Just in time for Flower Day, here is a rundown of recent happenings at Eastern Market Corporation and some of our favorite businesses, new and old. The 121-year-old public market has recently been reborn and is in so many ways the heart of Detroit, thanks to the diligent efforts of EMC President Dan Carmody as well as ambitious artisan vendors and entrepreneurs.
After closing late last year, the 118-year-old R. Hirt Jr. Co. in Eastern Market has been re-opened by the same family but under a new name. It's got all the same historic charm with some much-needed remodeling to modernize the space, and we daresay it's even better than before.
Michael Mina might not be the most recognizable name or face in celebrity chefdom, but his is still the only celeb chef presence in Detroit with two high-end restaurants under his name. This is what he had to say about it.
Michael Symon "gets" the Midwest. This is what he had to say about Detroit.
A photographic sojourn through mid-south-western Michigan's fine breweries with Motor City Brew Tours and other meeeeeedia. With funny captions.
Detroit has always been a meat-and-potatoes kind of town, but lately it seems like it's more meat-and-mac 'n cheese ... a rumination on Detroit's newfound upscale barbecue specialization.
Happy Oberon Day! Today Bell's summer seasonal brew Oberon is released to the masses, marking the true start of spring.
Detroit's legendary Green Dot Stables is reopening, but the real story behind this bar is likely to go down in Detroit's history yet another unsolved mystery, like "Who killed Jimmy Hoffa?"
A reflection on being alone in Dublin on St. Patrick's Day.
The 100-year-old garage that has its own TV show is now becoming a restaurant! This is a very exclusive sneak peak inside the preservation/renovation of Vinsetta Garage, a new restaurant opening this spring from the people behind Autoweek and Clarkston's infamous Union Woodshop.
Meet Eddie Farah and Adis Celic. You don't know them yet, but you will. John D Bistro is Ferndale's next newest hotspot, and they're taking things to a whole new level Ferndale has yet to see.
There are beer bars, then there are beer shrines. Clubhouse BFD is a juried exhibit of the brewing arts, where every day is Beer Fest.
If you like food carts and grilled cheese sandwiches, Cheese Dream is a dream come true. The newest addition in the upcoming 2012 season of Mark's Carts food cart corral, Cheese Dream takes the classic childhood comfort food and gives it a gourmet spin from classically-trained chefs.
Want to find love in Detroit? Here are some ways to ignite the spark this Valentine's Day, from finding your inner salsero at Vicente's Cuban Cuisine, keeping things fun with feather bowling and strong Belgian beer at Cadieux Cafe, following the The Dirty Show with a Dirty Detroit martini at valentine vodka, or taking a staycation at one of our AAA four-diamond-rated hotels.
From the Book of Duderonomy: To be a "solid dude" means that you're a good guy and your band's good too. For Dave and Derek of Solid Dudes Kitchen, it's all about putting good in so you get good out. Just like a crockpot.
JANUARY 13, 2012 A Conversation with Wolfgang PuckHe's been called "The Greatest Chef in the World." I had the chance to sit down with Wolfgang Puck while he was in town for the NAIAS and I got to find out a little more about the life of the world's first true celebrity chef.
AJ's Music Cafe is a community coffee house, and owner AJ O'Neil is also a potential congressional candidate. But what makes him a true representative of the voice of the people, and how does a coffee house help to create community? Read on.
Blair Nosan learned how to ferment vegetables on a Jewish farm in Connecticut, and is now using that knowledge and experience to build her community at home. This is how food sovereignty, community and spirituality can connect ... through pickles.
From stand-up comedy to a specialty beer and food store, Tim Costello of 8 Degrees Plato Beer Company in Ferndale would like you to come visit him and give him money. In exchange he will give you beer and even throw in a laugh or two for free.
Pete Steffy's hobby has turned into a full-fledged business thanks to Michigan's loosened cottage food industry laws and an increasing interest and demand for locally-made artisan food products. The Paris of the Midwest finally has its own chocolatier.
Detroit isn't the only city with art on the brain. Grand Rapids is a world-class destination about to be made world-famous by ArtPrize. But until then, metro Detroiters can enjoy this arts- and food-savvy city that's less than three hours away. It won't be our little secret for long!
It may not be gastro this-or-that, but this is MY Big Boy, and it's yours too.
Tony Sacco's Coal Oven Pizza makes true Neapolitan-style pizzas in a mammoth coal-fueled oven for a flavor that's fairly new to metro Detroit (and to the pizza world at large). But there's really nothing new about it.
They don't have a website, a Facebook page, and they don't advertise, but this 100% from-scratch bakery on Detroit's northwest side has been around for 17 years and consistently gets lines out the door. Walk in and smell the butter.
The Dexter Cider Mill is the oldest continuously-operating cider mill in Michigan, and has all that old world Americana nostalgic charm we love most about the cider mill experience - which is exactly why owner Richard Koziski took this on as his "retirement" project.
Annette May was the first female Certified Cicerone in the world, and is also an inspiration to other female beer nerds. Nicole sits down with Annette and her husband and finds out what it's like inside the world of the Cicerone.
We love our own Michigan wine countries, but if you live in metro Detroit there's one wine country that's even closer - Lake Erie North Shore in southern Ontario, less than an hour drive from downtown Detroit over the Ambassador Bridge. We love it because it's close, but also because the wines are fantastic and you can only get them here.
New owners have re-branded Chateau de Leelanau into a young, playful label, and have also introduced some flagship wines that demand to be noticed.
SEPTEMBER 24, 2011 The 5 Days of DRW: 24grilleExecutive Chef Christian Borden is redefining 24grille inside the Westin Book Cadillac; it will live in the shadow of Roast no more. His ambitious DRW menu is leagues beyond his competition.
Cops and Doughnuts is a 115-year-old cop-owned from-scratch bakery in downtown Clare, but it's also something more.
SEPTEMBER 9, 2011 Community COLORS: It's Still a Jungle Out There
The restaurant industry is the country's largest private sector employer in the country, yet slave wages and institutionalized racism are rampant. Colors - Detroit is working to change that.
SEPTEMBER 2, 2011 iBurger: Hamburgers Gone HalalThere are lots of places in Dearborn to get a good burger, but iBurger is the only place serving lean, juicy Angus-certified beef. It's also the only burger joint that is certified halal in a city where even McDonald's serves a halal McNugget.
AUGUST 26, 2011 Star Lanes Inside Emagine Theatre: It's a Restaurant, TooThe innovative Michigan-owned Emagine Theatre chain thinks outside the big box with an upscale bowling alley and sports bar serving gourmet bar food under Executive Chef Matthew Johnson.
AUGUST 12, 2011 The Root: Back to Basics
Executive Chef James Rigato rejects the contrived trappings of the fine dining industry and regales in the bounty and beauty of Michigan's agriculture, making believers out of us all over again.
In response to the bewildering backlash against Whole Foods opening a store in Detroit -- we take the Whole Foods 365 Everyday Value product line and compare prices to similar items at two other prominent Detroit grocery stores. The results were surprising.
JULY 29, 2011 Las Brisas: "Breeze" on Down Vernor for the Place That Has EverythingA little bit off the beaten path of Mexicantown lies Las Brisas, a spacious restaurant and nightclub with fantastic food and top-notch international talent.
It only took 120 years, but Eastern Market finally has its first ice cream shop.
It's a story about a cooler. And about street art. And about corporate commodification. And the authenticity of evolution.
Schuler's is a fourth-generation family-owned classic Americana restaurant that has been a staple in historic Marshall, MI for 102 years now. Meet the Bar-Scheeze that started it all.
Detroit-style deep dish is a strictly Michigan phenomenon, and these guys started it all. Chicago and New York can keep theirs.
Two years ago it sounded too good to be true, but the coffeehouse with late hours, free WiFi and printing, and responsibly-sourced French press coffees is a reality in Midtown.
Chef Robert Young has a California wine bar, Belgian brewpub and Cuban cafe under his command, and all out of the same kitchen.
If you like Groupon, you'll love these guys. This discount site is all food, all the time, and based in Michigan. Win and win.
The Brothers Newman have a plan: If you bake them, they will come.
Food trucks are hot hot HOT across the country; so why is Detroit last in the race?
MAY 10, 2011 The Henry Ford: Everything Old is Made New Again
A Detroit native now in Portland comes back for a visit and a chat.
