Alfresco at Amical
Dave Denison brought a vision for outdoor dining to downtown TC
By Nancy Krcek Allen
In 1993, when would-be restaurateur and chef Dave Denison and partners leased a former quilt store on Front Street, they knew outdoor dining would give their restaurant a special place in diners’ hearts. So with considerable expense, they pushed the building back, engineered a support system underneath it and poured 22,000 pounds of concrete.
It cost more than anticipated. “(I know) people thought, ‘what are you doing? It’s just a coffee shop,’” says Denison. “We felt it would differentiate us from every other place. I still don’t know who has a completely covered patio street side. There are people who make a special trip Up North every year. In their minds they are saying, ‘I’m going to eat outside and I’m going to eat at Amical.’ I’ve had people just run and sit down—like musical chairs. It’s like they won the lottery. You’ve got to smile, because that’s what the patio is all about.”
Amical’s patio seats 31 guests. With its roof, drop screens and gas infrared heaters, you can dine outdoors spring, summer and fall—with an occasional winter day thrown in.
“New Year’s Eve two years ago we served out there,” says Denison. “It was full of people during the day and at night. If it’s around 25 to 30 degrees—and not windy, it’s not bad—and if we put pads on the seats, fire up all the heaters and it gets full, it’s warm.”
RULES & REGS
Restaurateurs are no strangers to jumping through bureaucratic hoops. Outdoor seating has strict rules and regulations—especially if the restaurant serves liquor. That’s why you must have staff seat you at Amical. “You have to have control,” says Denison. “If you look at the deck at Scott’s Harbor Grill—there’s a way to get off the deck, but you can’t go in that way. You have to go through the restaurant and past the hostess. The Liquor Control Commission needs to know who is sitting where, so no drinks are sneaked off.”
The City monitors outdoor dining too. They enforce the liquor laws and make sure there is room for people to walk past. There must be a five-foot clearance from the curb or from the nearest obstacle in front (like a tree) to the edge of the seating area. If it juts out onto city property, the restaurant must remove it nightly.
Denison started his culinary career in Birmingham, Michigan. He met his wife, Nancy, who was a waitress at a restaurant, and they moved to California. Denison nabbed a job as a regional chef for a corporate restaurant chain and traveled around L.A., San Francisco and Sacramento. In 1989, the Denisons moved back to Michigan; in 1990 La Senorita hired Denison as their corporate chef and he traveled from Traverse City to Petoskey, Saginaw and Mt. Pleasant. Denison went on to work for two years with Jim Milliman at Hattie’s in Suttons Bay, going from corporate Mexican into fine dining.
A GREAT LOCATION
Denison’s Amical is now in the enviable position of what realtors and restaurateurs say all successful restaurants must have: location, location, location. “This didn’t always feel like a good location,” says Denison. “But, we felt that being on the 100 to 200 block of Front Street in Traverse City was the place to be. Regardless of what was happening, the Bay was not going anywhere. It took a lot of perseverance, a lot of belief and some capital to keep doing it. We had to wait it out and get people to discover us. So it evolved into a good location.”
Indeed, Amical’s patio, downtown location and French and Mediterranean bistro-style restaurant featuring a creative menu, eclectic wine list, award-winning desserts and cookbook-themed dinners, have won them a special place among Traverse City restaurants.
Lunch offers soups like French Onion ($4/$6) and house favorite Tomato Soup En Croute ($6), appetizers like Monterey Crab Cakes ($11) and Sesame Seared Tuna, an array of salads like Asparagus-Citrus Salad ($10) or Blackened Salmon Caesar ($11) and entrées like Shrimp with Israeli Couscous ($12), Chicken Pot Pie ($10), quiche, cracker crust pizzas, pasta, omelets, sandwiches, wraps and crepes.
Dinner is the lunch menu with more. Start with soup or appetizers like Pâté de Maison ($9) and Five-Onion Mussels ($12), many salads, and complete entrées like Roasted Chicken ($16), Marinated Stuffed Portobello ($17), Pappardelle with Braised Lamb ($18), Sugarcane-Marinated Duck ($20) or Slow Braised Local Rabbit ($22).
Sunday brunch offers omelet choices ($8/$9), egg filled-croissants ($8), Amical French Toast with almond Bavarian crème and berries ($10), Fresh Fruit Crêpe ($7), Belgian Waffle with fruit ($8), Sautéed Tilapia on wilted spinach and mushrooms ($11), Simple Breakfast with scrambled eggs, potatoes, fruit and bread ($7) and Eggs Milano—basted eggs, tomato polenta and shaved ham with pesto hollandaise ($9).
“Our guests say over and over, ‘you know, every time I come here it’s consistent—it’s good service and good food.’ That’s important to us,” says Denison. “It’s boring to some, but it’s hard to do. Our goal is to keep improving—because you’re only as good as your last meal.”
Amical
229 E. Front Street Traverse City, MI 49684
(231) 941-8888 FAX (231) 941-8893
www.amical.com
Dinner served nightly 5:00 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Lunch served Monday - Saturday at 11 a.m.
Sunday Brunch served 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
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Dave Denison brought a vision for outdoor dining to downtown TC
By Nancy Krcek Allen
In 1993, when would-be restaurateur and chef Dave Denison and partners leased a former quilt store on Front Street, they knew outdoor dining would give their restaurant a special place in diners’ hearts. So with considerable expense, they pushed the building back, engineered a support system underneath it and poured 22,000 pounds of concrete.
It cost more than anticipated. “(I know) people thought, ‘what are you doing? It’s just a coffee shop,’” says Denison. “We felt it would differentiate us from every other place. I still don’t know who has a completely covered patio street side. There are people who make a special trip Up North every year. In their minds they are saying, ‘I’m going to eat outside and I’m going to eat at Amical.’ I’ve had people just run and sit down—like musical chairs. It’s like they won the lottery. You’ve got to smile, because that’s what the patio is all about.”
Amical’s patio seats 31 guests. With its roof, drop screens and gas infrared heaters, you can dine outdoors spring, summer and fall—with an occasional winter day thrown in.
“New Year’s Eve two years ago we served out there,” says Denison. “It was full of people during the day and at night. If it’s around 25 to 30 degrees—and not windy, it’s not bad—and if we put pads on the seats, fire up all the heaters and it gets full, it’s warm.”
RULES & REGS
Restaurateurs are no strangers to jumping through bureaucratic hoops. Outdoor seating has strict rules and regulations—especially if the restaurant serves liquor. That’s why you must have staff seat you at Amical. “You have to have control,” says Denison. “If you look at the deck at Scott’s Harbor Grill—there’s a way to get off the deck, but you can’t go in that way. You have to go through the restaurant and past the hostess. The Liquor Control Commission needs to know who is sitting where, so no drinks are sneaked off.”
The City monitors outdoor dining too. They enforce the liquor laws and make sure there is room for people to walk past. There must be a five-foot clearance from the curb or from the nearest obstacle in front (like a tree) to the edge of the seating area. If it juts out onto city property, the restaurant must remove it nightly.
Denison started his culinary career in Birmingham, Michigan. He met his wife, Nancy, who was a waitress at a restaurant, and they moved to California. Denison nabbed a job as a regional chef for a corporate restaurant chain and traveled around L.A., San Francisco and Sacramento. In 1989, the Denisons moved back to Michigan; in 1990 La Senorita hired Denison as their corporate chef and he traveled from Traverse City to Petoskey, Saginaw and Mt. Pleasant. Denison went on to work for two years with Jim Milliman at Hattie’s in Suttons Bay, going from corporate Mexican into fine dining.
A GREAT LOCATION
Denison’s Amical is now in the enviable position of what realtors and restaurateurs say all successful restaurants must have: location, location, location. “This didn’t always feel like a good location,” says Denison. “But, we felt that being on the 100 to 200 block of Front Street in Traverse City was the place to be. Regardless of what was happening, the Bay was not going anywhere. It took a lot of perseverance, a lot of belief and some capital to keep doing it. We had to wait it out and get people to discover us. So it evolved into a good location.”
Indeed, Amical’s patio, downtown location and French and Mediterranean bistro-style restaurant featuring a creative menu, eclectic wine list, award-winning desserts and cookbook-themed dinners, have won them a special place among Traverse City restaurants.
Lunch offers soups like French Onion ($4/$6) and house favorite Tomato Soup En Croute ($6), appetizers like Monterey Crab Cakes ($11) and Sesame Seared Tuna, an array of salads like Asparagus-Citrus Salad ($10) or Blackened Salmon Caesar ($11) and entrées like Shrimp with Israeli Couscous ($12), Chicken Pot Pie ($10), quiche, cracker crust pizzas, pasta, omelets, sandwiches, wraps and crepes.
Dinner is the lunch menu with more. Start with soup or appetizers like Pâté de Maison ($9) and Five-Onion Mussels ($12), many salads, and complete entrées like Roasted Chicken ($16), Marinated Stuffed Portobello ($17), Pappardelle with Braised Lamb ($18), Sugarcane-Marinated Duck ($20) or Slow Braised Local Rabbit ($22).
Sunday brunch offers omelet choices ($8/$9), egg filled-croissants ($8), Amical French Toast with almond Bavarian crème and berries ($10), Fresh Fruit Crêpe ($7), Belgian Waffle with fruit ($8), Sautéed Tilapia on wilted spinach and mushrooms ($11), Simple Breakfast with scrambled eggs, potatoes, fruit and bread ($7) and Eggs Milano—basted eggs, tomato polenta and shaved ham with pesto hollandaise ($9).
“Our guests say over and over, ‘you know, every time I come here it’s consistent—it’s good service and good food.’ That’s important to us,” says Denison. “It’s boring to some, but it’s hard to do. Our goal is to keep improving—because you’re only as good as your last meal.”
Amical
229 E. Front Street Traverse City, MI 49684
(231) 941-8888 FAX (231) 941-8893
www.amical.com
Dinner served nightly 5:00 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Lunch served Monday - Saturday at 11 a.m.
Sunday Brunch served 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
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