The Week We Ate (The EID Week in Review)

McClure's has a new sweet and spicy pickle out, and it is only available at Whole Foods Midtown for now. This is a reason to brave the crowds, yes? (I've had it. It's awesome.) [McClure's]

A new microbrewery is coming to downtown Dearborn! This is how the west is won. [Dearborn Patch]

It's officially-official: DROUGHT will have a permanent home in Detroit at the new Shinola flagship store in Midtown, opening this summer. [Drought FB]

Turns the London Chop House is also totally metal, and Spin agrees with me on Guns + Butter. [Detroit News / Spin]

In case you missed it:
~The Cultural Living Room is now open to the public inside the DIA's Kresge Court. The design concept mixes modern and traditional, but why not just check out the pictures. [Model D / EID]
~June on Jefferson popped up during Jazzin' on Jefferson this weekend. Several stores are inhabiting newly-renovated storefronts in the Jefferson Chalmers commercial district, including Myra's Sweet Tooth and Goodwells Natural Foods. Also Coffee and (___), which was not originally reported because it was not originally listed on the website or mentioned in my interview. I'll make up for it, promise. [Model D]
~Just a Bit Eclectic is now open on Detroit's northwest side, selling vintage goods and antiques as well as teas from Detroit's INTU Specialty Tea and soups from Beautiful Soup. [Model D]
~HEY! Join me on June 29 for the Official Detroit Food Experience food tour with The Detroit Bus Company! We'll have house-made cheese and beer at Traffic Jam + Snug, have a picnic catered by Los Unicos taco truck and Mexicantown Bakery in Clark Park, and see how sausage gets made at Corridor Sausage Co.! [Detroit Bus Co]

Speaking of taco trucks, my first actual paid assignment as a freelance writer was a little over four years ago with Model D for a story about taco trucks in SW Detroit. So what I'm saying is, I did it before it was cool. Anyway here's this retro-chic story on SW taco trucks with a list of different vendors at the end and a sort of "white people guide to Mexican things." [Model D / Detroit News]

Apparently this was retro chic week! Hygrade Deli is "in" again, and now an unnamed national food network (though not necessarily THE Food Network) will be paying them a visit. [MLive]

And these places aren't trendy and won't be getting any fashionable food buzz anytime soon, but are worth checking out because they serve good food, the end. [Detroit News]

Attention all would-be mobile entrepreneurs: the MEDC has announced a new mobile start-up grant program of up to $10,000 for new or existing mobile businesses in order to boost Michigan's mobile food vending industry. There is also an additional grant of $10-50k for farmers markets at least four years old. [WILX]

The new Downtown Farmer's Market Detroit is held Thursdays at Lafayette Greens. (Hours will likely be changing as they figure out what times work best for customers.) [DFMD FB]

The Eastern Market Corporation Shed 5/Community Kitchen work was already happening so when the MEDC sent out this release earlier today I was a little confused, but maybe it's this particular $1mil grant that's new? And that's, like, a lot of money. So. YAAAAAAAAY! [Detroit News]

Michigan strawberries are in season! Here is a guide (with map) to U-Pick farms in metro Detroit. [Freep]

Sure, you know all the big name places to get ice cream around here ... but what about some of Detroit's lesser-known ice cream spots? Model D and Belle Isle to 8 Mile: An Insider's Guide to Detroit dig deep on this one. [Model D]

File under: best headline in the history of Crain's Detroit Business. "Union Joints Rolling at DTE Energy Music Theatre." [Crain's]

Commune is now Craft. It's still the basement of Bastone, now with more beer. [Commune FB]

Burgers burgers burgers (that pay workers living wages). [AnnArbor.com / Eyes on Windsor / Detroit News]

New steakhouse in St. Clair Shores, TBones Steak and Seafood, is overseen by former sous chef of SaltWater. Might be worth checking out? [Freep]

If Flavor Flav's Chicken + Ribs closes due to carbon monoxide leaks and no one notices because no one goes there, did it really happen at all? [TMZ]

Selma Cafe lives again in a new location! While no longer held in a private home, the brunch pop-up will happen in the common house of Sunward Cohousing on June 22. Brunch will be held on Saturday instead of Friday and hours will run later. Pretty much everything else remains the same. [AnnArbor.com]

Beerie
~Turns out I drink a lot because I'm a freakin' genius, THAT'S why. [MSN]

Poutine Queen
~I'm going to be spending some time in Canada this summer. In the interest of research, yes I will eat this. Even though it feels wrong, despite being a combination of two of my favorite things. [First We Fest]
~And here's 13 more. [The Grid]

[Real Detroit Weekly] Where's the (Corned) Beef?

Corned beef dinner at Dick O'Dow's. Photo by Nicole Rupersburg.

"Irish cuisine" might sound like a bit of an oxymoron – they basically just boil everything for eight hours and then pile it all together on a plate. But, you know, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Take corned beef, for instance: brined then boiled for several hours until it turns the angry pink of a third-degree burn* but tender and juicy when properly sliced or chopped up and thrown into a hash, corned beef is the cornerstone of Irish cuisine. And, because metro Detroit is multi-cultural and we are lucky to have such diversity, the many Jewish delis in the area also slice up a mean kosher nosh of corned beef with their knishes. While some say the brines differ slightly between the two cultures, Irish pubs and Jewish delis alike will go through thousands of pounds of this stuff this week alone. But enough kibitzing; cead mile failte!

Read more.

*Note: Probably would have been funnier if I had said, "...the angry pink of a drunken Irishman." Oh, hindsight.

[HOT LIST] Corned beef

Corned beef hash at Farmers Restaurant. Covert cell phone photography by Nicole Rupersburg.

On July 5, 2011, EID ran a "Corned beef sandwiches" Hot List. It was our third-ever Hot List and a lot of you hadn't heard of us yet. This week, in honor of Detroit's Irish culture and our proud corned beef heritage, we're re-visiting and expanding this list. These Hot Lists are meant to be infinitely revisitable as new places open, others close, or we just decide we've changed our minds. Bloggers privilege! 

Detroit is corned beef country. From Sy Ginsberg to Wigley's to Grobbel's, from the Dinty Moore to the Reuben, you want corned beef – the brined brisket of the gods – you got it, kid. There are many places to buy it and plenty of ways to eat it; we fancy it piled between two slices of hearty homemade bread or fried up with potatoes, onions and lots of butter (a glorious thing called "hash").

#1 Hygrade Deli Detroit

Kick it way old school at this V-is-for-very-and-vintage Michigan Avenue coffee shop, located just around the way from the United plant, home of the Sy Ginsberg label. (Sy Ginsberg corned beef is, of course, served.) Get the "meal" sandwich – corned beef, swiss, coleslaw and dressing - on an onion roll. The pickles come from Detroit's own Topor's, also in the 'hood. 

#2 Louie's Ham and Corned Beef Eastern Market

Where do you get corned beef in Eastern Market, home to Wigley's and Grobbel's? You get it everydamnwhere. Or so it seems. And while we're inclined to be creatures of habit and run straight for Russell Street Deli, lately it's Louie's, out on the topside of the 'hood, that's calling our names.

#3 Stage Deli West Bloomfield
A legacy that began in Oak Park fifty or so years ago lives on in this OaCo staple, where you can order wines by the glass with your big ass platters and sandwiches. This place feels like like those famous New York delis, complete with luck-of-the-draw service, but much cleaner. Also, fewer European tourists.

#4 Mudgie's Deli Corktown

It's almost all sandwiches, almost all the time at this chill Metro Times' two-time "Best Deli in Wayne County" winner located in a sleepy corner of Corktown. Dig the Barrett sandwich – meat (Sy Ginsberg in the hizzouse), house made coleslaw, Swiss and thousand island on an onion roll, served warm. Will it snag the coveted "Best Deli" title for the third year in a row? With their current tour of the United States of Sandwiches (a new state's signature sandwich is featured every week), they definitely have our vote for innovation. 

#5 Farmers Restaurant Eastern Market 
Here's an insider's tip (and this goes for everywhere in Eastern Market): don't go on Saturday. Farmers is super-small (don't let that mirror running along the whole side of one wall fool you: that's a WALL) and very old-school. As in, go at about 2:00 on a random weekday afternoon and find yourself in the company of nothing but old men speaking Polish. It's fabulously drab but the food is fresh, all high-quality diner classics with HUGE portions. There are endless permutations of corned beef on the menu, but get the corned beef hash - a heaping mound of shredded corned beef and perfectly crispy fried potatoes served with two eggs on top AND a side of toast. Easily three full meals, all for $6.75. Eastern Market is just the BEST.

Bubbling under Woodbridge Pub (Detroit), Jimmy Dee's (Clinton Twp.), Russell Street Deli (Eastern Market), Avalon Bakery (Detroit), Onion Roll (Royal Oak), Lou's (Detroit, Southfield), Steve's (Bloomfield Hills), Foran's Grand Trunk Pub (Detroit), Bread Basket (Livonia), Zingerman's Deli (Ann Arbor), Star Deli (Southfield), PJ's Lager House (Corktown)

[HOT LIST] Corned beef sandwiches

Hygrade Deli, Detroit (via Facebook)

Detroit is corned beef country. From Sy Ginsberg to Wigley's to Grobbel's, from the Dinty Moore to the Reuben, you want corned beef – the brined brisket of the gods – you got it, kid. There are many places to buy it and plenty of ways to eat it; let's start off with five great places for a sandwich, right now.

#1 Hygrade Detroit

Kick it way old school at this V-is-for-very-and-vintage Michigan Avenue coffee shop, located just around the way from the United plant, home of the Sy Ginsberg label. (Sy Ginsberg corned beef is, of course, served.) Get the "meal" sandwich – corned beef, swiss, coleslaw and dressing -- on an onion roll. The pickles come from Detroit's own Topor's, also in the 'hood. Tell Stuart hey (3640 Michigan Ave.).

#2 Louie's Ham and Corned Beef Detroit

Where do you get corned beef in Eastern Market, home to Wigley's and Grobbel's? You get it everydamnwhere. Or so it seems. And while we're inclined to be creatures of habit and run straight for Russell Street Deli, lately it's Louie's, out on the topside of the 'hood, that's calling our names (3570 Riopelle @ Mack).

#3 Stage Deli West Bloomfield
A legacy that began in Oak Park fifty or so years ago lives on in this OaCo staple, where you can order wines by the glass with your big ass platters and sandwiches. This place feels like like those famous New York delis, complete with luck-of-the-draw service, but much cleaner. Also, fewer European tourists (6873 Orchard Lake Road). (Read more about the Stage in a Metromode article Nicole wrote back in 2009.)

#4 Mudgie's Detroit

It's almost all sandwiches, almost all the time at Greg Mudge's chill spot on a sleepy Corktown corner. Dig the Barrett sandwich – meat (Sy Ginsberg in the hizzouse), house made coleslaw, swiss and thousand island on an onion roll, served warm. A Downtown expansion is in the works (1300 Porter St.).

#5 Star Deli Southfield
One of Detroit's more illustrious contributions to American cuisine has been the Dinty Moore sandwich, a layer cake-style stack job of meat, cheese, coleslaw, lettuce, tomato and dressing with some bread in there, somewhere. At this firm Southfield fave, it comes triple deckered, on white toast (24555 West 12 Mile). 

Bubbling under Jimmy Dee's (Clinton Twp.), Russell Street Deli (Detroit), Avalon Bakery (Detroit), Onion Roll (Royal Oak), Lou's (Detroit / Southfield), Steve's (Bloomfield Hills), Bread Basket (Livonia), Zingerman's (Ann Arbor)

How the list works Each week, Eat it Detroit chooses a different category (if you can eat it or drink it, it's in the mix) and conducts a search for the best in class, beginning at our Downtown Detroit HQ and working our way outward until we're happy (and / or full). Got a suggestion for a future hot list? Shoot a note to info (at) eatitdetroit (dot) com.