Fine dining on the fairway

When most students think of dining options on campus, they picture Subway or Chick-fil-A . Few have yet to learn of Patti Finnegan’s Pub & Grille, a new restaurant located at the Steve Sharf Clubhouse on the east side of  campus.

Finnegan’s opened its doors to the public April 6, 2013.

Crank’s Catering of Shelby Township won the food service contract and with it, the responsibility of creating an original menu. Crank’s Catering is the “largest off site catering company in the country,” according to its website and Jeff Crank, the company’s owner, created a special menu just for Finnegan’s.

“There’s a wide variety of food on the menu,” Crank said.  “I just really came up with this menu to really invite not only the golfers but everybody, from kids to adults.”

The menu includes appetizers, steaks, burgers, sandwiches, and salads.  Burgers and sandwiches range from $8-9.50, salads from $8.50-10.50 and entrees from $14.50-34.50. There is also a fully stocked bar.

Some popular items include the Tomahawk Aged Ribeye (it’s aged for 58 days) and the English Style Fish-N-Chips, which is fried in an almond, pecan, oat and panko breading batter that Crank invented himself.

The restaurant prides itself on fresh, homemade fare. Fish is delivered four days a week from Marco Island in Florida and soups are made daily.

“Everything is homemade,” Crank said. “I will not serve anything I will not eat. We take great aggression going after making sure everything is perfect.”

That includes the name of the restaurant.

“We had the opportunity to call it anything we wanted, but with the donation of Mr. [Steve] Sharf and Patti Finnegan, we decided it would be best to keep Patti’s name,” Crank said.

Although there are currently no specials specifically for Oakland University students, Crank said Finnegan’s will be running “some great specials for [them] all through the winter months.”

Lauren Doucet, a waitress at Finnegan’s and a current OU student, described the restaurant’s atmosphere as “really warm and welcoming.”

“It’s very family-oriented,” Doucet said. “We really pride ourselves on our customer service.”