The Week We Ate (The EID Week in Review)

Dan Gilbert is a man with a plan. Actually, a lot of them. And he unveiled some of them during a two-hour press conference last week, announcing (among many, many things) that Papa Joe's Gourmet Market will open in the First National Building and will have a bar and prepared foods; Moosejaw Mountaineering is staying forever-ever; Just Topped, an ice cream store using Ray's Ice Cream from the owner of Just Baked, will open; plus a whole lot more "placemaking" strategies. [Freep]

And here's more on that Just Topped concept. [Crain's]

Detroit-style deep dish is ready for its national close-up, and NO IT IS NOTHING LIKE CHICAGO. [Freep]

Paul Howard, owner of the Bronx Bar and Cliff Bell's, has a new bar in the works at the PuppetART Theatre building downtown. [Curbed]

Corktown's Green Dot Stables celebrated their one-year anniversary last week. Keep those $3 beers and sliders coming for many more to come! [GDS FB]

Dave Mancini of Supino Pizzeria is officially on his annual springtime sabbatical, which means the pizzeria is closed until he gets back on April 16 (further renovation work on the space next door will happen in the meantime). He and other area food industry people from places like Roast and Wolfgang Puck are off touring Croatia and Italy. Note to self: become best friends with all of these people. [Supino FB]

Travel + Leisure names Michael Symon's Roast - Detroit one of the best steakhouses in the country. [T+L]

In case you missed it: Here's an update on the Bagger Dave's opening later this year in Greektown and "SkyBar" is no longer a misnomer. [Model D]

Toast Birmingham has a new Executive Chef, Myles McVay, formerly of D'Amato's Restaurant and, most recently, Cafe Muse. The B-ham location now has a whole new dinner menu which includes vegan and vegetarian options. [EID FB]

Daily regular business owners have started at Trinosophes. Stop in mornings and evenings for coffee, tea, beignets and other treats with an expanded menu coming soon. (And free WiFi!) [Trinosophes FB]

Alley Wine's rezoning has been approved after 20 months. Now they're hoping it won't take another two years to get a liquor license. [Alley Wine FB]

Thrillist takes a look at the new Grace of India in Midtown. [Thrillist]

Falling Down Beer Company is officially open in the craft beer capital of the east, Warren. [RDW]

Mark's Carts officially re-opens for the season today! Which is not an April Fool's joke despite it being in the 30s outside. [AnnArbor.com]

More metro Detroit National Coney Islands opening. Hanis all day every day. [Detroit News]

Some news bites from Ferndale Patch: Nom Nom's Cupcake Factory has opened a second location in Berkley, Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt has opened its first-ever Michigan location in Troy, Grumpy's diner in Clawson has closed, Ferndale's New Way Bar has been sold and closed, more. [Ferndale Patch]

Going to Chicago? Don't buy a major airline ticket like some kind of commoner. For the same price you can fly in a PRACTICALLY private jet with free drinks and no baggage fees via Lakeshore Express starting this summer. Plus, it's out of the Oakland County airport where you park for free and don't have to deal with the usual major airport headaches. And hey, since you'll be out that way you can also stop by The Root Restaurant + Bar for lunch or dinner! [Freep]

Want a restaurant space that's white box-ready? (Or ... orange and purple box-ready?) This one's in SW right on the edge of Corktown in the shadow of Michigan Central Station. At only $99k, it seems like a good buy. [Curbed]

Own the shirt that Ryan Gosling might one day possibly wear! [MLive]

Beerie
~Chicks are apparently more into beer than wine now. [Freep]
~Vander Mill Cider and Founders Brewing Company are both getting into the canning game this year. [Vander Mill FB / BeerPulse]
~So, you guys, Traverse City. They went from being a meh place for beer two years ago to, well, THIS. [The Ticker TC]

Other
~The corn chip singularity is upon us. [Death + Taxes]

The Week We Ate (The EID Week in Review)

via @eatitdetroit on Instagram

NAAAAAAAAAIN! (Also photo-spotting friends of EID!) Also, sheNAINigans. [MLive / Pure Detroit]

Happy Snowberon Day! (br)Oberon was released today. The groundhog may have been wrong but Oberon never is -- spring is on the way, really! And even though there was snow on the ground this morning, the sun is shining inside every metro Detroit beer store today! Now please enjoy my analysis of Oberon as the Gateway Beer. [EID]

Chef Kate Williams of Rodin took home the $7500 judge's prize while Andy Hollyday of Roast took home the $2500 People's Choice award at Detroit Harmonie's annual International Experience Top Chef: Coney Dogs contest for their inventive international takes on the classic Detroit coney. [EID FB]

This thread? Still going. If you'd like to meet the brain trust behind it, be sure to follow Detroit BBQ Co on Facebook and say hi to them at an upcoming event. [EID FB]

Ladies and gentlemen, I am the official R-Go blog of Detroit. Because I said so. Here is Mr. Gosling hugging on his biff Larry Mongo and some redhead (kiiiiilllherrrrrr). OMG, J/K!!! [D'Mongo's FB]

OMG, he also offered Larry a role in his film How to Catch a Monster! (Kiiiiiiillhiiiiiiiim.) [MLive]

Dostoyevsky and drinking. I support this. Ferndale Public Library will now be able to serve alcohol at special events. [C+G News]

There's been plenty of discussion of urban farming in Detroit (and plenty of cynicism to go with it), but until now the future of the urban farming has been dubious at best because of (not always enforced) legal restraints. With an EFM now in place this may or may not be City Council's swan song, but at least they got this one right. [WDET]

Sylvia Rector takes a look at the new chef and new menu at the Rugby Grille; Gastronomy's Brandon Zarb will compete for the Chaine des Rotisseurs' national Best Young Chef title in Chicago on June 8, and that Food Network show that's casting in Michigan with the prize of getting a year rent-free in a space in a Michigan mall? Yeah, it's called Food Court Wars and the mall is in Midland. Try to contain yourselves. [Freep]

Just call it Meaddale: here is an in-depth story on Schramm's Mead from The Ferndale 115, and why it's a pretty big deal that it's opening (and in Ferndale, the apparent mead capital of the Midwest, or at least southeastern Michigan). [Ferndale 115]

Let's never drive again. Uber is now in Detroit. [Thrillist]

Grace of India is now open. [HuffPo]

Beer. [Ashley's Westland Cask Ale Festival ... tickets on sale now!]

Sports. [Forbes]

Beer and sports. [DRAFT Mag]

Home-brewed beer (homebrewers get your apps in now!). [Rochester Patch]

Detroit's first ever (official) Nerd Nite is this Thursday at IFAD. Though really every night is nerd night in these parts, in case you hadn't noticed from the oddball fashion sense that dominates the social circuits and the plethora of Mac books lit up in every bar. [Detroit News]

Another Detroit-area restaurant mogul has passed away; Jim Hearn, your product may be "bad" but it tastes oh so good. So long and thank you for the flavored crusts. [Freep]

Sorry to miss this last weekend of the Rust Belt as it was, but I only had eyes for a little red devil this weekend. [Ferndale 115]

Detroit's hard-hitting experts on fuckery Wilson give their top picks for the best party bars in Michigan. [Noise Creep]

The Whitney has added weekday breakfast to their menu. [Detroit News]

Tokyo Sushi is now open in the former Pete's Place spot in Ferndale. [Ferndale Patch]

A history of Zingerman's at 31 years young (though we all know we stop counting after 30). [Michigan Daily]

#7: Buy tickets to a beer release and/or wait in line for several hours for a beer release and/or participate in a lottery ticketing system for a beer release and/or buy a bottle of a limited beer release on eBay for $100 or more. Wait, no; that in fact sucks. Can we please stop the beer geek train from chugging full-bore to Douchetown? (Oh hey, shout-out to Right Brain!) [Food Republic]

Traverse City is another best-something. [Fodor's]

[Model D] Partners open La Hookah Town and Grace of India Restaurant in Midtown

It wasn’t that long ago that Thistle Coffeehouse was flourishing on Second Ave. at Prentis. But now the space has been reborn with two brand-new businesses owned by partners Sal Sufyan and Abe Aswadi. The first, La Hookah Town, officially opened in January.

La Hookah Town offers an inexpensive "hangout spot" for Wayne State students with a variety of flavored tobaccos, free WiFi, free parking, a student study area, and televisions for watching sports (including pay-per-view boxing). It opens at noon daily and stays open until 2 a.m. or later.

Read more.

The Week We Ate (The EID Week in Review)

The children of Quickenstan will now be well-caffienated, and there's also robots to hold their attention because you cannot possibly spend the bulk of your waking hours inside of a seizure-inducing Dan Gilbert building without being easily susceptible to stimuli. [Deadline / Curbed Detroit]

Greektown Casino has a new fine dining restaurant, a new food court, and an inexplicable obsession with the letter "z." With Design Disaster Dapper Dan making a bid for a controlling interest in the casino, these changes are probably just a glimmer of what's to come. [Model D]

Maccabee's at Midtown opened quietly but has gained huge buzz fast. Here's a bit more info on the owner and how he came around to opening Midtown's newest hotspot. [Model D]

Grace of India Restaurant is opening soon in Midtown! And judging by the tremendous buzz this one photo received on Facebook, this place can't possibly fail because apparently EVERYONE IN DETROIT is madly clamoring for Indian food. [EID FB]

Baconfest Michigan tickets are now on sale and we're selling through them fast (one-third of available tickets went in the first day). Get them NOW! [Thrillist / EID FB]

The Oxford Inn is going to re-brand as a cowboy/country western bar, in answer to that burning question, "Just HOW could Royal Oak get any douchier?" This is how. [RO Patch]

A "refined Spanish, Asian and French" fusion restaurant offering a "chic, luxurious experience you won't find elsewhere in the city" with a "curated" audience that isn't just "cashing in on suburbanites" that also has the same name as a famous Rick Bayless restaurant but is not named after it. I'm just quoting the story here, people. [Det News]

St. Cece's Pub is now serving Saturday brunch. I, for one, am very excited by the prospects of this new Saturday brunch trend I'm seeing emerge. [St. Cece's FB]

Mae's now has new hours which should pair nicely with their new liquor license once they get the blessing from the Most High Exalted MLCC. [Mae's FB]

Ann Perrault of the hugely successful triple-bottom-line business Avalon Breads speaks about what success really means to her. [UIX]

The Valentine Distillery has now released their new Liberator Gin! And it's really freakin' good, guys. [Valentine FB]

Sometimes the best news leads come from job postings. Holiday Market will be expanding their catering and prepared foods operations to include some serious barbecue and are looking for a bonafide pit master. Detroit BBQ City. [Monster]

This year's Motown Winter Blast has some new features including a S'more Happy Hour, a hockey shot competition and even a visit from the Girl Scouts of Southeastern Michigan's cookie van. [MLive]

Whole Foods! Food desert! Urban farming! Artisan food producers! This story has it all! [Bridge MI]

Is it wrong of me that I do not consider this to be a completely outlandish solution? Because we've certainly seen worse recently. [Deadline]

Beerie

Batch Brewing is trying to Indiegogo themselves into existence in Corktown. Vote "yes" for this nanobrewery with your dollars here. [Batch Brewing FB / Indiegogo]

Wolverine State Brewing Co. is expanding, doubling their brewing capacity. [Promote Michigan]

51 North Brewing is now open in Lake Orion. [MittenBew]

Clarkston Union Bar + Kitchen, Champane's Wine Cellars in Warren, HopCat, Founders Brewing Co., Kalamazoo Beer Exchange, and Siciliano's Market (Grand Rapids) all made the Ratebeer Best of 2013 list of top retailers by state. [RateBeer]

Bell's Brewery is one of several partner breweries working with Ashley's Ann Arbor on a special brew celebrating the nationally-acclaimed beer bar's 30th anniversary. This release will ONLY be available at Ashley's A2 and Ashley's Westland. They're working with a new brewery each month for this whole year so stay tuned! [Beer Pulse]

Thing status: achieved. Wheat wines (okay so technically I said barleywines would be the next big thing but I clump wheat wines in the same general category) are officially A Thing, thanks to Imbibe Magazine. (Shout out to New Holland Brewing Co. for their Pilgrim's Dole!) [Imbibe]

Random
~This brings a whole new meaning to the term "food porn." [FWF]

~Well. Here's a good reason to not drunken Facebook. Or to just not be in PR. [some blahg]