[Metromode] Fermenta galvanizes women in Michigan's craft beverage industry

ANGIE WILLIAMS AT GRIFFIN CLAW BREWERY - DAVID LEWINSKI PHOTOGRAPHY

As a writer and a woman, I tend to feel a bit uneasy about writing about women in various industries in a way that is pointedly exclusive of men. "Listicles" proclaiming "Top 10 Female Brewers" irk me endlessly – why can't it just be "Top 10 Brewers" with a mix of men and women? The separate designation is akin to saying that women aren't really good enough to hold their own against men, thus necessitating their own special "lady list."

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[NEWS BITES] Rock City Eatery opens on Monday

Rock City Eatery, the new restaurant from Rock City Pies' Nikita Santches, is opening for business on Monday, September 23, 11:30 a.m. until 11:00 p.m.

Rock City Eatery is a concept several years in the making for Santches. After making a name for himself as the "Pie Guy" of Rust Belt Market in Ferndale, then becoming a top four finalist in the 2012 Hatch Detroit small business competition, Santches is finally able to realize his dream of opening his own restaurant.

The Eatery is located at 11411 Joseph Campau just north of Caniff in the former location of Maria's Comida. Santches, with the help of family and friends, has completely renovated the interior. The finished result is a mix of vintage and antique pieces from Detroit Picker and Vogue Vintage, custom-made furniture by David Moroz Art Furniture made with reclaimed materials, original artwork featuring 1960s and '70s Detroit Rock City icons, and details such as exposed brick walls original to the 1918 building and an iron door made for the basement bomb shelter dating back to WWII.

The menu is a work of personal passion for Santches. As an immigrant Russian, he has long wanted to make the kinds of foods he remembers growing up with, which includes a lot of "offal." Part of what drew him to Hatmtramck to open his restaurant is the large immigrant Eastern European population that he feels a kinship with. His menu is a reflection of his passions as a chef (who admires other adventurous chefs like Anthony Bourdain) and his own nostalgia for the foods he ate growing up.

Everything on the menu is made in house from scratch, from the breads and sauces to the foie gras whipped butters and hand-cut potato chips. The lunch and dinner menus feature items like duck rilette sandwiches, charcoal-grilled beef tongue skewers, pork "fries" with togarashi, and bone marrow fritters, with plenty of vegetarian options like roasted brussels sprouts with Thai basil and smoked tomatoes, and grilled heirloom carrots with fast-pickled apples and goat cheese. What he doesn't make himself Santches gets from other local producers, like the chocolate truffles on the dessert menu from Pete's Chocolate Company. And for dessert, yes, there will be pie…lots of pie. Menu items will change based on the season and availability.

Rock City Eatery has a full liquor license and will serve a selection of Michigan-made beers, wines, and spirits from popular brands like Founders, Bell's, Black Star Farms, M Lawrence, New Holland, Valentine, Two James, and Grand Traverse Distilling. There is also a selection of craft cocktails and "lushies" – booze-blended slushies.

Rock City Eatery will be open Monday through Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.

For all media requests, contact Nikita Santches | nsatches@yahoo.com | 248-633-3072

The Week We Ate (The EID Week in Review)

This works so well for this post.

Famous person ate something. [G+B]

So I guess my next Detroit Bus Company tour route is set. [Freep]

And in typical social media fashion, the Biggest Thing on the Internet was quickly replaced by the Next Biggest Thing on the Internet. Detroit certainly found plenty of ways to congratulate itself last week! The new Google Maps app commercial was shot in Detroit and features images of Comerica Park, Lj's Lounge, Lafayette Coney Island, The Westin Book Cadillac Detroit, and more. [YouTube]

Slows and Eastern Market Corporation and Supino Pizzeria and the Sugar House and Astro Coffee. Looks like it's time for me to update my Official Detroit Food Experience list and add Fodor's to all of these places! Also, Detroit is probably one of the (possibly even THE) only cities in the country where the rates for the top hotel in the city are actually *lower* on weekends. [Fodor's / EID]

In case you missed it:
~Slows fans who should find themselves at Ford Field this year will have plenty to celebrate, even if it's not the Lions. (OHHHHHHH.) Ford Field is adding two more Slows locations plus a Corridor Sausage Co. cart and a Russell Street Deli outpost this fall. [Model D]

~The new Meijer opens up in the Gateway Marketplace at 8 Mile and Woodward on July 25. This development is a transformational change to the oft-malinged 8 Mile corridor, which the 8 Mile Boulevard Association is trying to rebrand as "Uptown." [Model D]

~I'm considering this a companion piece to the preview in Crain's since I was slow on the draw (vacation!), but here is a sneak peek of the new Griffin Claw Brewing Co. opening this week WITH the full food menu, the opening day tap list, Brewmaster Dan's full list of achievements while brewing under Big Rock, distribution plans, and Dan's wacky idea to distill a domestic absinthe. BAM. [EID]

~In honor of July being National Hot Dog month, I revisited (and totally revamped) an old Hot Dog Hot List, first written in the days when the haute dog trend got off to a halty start. [EID]

~Jefferson House and Urban Cellars inside the Crowne Plaza Pontchartrain are now open! [EID]

Brilliant! "South Detroit" is a new bar/restaurant opening in downtown Windsor, geographically south of Detroit. Journey fans rejoice, that line in "Don't Stop Believing" is no longer a total misnomer. (Though it still doesn't mean what Steve Perry thinks it means.) [Windsorite]

And now it is final: Takashi returns to Michigan with Slurping Turtle in Ann Arbor. The lease has been signed. Tribute II it will not be, but it's something, and I'll take it. [AnnArbor.com]

So the new restaurant in the old Sangria space has a culinary dream team behind it. (Insider tip: the menu Chef Derik has planned for this restaurant is every bit as forward and ambitious as you'd expect from a Takashi protege, and for you winos the wine cellar is going to mimic something you'd expect in Vegas.) [Crain's]

Huerto Tequila Bar and Grill is opening in West Bloomfield this September. Design by Ron Rea, big brick fireplace in the dining room and a second one on the huge outdoor patio, SW/Mexican/American food, and 75 different tequilas. (When I lived there all there was was Joe's Crab Shack and a Big Boy. Sigh.) While the contemporary Mexican cuisine-and-tequila-bar concept sounds like a no-brainer recipe for success, the model hasn't has much luck around here - there was the recent Barrio bomb in Birmingham, and those of us who have lived here for more than 5 minutes aaaaaaaaaaall remember Agave. (Double sigh.) Will this one work in an area that historically has not seen a major trendy restaurant last longer than two years (aside from Stage Deli, which isn't exactly "trendy")? [Huerto Official]

My colleague Jon Zemke highlights Joseph Wesley Black Tea in this week's Model D, a hand-harvested "slow" tea company selling teas of a quality difficult to find in North America. Garth, do we have the beginnings of America's next artisan beverage trend right here in our hometown? Why yes Wayne, I do believe we do. Excellent! [Model D]

Tuesdays at Eastern Market Corporation started last week. Some would say (some includes me) that Tuesdays are even better than Saturdays, with fewer people and more of an emphasis on local vendors like Beau Bien Fine Foods, The Brinery, Love's Custard Pie, Spice Miser, Oliver Farms and more. [Crain's]

Ottavia Via in Corktown is nearing opening (rumor has it it's actually open now, in some sort of capacity). Owned by the same people as Mercury Burger Bar, soooooo dot dot dot. (Sidebar: I feel like people missed the point of the "dot dot dot" earlier...DOT DOT DOT.) [Freep]

Detroit Vegan Soul is hoping to be open by August, and have also announced that they are now hiring kitchen and service staff. [BLAC]

Long-time Detroit institution Mr. Mike's burned to the ground. It was one of those divey spots students would go for cheap drinks and Detroitphiles would go for kicks. No details yet on if the owners will try to rebuild or if the bar is gone for good. [Michigan Chronicle]

Ganbei is now open in downtown Rochester. Sounds kinda Chen Chow-y? [Rochester Patch]

The important tidbits: bar owner/restaurateur J. Lambrecht of Bookies Bar N' Grille and Fountain Bistro at Campus Martius Park is now getting into the real estate business, and Buddy's Pizza bends to trends, forsaking its identity as THE Detroit-style deep dish place to also include thin-crust pizzas. [Crain's]

Here's some nice coverage of Detroit SOUP on the Indiegogo blog. [Indiegogo]

Zoup! celebrated the opening of its 50th store last week; here's a nice little story about the guy behind this successful local chain. [Freep]

So basically Kroger is now becoming Meijer (with a sometimes-way-better-and-actually-pretty-impresive wine selection, depending on what city you're in). Would love to see one of these in the city...and since I'm making a wish list, one of those really sweet two-story Targets too. [Crain's]

Not sure if I posted this back in May, but I walked by the new Aventura space in Ann Arbor (THREE addresses, almost an entire city block) this weekend and this really looks like it's going to be awesome. Plus an outdoor deck! If it's anything like the rooftop patio at Jolly Pumpkin Cafe and Brewery, count me in. [AnnArbor.com]

Events

Pig + Whiskey is this weekend in Ferndale. Detroit BBQ Co., Rock City Eatery and others will be there, plus the boys of Bailout Productions will be doing kegged cocktails all weekend and on Sunday, a very hungover crew from the Oakland (in post-Tales of the Cocktail bliss) will be holding it down in the cocktail corner. Do. Not. Miss. [P+W FB]

Tacos: Turntables: Tequila (Tuesdays) are now a thing at Great Lakes Coffee in Midtown through the summer, featuring the food-slinging stylings of Detroit's most famous food truck, El Guapo. [GLC FB]

Check out the Always Brewing Detroit grand opening party this Friday with food from the Batata Shop, Sweet Potato Sensations, and Pete's Chocolate Co. [ABD FB]

Agriculture

Northern Michigan winemakers and growers are still looking to establish the region's signature grape; while cold-weather white European vinifera varietals are certainly proving their worth (mostly in Rieslings, but the Pinot Blancs and Gewurtztraminers are no slouches either), the delicate reds, when the growing conditions cooperate, can be mind-blowing (specifically Gamay Noir and Pinot Noir; the Merlots also do well but that thing's like a weed and will grow anywhere). I'd also like to see more wineries experiment with the Bianca grape. [Michigan Radio / EID] 

And here's a cool interactive map of wineries across the nation that shows both current wineries and the growth of wineries over the past several decades. [NYT]

This is a bittersweet story about a 90-year-old farmer in South Lyon. With the new focus on farm-to-table and young people in the food industry taking a sincere interest in local agriculture, it will be interesting to see how the farming industry grows and develops over the next few generations. [Freep]

Like with chickens! [Freep]

Except for that nevermind, hipsters can't handle it. [NBC News]

Well, this year's crops weren't killed by an early thaw and late frost and they're getting plenty of water, but they're also coming in a bit later. [WDET]

Beerie

The new Old German opens this week in the basement of Grizzly Peak Brewing Company. Got a little preview this weekend 'cuz I know a guy, and it looks rad. Gotta love Jon and Greg and their love of basement bars! (See also: Habana under Lena, Craft under Bastone Brewery.) Also, das Menü ist sehr Deutsch--suuuuuuuuuper German. Potato salad and bacon and beer brats, anyone? Also also: kellerbier. Also also also: hasenpfeffer. Does anyone even know what hasenpfeffer is aside from a line in the Laverne and Shirley theme song? Oh, THEY'RE GONNA DO IT. [AnnArbor.com]

The Coors Light Sky Deck is opening on the roof of the Detroit Opera House. Looks pretty cool, views will be fantastic, love the idea of a downtown rooftop beer garden and only $5 to watch Detroit Tigers games from above, also love how (relatively) affordable it is to rent for private parties (made possible by the sponsorship, no doubt), but really hate the sponsorship. Will they only serve MillerCoors products? Or will they be able to sneak in some craft beers? This is a make or break kind of situation for me. [Freep]

This is the best piece of LADY beer writing ever. Ever ever. [XO Jane]

CraftBeer.com weighs in on 12 brewpubs putting the Midwest on the map - not just for their beer, but also for their gastropub fare. Jolly Pumpkin - Old Mission Peninsula (Traverse City) (PAUL!!!) and Arcadia Ales both made the cut. Not mentioned: Jolly Pumpkin OMP also has one of the best patios in the country. Yes, country; I'm going for it. [CraftBeer.com]

Oh, well, speaking of Traverse City... [Freep]

Remember when I told you awhile back that craft ciders were going to/are already becoming a thing? Here is a list of the best canned craft ciders in America from Serious Eats: Drinks, featuring ciders from Vander Mill and Uncle John's Cider Mill. [SE:D]

9 out of 10 cicerones seem to agree that craft beer trends are going to veer more towards low-alcohol session beers, lighter styles in general, and perfecting more "traditional" styles rather than chasing the latest XTREME trend. (The other one thinks XTREME beers will continue to dominate.) So here's hoping the 90% majority is right. [Serious Eats: Drinks]

Random

~Cheese and their literary counterparts - a bit of brilliance from the folks at The Airship. [The Airship]

~SPIN talks about bacon blinds in the new video from Detroit's Jamaican Queens. [Spin]

~Yet another articulate argument in favor of abolishing tipping (though the solution proposed at the end wouldn't quite get us there). [Slate]

~The mystery of Ruth Bourdain has been solved. [NYT]

[EID Feature] Smoked meats and wines on draft: Red Crown is not just another garage grill rehab

All photos by Nicole Rupersburg.

It's been called the Vinsetta Garage of the East by … well, by me, because that's just the sort of thing that I would say. But I do it in good fun, mostly because the comparisons between the recently-opened Red Crown in Grosse Pointe Park and the smash hit two-hour-wait-all-day-every-day Vinsetta Garage in Berkley are inevitable and started immediately upon the announcement of Red Crown opening. Vinsetta is a comfort food, burgers and craft beer joint located in a historic old garage. Red Crown is a barbecue, wine and craft cocktail joint located in a historic old gas and service station.

Well. On second thought, maybe the two don't really lend themselves to comparison as much as it might have seemed – really the only common thread between the two is their respective ties to metro Detroit's automotive history (and let's just be real here: please go out and find me a historic building, the size of which is aptly-suited for a restaurant, that is not in some way connected to Detroit's automotive history … that isn't a church). Oh, and they both have mac and cheese on the menu because, you know, that's not common to see in these parts at all.

So let's just look at what Red Crown is instead of how it might compare to Vinsetta: Red Crown (named after the Standard Oil Red Crown Service Station it was once home to) is an all-American barbecue concept with an all-American menu and all-American beverage program.

Now, that doesn't mean that the speakers blare patriotic rawk favorites from the likes of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bruce Springsteen and Kid Rock. (Think more Stevie Ray Vaughn and ZZ Top.) There's no steer horns on the wall (there is sort of a steer head, but it is plaster and painted black and looks more like an art piece send-up of Texas roadhouse chic). The décor is tasteful and understated, with the color red as the prominent theme.

Owner Mindy Lopus, who has been busy working on expansion plans for her Silver Pig Restaurant Group, wanted to make this more of a casual, comfortable restaurant, and something that was a totally new concept for the area. When she was approached by the Cottons – the family that owns Meridian Health Plan that has been buying up property in Grosse Pointe Park the way Dan Gilbert has done downtown in an effort to totally transform it – to open a restaurant in the area, she found an eager and underserved clientele and decided to open three. "People told me Grosse Pointers only go to their few favorite restaurants and their country clubs," Lopus says, but Red Crown has been packed every day since it opened. (I suppose, in that regard, it is also like Vinsetta.)

Red Crown is the first of the bunch, an upscale American barbecue and comfort food restaurant. In May, Bona Fide Baking Company will open as both a bakery and breakfast spot/café. Then this fall a second location of Lopus's flagship concept Tallulah Wine Bar + Bistro, which breaks ground in Grosse Pointe Park this week, will round out her trio.

Lopus is a savvy businesswoman and a Certified Wine Professional. Restaurateuring is a second career for her, but a first passion. Where other upscale barbecue concepts in metro Detroit (and yes, there are a few of them) focus their beverage program on craft beer, Lopus saw a unique opportunity to promote wine as a choice beverage for barbecue pairing.

“I’m really excited about this," she says. "Comfort food is the perfect food for wine pairing.” Because, think about it: comfort food tends to be high in fat, much like the cuisines typically aligned with wine – French food, American steakhouse fare, seafood in rich cream sauces, the heavy side of Italian cooking. If there has been a backlash against snooty wine connoisseurship in recent years, and there most certainly has been, part of that backlash has not only included a hard and fast embracing of craft beer but also a refusal to accept the idea that wine is only meant to be paired with a certain class of cuisine. Red Crown falls more heavily into the latter category (though those who opt for the former will not be disappointed with Red Crown's small but respectable craft beer list, or their ambitious craft cocktail program for that matter) with an ambitious wine program that includes – ye gods! – wine on draft.

In the last two or three years, sparkling wine has started popping up on menus throughout Michigan. (The first place I was introduced to the concept was Left Foot Charley in Traverse City, where winemaker Bryan Ulbrich was working up a draft system for one of the other area wineries based on his own draft system for ciders. This was early in 2011, and the concept was still entirely foreign.) Recently Local Kitchen + Bar in Ferndale made a splash when they introduced a bubbly by M. Lawrence (aka Michigan's esteemed sparkling winemaker Lawrence Mawby, based on the Leelanau Peninsula) on draft. But still wines on tap are STILL unheard of … until now.

Red Crown is the first restaurant in Michigan serving still wines on draft. The advantage? The wine is temperature-controlled, stays fresh down to the last glass, is never corked, and enables them to sell these wines by the glass for a much (MUCH) lower price than what you would otherwise pay if they were poured from a bottle. The keg is also refillable and creates less waste. Just as wine drinkers have adapted to synthetic corks and screw-top bottles over the last decade, even the fussiest among them finally recognizing the advantages in quality and economy both offer, they will now learn to embrace wine in kegs.

The wine list is organized by price as opposed to being organized by region or varietal. For wines on draft, a glass is $8, a half carafe $15, and a full carafe $29. Glasses are available in $8, $11 and $14 price points, and bottles are $29, $49 and $69. All of it is American, and each quarter one of Michigan's best wine producers is highlighted in their "In the Mitten" program.

Oh, and they also have an M. Lawrence bubbly on draft: "Sex," to be specific.

Chef de Cuisine Jim Delao's food menu is small but mighty (and meaty). Barbecued meats made in their wood-fired "little red smokehouse" in their kitchen, which burns local fruitwoods and mesquite charcoal. Ribs, sausages, pulled pork, pork shoulder and brisket, complemented by southern comfort sides like mac and cheese and braised greens (with bacon). Appetizers include masa-crusted onion rings and peel 'n eat Georgia shrimp. For "supper" there's comfort food favorites like shrimp and grits and grilled meatloaf. Non-alcoholic drinks include milkshakes and floats. Lunch, weekend brunch and Sunday support will start in April, and the massive patio is sure to be a massive hit this summer.

Want to see more? View the Flickr set here.

 

The Week We Ate (The EID Week in Review)

This week was all about wind storms and wind bags. Not much else happened. I blame Facebook's new post-burying policies. If only there were another way to get news.

Old people rule. "Nine dollars for a grilled cheese? Please." (70-year-old retired city worker James Bates on Corktown's renaissance.) [Wall Street Journal]

Hard cider is making a comeback, but then again we already knew that. It's presidential! [The Daily Beast / Hour]

Imperial's Dia de los Muertos art auction was pretty much the coolest thing ever. [Imperial FB]

From dud to stud! The Maple Theatre got quite the makeover, taking a page out of the Emagine playbook but keeping it all arthouse. "American" tapas; craft beer, cocktails and wine; leather seats with servers; and a second outpost for Great Lakes Coffee Roasting Company that looks just as snazzy as their Midtown spot (with their own separate operating hours). Mai oui! [Thrillist]

Plus one for global warming: Michigan winemakers are hailing this year's harvest as one of the best yet. [Hour]

The trials and tribulations of Ye Olde Butcher Shoppe. [Crain's]

The Cafe con Leche del Este is now open in the Mies van der Rohe shopping plaza. It is quite spiffy-looking and design-y. [CcLdE FB / EID FB]

Santorini: is close. And Greek-looking. [EID FB]