face of gridlock, it seemed a good time to head out of town.

FRENCH LAUNDRY FENTON FULL

Traffic completely clogged downtown Ann Arbor, as RVs chugging in for Michigan’s football spring game mixed with cars full of young people anticipating the next day’s Hash Bash.

French laundry fenton