Luca's Chophouse Restaurant is located at the corner of Rochester and Tienken in the Papa Joe's plaza. Luca's is a steak house that closely resembles the Rochester Chop House. You'll find similar menu items and you'll see them working hard to impress and live up to the standards of the Rochester Chop House.

In the place of old Cafe Habana in the historic building at the corner of Fifth and Main Streets emerges the new Monk Beer Abbey Restaurant. Monk Beer Abbey restaurant is part of the expansion project of the Bastone Brewery. All of the restaurants are under the same ownership, and we'll soon see a second level and an outdoor patio as part of the expansion as well.

Rather new on the block but already getting a reputation as of one Oakland County's best sandwich shops, Chadd's Bistro in Rochester Hills opened about a year ago in the Little Caesar's plaza off Auburn Rd. just west of Dequindre.

We've been to Vinsetta Garage (review) and Clarkston Union (review), so the last restaurant left from that ownership group was The Union Woodshop. It was difficult because of the hours (they don't serve lunch) and dinner time is ALWAYS a wait. It took us more than years of sporadic attempts to actually get there without a 45 minute wait! Union Woodshop works on the pager system, and the hostess mentioned that she's only seen one day in the last three years she's worked there when she did not have to use the pagers.

Click here for pics of Union Woodshop in Clarkston, Michigan.

The Stony Creek Roadhouse makes for a great hangout with its casual atmosphere and warm, wood accented up north decor. The staff is welcoming, genuinely kind, and offers up some nice customer service. If you're familiar with G's in Lake Orion (or G's locations in "Up North" Michigan), Stony Creek Roadhouse reminds me of that in terms of style.

I went to the J. Alexander's in West Bloomfield for lunch one day, and was surprised at how busy this place was during a lunch hour. I expect for there to be a long wait during the dinner rush, but the lunch crowd we waited through was a valid indicator that J. Alexander's has some good food.

Click here for a photo gallery of J. Alexander's in West Bloomfield Twp., MI.

Jersey Mike's Subs just opened recently in the old Blockbuster location in Rochester Hills at Wabash and Rochester Rd. I tried it out with my family, and was suprised to see that it began in 1956. It began in a time when subs were a relatively new item. This paired with an ideal location in New Jersey marked the beginning of Jersey Mike's success.

Hibachi House Grill & Bar is a Japanese steakhouse in downtown Rochester. Like other Japanese steakhouses, Hibachi House Grill & Bar prepares the food on a grill at the table, with some entertainment mixed in. Hibachi House Grill & Bar opened in January 2012.

Click here for a photo gallery of Hibachi House in Downtown Rochester, Michigan.

Downtown Oxford is another great Oakland County destination. It's filled with many great shops and places to eat. One place that is well known for having great tasting authentic Mexican food is Casa Real.

Click here for a photo gallery of Casa Real Mexican Restaurant in Downtown Oxford, MI.