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DINING GUIDE 2018

WELCOME TO flavor, Metro Times’ guide of

sorts to the regional dining scene. As usual, we offer some long and loving looks at fine-dining dishes, selecting seven for an intimate close-up. But we also went in search of somewhat grander breakfast and brunch menus, with our picks for what pays off on your plate. For good measure, we’ve included few pieces saluting the region’s increasingly ethnic flavors, such as increasingly authentic Chinese fare, or the multifarious foods of the Middle East, or even the joys of shopping at metro Detroit’s plethora of ethnic supermarkets.

We hope you enjoy this guide to metro Detroit dining as much as we did writing it. Please, with our compliments, dig in.

The taste of justice

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Magnificent seven

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Treating people right pays off in flavor

By Michael Jackman

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Art Director - Eric Millikin Graphic Designers - Paul Martinez, Haimanti Germain

Dishes worth describing in detail

By Michael Jackman

Stacked Meet the next generation of metro Detroit’s sandwich chefs

By Tom Perkins

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Notes of a hamburger man

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ABC and beyond

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Buyer’s market

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Joy in the morning

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Recipes

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What we learned searching for metro Detroit’s best burgers

By Michael Jackman

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A culinary course in Chinese — one step at a time

By Michael Jackman

Finding metro Detroit’s international appetite — in ethnic groceries

By Aleanna Siacon

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Middle Eastern cuisines offer diners much more than falafel

By MT staff

Six ways to keep the most important meal poppin’

By Adam Woodhead

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Listings

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A diverse group of diners meet at Rose’s Fine Foods in Detroit. Jacob Lewkow

THE TASTE OF JUSTICE Treating people right pays off in flavor

By Michael Jackman

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he 21st century has seen an explosion of books and documentaries arguing that eating is a political act. It began in 2001 with the publication of Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation, then gathered steam in 2004 with the film Super Size Me. It reached a higher pitch in 2006 with the publication of Michael Pollan’s book The Omnivore’s Dilemma.

The message of these films and books is clear: Industrial-

ized food systems take a toll on our health, the environment, and the people who work in the industry.

The dining end of that story has been coming into finergrained view more recently.

Five years ago, Tracie McMillan’s book The American Way of Eating chronicled her undercover work at a family-oriented restaurant chain and as a picker in the agricultural fields of California. The next year, Saru Jayaraman of the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United

wrote Behind the Kitchen Door, kitchen, or even raising it in the field are treated well. and wrote last year’s Forked: The scope of the problem A New Standard for American is best summed up in a video Dining. from Jayaraman’s group called, While Jayaraman and Mc“Do You Eat Ethically?” It shows Millan have set their sights a well-dressed young couple largely on fast-paced chains, out at a fancy-looking restaumistreated workers aren’t rant. As the titles show, they restricted only to them. Just are about to dig into what because restaurants put a presounds like a wonderful meal mium on ecologically sound that illustrates a commitment practices such as local sourcto sustainability: organic, freeing, heirloom varieties, or freerange animal husbandry, it’s no range filet mignon and locally sourced produce, compleguarantee the workers serving mented with a biodynamic, your meal, preparing it in the

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sustainable wine list.

Then the camera pulls back into the kitchen, where their meal was made, showing the workers. Many of the staff working the front of the house earn $2.13 an hour, can’t afford health insurance, or are victims of wage theft. The runner has 15 years of experience but has never been offered a chance to be promoted to a server.

The pastry chef struggles to find childcare while at work, and is sexually harassed daily.

The line cook is working while sick and cannot afford to see a doctor.

These sorts of conditions aren’t that much different from those described by George Orwell in Down and Out in Paris and London 100 years ago, ing how the dining business where the narrator worked doesn’t need to exploit the more than 17 hours a day at people who put food on dina chic restaurant — and lived ers’ plates. in poverty. As anybody who’s The state director of ROCseen Michael Moore’s Where Michigan, Dr. Alicia Renee Farto Invade Next knows, it’s an ris, says that business practices understatement that workers can be brought into line with in Europe today have it a bit more fundamental questions. better than 100 years ago. Yet “What does it require to uplift such conditions persist in the United States, especially at fast our humanity?” she says. “How do we want to be viewed as food restaurants and family a society? Do we want to be dining chains. viewed as caring and respectBut that’s changing, as ful of all people in that we are many restaurants embrace concerned about the ethics of the so-called ‘triple bottom dining?” line” approach, in which not Farris says the center purjust profits but people and the sues its goals by trying to work planet are taken into account. with business owners to show In fact, some locals are leading them that better practices can the way. be profitable. You can run a restaurant with fair wages that don’t rely on tipping.

Jayaraman’s organization, “Yes, costs have to be adthe Restaurant Opportunities justed, we acknowledge that,” Center, actually maintains a Farris says, “but we should branch right in Detroit. In fact, not be focused on balancing it runs its own restaurant, Colour books on the backs of ors Detroit, which puts social vulnerable populations, payjustice at the top of the menu, ing people the lowest that we and earns rave reviews doing can.” The center’s association it, with online ratings averagis ready to work with entrepreing from four to five stars. It’s neurs to suggest other ways to all part of a mission aimed at cut costs and improve sustainhelping transform the state’s ability, attract a skilled workrestaurant industry by show-

Zingerman’s shares profits with employees. Jacob Lewkow

force, and how to fine-tune procurement by buying from local farmers or even joining with other restaurants to buy as collectives.

“We want businesses to be profitable. We want businesses to be sustainable in the long term,” she says. “We just have to look at our business plans differently and rethink some things in order to have to ensure that people are able to meet their basic needs as well as to live what we consider the American dream: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

How can you be happy if you’re in a constant struggle as to how you’re going to pay your lights, your gas, the kind of things that are basic needs?”

The center also has a consumer arm, Diners United, made up of diners who value restaurants demonstrating a commitment to workplace justice. “These are people who, when they go into a place, they want to see that racial and gender justice are taking place,” Farris says. “They want to see that there are women in prominent places in the restaurant, whether that be management or a banquet captain,

versus low-paid servers.”

The goals even go beyond the well-being of individual servers, bussers, runners, or cooks. The way Farris sees it, higher wages translate into a more vigorous economy for everybody. “The more people are paid, the more disposable income they have, and the more they can buy in other places,” she says. “So that actually contributes to the well-being of the economy. If people have money to spend, they usually spend it.”

It sounds like a tall order: Wages high enough to not rely on tips, opportunities for advancement to all employees, working toward racial and gender parity. But Farris doesn’t stop there, proposing training, opportunities for education, hiring people with barriers to employment, even profit-sharing. Is it pie in the sky? Well, not when you consider several restaurants in and around Detroit already embody many of these approaches to running their restaurants.

Farris points to Russell Street Deli, “where they make sure their employees are taken good care of and have ben-

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Jacob Lewkow

efits,” and Rose’s Fine Dining, where servers and dishwashers start at $10 an hour and have tips split among them, as “another place that gives great opportunities.”

“That’s just a few,” she says.

“There are others that are taking the high road to profitability.”

One of the businesses Farris suggests as a model employer is Zingerman’s, which runs a traditional restaurant at its Zingerman’s Roadhouse location. The servers there are paid under a fairly traditional compensation model of a modest wage plus tips, but it regularly adds up to more than $20 an hour. At the company’s newest restaurant, Korean eatery Miss Kim, there are no tipped employees, allowing front-ofthe-house and the back-ofthe-house staff to enjoy similar

and you can buy a share in that, a cross-section of employees, wages. and they’re responsible for and that pays a dividend every What’s more, being a Zingmaking sure we’re an inclusive year we’re profitable.” erman’s employee has some and inviting workplace. They Zingerman’s even gives its outsized benefits. give themselves goals, and workers a seat at the table “We try to pursue social juswe try to meet them.” And tice across the board,” says co- where the company is manthe company offers plenty aged. There are 17 managing owner Paul Saginaw. “We’ve of ways to advance beyond partners running 10 separate always paid a higher than staff. “Almost all the folks that businesses, and three regular minimum wage. Currently our are in management were not staff workers.

Through a sysminimum entry-level wage is hired in as managers. The only tem of nomination and selec$11 an hour, and then you go folks that are not home-grown tion, employees are placed up from there. We’re working would be technical and adon the board, where, Saginaw hard to increase that. We also ministrative experts,” Saginaw says, “they have the full decihave gain-sharing, so all the points out. “You know, a food sion-making authority of partbusinesses have annual plans, business is not necessarily ners. So that the staff perspecand if they exceed that annual going to be able to grow a tive is always present in every plan, part of the gain on that decision that we make.” What’s technical expert or a human plan is shared with all employresources expert or a financial more, all corporate decisions ees.” analysis expert, and so those are arrived at by consensus.

Not only does Zingerman’s are positions where we recruit “We don’t vote on anything,” share profits with employees, from outside. The rest of the Saginaw says. they invite long-term emmanagement team is recruited Diversity and opportunity for ployees into a form of brand internally.” advancement are also a core ownership. “If you’re there for Saginaw and company also part of Zingerman’s mission. two years, you can buy a share try to lower traditional barriers The business has a “diversity in the brand,” Saginaw says. to employment. As he puts it, and inclusion committee” that “The brand is a separate busi“We have folks that have been Saginaw says is “made up of ness, the intellectual property,

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previously incarcerated, we have folks that have that are differently abled — and we do that across the board.”

And those aren’t all the lengths to which Zingerman’s goes to ensure its employees are happy and productive.

“Five percent of all of our profit goes into a fund that we call our Community Chest,” Saginaw says. “That’s an emergency relief fund for employees that are experiencing a financial crisis.”

Saginaw says Zingerman’s also works to ensure that even the people who raise the food are treated well. “We certainly like to know about the integrity down the food-chain supply lines, and we are very careful who we buy from,” Saginaw says. But there’s no formal inspection program or checklist.

(Other businesses, such as Corktown’s Farmer’s Hand, an all-local, artisanal grocery and cafe, carefully vet their vendors, inspecting organic practices on farms and checking on working conditions.)

That said, almost everything else appears on Zingerman’s food justice checklist. More surprising still is that Saginaw and company would rather not tout their practices.

“I’m a little wary of organizations that use their acts of charity or what they believe to be social justice as a blatant marketing ploy, and so because of that I’m very hesitant to blow that horn,” he says.

“We’re just gonna tell you that you’re going to get a really great experience, you’re going to have great service and great food and that’s what we’re here to do.”

Is the dining public willing to reward restaurants that embrace a social justice approach to dining? Not all contenders have been able to survive in the long term. Burger-andshake concept Moo Cluck

Moo offered starting wages of $12 an hour at its Canton and Dearborn Heights locations, but closed in 2016 when the company shifted to food trucks and catering instead.

In truth, examples of other restaurants that treat employees well would seem to trade in more sophisticated offerings. They might range from the creative brunch dishes at Rose’s to the artisanal pizzas at Supino to the sandwiches that come with wine pairings at Mudgie’s to the high-toned fare at Mabel Gray. It suggests that restaurateurs who provide the extra effort in the food largely embrace many of these concepts already.

It makes sense. As Alicia Farris puts it, “Happy food always tastes better. If you remember mom or grandmom cooking in the kitchen, you could feel the love from that preparation. Same kind of thing in restaurants. When people are cared for, I call it ‘happy food.’ If the chef is happy, the servers are happy, and people all along that continuum are happy, then of course the food is going to be more joyfully prepared and served.”

Farris thinks it makes a difference. “It sets the atmosphere and the taste in terms of how people are preparing it,” she says. “Are they preparing it because they’re really committed to giving these people a good-tasting, quality meal? I definitely think it shows when people are passionate about what they’re doing and feeling that they’ve been cared for. It really makes a difference.”

Or as Zingerman’s Paul Saginaw says, “I believe that generosity leads to joy. And if you have a belief that there’s such a thing as ‘having enough,’ then it’s very, very liberating.

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MAGNIFICENT SEVEN Dishes worth describing in detail

By Michael Jackman

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ooner or later, everybody has that moment when they take a bite of a dish and have their socks absolutely knocked off. It’s less common than you might think. Sure, it’s never been easier to post a picture of tonight’s dinner online and scream, “OMG,” or “au jus sauce FTW!” But that deeply personal moment when you taste something that surprises you with how it mingles freshness, flavor, and flair proves elusive.

That’s why we wanted to take a closer look at some of the dishes our restaurant critics, friends, and co-workers praised as standouts.

What we found was a representative mix of upscale and casual, red meat and vegetarian, and city and suburban. We caught up with chefs or owners who were eager to discuss the significant work that goes into preparing each dish, and why it connects with diners.

BABY-BACK RIBS, PARC

Our reviewer raved about the dry-rubbed, honey-glazed ribs at Detroit’s Parc, calling them “crusty yet tender” with “just the right touch of sweet.” In order to obtain that flavor and texture, the kitchen puts in a couple days of work on each piece of meat.

Jordan Hoffman, Parc’s executive chef, tells us, “It’s a coupleday process. They’re seasoned, then dry-rubbed, then we slowroast them, then we do them over the wood-fired grill, then they finish with the glaze, a little bit of Calabrian chile puree, and then the slaw on top. It’s a time thing, and also sourcing a really, really

fantastic rib.”

It’s all done in-house, with an attention to detail that means not only is the meat sourced as locally as possible, but even the combination of oak and hickory hardwoods.

“It’s almost like curing your meat,” Hoffman says. “That’s why the flavor almost permeates throughout the ribs.”

BRONZINO SPECIAL, ASSAGGI

At Ferndale’s Assaggi, the bronzino is a special, but it’s also one they do all the time, which goes to show how popular it is with diners. Everything about the dish shows a little bit of extra thought and effort.

The fish itself is a Mediterranean sea bass, lately served at Assaggi in two fillets crisscrossing each other. The fish are prepared very simply, with olive oil, salt, and pepper. They are pan-seared and finished off in the oven. The crispy skin of the delicate fish is left on — the fil-

Baby-back ribs, Parc. Sarah Rahal

lets are so tender they’d fall apart without it to hold them together.

Given Assaggi’s seasonal leanings, the presentation rotates throughout the year. In early autumn, it may appear upon a bed of toasted fregola sarda, a ball-shaped Sardinian pasta made of semolina and water that resembles a jumbo-sized couscous. It may be enriched with chopped kale, butternut squash, even capers that mimic the shape of the pasta. And that’s not to mention the toppings, which may include a citrus gremolata, and even heirloom tomatoes when they’re in season.

Taken together, the bronzino is a dish full of so many complementary flavors that the random combinations on each forkful produce something new and pleasant with each bite. Add in a bit of gracious hospitality from the restaurant’s George Gize and Josie Rotondo Knapp, and you can see why diners have kept Assaggi in business for almost 20 years.

BERENJENAS FRITAS, LA FERIA

With its reclaimed-wood tables and exposed brick walls, Detroit’s La Feria may at first seem to present too relaxed an environment for upscale fare, but owner Elias Khalil insists the small plates turned out by La Feria’s kitchen are on par with anything that touches down on a white tablecloth. And his customers can’t get enough of the berenjenas fritas, or fried eggplant.

The $6 dish, which Khalil says can be found in corner bars all over Spain, uses the normally bland vegetable to absorb flavors. With much laughter, Khalil tells us, “Weekly, people say, ’Oh, I hate eggplant! I don’t eat any

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Assaggi’s bronzino can feature playful touches, such as the way the capers in this dish mimic the shape of the fregola sarda. Rachel Timlin

eggplant. But that – that’s something else!’”

“We marinate the eggplant in beer, and then we batter them and fry them and then we drizzle them with honey and sea salt,” Khalil says. “And so it’s the honey and the sea salt that create that explosion of sensations in your mouth. People just love the interplay of the sweet and the salty, as well as the breaded nature of the dish. … It’s a fun tapa. It ends up being a dessert or a precursor to dessert here at the restaurant.”

“It’s a great option for vegetarians and for non die-hard vegan eaters,” he says, “because, technically, the honey makes it nonvegan, but some people have some flexibility.”

THE MARROW SPECIAL, CONSERVA

Earlier this year, MT reviewer Jane Slaughter praised the dishes at Ferndale’s Conserva that “strain the limits of creative deliciousness,” but singled out the marrow special as “the most outrageous,” describing how Conserva “roasted six-inch bones (think Flintstones) with wild royal trumpet mushrooms for a tapenade heaped on top.”

Chef-owner Matthew Baldridge tells us, “We’ve been doing it a little different lately. We’ve been piping a potato soufflé across the top of the marrow, and roasting it together. So the potato gets really light and fluffy as it bakes and the marrow liquefies underneath.

… The addition of the potato soufflé really just kind of set the whole dish off.”

The soufflé is made by folding stiff-peaked egg whites into a potato purée. After roasting, the dish presents a range of textures: a nice crunchy crust, then the airy potato, which becomes more savory toward the bottom where the marrow flavor is drawn up. It’s a prelude to the feast of marrow ready to be scooped out of the pair of 6-inch beef femur bones.

But Baldridge then lacquers on another layer of flavor, topping the creations with either a wild mushroom tapenade or a gremolata.

The tapenade is made with finely chopped royal trumpet mush-

rooms cooked down with a little bit of garlic, enlivened with a bit of balsamic vinegar to add acidity and just a touch of sweetness.

“When you cook balsamic down, it gets rather sweet,” Baldridge says. “So we try to keep it balanced so it’s not going to be too sweet. You still get the earthiness from the mushrooms themselves, but with the acidity as well from the balsamic vinegar. It adds sort of a darker, deeper acidic flavor to it.”

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gremolata adds that acidity and then the fresh herb and the raw garlic to it, which brightens up the entire dish.”

It’s a delicate balancing act, the sort of thing Baldridge specializes in, creating dishes with many different textures, in which sweet, salty, acidic, and rich all play against one another.

CRAB-STUFFED ATLANTIC FLOUNDER, JOE MUER SEAFOOD

Downtown’s Joe Muer Seafood has a sprawling menu attuned to up-to-the-moment dining tastes, yet it still serves faithful renditions of about a half-dozen classics from the restaurant’s early days. One of those dishes is the enormously popular crab-stuffed Atlantic flounder.

To call it one of those “more is more” dishes is to ignore its complexity. Anybody can pile a plate high with fish, but the quality and, yes, even subtlety of this dish showcase the Muer touch.

“We try to get it as close to what it was when the old Joe Muer’s was on Gratiot,” head chef Eric Ward says. “We use fresh Atlantic flounder. We get it in every day.”

The fish is filleted, then one of the fillets is covered with the restaurant’s crab mix. It’s the same mix the kitchen uses to make the restaurant’s well-known crab balls, another old-time specialty. Then it’s topped with the other fillet, given a broil, and then served with a grainy mustard beurre blanc sauce.

That French sauce, made with white wine, butter, and mustard, gives the dish that extra kick. “It’s got a little twanginess,” Ward says, “a little acid bite to it.”

But most diners will find joy in the way the light, flaky fish plays off against the crab stuffing, which is enriched with a bit of breading to bind it together. “It’s definitely rich,” Ward says, “but flounder is a really light, delicate fish.”

LAMB MELT, MABEL GRAY

In her favorable review of Hazel

Park’s Mabel Gray, MT reviewer Jane Slaughter zoomed in on the lamb melt as proof of chef James Rigato’s deft hand. One night, Slaughter wrote, “it was topped with Rigato’s version of pub cheese: aged cheddar churned with cream cheese, fresh horseradish, pickled peppers, and beer.”

Slaughter praised “the buttery warm tenderness of the Michigan lamb, topped with the cool cheese, the spicing of each just at the right heat level.” On another Selden Standard’s vegetable carpaccio: The dish’s painterly aspects are occasion, “it came with marinated embodied in white daikon shavings trimmed with green, set off against curls of carrot and a couple paper-thin rounds of purple daikon. mushrooms, Swiss cheese, and a Marvin Shaouni courtesy Selden Standard Russian dressing labeled ’kimchi,’ Swiss combination found in so all on house-made challah,” also “We shave them super thin on many burgers can also be found meeting with Slaughter’s praise. the mandoline,” Hollyday tells us, in the humble “mushroom melt.”

Though the menu at Mabel “then we give them a little soak in “They’re usually done pretty poorGray is ever-changing, no dish is ice water, which helps firm them ly,” Rigato says, “with flavorless ever retired permanently. Rigato up a bit and keeps them cold and mushrooms and Swiss.” Instead, tells us the lamb melt appears crispy for the crunch, the texture.”

Rigato prefers specially pickled on the menu several times a year.

The dish then gets dressed in mushrooms, and uses kimchi to And it’s worth waiting for, as the a lemon vinaigrette and finished add a bit of funk and spice to the dish showcases Rigato’s fondness with Parmesan cheese, black peptired Russian sauce, which is usufor diner fare, as well as his talent per, chives, and capers. ally a mere ketchup-mayo hybrid. at giving hoary classics a dramatic “It’s a really simple kind of “Again, you’re talking about very update that smacks of fine-dining preparation,” Hollyday says, “but loud flavors in a very familiar forrazzle-dazzle.

I think it’s great because it’s light, mat, so you’re comforting people “I kinda like the so-called patty fresh, and healthy, but at the who want this melty, gooey burgmelt traditionally served on sliced same time it has some weight to er, but elevating the experience bread in diners,” Rigato says, “but it. For me, it’s just super satisfying through acidity and funk.”

I personally like the melt on an how the texture of it is fresh and English muffin. It’s a bit of a sidecrunchy.” step from the traditional sliced To make the dish more visually VEGETABLE CARPACCIO, bread. English muffins are easy appealing, Hollyday will select SELDEN STANDARD to hold, kind of reminiscent of heirloom varieties that come in Some might think a vegetarian an Egg McMuffin, and griddle different colors, some with eyeriff on traditional beef carpaccio bread is very porous, so it soaks catching candystriping. Not only might be taking culinary playfulup all the drippings very well, and does it amp up the color palette ness a bit too far. But chef Andy stands up to all that gooey cheese of a dish that’s known for its Hollyday’s vegetable carpaccio and rich lamb.” presentation — it’s named after ($10) makes sense when you conAs for that “pub cheese,” Rigato sider that the original dish features a painter — it also adds to the calls it “the star of the dish. It’s playfulness, surprising diners as only whisper-thin slices of raw gooey, funky, and has a lot of they bite into red carrots and orbeef and gets most of its flavor sharp flavors in it. It’s kind of like ange beets. “You have a few extra from lemon juice and olive oil. if your grandma made the cheese colors popping,” Hollyday says.

Plus Hollyday uses shavings dip for your Super Bowl party, and “It makes it look really beautiful. of seasonal produce, especially makes the dish almost like half There are so many possibilities it’s sturdy root vegetables and the grilled cheese sandwich, half patty almost endless: heirloom radishes, like. A vegetable carpaccio might melt, more like a big, intense, beets, carrots, purple kohlrabi, include ultra-thin slices of celery gooey diner burger. Obviously, all green daikon. …” root, kohlrabi, beets, carrots, fenthat funk in the cheese goes well “Honestly, that combination of nel, or radish. Hollyday and crew with lamb, because lamb loves big seek out the highest-quality veglemon juice, olive oil, and Parmeflavors.” san is going to be tasty on almost etables they can find from local The other preparation Slaughter anything. And the cheese can farmers, and they often use the singled out for praise also draws easily be omitted and it’s just as sweeter, more tender baby carrots on diner culture: The mushroomdelicious as a vegan dish.” n and beets.

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STACKED!

Meet the next generation of metro Detroit sandwich chefs

By Tom Perkins

M

etro Detroit’s longtime sandwich institutions have always done it right and deserve respect — Mudgie’s, Lunch Box, Russell Street, Bread Basket, Lou’s, and a few others continue to reign as Detroit’s supreme sandwich makers. But sandwiches are everywhere, and — beyond the aforementioned reliable kitchens — the ubiquitous hoagie, hero, panino, sub, sammie, or samuel can feel a little uninspired.

In that way, it’s a tough market to trade in, but a new generation of sandwich stackers are adding a fresh spin to the art.

At the weekly Boboville pop-

Sandwiches from La Pecora Nera. Tom Perkins

up in Hamtramck, for example, chef Blair Wills is offering rarefor-Detroit sandwiches like his take on the classic French croque madame. It arrives with slices of salty, smoked Canadian maple ham between grilled Milano Bakery farm bread. Strong Gruyère and mild mozzarella ooze from the slices. The béchamel sauce — rich and nutty with a light cayenne heat — keeps the plate moist, and the small stack sits under an over-easy egg that’s crowned with black pepper.

For his Cubano, Wills smokes pork shoulder for 12 hours, then stacks it with sliced ham, dill pickles, and Swiss cheese on an El Gloria bakery roll. Similar care goes into the grilled porchetta.

The first time we ordered it, it

arrived with pieces of bread, meat, and other toppings spread out on the plate. We complained that it wasn’t a sandwich. Wills clarified: “It’s a deconstructed sandwich.”

To prepare the deconstructed porchetta sandwich, Wills rubs a whole pork belly in garlic, herbs, and oil. That’s tied and braised slow for four hours, then broiled for 30 to 40 minutes to crisp the skin.

Wills, who started his kitchen by building sandwiches at the venerable Lunch Box, says that his approach is to keep it simple and authentic.

“If I’m putting a sandwich on the menu, then it’s a classic that I can’t find much of somewhere else in town, like the croque ma-

dame, or the Cubano, or even the porchetta — sandwiches that aren’t available here that are staples in other places around the world,” he says. “I try to do my take on those, but do it how it’s traditionally done. And I try to source the best products and use local bakeries, like La Gloria, and get real Cuban roll.”

Like Wills, Pat Hingst, owner of M.C. ’Wiches, takes the extra effort in preparing his sandwich meats. Nine of 11 are smoked, cured, or roasted in-house.

Take, for instance, ‘Wiches’ Reuben. The 8-inch bun holds paper-thin slices of smoked pastrami with crisped edges. ’Wiches makes the 12 homemade sauces that appear throughout its menu, its bread is prepared

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Torta from MCantina. Tom Perkins

from scratch, and its cookies and soups are also homemade from original recipes. And that’s the type of thought and effort that’s missing from similar sub shops.

“We politely point out that you can do better,” says Hingst, who recently opened his second location in downtown Ferndale this year.

In Hamtramck, Boostan Cafe opened last year, and it rolls the flavors of Yemen, Egypt, North America, and the Mediterranean into its pitas. It does the standards like shawarma and kebab well, but more interesting is its inventive shish shat — a TexMex-Mediterranean crossover with shredded chicken, tomatoes, pickles, jalapeños, and a tangy “Boostan sauce” (traditional garlic sauce combined with house-made ranch, and a few other spices) wrapped in a pita.

For a brief moment, Corktown’s Rubbed traded in the Italian sandwiches, but it fizzled. La Pecora Nera (“black sheep”) opened earlier this year, and partly filled the Italian sammy void downtown. It offers sandwiches like the loaded Italiano, which sports five meats — mortadella, salami, capicola, turkey, and ham — plus provolone and Italian dressing.

But the standout isn’t Italian at all — it’s the Reuben. As Metro

Times food critic Jane Slaughter wrote in her review, the sandwich is “lightly toasted for crunch but also because of the excellent red cabbage slaw and house-made Thousand Island. As on the other sandwiches, the meat is piled high, and I thought the corned beef shone best on its own.”

There’s also the Mexican torta, of which a fine version is prepared by chef Junior Merino at M Cantina in Dearborn, which opened earlier this year. Their carne enchilada with chile-marinated pork is served in a sloppy mix between two pieces of panini pressed teleras.

And let’s not forget the Vietnamese and the bahn mi. In Madison Heights, Que Huong’s sweet and sticky barbecue

The soba sandwich from Hipp House. Tom Perkins

pork sandwich comes on crusty 8-inch French bread buns with a forest of cilantro, jumbo slices of crunchy, fresh jalapeño, and thick carrot shreds. It’s not on Que Huong’s menu, so you’ll have to ask the kitchen to make it.

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NOTES OF A HAMBURGER MAN We spent months searching for metro Detroit’s best burgers, and learned a thing or two

By Michael Jackman

F

Shutterstock

or about a year, we ran a column in Metro Times called “Burger Quest.”

We had thought it would be fun to look at a different burger in each installment and judge it on its merits. Maybe we bit off more than Yours Truly could chew: It turned out that having a burger with clockwork regularity challenged the intestinal fortitude in unforeseen ways.

We began to approach the plate with a bit of apprehension, asking if we could really eat another hamburger. Or wondering if readers may have warmly accepted a column called “Salad Quest” instead.

But we experienced it all: the electric anticipation of placing an order, the aweinspiring first bites, the steely discipline required to finish lesser burgers, and the dizzying torpor as our system strained to digest each belly bomb.

But over many months of being MT’s resident burger burgher, more than a few insights were gained, and we even realized some rookie errors we were guilty of. It turns out you can learn a thing or two by eating a hamburger sandwich week after week. What follows is an earnest effort to distill this hard-

won burger wisdom into one article.

AN ABUNDANCE OF BURGERS: In metro Detroit,

made of freshly ground beef.

A BIG, BUMPY SQUIRTING GOOD TIME:

burgers are ubiquitous. Even along the high end of the dining scene, from restaurants with white tablecloths and Tuscan leather to farm-totable joints with plank seating, almost all menus will offer at least one burger. Perhaps it’s a sop to diners bewildered by more refined offerings.

Oddly, sometimes it’s the main event on a much larger menu of food produced by an expert kitchen: Redcoat Tavern’s kitchen, for instance, can turn out much grander things than burgers, yet that’s what almost everybody seems to order there. But just because they’re everywhere doesn’t mean that they’re everyday.

Many stand out as wonders.

We began to appreciate it when a patty was a big, ugly thing, that flame-broiled masterpiece still bearing the divot from the talented cook’s thumb, with the kinds of bulges and seams that practically scream “hand-formed.”

The fat in a good hand-patted burger cranks up the richness, and can sometimes impart a buttery taste. Usually, the best bite will be in the middle, where the juicy, seedy heart of the tomato slice spills onto the tongue and mixes with the buttery beef and rich mayo to create an extraordinary sensation. All in all, the best of these we tried was a half-pound, two-hander, fournapkin burger at Three Nicks Scoreboard in Allen Park.

RARER IS BETTER:

FROZEN OUT: No doubt a

Burgerphiles have a disdainful name for a well-done patty: a hockey puck. There’s a reason for this scorn: The very best burger patties will lose much of their flavorful fat when cooked to a crisp. Despite the mania about germs that has mandatory warnings emblazoned on menus, if you have tended toward the “done” end of the spectrum, you might try something more rare and see if it suits you better, especially if your burger is

chorus of voices will disagree, but our burger spree left us convinced that frozen patties simply aren’t as good as hand-patted. Maybe we just prefer hand-formed burgers. Or maybe our bias is due to the hands-on attitude of a cook who insists on using freshly ground meat.

Whatever the cause, the difference between a lovingly created patty and a machinestamped disk seems inescapable.

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STACKED AGAINST STACKING: One thing machine-formed patties are good at, though, is providing an architecturally sound platform for add-ons.

They can be double-stacked without leaning, and we’ve seen our co-diners eat them topped with everything from bacon and Swiss to sautéed spinach, fried egg, and blue cheese.

We always tried to be burger purists, sticking with lettuce, tomato, and pickles. Frankly, when we see an intimidating list of add-ons, it gives us the sneaking feeling that the patty must be merely provisional.

ROMAINE EVENT: While

there’s much to say in favor of the satisfying crunch of iceberg lettuce, its increasing replacement with romaine is a welcome adaptation. Sometimes that hunk of iceberg shifts in mid-bite, ready to shoot across the table, lubricated by the mustard or ketchup. Get an odd chop and the condiments seep right through to your bun. But the ruffled end of a romaine leaf provides an adequate vegetative flavor, as well as serving as a sort of moisture barrier between the bun and the condiments and burger.

NICE BUNS: One teeny cavil kept cropping up at burger joints: Buns were sometimes … too generous. We always love it when the patty is a bit bigger than the bun, because it’s always disappointing when your first bite is a mouthful of a poofy, sesame-laden gravy-soaker. We developed a grateful feeling for the right-sized bun treated well, given a toasting or even a smear of butter and a few moments on the flat-top for added richness.

serving rectangular patties in hot dog buns. Mallie’s Sports Grill and Bar offers quite a dare with its 10-pound “Monster Burger.”

Sometimes an oddity is just the thing to keep people coming in the door.

THE MIDDLE EASTERN ADVANTAGE: It seems that when your burger is prepared by somebody with heritage in or around the Fertile Crescent, something magical happens. Take, for instance, the heavenly burgers served at Motor City Sports Bar in Hamtramck.

These Balkans know how to tweak beef, given their skill with cevapi, a Balkan staple made of grilled minced beef, or a pljeskavica, which is like a Southeastern European beef patty.

Then there are the Lebanese origins of the classic Famous Burger, finely ground and enriched with spices, with so many juices spilling out of it that it’s hard to believe it was ever ground chuck.

Or make a pilgrimage to Dearborn’s M&M Cafe for chef Maurice Ltief’s “Maurice Burger,” a quarterpound ground beef patty that’s mixed with chopped parsley, green peppers, tomatoes, and onions. It’s almost as if the loving touches put on tabbouleh or falafel have been infused into a patty. It has an unusual complexity, with a softness like that of the moistest meatloaf.

ONIONS AID IN LONGEVITY: What do

GIMMICKS WORK: While there’s

no substitute for quality, a little craftiness goes a long way. How else to explain the way burger joints that offer something a bit out of the ordinary survive and prosper in a fast-changing dining scene?

Detroit’s Marcus Burger does it by

s t ter S hu

k toc

88-year-old Motz’s on Fort Street in Detroit, 65-year-old Hunter House in Birmingham, and 60-year-old Greene’s Hamburgers in Farmington all have in common?

They just won’t die. And it’s probably because of one thing: onions. Nothing activates the salivary glands of a slider freak quite like the smell of sizzling onions. At Motz’s they steam the buns right on top of the aromatic root vegetable as it caramelizes.

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FERTILE CRESCENT

Middle Eastern cuisines offer diners much more than falafel

By MT staff

M

etro Detroit abounds with restaurants serving Middle Eastern food, offering undisputable proof that the area’s residents have embraced the cuisine. It goes to show you how, despite any American anxieties about immigration, we literally hunger for the fresh, exciting flavors our newcomers offer.

Yet it’s worth pointing out that the “Middle Eastern” fare

most chow down on in metro Detroit is Lebanese food.

In pointing that out, we don’t mean to cast any disdain upon Levantine cuisine, as Beirut is widely regarded as the most cosmopolitan city in the region — the Paris of the Middle East, if you will. Fussy Lebanese chefs earned that reputation, as they’re known for demanding the best and freshest ingredients, their relatively restrained use of spices, and their light and healthful touch,

which is shared with many Mediterranean cuisines.

But the Middle East is a sprawling territory, comprising 18 countries, scores of languages, and almost 400 million people. Each different area has its own core cuisine, with dishes whose influences are both intensely local and surprisingly international.

While it’s undoubtedly a good thing that Americans are more familiar than ever with hummus and tabbouleh,

some off-the-beaten-path places offer regional cuisines diners may not be familiar with. Not only do they offer unusual flavors (and comforting proteins), but they offer insights into the complex and multifaceted region’s culture and history. Here are a few different dishes served at restaurants in our area that showcase that diversity.

LAMB HANEETH, SHEEBA RESTAURANT Sometimes rendered as “haneed,” this preparation is something that should appeal to Americans right out of the gate because it’s so much like barbecue, using slow roasting to produce meat that is tender and full of flavor. Many diners will gravitate to chicken haneeth, but that’s a shame, because lamb haneeth is utterly unlike the poor plastic-wrapped lamb chops most Americans

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Platter centered with cherry kabob, Al Chabab. Tom Perkins

sniff at. In a clay oven, Yemeni chefs are able to produce cuts of perfectly cooked lamb that would seem to require a pressure cooker. The meat flakes away from bone at fork pressure, much like the fabled “lamb rigonato” they once served in Greektown. Despite the browned and sometimes blackened exterior, it retains a shade of pink on the inside, and pulls apart like string cheese.

When scooped up with a bit of rice or a chunk of potato (Middle Eastern can double up on the carbs) it is sublime.

Vegetarians might prefer another Yemeni dish, seltah.

It easily calls to mind Indian food, almost like a rich golden mulligatawny flavored with whipped fenugreek, served with a puffed and browned round of Yemeni flatbread called malooga, which at Sheeba’s Hamtramck location comes bigger than a beach

ball. You can’t miss the Subcontinent’s influence on this dish, or better understand Yemen’s position on the coast of the Indian Ocean after tasting it. And yet, unlike much Indian food, it seems perfect for Americans seeking a bit of comfort during a Northern winter, as it’s a hearty and thick stew full of creamy chunks of potato and other root vegetables.

KOSHARY, LA MARSA Though koshary is considered the national dish of Egypt, what will likely surprise many Americans is that it has stubborn elements of American comfort food stirred right into it. For instance, why are macaroni noodles and tomato sauce at the heart of Egypt’s most popular comfort food? Isn’t that much closer to Boyardee than baba ghanoush?

Well, yes, but the dish’s

Chamo Barakat. Tom Perkins

origins are in 19th century Egypt, which was multicultural to the extent of the involvement of the fading Ottoman Empire and the rising European powers. Koshary emerged while Egypt contended with such colonial giants as France and Great Britain, influenced not just by Italian food across the Mediterranean Sea but by the Indian delicacies flowing up through the Suez Canal (opened 1869), such as lentils and rice. To underline the Indian influence, it is essentially vegan, though it is often enriched with meat, especially for U.S. diners.

Another thing that might help capture your attention is

that koshary was, at least early in its life, a popular street food.

Perhaps this helps American diners understand koshary a bit better, at least the way it mixes together several grains, starches, and beans, and then heaps them with a fragrant sauce. It’s a sign of its workingclass appeal that it mixes different carbs together: rice and pasta, usually macaroni elbows but sometimes spaghetti noodles as well.

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way for Americans. And if that double-carb whammy strikes you as unhealthy, take comfort that pastas and white rices are technically more resistant starches, less likely than bread to end up as belly fat.

But for all the beans and grains, the star of the show is the cumin-laden tomato sauce and the onions. The onions are cut into strips, tossed in salt and flour, then fried in oil, sometimes with garlic, until caramelized and slightly crispy, to become the garnish.

The tomato sauce is pungent and almost curry-like. To add more flavor, you can take the special vinegar sauce to add nuttiness, or use the thin, seethrough hot sauce to make this workingman’s dish even manlier.

(Watch out — that hot sauce can creep up on you.)

With every spoonful, you’ll get slightly different tastes and textures. The noodles and rice provide comfort and tenderness, and the sometimescrunchy, sometimes-gummy texture of the onions adds to the mouthfeel.

Many restaurants that serve koshary to Americans will offer you meat mixed right in, but you might try getting it on the side, if only to mix it in yourself and enjoy the protein-carb load you prefer. (Servings of koshary are usually over-thetop generous.) But you might explore a bit and have not just chicken or beef but lamb. The delicate bits of braised lamb can almost be like rib tips.

FESENJAN, PARS Few dishes could present a starker contrast to the light Mediterranean creations of Lebanon than Persian fesenjan.

One of the most popular stews in Iran, it packs an overwhelming punch with its sweet and nutty flavor, which comes from ground walnuts and pomegranate syrup. The Persian predilection for the use

Koshary from La Marsa in Troy. Tom Perkins

of pomegranate and walnut goes back to ancient times, but will be a novelty to most Americans. It reminded us a bit of a dish made with jam.

Another friend said it called to mind a slice of fruitcake. Yes, it’s that sweet, but the slight tartness of the fruit and the nuttiness in the mix help keep the sweetness from being too cloying.

The glossy, rich stew is best poured over a bed of rice, which shows off its concentrated flavors to best effect. It will often contain balls of ground meat or bits of poultry, but it’s usually cuts of chicken at Pars, where the kitchen coaxes a tenderness out of them that makes them easy to cut with a dull fork.

Not all fesenjan preparations are exactly alike. One of our friends who travels widely in the Middle East tells us the best of them tone down the sweetness and amp up the proteins: “If they sprinkle little shoestring fries on top of stuff, then they’re too legit to quit,” our expert says. “That’s a nice, old-school Persian home cooking touch that I’ve only encountered at

the best places in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, where you get the really good stuff.”

Those looking for something more on the savory side might try instead the bademjan, an eggplant and tomato stew that can contain cubes of lean beef sauteed with onions.

KABOB KARAZ, AL CHABAB At Dearborn’s Al Chabab, chef and co-owner Chamo Barakat speaks proudly of the cuisine of his home city of Aleppo, which stands apart from that of the rest of Syria and the Middle East.

What’s partly behind that is geography. First settled thousands of years ago, the city once held 4.6 million residents and was an outpost along the Silk Road. Aleppo’s brush with passing cultures to the east and west enriched and shaped its cuisine. You’ll find hints of Saharan and Indian cooking in its recipes, for example.

But that wouldn’t be possible if the climate didn’t offer four seasons and unique soil that sustains a wide variety of nuts, fruits, livestock, spices, and other crops that are rare in

the Middle East. And just as Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese from Parma, Italy, is superior and can’t be duplicated, the land and climate around Aleppo impart their own inimitable flavors into the dishes.

Kabab keraz is an Aleppian specialty — lamb or beef balls come submerged in a tangy cherry sauce. And though there are few better places in the Western Hemisphere to access a cherry crop than Michigan, Barakat laments that, though his dish is delicious, he still can’t get it to taste just as it does when prepared with Aleppine cherries.

Perhaps the best item on the menu to sample the fruits of the Syrian climate is the umami-rich mohamara, a deep-red Aleppine paste that could be mistaken for a form of hummus, but is actually a mix of Aleppo peppers, Aleppo pistachios, olive oil, spices, and two other ingredients shared with near neighbors in the Fertile Crescent: pomegranate and walnuts (see Iranian fesenjan above). Barakat serves mohamara alongside his kebabs or as an appetizer that’s spread across bread. n

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Almond boneless chicken. Tom Perkins

ABC AND BEYOND

Fried squid dim sum. Tom Perkins

A culinary course in Chinese — one step at a time

By Michael Jackman

A

sk a random group of Americans to name some Chinese dishes, and most will likely mention egg rolls and fortune cookies. Of course, an increasing minority of Americans will know that these are actually American innovations, and that the cuisine served in China is far more varied. To put it in Chinese, we Americans are well familiar with meiguorende kouwei — Chinese food cooked to American taste. But there’s a whole world of zhongguorende kouwei — or food cooked to Chinese taste — that encompasses such varied cuisines as Hunan, Sichuan, and Shandong,

and comprises more than 5,000 named dishes.

In pointing it out, we don’t mean to cast disdain upon the delights of General Tso or sweetand-sour everything. If anything, the development of Americanoriented Chinese food more than 100 years ago is a culinary success story. According to The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink, American Chinese cuisine was pioneered by the first wave of Chinese immigrants, most of whom came to work in California mines and railroads in the 19th century. But after the Chinese Exclusion Acts at the turn of the last century cut off the stream of Chinese immigration, and with growing

anti-Chinese racism in the West, Chinese found industrial work scarce, and many of them adapted by opening restaurants.

Their humble eateries offered meals remembered from their native Guangdong province in southern China. Named for the province’s capital city, Cantonese cuisine became North America’s default “Chinese” food for more than a generation. Since the tide of Chinese immigration had been stemmed by law, ChineseAmerican restaurant culture couldn’t rely upon a growing ethnic community, and had to court broader appeal. With some intelligent tweaks to accommodate American tastes (and restaurateurs’ budgets), Chinese-

American cuisine quickly grew into the most popular “ethnic” food in the United States, and the chop suey joint became a pioneer purveyor of “fast food.”

With immigration laws relaxed in the second half of the 20th century, new waves of immigrants from all over China have arrived, most of them regarding U.S. “Chinese food” as a curiosity, preferring the authentic fare of their homeland, creating the demand for a new generation of Chinese restaurants. And this has been good for local diners, who now have more fantastic choices than ever before.

Yet American diners can be notoriously resistant to foreign foods, especially when they involve such taboos as whole fish, variety meats, cuttlefish, or, especially, chicken feet.

So we set out to find a scale from the timid to the adventurous, by which American diners

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might advance their knowledge of authentic Chinese food step by step. Thanks to the area’s wealth of restaurants serving regional Chinese cuisine, it has never been easier to appreciate and enjoy.

BEGINNER

ALMOND BONELESS CHICKEN Just as children begin to study language by learning the alphabet, many a metro Detroiter’s introduction to Chinese food begins with “ABC” — or almond boneless chicken. In Chinese, the dish is called war su gai, but its pedigree is as American as the eggroll. In the Midwest, the dish consists of a deep-fried, battered chicken breast cut crosswise into slices, laid on a bed of iceberg lettuce, along with water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, and mushrooms, and then covered in a sweetish brown sauce and sprinkled with sliced almonds and chopped scallions. The sauce softens the crispy batter, and the heat of the fried chicken wilts the lettuce beneath. Yes, few things are more American than a breaded chicken cutlet, but the dish is a toe in the water: an introduction to the brown sauces of other dishes, and probably the first time U.S. diners find that wilted lettuce can be enjoyable.

LAMB WITH CUMIN One of our restaurant critics tried this dish at Taste of China, opining, “Lamb with Cumin is the type of dish you go to an authentic Chinese restaurant for.”

That rendition had hot red pepper flakes that set off the cumin against the pungency of the tender lamb. For $17.95 you can order it off their authentic Chinese menu, as “fresh lamb with pure cumin powder.” You can also get it a little cheaper at Ann Arbor’s Chia Shiang, with thin strips of fried meat amid peppers and shavings of ginger. The spiciness should draw in some varsity eat-

ers, but they’ll dial down the heat if you like. And, yes, it also comes in beef, if you must remain within your Middle-American comfort zone.

INTERMEDIATE

PEKING DUCK We’ve seen American diners sniff at duck, squicked out at the servings of skin and the fatty meat. But with U.S. health officials tiptoeing away from their cholesterol warnings — and with everything from fries to poutine being drenched in duck fat — perhaps now is a good time to appreciate the pleasures of a roasted duck. You can enjoy the traditional three-course serving at Shangri-La West Bloomfield, where you’ll get crispy skins along with pancakes to wrap them in, a soup with a broth

thinly breaded pork rib, they cut pieces of pork and use a thicker breading so it looks bigger on the table!” He chuckles and adds, “You can charge a little for a big plate.” Want to get past the kitchen tricks and try the real thing? East Lake Chinese Restaurant in Troy offers sweet and sour spare ribs for $8.95. Want to try something even silkier? Try the twice-cooked pork fat ($12.95) at Taste of China in Farmington Hills. An MT reviewer raved about the “wide strips of pork belly with red and green peppers in a sauce of gold, dotted with fermented black beans.”

ADVANCED

WHOLE STEAMED FISH At the risk of overgeneralizing, Americans don’t like their fish to look like fish. To make it to the American table, they have

“Try a really small, tiny bite.

Even just a small bite is pretty good. Try everything. If you don’t like it, it’s not your fault.

But if you never tried it, and you don’t realize you like it, whose fault is that?”

—Raymond Wong Tom Perkins

made from duck bones, and finally the duck meat itself, with a bit of chopped green onions and hoisin sauce. What’s hoisin sauce? Just think of it as China’s sweet-and-salty version of barbecue sauce.

HONG KONG-STYLE SWEET-AND-SOUR PORK On some level, Americans should almost gravitate to Hong Kong’s version of sweet-and-sour pork: It’s made with spare ribs, after all. Given the higher fat content of these rib cuts, they are given a lighter breading over there, but the dish has been modified for Americans — for visual impact. Shangri-La restaurateur Raymond Wong tells us that “instead of using that really

to be cut into fillets, sometimes skinless, and are often given treatments can overwhelm the delicate flavors, from the heavy breading on a food service fillet to the almond-crusted creations turned out by fine-dining kitchens. Nothing could be more different than Chinesestyle steamed-fish cookery.

First off, it is the complete fish, from head to fin. Instead of the crispy skin, the flesh pulls away loosely. There are bones to contend with. So why should the American diner push on ahead anyway? Because a small, fresh fish decked out with aromatic herbs and vegetables and given a gentle steaming concentrates flavor in a way other methods can’t. Plus, some of the best

tidbits on a fish are on the head, including the cheek and the collar. When it’s in season, try the steamed silver bass at Shangri-La in the Bloomies. How fresh is it? You get to pick your own fish while it’s still alive and swimming in a tank.

EXPERT

SQUID As with fish, Americans are a little jumpy if a squid dish looks anything like the animal it used to be. If Americans eat calamari, many want rounds, not tentacles, and even then breaded beyond all recognition, a la “clam strips.” The other problem many Americans have with squid is an aversion to the rubbery quality squid dishes can have. But squid doesn’t have to squeak like eggplant, and it’s a wonderful platform for taking on flavors.

In China, they’ll often take small squids and run them through something like a laundry mangle, flattening them out into sheets of protein that hardly suggest a cephalopod. It may be cut to order, and end up on your plate as a crispy, spicy, chewy, and salty creation that leaves you wanting more. For $8.95, you can try the deep-fried squid with spicy salt at Shangri-La Detroit.

CHICKEN FEET Yes, Americans generally shy away from eating so low on an animal as to eat the feet. It calls to mind that line about “birdies’ feet” in the children’s song “Great Big Gobs.” But these feet are neither dirty nor disgusting.

Any blemishes have been removed, the claws have been cut off. By the time they arrive at a table, they’ve often been rubbed in salt, deep-fried, brined, and simmered. Other preparations involve curing the delicacies in vinegar until they’re almost white, or braising them until they’re almost like barbecue. If it helps you make the mental leap, the glycine in the gelatin is also a legitimate anti-inflammatory.n 2018 | | FLAVOR 2018 FLAVOR||metrotimes metrotimes| |4545

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Honey Bee La Colmena Market. Jacob Lewkow

BUYER’S MARKET Finding metro Detroit’s international appetite — in ethnic groceries

By Aleanna Siacon

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thnic supermarkets have boomed in the United States alongside an influx of demand coming from an ever-diversifying population, and metro Detroit is certainly no stranger to this phenomenon. Just drive down John R or Dequindre in communities like Madison Heights, Sterling Heights, and Warren; visit Conant Avenue in Hamtramck; or head to Bagley Street in Detroit.

The markets you’ll find there offer products that aren’t available at large retail supermarkets and grocery chains, and show off the growth of different cultural communities with food at the epicenter.

Existing at the intersection of

Western and Eastern cultures, ethnic markets are often a familiar and welcoming space for immigrants looking to enjoy products from their homelands, as well as a go-to for curious or adventurous foodies looking to expand their culinary horizons.

They’re where traditions and new experiences alike can thrive.

Ethnic markets typically offer goods in bulk, fresh produce and meats, and hot plates made on site — as well as plenty of hustle and bustle. Many are owned by individuals or families who live among their shoppers and understand their communities. Thus, while juggling the instability of the world’s economy and fluctuating market values, proprietors usually work with both local and international

providers to purchase stock in bulk so they can set prices conscientiously for their customers.

HONEY BEE LA COLMENA MARKET

2443 Bagley St., Detroit; 313-237-0295

Honey Bee has been a dedicated community grocer, plus one-stop shop for authentic products in Mexicantown since 1956. A specialty store, they carry Latin American and Mexican products that can be hard to find. Just walking in is truly a sensory experience. The entrance is decorated with a kaleidoscope of bright colors, where visitors are immediately greeted by the smell of fresh guacamole and fragrant salsas.

Hanging above the produce are intricate pointed-star piñatas, and others shaped like animals sit atop the display coolers.

The main attraction is the array of fresh produce, where vibrant, fresh verduras y frutas sit in plump bushels, ripe for picking: avocados, tomatillos, mangoes, tangerines, yucca root, poblanos, serrano chiles, chayote, aloe, prickly pear cactus leaves, and so much more.

The store is also stocked with a large collection of cheeses, sweets, dried spices, tender meats carved on site, and naturally, your general assortment of grocery store products, such as eggs, milk, and bread.

Looking for Oaxaca, Manchego, Chihuahua, or Cotija cheeses? You’re set. Shoppers

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with a sweet tooth can find multicolored conchas, choco roles, gansito cookies, canelitas, and all the ingredients to a tres leches cake or flan. Making a traditional Latin American meal?

Spice it up with anything from chile arbol and chipotle to cascabel and ancho. Wander along to the meats and find a wide variety: the whole cow — tongue, intestines, and all, Chicagostyle fajitas, filet mignon, tripe, sweetbread, chivo, and homemade chorizo. General Manager Yesenia Venega says the chorizo is founder Geraldo Alfaro’s original recipe, and the market is still owned by his family.

Many community members have been doing their grocery shopping at Honey Bee since they were children, and have kept the tradition going for generations. For instance, Venega has been at her post for 20 years, but says she’s been coming to the market since she was a little girl. “I’ve been shopping that long, and I come here because I have fond memories of when I came with my parents or I have fond memories of making a certain dish,” she says. The market experiences high traffic during holiday seasons, because of customers searching for the freshest and most authentic ingredients for holiday dishes.

Per any new shoppers who are perhaps exploring the Mexicantown community and looking to learn more, Venegas says everyone is more than welcome.

She suggests trying the samples available at the front door, where the adventurous type can try cactus salad, as well as trying the items made in-house.

INTERNATIONAL FOODS

38964 Dequindre Rd., Sterling Heights; 586-979-3665

Owner Sam Sater’s family has been running International Foods for 34 years, and he inherited the store from his father.

He says they saw a need for ethnic foods in their community and started out providing Middle Eastern products and then expanded to parts of Europe, South America, and Central

America — but they’re always looking to add more to the mix.

“We carry those specialty items that take you back in time. Meaning, take you back to where you came from, and it puts a smile on your face.

Sometimes it can be the smallest or minute thing … but when you eat it … it’s nostalgic and it takes you back to maybe your childhood, whatever country it may be. Whether it’s Lebanon, Iraq, Argentina, Brazil, Greece — it’s something about food and what it does to people.

Food is always something that brings people together,” he says.

Walking down International Foods’ many aisles, the diversity in their stock is evident just from perusing their kitchenware.

Alongside brass coffee mugs and tea kettles are wooden ma’amoul molds, empanada makers, samosa molds, falafel donut-hole molds, and kousa corers. Directly across from the variety of cake pans are a multitude of olives — from a Mediterranean pitted medley and garlic-stuffed to Greek green Halkidiki and jumbo Kalamata.

Their coffees span continents, with Bosnian pzena mljevena kafa, German Kronung, Portuguese Lote Chávena, and Najaf Arabica. There are plantains, falafel, kibbeh, ajvar, and lupini beans, halwa, tahini, adobo seasoning, and halal meats. Popular in-house items are their homemade grape leaves, plus their best-selling hummus — which Sater says flies off the shelves, second only to their breads.

While International Foods’ products line is expansive, Sater says if they don’t have what you’re looking for and you ask them to order up a case, they’re more than happy to cater to their customers’ needs. Customer service is something Sater says sets International Foods apart from the rest of Dequindre Road. “We walk around, we tell people helpful hints on how to use a particular ingredient. How it’s used, how long you keep it for, what it’s used for, and kind of introduce them to it,” he says.

168 ASIAN MART

however, is that they deliver the Asian products they know best, while also catering to all kinds of people. “I specialize in Asian Are you ready for an astonishproducts. I’m very complete in ing variety of good food and Chinese and also Japanese, and products paired with the prosthen Korean, Thai, Vietnamese,” pect of a space packed with ameshe says, adding that they get nities and sprinkled with some all kinds of customers. “Basically, good old hustle and bustle? 168 everybody loves Asian food and Asian Mart comes equipped we also have Japanese wholesale with a food court, a treats stahere,” she says. Additionally, tion complete with beautifully Wang says there’s a large variety decorated cakes made-to order, of options for each product in orice cream and a bubble tea stand der to allow shoppers the chance with both creative and classic to choose among inexpensive, flavors (such as mango, and moderately priced, or top-of-theeven cookies and cream), a vast line goods. meat selection, live seafood still Wang says she sees all differswimming in the tank, aisles for ent people visit each day, and hair care and beauty products, that makes her so proud — espea houseware department with cially when she sees people tryenough options to keep a busy ing new things for the first time. restaurant fully equipped, a ship- “[A customer will] say, ‘Oh, I want ping center to send packages to make sushi.’ They will just pull worldwide, and even an area for it up … on their smartphones your landscaping and houseplant and say, ‘I need this, I need this, I needs. Plus, all the produce and need this,’” Wang says. “And we products necessary to get your say, ‘OK, You can find it here.’” general grocery shopping or Whether it’s someone who’s meal prepping done too. It is a taken a trip to Asia looking to remassive warehouse-like space create a dish, someone looking after all. to explore new foods, or Asian Owner Cindy Wang says she shoppers missing their homestarted in the market business town, Wang says they can all find about seven years ago, first ownwhat they need to make them ing a small market across the happy. n street called Chinese Merchandise Inc. She says 168 Asian Mart opened in 2015, and it’s a space that’s about five times bigger.

What she appreciates about operating in Madison Heights is the sheer diversity that food-lovers can find driving down John R — a plenitude of restaurants, cafes, and storefronts that cater to intrepid taste buds looking to rove all across the Eastern hemisphere.

Wang says a large Asian community has grown around ethnic markets, because they’re able to be close to their food, which offers a remedy when they’re feeling homesick.

Wang says what makes Jacob Lewkow her market unique,

32393 John R Rd., Madison Heights; 248-616-1689

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JOY IN THE MORNING

Six ways to keep the most important meal poppin’

By Adam Woodhead

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n case you hadn’t heard, Detroit’s breakfast and brunch game is sick. A bevvy of new restaurants have conceived of some of the most interesting takes on the most important meal of the day. What follows is a list of eye-opening breakfast and brunch spots in metro Detroit, and day-starting dishes to get you going.

ROSE’S FINE FOOD

The text at the top of your bill at Rose’s Fine Food reads “ROSE’S LOVES YOU!” It’s hard not to reciprocate this sentiment, owing at least some part to so many similarly endearing little touches. Plates such as the Silverman’s Special — their take on the “classic diner breakfast” — often come with miniature flowers as a decorative accompaniment. They may or may not be edible, depending on what is in season and available from Rose’s Kitchen Garden, run by manager Bree Hietala a short distance away, near Eastern Market. That said, if your breakfast potatoes are purple, don’t don’t worry; that’s totally normal here.

Rose’s places great emphasis on locally sourced, seasonal ingredients, and a rotating assortment of house-made menu items, including impressive house-baked goods. Cakes and donuts lie just beyond the counter in eye-catching display cases, and the sourdough loaf used for their toast is springy and airy, finished on the grill for an interesting textural

crunch. It’s the perfect partner for the latest addition to their fall menu, the “Birthday Soup.”

Fans of hangover pho take note, as this bacon-and-kimchibased broth is as nourishing as it is easily replicated at home (see our recipe section).

Perhaps the most satisfying aspect of Rose’s is the atmosphere. As you listen to Will Sessions from the comfort of your chair or stool, you may notice that the staff seems happy, and further investigation reveals that Rose’s pays their employees a living wage. They’ve nailed the formula. It’s the kind of place people frequently describe as being “cute.”

Our pick: “Birthday Soup,” $9.99-$12.99

“Matcha sauce.”

Our pick: Chorizo sausage & cheese egg sandwich (with Matcha sauce) $5-$12

KUZZO’S CHICKEN & WAFFLES

The chicken-and-waffle plate is one of the newest additions to the hallowed annals of perfect breakfast combinations — such as eggs and bacon, champagne and orange juice, lox and bagels — and the dish now appears on seemingly every brunch menu across the country. Quite often the waffles are of the thick, crispy-edged, perfectly shaped variety one might find in your waffle maker at home. Not so at Kuzzo’s, where waffles are pillowy, soft, and expansive — dare we say O.W.L. pancake-like. The result is a greater, more satisfying texWhy is the sky blue? Why is tural contrast than that of other water wet? Why is everything contemporaries. When comon the menu at O.W.L. in Royal bined with some of the better Oak so dang delicious? Since fried chicken in metro Detroit, it arrived a short time ago, the syrup, butter, and Frank’s red Mexican-inflected diner has gone from strength to strength, hot, the waffles at Kuzzo’s form a culinary union that may rival quickly becoming one of the even the holy trinity of the bamost popular breakfast spots con, egg, and cheese bagel. in an area with strong comFor the indecisive (or greedy), petition. As is the case with waffle combos like the Treymany of the eatery’s dishes, Deuce (breast, drum, and wing) the beauty of breakfast at offer guests an opportunity to O.W.L. is in its simplicity. Their forgo the decision between egg sandwiches, topped with light and dark meat. Along with your choice of avocado, fried a plethora of classic Southernchicken, habanero bacon, choinspired dishes (such as shrimp rizo, or a hamburger patty, are and grits, fried catfish, and the breakfast perfection. Try with must-have array of soul-food one of their many house-made sides) Kuzzo’s boasts several hot sauces — kept behind the unique offerings, such as their counter like any worthy pre“Red Velvet” waffle, and blinscription — or their signature

dingly hued Kool-Aid cocktails.

(Here’s one place where you do want to drink the Kool-Aid.) Our pick: “Trey Deuce,” $4$15

BROOKLYN STREET LOCAL

Next to the front register at Brooklyn Street Local are a number of shirts and tote bags for sale, with expressions reading variously “Real men eat quiche,” “Put an egg on it!” and the dictionary definition of “poutine.” When co-owner Deveri Gifford moved from Toronto to set up Brooklyn Street Local with her partner just over five years ago, few other places were offering breakfast poutine (still, Gifford says, the curds are often inauthentic), which was included as a nod to her Canadian roots. Other

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The Silverman’s Special. Rob Widdis

things were different too. Michigan Central Station still had no windows, and the Michigan Avenue corridor had not quite transformed into the food and drink destination it is today.

A colleague stops by to ask Gifford what she wants for lunch. “That’s a good question,” she says. After a moment of quiet reflection, Gifford decides on the brunch salad, with an extra egg. The greens in the salad come from Keep Growing Detroit, a food sovereignty project in Midtown, and Gifford says she was initially drawn to Detroit as much for its urban farms and DIY culture as the low opportunity costs.

Seasonal offerings include a rotating quiche, and a French toast for winter, fall, spring, and summer. Last summer was a lemon-zucchini loaf, and dur-

ing our visit Brooklyn Street Local had begun to transition into its fall version, which was pumpkin-based. Unlike other popular brunch spots in the area, the crowd seems younger, and without being too presumptuous, vegetarian. Word on the street is — the restaurant is very accommodating to these guests.

Our pick: “Breakfast poutine,” $4-$13

PARKS & REC

A friend from the Bay Area claims antipathy to new Detroit.

The beef: Where is all the good, cheap food? A few old standbys escape his wrath — Polish Village, Taqueria Mi Pueblo, and the happy hour menu at Roast. But despite his aversion to Chartreuse cocktails and spendy small plates, one

relative newcomer makes the list, and his tone softens as he reports that “The Standard,” a filling two-egg breakfast from Parks & Rec Diner — with lamb sausage and a coffee included — set him back only $8. What strange times we live in that elevated diner fare, with quality ingredients, at a reasonable price, can be seen as a revolutionary concept.

Our pick: “The Standard,” $6-$15

DIME STORE

Dime Store is the kind of downtown brunch destination that is packed and busy even on a Wednesday morning. The eatery is the brainchild of owners Jeff Alexander, Larry Kahn, and Ann-Marie Murphy, who had found success in property development (Murphy was a

former assistant to Dan Gilbert) before finding the space on the ground floor of the Chrysler House. The Koreaninspired “Duck Bop Hash” is perhaps Dime Store’s signature dish. Chef Aris Nueva Espana describes its constituent parts — and how they achieve a balance of flavors — with a vocabulary he says he picked up from a book called The Elements of Taste. It may also have been gleaned from his background at the Culinary Institute of America in New York. Along with heat from sriracha, house-made pickles lend acidity, crunch, and a sour element to cut the richness of the confit duck, which Dime Store sources from Maple Leaf Farms near Milford.

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THE CONSERVA’S WHOLE ROASTED BRONZINO Chef-owner Matthew Baldridge shared with us this recipe for European sea bass. It shows off Baldridge’s knack for balancing acts, here between the acid and the briny.

INGREDIENTS 1 whole bronzino, gutted and scaled.

1 cup garlic cloves 1 cup kalamata olive or any type that you prefer 4 tablespoons olive oil sea salt

Bronzino. Courtesy photo

black pepper 4 artichokes, cleaned and blanched (if needed, canned artichoke hearts will work) 2 cups sweet cherry tomatoes, or any preferred type of tomato (if larger tomatoes are used, cut into quarters)

Preheat oven to 420 degrees. Place the garlic cloves in a small saucepot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook until garlic is very soft, approximately 15 minutes. Remove the cloves from the water and purée until smooth.

RECIPES From our featured restaurants, as told to MT staff

Using a very sharp knife, score the flesh, in a cross-hatch pattern, of both sides of the fish. Place the bronzino on a baking sheet. Rub the garlic purée on both sides of the fish, making sure to get the garlic into the cuts of the fish. Drizzle with oil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Place artichoke hearts, olives, and tomatoes around the fish and roast in the oven until the skin is crispy and the flesh is cooked and tender, approximately 16-20 minutes.

Remove from oven. Place fish, olives, artichokes and tomatoes on large plate or platter. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and zest lemon over everything. Eat and enjoy.

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DIME STORE’S DUCK BOP HASH The good people at Dime Store were kind enough to share a recipe for the Duck Bop Hash our reviewer raved over.

INGREDIENTS For duck confit Duck Salt Garlic Orange zest Water For bulgogi sauce

Duck Bop Hash. Courtesy photo

Gambas al Ajillo. Courtesy photo

LA FERIA’S GAMBAS AL AJILLO Elias Khalil of La Feria was kind enough to send along the recipe for his restaurant’s No. 1 seller, the pan-seared garlic shrimp.

INGREDIENTS 1 clove garlic, minced 4 Shrimp, 16-20 count 2-3 tablespoons olive oil

red chili pepper flakes salt 1/2 teaspoon parsley

Heat oil in the skillet on a low flame. Sauté shrimp in the oil with a sprinkle of salt. When shrimp start to become transparent, add the garlic and a pinch of chili flakes. Keep on low heat for one more minute, sprinkle with parsley and enjoy. Best served in a terracotta cazuela, complemented by baguette slices to dip in the oil.

ROSE’S BIRTHDAY SOUP Last year, Rose’s cook Eggy Ding whipped up a special soup for owner Molly Mitchell’s birthday. A nontraditional soup with a Korean twist, it was such a hit that it appeared on the fall menu in 2017.

INGREDIENTS 5 slices of bacon 1 onion, thinly sliced 4 cloves of garlic, minced 2 cups kimchi

1/2 cup kimchi juice 1 cup water 2 teaspoons smoked paprika 2 teaspoons salt

Slice bacon in 1/4-inch pieces and sauté slowly in soup pot until fat renders and bacon crisps up. Add sliced onion and sauté on low for about 15 minutes until onion is translucent but not brown. Add garlic, kimchi, kimchi juice, water, smoked paprika, and salt.

Bring to a simmer, and taste for seasoning.

3 cups granulated sugar 1.5 cup soy sauce 2 tablespoons minced garlic 2 teaspoons sriracha

For pickled vegetables 1 onion 2 carrots 2 cucumbers 2 quarts cold water 1 quart rice wine vinegar 2 cups sugar 1/4 cup salt For final plate 2 cups breakfast potatoes 2 fried eggs sriracha, cilantro

Marinate duck in salt, garlic & orange zest overnight. Rinse off duck next day under cold water & cook in neutral oil at 300 degrees for 2.5-3 hours. Remove from fat, let cool & pick meat off the leg.

Combine ingredients for bulgogi sauce, bring to a boil, and make sure sugar is dissolved.

To make the pickled vegetables, finely julienne one onion, two carrots and two cucumbers. Place in a container and cover with water, vinegar, sugar, and salt.

Marinate overnight.

Right before you’re ready to prepare the final dish, fry up the breakfast potatoes. Also sauté 2 tablespoons of diced onion over medium heat for 10 seconds.

Add duck and heat for 30 seconds. De-glaze pan with a few tablespoons of bulgogi sauce. Bring to a quick boil until duck is coated and shiny. Add fried potatoes and toss with glazed duck, vegetables and wilted spinach as garnish. Top with two fried eggs, drizzle with sriracha, pickled veggies and cilantro. Makes 3-4 servings.

RAYMOND WONG’S ALTERNATIVE BONELESS CHICKEN Raymond Wong sent us this twist on the ABC that’s meant to be a bit lighter on the calories while offering full flavor. We like it because it’s a great segue into our article, as it’s an approachable classic given a slightly new twist.

INGREDIENTS For chicken 12 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breasts 1 tablespoon corn starch 1-1/2 tablespoons oil 1-inch piece ginger, peeled and sliced 1 cup snow peas (or sugar snap peas) 1/2 cup baby carrots, sliced into pieces 1/4 cup sliced almonds

For brown sauce 1 tablespoon oyster sauce 1 tablespoon soy sauce 1/2 tablespoon sugar 1 teaspoon corn starch 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil 5 tablespoons water

Rinse the chicken with cold water, then pat dry with paper towels. Cut chicken into cubes. Transfer the chicken to a bowl and add the corn starch. Mix with a spoon so each piece of the chicken is coated well with the corn starch. Set aside.

Mix all the ingredients for the brown sauce together in a bowl. Set aside.

Heat up a wok or skillet on high heat with the oil. Add the ginger and stir-fry the ginger until it begins to release its fragrance, then add the chicken. Stir-fry the chicken until the meat turns white. Then add the sugar snap peas, baby carrots and almonds. Stir to combine well. Add the brown sauce into the wok or skillet. Stir to combine everything together. As soon as the sauce thickens and the chicken is cooked through, dish out and serve.

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Selected Dining Listings

cakedropsgalore.com

1917 American Bistro 19416 Livernois Ave., Detroit; 313-863-1917

Assaggi 330 W. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; 248-584-3499; assaggibistro.com

220 Merrill 220 E. Merrill St., Birmingham; 248-646-2220; 220restaurant.com 24 Seconds 3071 Twelve Mile Rd., Berkley; 248-336-0024 526 Main/Tequila Blue 526 S. Main St., Royal Oak; 248-591-9000 Al Ameer 12710 W. Warren Ave., Dearborn; 313-582-8185; alameerrestaurant.com Al Chabab 12930 W. Warren Ave., Dearborn; 313-582-2927 Ale Mary’s Beer Hall 316 S. Main St., Royal Oak; 248-268-1939; alemarysbeer.com/royaloakmichigan Ali-Baba Shish Kabob 3124 Caniff Ave., Hamtramck; 313-265-3701 Alley Taco 418 W. Willis St., Detroit; 313-818-0067; alley-taco. business.site Amar Pizza 12195 Joseph Campau Ave., Hamtramck; 313-3660980; amarpizza.com American Coney Island 114 W. Lafayette Blvd., Detroit; 313-9617758; americanconeyisland.com Amici’s Pizza 3249 Twelve Mile Rd., Berkley; 248-544-4100; amicispizza.com Anchor Bar & Grill 450 W. Fort St., Detroit; 313-964-9127 Andiamo Italia 7096 E. 14 Mile Rd., Warren; 586-268-3200; plus several other locations, find one near you at andiamoitalia.com Anita’s Kitchen 22651 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; 248-548-0680; anitaskitchenonline.com Annabel’s Catering 14450 W. 10 Mile Rd., Oak Park; 248-813-7800; annabelscatering.com Antietam 1428 Gratiot Ave., Detroit; 313-782-4378; antietamdetroit.com The Apparatus Room Detroit Foundation Hotel, 250 W. Larned St., Detroit; 313-800-5600; detroitfoundationhotel.com/apparatusroom Apple Fritter Donut Shop 741 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; 248-5457295; facebook.com/fritterman Arbor Brewing Company 114 E. Washington St., Ann Arbor; 734213-1393; arborbrewing.com Armando’s Mexican Restaurant 4242 Vernor Hwy.; 313-554-0666; mexicantown.com/armandos A Serendipity Cakery 1752 Eureka Rd., Wyandotte; 734-925-6238;

Asian Corned Beef Multiple locations, find one near you at asiancornbeef.com

Astoria Pastry Shop Multiple locations, find one near you at astoriapastryshop.com Athens Souvlaki Multiple locations, find one near you at athenssouvlaki.com Atwater in the Park 1175 Lakepointe St., Grosse Pointe Park; 313-344-5104; atwaterbeer.com/ locations/atwater-in-the-park Avalon International Breads 422 W. Willis St., Detroit; 313-8320008; avalonbreads.net Aventura 216 E. Washington St., Ann Arbor; 734-369-3153; aventuraannarbor.com Avery’s Tavern 2086 Crooks Rd., Rochester Hills; 248-270-4030;averystavern.com Bacco 29410 Northwestern Hwy, Southfield; 248-356-6600; baccoristorante.com Bad Brad’s BBQ Multiple locations, for addresses and phone numbers, see badbradsbbq.com Baker’s Keyboard Lounge 20510 Livernois Ave., Detroit; 313-3456300; theofficialbakerskeyboardlounge.com Bangkok Cafe 323 W. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; 248-548-5373 Barb’s Pasties and Pizza 610 S. Main St., Clawson; 248-435-5250; Basement Burger Bar Multiple locations, for addresses and phone numbers, see basementburgerbar. com Batch Brewing Company 1400 Porter St., Detroit; 313-338-8008; batchbrewingcompany.com Bavarian Inn 713 S. Main St., Frankenmuth; 9889-652-7200; bavarianinn.com BD’s Mongolian BBQ Multiple locations, for addresses and phone numbers, see gomongo.com Beans & Cornbread 29508 Northwestern Hwy., Southfield; 248-2081680; beanscornbread.com Bella Piatti 167 Townsend St., Birmingham; 248-494-7110; bellapiattirestaurant.com Berkley Common 3087 12 Mile Rd., Berkley; 248-677-0795; berkleycommon.com

field Rd; Beverly Hills; 248-6422355; beverlyhillsgrill.com Bigalora Multiple locations across the state of Michigan, see bigalora.com for a location near you.

Big Boy Multiple locations across the state of Michigan, see bigboy. com for a location near you.

Big Rock Chophouse 245 S. Eton St., Birmingham; 248-647-7774; bigrockchophouse.com Big Tommy’s Parthenon & Comedy Club 40380 Grand River Ave., Novi; 248-615-2102; bigtommys. com The Bird & the Bread 210 S. Old Woodward Ave., Birmingham; 248203-6600; thebirdandthebread.com Bistro 82 401 S. Lafayette Ave., Royal Oak; 248-542-0082; bistro82.com Bistro Joe’s 34244 Woodward Ave., Birmingham; 248-594-0984; bistrojoeskitchen.com Blackfinn Partridge Creek 17380 Hall Rd., Clinton Twp.; blackfinnameripub.com Black Lotus 1 E. 14 Mile Rd., Clawson; 248-577-1878; blacklotusbrewery.com Blake’s Ciderhouse and Winery 17985 Armada Center Rd., Armada; 586-784-9463; blakeshardcider.com Blarney Stone Pub 27253 Woodward Ave., Berkley; 248-541-1881; blarneystonepub.com The Block 3919 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-832-0892; theblockdet.com Blue Nile 545 W. Nine Mile Rd.; 248-547-6699; bluenilemi.com Blufin Sushi 18584 Mack Ave., Grosse Pointe Farms; 313-3320050; blufinsushi.com Bobcat Bonnie’s 1800 Michigan Ave., Detroit; 313-962-1383; bobcatbonnies.com Bolero Latin Cuisine 51 W. Forest.

St., Detroit; 313-800-5059; facebook.com/bolerodetroit Bona Sera 200 W. Michigan Ave., Ypsilanti; 734-340-6335; bonaserarestaurant.com Bon Bon Bon Multiple locations, find one near you at bonbonbon. com Boostan Cafe 3470 Holbrook Ave., Hamtramck; 313-456-8100; boostancafehamtramck.com Boston’s 15133 Hall Rd., Shelby Twp.; 586-247-4992; bostons.com

Bert’s Marketplace 2727 Russell St., Detroit; 313-567-2030; bertsentertainmentcomplex.com

Brayz Hamburgers 22941 Dequindre Rd., Hazel Park; 248-5428878

Beverly Hills Grill 31471 South-

Bread Basket Deli Many south-

eastern Michigan locations at breadbasketdelis.com; 734-6777717 Brewery Restaurant 39950 Hayes Rd., Clinton Charter Twp.; 586286-3020; thebreweryonhayes. com Brooklyn Street Local 1266 Michigan Ave., Detroit; 313-262-6547; brooklynstreetlocal.com Brownie’s On The Lake 24214 Jefferson Ave., St. Clair Shores; 586-445-8080; browniesonthelake.com Brown Iron Brewhouse 57695 Van Dyke Rd., Washington; 586697-3300; browniron.com Brujo 474 Peterboro St., Detroit; 630-709-5720; brujodetroit.com B Spot Burgers 310 S. Main St., Royal Oak; 248-268-1621; bspotburgers.com Bucci 20217 Mack Ave., Grosse Pointe Woods; 313-882-1044; ristorantebucci.com Bucharest Multiple Locations; 313-965-3111; bucharestgrill.com/ locations Buddy’s Restaurant & Pizzeria see buddyspizza.com for their many southeastern Michigan locations Butter Run Saloon 27626 Harper Ave., St. Clair Shores; 586-6752115; butterrun.com Cadieux Cafe 4300 Cadieux Rd.; 313-882-8560; cadieuxcafe.com Caesar Windsor 377 Riverside Dr., Windsor, Ontario; 800-991-7777; caesars.com/caesars-windsor Cafe Cortina 30715 W. 10 Mile Rd., Farmington Hills; 248-4743033; cafecortina.com Cafe D’Mongo’s Speakeasy 1439 Griswold St., Detroit; 313-9610000 Cafe Muse 418 S. Washington Ave., Royal Oak, MI 48067; 248544-4749; cafemuseroyaloak.com Café Sushi 1933 W. Maple Rd., Troy; 248-280-1831 Cafe Via 310 E. Maple Rd., Birmingham; 248-644-8800; cafevia310.com Cafe Zola 112 W. Washington St., Ann Arbor; 734-769-2020; cafezola.com Camilia’s Mexican Grill Multiple locations; for addresses and phone numbers see cameliasmexicangrill. net Cantina Taqueria + Bar 1140 S. University Ave., Ann Arbor; 734222-3715; cantinaannarbor.com Cantoro Italian Market 15550 N. Haggerty Rd., Plymouth; 734-4201100; trattoria.cantoromarket.com

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Cass Cafe 4620 Cass Ave., Detroit; 313-831-1400; casscafe.com Catch 22 Bistro 2430 Pointe Tremble Rd., Algonac; 810-7944844; catch22bistro.net Caucus Club Detroit 150 W. Congress St., Detroit; 313-965-4970; caucusclubdetroit.com CAYA Smokehouse Grill 1403 S. Commerce Rd., Wolverine Lake; 248-438-6741; cayagrill.com Cedarland 13007 Warren Ave., Dearborn; 313-582-4849; cedarlandrestaurants.com

Commonwealth 300 Hamilton Row, Birmingham; 248-792-9766; gocommonwealth.com Compari’s on the Park 350 S. Main St., Plymouth; 734-416-0100; comparisdining.com The Conserva 201 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; 248-291-6133; theconserva.com Cork Wine Pub 23810 Woodward Ave., Pleasant Ridge; 248-5442675; corkwinepub.org Country Boy 821 E. Nine Mile Rd; Hazel Park; 248-543-7080

Centaur Bar 2233 Park Ave., Detroit; 313-963-4040; centaurbar. com

Craft Work 8047 Agnes St., Detroit; 313-469-0976; craftworkdetroit.com

Chartreuse Kitchen & Cocktails 15 E. Kirby St., Detroit; 313-8183915; chartreusekc.com

Crazy Gringo’s Mexican Cantina 34802 S. Gratiot Ave., Clinton Twp.; 586-213-1565; crazygringocantina.com

Chia Shiang 2016 Packard St., Ann Arbor; 734-741-0778 Chicken Shack For multiple locations, see chickenshack.com.

Chubby Duck 208 E. Grand River Ave., Detroit; 313-400-5414; chubbyducksushi.com The Chop House 322 S. Main St., Ann Arbor; 734-669-9977; thechophouserestaurant.com Christine’s Cuisine 729 E. Nine Mile Rd.; 248-584-3354;christinescuisineinc.com CJ Barrymore’s 21750 Hall Rd., Clinton Twp.; 586-469-2800; cjbarrymores.com CK Diggs 2010 W. Auburn Rd., Rochester Hills; 248-853-6600; ckdiggs.com Clancy’s Irish Pub 42012 Hayes Rd., Clinton Twp.; 586-286-0008; clancysirishpub1.com Clawson Steak House 56 S. Rochester Rd., Clawson; 248-588-5788; clawsonsteakhouse.com Clarkston Union Bar & Kitchen 54 S. Main St., Clarkston; 248-6206100; clarkstonunion.com Cliff Bell’s 2030 Park Ave., Detroit; 313-961-2543; cliffbells.com

Dilla’s Delights 242 John R St., Detroit; 313-346-3771

Arbor; 734-369-4765; firstbitefoods.com

Dime Store 719 Griswold St., Detroit; 313-962-9106; eatatdimestore.com

Fishbone’s 400 Monroe Ave., Detroit; 313-965-4600; for more locations, see fishbonesusa.com

Dino’s Lounge 22740 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; 248-591-3466; dinoslounge.com

Flood’s Bar 731 St Antoine St., Detroit; 313-963-1090; floodsdetroit.com

District Market Detroit 2645 Woodward Ave., Detroit; districtmarketdetroit.com

The Fly Trap 22950 Woodward Ave; 248-399-5150; theflytrapferndale.com

Double EE Restaurant 1861 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; 248-5442418; whistlestopdiners.com

Forest Grill 735 Forest Ave., Birmingham; 248-258-9400; forestbirmingham.com

Draught Horse Brewery 57721 Grand River Ave., New Hudson; 248-617-3000; draughthorsebrewery.com

Founders Brewing Co. 456 Charlotte St., Detroit; 313-335-3440; foundersbrewing.com

Due Venti 220 S. Main St., Clawson; 248-288-0220; dueventidining.com

Crispelli’s Multiple locations, for addresses and phone numbers see crispellis.com

Duggan’s 31501 Woodward Ave., Royal Oak; 248-549-3659; dugganspub.com

Dakota Inn Rathskeller 17324 John R St., Detroit; 313-867-9722; dakota-inn.com

Duly’s Place 5458 Vernor Hwy., Detroit; 313-554-3076

D’Amatos 222 Sherman Dr., Royal Oak; 248-584-7400; damatos.com Danny J’s 7759 Auburn Rd., Utica; 586.991.0407; dannyjs.com Dave & Buster’s 45511 Park Ave., Utica; 586-930-1515; 19375 Victor Parkway, Livonia; 734-452-4600; daveandbusters.com Detroit BBQ Company 8350 Saint Aubin St., Detroit; 586-8559012; detbbq.com Detroit Catering Company 313445-3895, detroitcateringcompany.com Detroit Dog Co. 200 W. Fifth Ave., Royal Oak; 248-291-6587; detroitdogco.com Detroit Fleat 1820 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; 248-607-7611; detroitfleat.com Detroit Institute of Bagels 1236 Michigan Ave., Detroit; 313-4449342; detroitinstituteofbagels.com

Clique 1326 E. Jefferson Ave., Detroit; 313-259-0922; cliquerestaurant.restaurantwebexpert.com

Detroit Street Filling Station 300 Detroit St.., Ann Arbor; 734224-2161; thelunchrooma2.com/ detroit-street-filling-station

Cloverleaf Fine Wine & Craft Beer 711 S. Main St., Royal Oak; 248-357-0400; cloverleafwine.com

Detroit Taco Co. 304 N. Main St., Royal Oak; 248-542-1400; detroittaco.com

Cloverleaf Pizza Multiple locations, find one near you at cloverleaf-pizza.com

Detroit Vegan Soul 8029 Agnes St., Detroit; 313-649-2759; detroitvegansoul.com

Coco Fairfields 2959 12 Mile Rd., Berkley; 248-399-2626; cocofairfields.com

Diamond Jim Brady’s 1214 S. Main St., Royal Oak; 248-306-1954; jimbradysdetroit.com:

Coliseum 11300 E. Eight Mile Rd., Detroit; 313-527-6969; coliseum8mile.com

Dick O’Dows 160 W. Maple Rd., Birmingham; 248-642-1135; dickodowspub.com

Dutch Girl Donuts 19000 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-368-3020 East Lake Chinese Restaurant 5087 Rochester Rd., Troy; 248-7409522 Eatori Market 1215 Griswold St., Detroit; 313-395-3030; eatorimarket.com Eddie V’s 2100 W. Big Beaver Rd., Troy; 248-649-7319; eddiev.com E.G. Nick’s 500 Forest Ave., Plymouth; 734-414-6400; egnicksdtp. com El Asador Steakhouse 1312 Springwells St., Detroit; 313-297-2360; elasadordetroit.com El Barzon 3710 Junction St., Detroit; 313-894-2070; elbarzonrestaurant.com El Charro 3651 Rochester Rd., Troy; 248-688-9642; elcharrousa. com Elie’s Mediterranean Grill and Bar 263 Pierce St., Birmingham; 248-647-2420; eliesgrill.com The Emory 22700 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; theemoryferndale. com Ernie’s Market 8500 Capital St., Oak Park; 248-541-9703 Exodos 528 Monroe, Detroit; 313962-1300; exodosrooftop.com The Farmer’s Hand 1701 Trumbull Ave., Detroit; 313-377-8262; thefarmershand.com Firebird Tavern 419 Monroe St., Detroit; 313-782-4189; firebirdtavern.com First Bite 108 S. Main St., Ann

Frita Batidos 117 W. Washington St., Ann Arbor; 734-761-2882; fritabatidos.com Garrido’s 19605 Mack Ave., Grosse Pointe Woods; 313-4663042; garridosbistro.com Gator Jake’s Bar & Grill 36863 Van Dyke Ave., Sterling Heights; 586-983-3700 Giordano’s Pizza 1224 Randolph St., Detroit; 313-752-0441; giordanos.com Giovanni’s 330 Oakwood Blvd., Detroit; 313-841-0122; giovannisristorante.com Gold Cash Gold 2100 Michigan Ave., Detroit; 313-242-0770; goldcashgolddetroit.com Golden Fleece Restaurant 525 Monroe St., Detroit, 313-962-7093 Grand Trunk Pub 612 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-961-3043; grandtrunk.pub Granite City Food and Brewery 100 Renaissance Center #1101, Detroit; 313-309-9120; 699 W. Big Beaver Rd., Troy; 248-519-1040; 39603 Traditions Dr., Northville; 248-662-3400; gcfb.com Grape Leaves Multiple locations, find one near you at grapeleavesrestaurant.com Gratzi 326 S. Main St., Ann Arbor; 734-663-5555; gratzirestaurant.com The Great Baraboo Brewing 35905 Utica Rd., Clinton Twp.; 586792-7397; greatbaraboo.com The Greek 535 Monroe Ave., Detroit; 313-209-6667 Green Dot Stables 2200 W. Lafayette Blvd., Detroit; 313-9625588; greendotstables.com Green Lantern 28960 John R Rd., Madison Heights; 15505 15 Mile Rd., Clinton Twp.; greenlanternlounge.com Green Space Cafe 215 W. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; 248-206-7510; greenspacecafe.com

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Grey Ghost Detroit 47 Watson St., Detroit; 313-262-6534; greyghostdetroit.com Hamido 13251 W. Warren Ave., Dearborn; 313-582-0660; hamidorestaurant.com Hamlin Corners 386 N. Main St., Royal Oak; 248-556-5428; hamlincorner.com Hard Rock Cafe Detroit 45 Monroe Ave., Detroit; 313-964-7625; hardrock.com Haymaker Public House 203 E. Washington St., Ann Arbor; 734997-5399; haymakerpublichouse. com Henry Ford College Culinary Arts School 5101 Evergreen Rd., Dearborn; 313-845-6390; culinary. hfcc.edu Hideout 1110 W. 14 Mile Rd., Clawson; 248-435-2494; hideoutclawson.com Hill Seafood and Chophouse 123 Kercheval Ave., Grosse Pointe Farms; 313-886-8101; thehillgrossepointe.com Hippies Pizza 121 E. 13 Mile Rd., Royal Oak; 248-733-1111; hippiespizza.com Honest John’s 488 Selden St., Detroit; 313-832-5646; honestjohnsdetroit.com HopCat 4265 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-769-8828; 208 Fifth Ave, Royal Oak; 248-556-2202; 311 Maynard St., Ann Arbor; 734-4362875; hopcat.com Hudson Café 1241 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-237-1000; hudson-cafe.com Hunter House 35075 Woodward Ave., Birmingham; 248-646-7121; hunterhousehamburgers.com Huron Room 2547 Bagley Ave., Detroit; 313-265-3325; huronroom.com Hyde Park Prime Steakhouse 201 S. Old Woodward Ave., Birmingham; 248-594-4369; hydeparkrestaurants.com Hygrade Deli 3640 Michigan Ave., Detroit; 313-894-6620; hygradedeli.com i Luv Cheese 40850 Van Dyke Ave., Sterling Heights; 586-7227956; iluvcheese.net Ima 2015 Michigan Ave., Detroit; 313-502-5959; imanoodles.com Imperial 22828 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; 248-850-8060; imperialferndale.com International Banquet Center 400 Monroe St., Detroit; 313-9631400; internationalbanquets.com Inyo 7170 Orchard Lake Rd., West Bloomfield Twp.; 248-851-8888;

22871 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; 248-543-9500; inyorestaurant.com

La Dulce 115 S. Main St., Royal Oak; 248-268-1719; ladulce.com

Iridescence 2901 Grand River Ave., Detroit; 313-237- 7711; motorcitycasino.com

Lady of the House 1426 Bagley Ave., Detroit; 313-818-0218; ladyofthehousedetroit.com

Irish Craft 36759 Mound Rd., Sterling Heights; 586-264-9500;theirishcraft.com

Lafayette Coney Island 118 W. Lafayette Blvd., Detroit; 313-9648198

Iron Horse 316 W. Fourth St., Royal Oak; 248-291-6313; facebook. com/ironhorsero

La Feria Spanish Tapas Restaurant 4130 Cass Ave., Detroit; 313285-9081; laferiadetroit.com

Lula’s Louisiana Cookhouse 113 S. Washington St., Owosso; 989720-LULA (5852); lulascookhouse. com

Jacoby’s German Biergarten 624 Brush St., Detroit; 313-962-7067; jacobysbar.com

La Gloria Bakery 3345 Bagley Ave., Detroit; 313-842-5722

M&M Cafe 13714 Michigan Ave., Dearborn; 313-581-5775

La Lanterna 1244 Griswold St., Detroit; 313-962-8821; daedoardo. net/lalanterna

Mabel Gray 23825 John R Rd., Hazel Park; 248-398-4300; mabelgraykitchen.com

Joe Bar 23839 John R Rd., Hazel Park; 248-291-5711; joebar.com

La Marsa Multiple locations, find one near you at lamarsacuisine. com

Madison’s Pub 15 N. Walnut St., Mount Clemens; 586-468-7777; madisonspubmtclemens.com

Joe Muer Seafood 400 Renaissance Center, Ste. 1404, Detroit; 313-567-6837; joemuerseafood. com

La Palma 113 E. Canfield St., Detroit; 313-833-5000; eatatlapalma. com

Mad Hatter Bistro 185 N. Old Woodward Ave., Birmingham; 248-540-0000; madhatterbistro. com

The Jamaican Pot 14615 W. Eight Mile Rd., Detroit; 313-659-6033; thejamaicanpot.com

Joe’s Hamburgers 3041 Biddle Ave., Wyandotte; 734-285-0420; joeshamburgers.net Johnny Noodle King 2601 W. Fort St., Detroit; 313-309-7946; johnnynoodleking.com Jolly Pumpkin Multiple locations, find one near you at jollypumpkin. com J’s Penalty Box 22726 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; 248-398-4070; jspenaltybox.com Kapone’s 24301 Harper Ave., St Clair Shores; 586-200-5242; kaponesbar.com Kid Rock’s Made in Detroit 2645 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-4628620; kidrockrestaurant.com Kona Grill 30 E. Big Beaver Rd., Troy; 248-619-9060; konagrill.com Kosmo’s Late Nite Bopshop 308 S. Ashley St., Ann Arbor; 734-3694767; facebook.com/kosmobop KouZina 121 N. Main St., Royal Oak; 248-629-6500; gokouzina. com Kruse and Muer Multiple locations, find one near you at kruseandmuerrestaurants.com Kuhnhenn Brewing Company 36000 Groesbeck Hwy., Charter Twp of Clinton; 586-231-0249; more locations at kbrewery.com Kuzzo’s Chicken & Waffles 19345 Livernois Ave., Detroit; 313-8610229; kuzzoschickenandwaffles. com La Bohéme French Café 8100 Kercheval Ave., Detroit; 313-9266240; facebook.com/labohemedetroit La Dolce Vita 17546 Woodward Ave; 313-865-0331; ldvrestaurant.net

La Pecora Nera 1514 Washington Blvd., Detroit; 313-315-3040 La Strada Dolci E. Caffe 243 E. Merrill St., Birmingham; 248-4800492; lastradadolciecaffe.com Lelli’s 885 N. Opdyke Rd., Auburn Hills; 248-373-4440; lellisrestaurant.com Leo’s Coney Island Multiple locations, find one near you at leosconeyisland.com Level 2 535 Monroe Ave., Detroit; 313-420-1990; leveltwodetroit. com Library Sports Pub and Grill 42705 Grand River Ave., Novi; 248349-9110, librarypub.com Lilys Seafood 410 S. Washington Ave., Royal Oak; 248-591-5459; lilysseafood.com Little Tree Sushi 107 S. Main St., Royal Oak; 248-586-0994; littletreesushibarinc.com Little Z’s 22428 Greater Mack Ave., St. Clair Shores; 586-5851000; littlezsbbq.com Livernois Tap 567 Livernois St., Ferndale; 248-284-2422; axlebrewing.com/wordpress/livernois-tap Lockhart’s BBQ 202 E. Third St., Royal Oak; 248-584-4227; 37 E. Flint St., Lake Orion; 248-6909362; lockhartsbbq.com Logan 115 W. Washington St., Ann Arbor; 734-327-2312; loganrestaurant.com.

London Chop House 155 W. Congress St., Detroit; 313-962-0277; thelondonchophouse.com: Louisiana Creole Gumbo 2051 Gratiot Ave., Detroit; 313-567-1200 detroitgumbo.com Loui’s Pizza 23141 Dequindre Rd., Hazel Park, 248-547-1711;

louispizza.net Lou’s Deli 19440 W. Seven Mile Rd., Detroit; 313-538-0274; for other locations, see lousdeli.net Luciano’s 39091 Garfield Rd., Clinton Twp.; 586-263-6540; lucianosfinestitaliancuisinerestaurant.com

Malarkey’s 35750 Warren Rd., Westland; 734-421-0746; malarkeyswestland.com Maine Street Restaurant 11650 Joseph Campau St., Hamtramck; 313-368-0500; mainestreetrestaurant.com Majestic Cafe 4140 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-833-9700; majesticdetroit.com Mallie’s Sports Grill and Bar 19400 Northline Rd., Southgate; 734-287-0800; malliesbar.com Mani Osteria 341 E. Liberty St., Ann Arbor; 734-769-6700; maniosteria.com Marcus Burger 6349 E. McNichols Rd., Detroit; 313-891-6170 Mario’s 4222 Second Ave., Detroit; 313-832-1616; mariosdetroit. com Maru Sushi 160 W. Fort St., Detroit; 313-315-3100; marurestaurant.com/detroit The Masters Restaurant 1775 W. 13 Mile Rd., Madison Heights; 248588-0915; themastersrestaurant. com Maty’s Senegalese Restaurant 21611 Grand River Ave., Detroit; 313-472-5885 M-Brew 177 Vester Ave., Ferndale; 248-542-2739; mbrewonline. com M Cantina 13214 Michigan Ave., Dearborn; 313-399-9117 McShane’s 1460 Michigan Ave., Detroit; 313-961-1960; mcshanespub.com McVee’s 23380 Telegraph Rd., Southfield; 248-352-8243; mcvees. com M.C. ’Wiches 172 W. Nine Mile

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Rd., Ferndale; 248-439-9424; mcwiches.com Mercury Burger Bar 2163 Michigan Ave., Detroit; 313-964-5000 Mesa Tacos 312 S. Main St., Royal Oak; likemesa.com; 248-545-1940 Mexican Village 2600 Bagley Ave., Detroit; 313-237-0333; mexicanvillagefood.com MGM Grand Palette Dining Studio 1777 Third St., (inside MGM Grand Detroit); 313-393-7777; mgmgranddetroit.com Michigan Food Sales 16901 Harper Ave., Detroit, Michigan; 313-882-7779 Michigo Pizza 255 W. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; 248-439-6195; michigopizza.com Miller’s Bar 23700 Michigan Ave., Dearborn; 313-565-2577; millersbar.com Mike’s Pizza Bar 2515 Woodward Ave.; 313-782-4589; mikespizzabardetroit.com MOCAD Cafe 78 4454 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-832-6622; mocadetroit.org/about/cafe-78 Moro’s Dining 6535 Allen Rd., Allen Park; 313-382-7152; morosdining.com The Morrie 511 S. Main St., Royal Oak; 248-216-1112, themorrie.com Motor City Brewing Works 470 W. Canfield St., Detroit; 313-8322700; motorcitybeer.com Motor City Sports Bar 9122 Joseph Campau Ave., Hamtramck; 313-875-4710 Motz’s Burgers 7208 W. Fort St., Detroit; 313-843-9186; www. motzsburgers.com Mr. B’s Gastropub 215 S. Main St., Royal Oak; 248-399-0017; mrbspub.com Mr. Kabob Mediterranean Grille and Catering Multiple locations, find one near you at mrkabob.com Mr. Paul’s Chop House 29850 Groesbeck Hwy., Roseville; 586777-7770; mrpaulschophouse.com Mr. Miguel’s 215 S. Main St., Royal Oak; 248-399-0017; mrbspub.com Mudgie’s 1300 Porter St., Detroit; 313-961-2000; mudgiesdeli.com National Coney Island Multiple locations, find one near you at nationalconeyisland.com Nemo’s 1384 Michigan Ave., Detroit, 313- 965-3180; nemosdetroit. com Neopapalis 500 E. William St., Ann Arbor; 734-929-2227; neopapalis.com New Dodge 8850 Joseph Cam-

pau Ave., Hamtramck; 313-8745963; facebook.com/newdodgehamtramck New Palace Bakery 9833 Joseph Campau Ave., Hamtramck; 313875-1334; newpalacebakery.com New York Bagel Multiple locations, find one near you at newyorkbagel-detroit.com Nick’s 22nd Street Steakhouse 48900 Van Dyke Ave., Shelby Twp.; 586-731-3900; 22ndstreetsteakhouse.com Nico & Vali 744 Wing St., Plymouth; 734-207-7880; nicoandvali. com Niki’s Pizza 735 Beaubien St., Detroit; 313-961-4303; nikisdetroit. com Nip N. Tuck 3170 W. Eleven Mile Rd., Berkley; 248-547-8851; facebook.com/nipntuckberkley/ Nobel Fish 45 E. 14 Mile Rd., Clawson; 245-585-2314; noblefish. com/dining.htm Nomad 26555 Telegraph Rd., Southfield; 313-567-2622; thenomadgrill.com Northern Lights Lounge 660 W. Baltimore St., Detroit; 313-8731739; northernlightslounge.com Novi Chop House at Crowne Plaza Detroit-Novi, 27000 Karevich Dr., Novi; 248-305-5210; novichophouse.com Oak City Grille 212 W. 6th St., Royal Oak; 248-556-0947; oakcitygrille.com O’Connor’s Public House 324 South Main Street, Rochester; 248-608-2537; oconnorsrochester. com Old Miami 39390 Cass Ave., Detroit, Michigan; 313-831-3830; facebook.com/theoldmiami Old Shillelagh 349 Monroe St., Detroit; 313-964-0007; oldshillelagh.com Olga’s Kitchen Multiple locations, for one near you check out olgas. com O’Mara’s 2555 Twelve Mile Rd., Berkley; 248-399-6750; omaras.net Om Cafe 23136 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; 248-548-1941; omcafe. com

otussupply.com

andproperdetroit.com

O.W.L. 27302 Woodward Ave., Royal Oak; 248-808-6244; owlwoodward.com;

Pronto 608 S. Washington Ave., Royal Oak; 248-544-7900; facebook.com/prontorestaurantRO/

Paradise Park 45799 Grand River Ave., Novi; 248-735-1050; paradiseparknovi.com

Public House 241 W. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; 248-850-7420; facebook.com/publichouseferndale

Parc 800 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-922-7272; parcdetroit.com

Punch Bowl Social 1331 Broadway St., Detroit; 313-749-9738; punchbowlsocial.com

Parks and Rec Diner 1942 Grand River Ave., Detroit; 313-446-8370: parksandrecdiner.com Pasquales 31555 Woodward Ave., Royal Oak; 248-549-4002; pasqualesrestaurant.com Patrick J’S 3052 12 Mile Rd., Berkley; 248-268-3909; patrickjsirishpub.com Penthouse 20771 W. Eight Mile Rd., Detroit; 313-541-7000; penthousedet.com Pepe Z at El Club 4114 W. Vernor Hwy., Detroit; 313-436-1793; elclubdetroit.com Peterboro 420 Peterboro St., Detroit; 313-833-1111; thepeterboro. com Phoenicia Restaurant 588 S. Old Woodward Ave., Birmingham; 248-644-3122; phoeniciabirmingham.com Pho Lucky Detroit 3111 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-338-3895; pholucky.net Pie-Sci 5163 Trumbull Ave., Detroit; 313-818-0290; piescipizza. com PizzaPlex 4458 W. Vernor Hwy., Detroit; 313-757-4992; pizzaplex. wordpress.com Pointless Brewing + Theater 3014 Packard St., Ann Arbor; 989455-4484; pointlessbrew.com Polish Village Cafe 2990 Yemans St.; 313-874-5726; polishvillagecafe.us Plaza Deli 29145 Northwestern Hwy., Southfield; 248-356-2310; theepicureangroup.com Pollo Chapin 2054 Junction St., Detroit; 313-843-1885 Polonia Restaurant 2934 Yemans St., Hamtramck; 313-873-8432, polonia-restaurant.net

Pupuseria y Restaurante Salvadoreno 3149 Livernois Ave., Detroit; 313-899-4020 Que Huong’s 30820 John R Rd., Madison Heights; 248-588-0998 Queens Bar 35 E. Grand River Ave., Detroit; 313-285-8019; facebook.com/queensbardetroit The Rattlesnake Club 300 River Place Dr., Detroit, 313-567-4400; rattlesnakedetroit.com Ray’s Ice Cream 4233 Coolidge Hwy., Royal Oak; 888-549-5256; raysicecream.com Ready Player One 407 E. Fort St., Detroit; 313-395-3300; rpodetroit. com Redcoat Tavern 31542 Woodward Ave., Royal Oak; 248-549-0300 Red Dunn Kitchen 1331 Trumbull Ave., Ste. 100, Detroit; 313-8879477; reddunnkitchen.com Red Hots Coney Island 12 Victor St., Highland Park; 313-868-0766; redhotsconeyisland.com Red Olive Restaurant Multiple locations, find one near you at redoliverestaurant.com Renshaw Lounge 210 E. 14 Mile Rd., Clawson; 248-616-3016; renshawlounge.com Republic Tavern 1942 Grand River Ave., Detroit; 313-446-8360; republictaverndetroit.com Republica 1999 Coolidge Highway, Berkley; 248-268-3175; republicaberkley.com River Bistro Detroit 18456 Grand River Ave., Detroit; 313-953-2225; riverbistrodetroit.com Roast 1128 Washington Blvd., Detroit; 313-961-2500; roastdetroit. com

Pop’s For Italian 280 W. Nine Mile Rd., #2, Ferndale; 248-268-4806; popsforitalian.com

Rock City Eatery 4216 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-265-3729; rockcityeatery.com

Portofino 3455 Biddle Ave., Wyandotte; 734-281-6700; portofinoontheriver.com

Rock on Third 112 E. Third St., Royal Oak; 248-542-7625; rockon3rd.com

Ottava Via 1400 Michigan Ave., Detroit; 313-962-5500; ottavavia. com

Premier Events Center 20400 S. Nunneley Rd., Clinton Twp.; 586791-7760; premiereventscenter. com

Rogers Roost 33626 Schoenherr Rd., Sterling Heights; 586-9797550; rogersroost1.com

Otus Supply 345 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale, MI 48220;

Prime and Proper 1145 Griswold St., Detroit; 313-636-3100; prime-

One-Eyed Betty’s 175 W. Troy St., Ferndale; 248-808-6633; oneeyedbettys.com Original Pancake House Multiple locations, find one near you at originalpancakehouse.com

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Rosie O’Grady’s Multiple locations, find one near you at rosieogradysirishpub.com Ronin 326 W. Fourth St., Royal Oak; 248-546-0888; roninsushi. com

gan Ave., Dearborn; 313-241-8023; sheebarestaurant.com Shield’s Restaurant and Pizzeria Multiple locations, find one near you at shieldspizza.com

Sy Thai Café 459 E. Big Beaver Rd., Troy; 248-817-2694; sythairestaurant.com Takoi 2520 Michigan Ave., Detroit; 313-855-2864; takoidetroit.com

Liberty St.; 313-962-8800; vicente.us Villa Restaurant & Pizzeria 21311 Gratiot Ave., Eastpointe; 586-7781780

Royale with Cheese 4163 Cass Ave., Detroit; 313-315-3014; royaledetroit.com

Silver Spoon Ristorante 6830 N. Rochester Rd., Rochester Hills; 248-652-4500; silverspoonristorante.com

TAP at MGM Grand 1777 Third Ave., Detroit; 313-465-1234; mgmgranddetroit.com/en/restaurants/ tap-at-mgm-grand-detroit.html

Royal Oak Brewery 215 E. Fourth St., Royal Oak; 248-544-1141; royaloakbrewery.com

Sindbad’s Restaurant and Marina 100 St. Clair St., Detroit, 313822-8000; sindbads.com

Taqueria El Rey 4730 Vernor Hwy., Detroit; 313-357-3094; taqueria-elrey.com

Royal Oak Taphouse : 714 S. Washington Ave., Royal Oak; 248548-9377; royaloaktaphouse.com

Sister Pie 8066 Kercheval Ave., Detroit; 313-447-5550; sisterpie. com

Vinsetta Garage 27799 Woodward Ave., Berkley; 248-548-7711; vinsettagarage.com

Rugby Grille 100 Townsend St., Birmingham; 248-642-5999; townsendhotel.com

The Skip 1234 Library St., Detroit; theskipdetroit.com

Taqueria Mi Pueblo 7278 Dix St., Detroit; 313-841-3315 mipueblorestaurant.pagecloud. com

Vivio’s Food and Spirits 2460 Market St., Detroit; 313-393-1711; viviosdetroit.net

Russell Street Deli 2465 Russell St., Detroit; 313-567-2900; russellstreetdeli.com Rusted Crow Detroit 78 W. Adams Ave., Detroit; 313-782-4751; rustedcrowdetroit.com Sabby’s Lounge 25010 Harper Ave., St Clair Shores; 586-7715121; sabbys.biz Santorini Estiatorio 501 Monroe Ave., Detroit; 313-962-9366; santorinidetroit.com Sava’s 216 S. State St., Ann Arbor; 734-623-2233; savasrestaurant. com Scotty Simpson’s Fish & Chips 22200 Fenkell Ave., Detroit; 313533-0950; scottysfishandchips. com Selden Standard 3921 Second Ave., Detroit; 313-438-5055; seldenstandard.com Serendipity Cakery, A 1752 Eureka Rd., Wyandotte; 734-925-6238; cakedropsgalore.com Sgt. Pepperoni’s Pizzeria & Deli 4140 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-833-7272; majesticdetroit. com/sgt-pepperonis-detroit Shake Shack 660 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-672-0501; shakeshack. com Shangri-La Detroit 4710 Cass Ave., Detroit; 313-974-7669; midtownshangri-la.com Shangri-La West Bloomfield 6407 Orchard Lake Rd., West Bloomfield Twp.; 248-626-8585; dineshangrila.com Shark’s BBQ 4845 Rochester Rd., Metro Detroit, Troy; 248-2506412; sharksbbq.com Shatila Bakery 14300 W. Warren Ave., Dearborn; 313-582-1952; shatila.com Sheeba Restaurant 8752 Joseph Campau Ave., Hamtramck; 313874-0299; 10327 Dix Ave., Dearborn; 313-841-9900; 13919 Michi-

Slows Bar-B-Q 2138 Michigan Ave., Detroit; 313-962-9828; find more locations at slowsbarbq.com Slurping Turtle 608 E. Liberty St., Ann Arbor; 734-887-6868; slurpingturtle.com Small Plates 1521 Broadway St., Detroit; 313-963-0702; smallplates. com Small’s 10339 Conant St., Hamtramck; 313-873-1117; smallsbardetroit.com Smoke’s Poutinerie 1300 S. University Ave., Ann Arbor; 734-4081350; smokespoutinerie.com Social Kitchen and Bar 225 E. Maple Rd., Birmingham; 248-5944200; socialkitchenandbar.com Sports and Social Detroit 28 Henry St., Detroit; 313-782-4778; sportsandsocialdetroit.com Stache International 1416 E. Fisher Service Dr.; 313-974-6895; stacheinternational.com Stage Delicatessen 6873 Orchard Lake Rd., West Bloomfield Twp.; 248-855-6622; thestagedeli.com Standby 225 Gratiot Ave., Detroit; 313-736-5533; standbydetroit.com Starter’s Bar & Grill Find locations downtown, in Midtown, and in Dearborn at startersdetroit.com Strada 366 N. Main St., Royal Oak; 248-607-3127; stradaroyaloak.com Streetside Seafood 273 Pierce St., Birmingham; 248-645-9123; streetsideseafood.com Supino Pizzeria 2457 Russell St., Detroit; 313-567-7879; supinopizzeria.com Sweet Lorraine’s Fabulous Mac N Cheez! see macncheez.com for full list of locations; 847-261-4143 Sweet Potato Sensations 17337 Lahser Road, Detroit; 313-5327996; sweetpotatosensations.com Sweetwater Tavern 400 E. Congress St., Detroit; 313-962-2210; sweetwatertavern.net

Taqueria Nuestra Familia 7620 Vernor Hwy., Detroit; 313-8425668; nuestrafamiliadetroit.com Taste of China 27626 Middlebelt Rd., Farmington Hills; 248-4748183; tasteofchinami.com Telway Hamburgers 6820 Michigan Ave., Detroit; 313-843-2146 Terry Terrace 36470 Jefferson Ave., Harrison Twp.; 586-463-2671; terrystime.com Teta Foods 19775 15 Mile Rd., Clinton Twp.; 313-432-2121; tetafoods.com Three Blind Mice Irish Pub 101 N. Main St., Mount Clemens; 586961-6371; threeblindmiceirishpub. com Three Nicks Scoreboard 18713 Van Born Rd., Allen Park; 313-5638349; more locations at 3nicksbars.com

Vince’s Italian Restaurant 1341 Springwells St., Detroit; 313-8424857; vincesdetroit.com

Voyager 600 Vester Ave., Ferndale; 248-658-4999; voyagerferndale.com Watermark Bar & Grille 24420 Jefferson Ave., St Clair Shores; 586-777-3677; watermarkbarandgrille.com Whistle Stop Multiple locations, find one near you at whistlestopdiners.com The Whitney 4421 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-832-5700; thewhitney.com Woodpile BBQ Shack 303 S. Main St., Clawson; 248-565-8149; woodpilebbqshack.com Woodward Avenue Brewers 22646 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; 248-546-3696; thewabferndale. com

Third Street Bar 4626 Third Ave., Detroit; 313-833-0603

Wright & Co. 1500 Woodward Ave., second floor, Detroit; 313962-7711; wrightdetroit.com

Toast 23144 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; 248-398-0444; eatattoast.com

The Wurst Bar 705 W. Cross St., Ypsilanti; 734-485-6720; wurstbarypsi.com

Toast Birmingham 203 Pierce St., Birmingham; 248-258-6278; eatattoast.com

Xochimilco Restaurant 3409 Bagley Ave., Detroit; 313-8430179; xochimilcorestaurant.com

Toasted Oak Grill & Market at the Baronette Renaissance 27790 Novi Rd., Novi; 248-2776000; toastedoak.com

Yemen Café 8740 Joseph Campau Ave., Hamtramck; 313-8714349

Tom’s Oyster Bar 318 S. Main St., Royal Oak; 248-541-1186; tomsoysterbar.com

Ye Olde Tap Room 14915 Charlevoix St. Detroit; 313-824-1030; yeoldetaproom.com

Tony V’s Tavern 5756 Cass Ave., Detroit; 313-833-5595;tonyvstavern.com Townhouse 500 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-723-1000; eatattownhouse.com Trattoria Da Luigi 415 S. Washington Ave., Royal Oak; 248-5424444; trattoriapizzeriadaluigi.com Treat Dreams For locations in Midtown and Ferndale, see treatdreams.com Vicente’s Cuban Cuisine 1250

Yuzu Sushi 32832 Woodward Ave., Royal Oak; 248-556-5444; yuzusushico.com Zeke’s Rock ‘n’ Roll BBQ 240 W. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale; 248-2067130; zekesrnrbbq.com Zingerman’s Roadhouse 2501 Jackson Ave., Ann Arbor; 734663-3663; zingermansroadhouse. com Z’s Villa 42 Piquette Ave., Detroit; 313-874-2680; zsvilladet.com

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