The Week We Ate (The EID Week in Review)

This aggression will not stand! 

ICYMI:
~Will The Stand Gastro Bistro be the best new restaurant in Birmingham? Maybe even the best in metro Detroit? With Chef Paul Grosz at the helm, it certainly could be. The Stand has officially opened; read more details about it here (including a full vegan menu and craft cocktails from the master) and see photos of the amazing transformation the former Zazio's space has undergone. And here are photo collages of my opening night meal, part 1 and part 2. [EID]

~Have you visited the newly-opened Schramm's Mead in Ferndale? Maybe you've had one of B. Nektar's crazy mead concoctions? The craft mead business is taking off throughout the country and metro Detroit is at the very center of it. What makes these local guys so important? Read on. [Hour]

~The U.P. is fabulous, especially in the fall. Here I take you on a 6-day roadtrip from Pictured Rocks to the Keweenaw Peninsula. It should be noted that the U.P. is not the place for those with dietary restrictions, calorie-counters, fussy eaters or uppity gourmands. Also, abandon all hope of boutique hotels, ye who enter here. If you enjoy hearty Midwestern comfort foods, challenging hikes, mountains and waterfalls, scenic remote locations, and everything about the great outdoors, the U.P. is its own kind of paradise. Also, go to The Fitz. Stay at their inn. And get some monk muffins in the morning. [Fox]

~Ever wonder what happened to that tiny little walk-up counter where Good Girls Go To Paris Crepes got their start? It's now Chickpea in the D, serving fresh, healthy items made in-house daily to the downtown lunch crowd. [Model D]

~ALL OF THE EVENTS. (You might really want to start paying attention to this weekly column. And you're welcome.) [EID]

~Happy 90th birthday to Manya! Read all about the historic Abick's Bar and its wonderful owner Manya here in Model D. Manya turned 90 on October 4. [Model D]

~Introducing: Ferndale Restaurant Week and a brand-new fall/holiday festival from One-Eyed Betty's, FestivALE. [EID]

It's National Pizza Month! !!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If there's a way to make EID any more pizza-focused I don't know what it is but I will find it. First, check out the new Trattoria Da Luigi in Royal Oak and their uncompromisingly Italian menu with wood-fired Neapolitan-style pizzas. #pizzamonth #pizzacleanse #EIDluvspizza [Detroit News]

Have you read enough about Two James Spirits yet? I've written about them in three different publications myself. Well, here's another one. Seriously the place is pretty cool. And everyone else seems to think so too, prompting a significant increase in their operating hours. [Detroit News / Two James FB]

They're still a long ways off from actually opening, but that didn't stop BLOUIN Culture + Travel from naming Detroit City Distillery one of the top 5 urban distilleries in the world. An impressive accomplishment, considering. (Blouin must not have seen all the press on the actually-open and also urbanly-located Two James.) [Blouin]

La Feria now has la signage. [La Feria FB]

Detroit is a mac and cheese kinda town, and there sure is a lot of it. But this mac and cheese comes in a parmesan bowl with a parmesan crisp top. It's, like, a mac and cheese and cheese sandwich. $8, also available gluten-free. [Rock City FB]

Win 5th row tickets to see the Detroit Lions on October 20 courtesy of Uber and StubHub with a VIP tailgating experience featuring Mudgie's and MillKing It Productions! Enter the promo code "GreatSeatsDet" into your Uber account to be entered to win. [Uber]

The State of Michigan has declared this aggression will not stand, and Belle Isle is now a state park. Sometimes when you close your eyes and wish for something really really hard, it happens. Like that Belle Isle will actually get CLEANED. Imagine that! Trash picked up! Facilities maintained! Maybe...just maybe...some cool new amenities will be brought to the island? Maybe the Zoo could be reopened? Possibilities are endless. Dare to dream! [Detroit News]

Eastern Market Corporation, in partnership with Charter One and the MEDC, has awarded nearly $100,000 to 30 Detroit-area food entrepreneurs including Beautiful Soup, Beignets, Drought, Ethel's Edibles-Gluten Free, Slow Jams Jam, StrEat Eat and more. [Crain's]

Detroit Beer Week is coming up October 17-27. New events and venues are being announced daily on the blog and Facebook page, and you can also follow them on Twitter at @detbeerweek. [DBW Official]

What the WHAT. Sanders' new Chocolate Fudge Bumpy Cheesecake has received ALL of the likes. [Detroit News]

Bill Shea of Crain's Detroit Business reports on the important things in life and baseball: bacon burgers. [Crain's]

So, ARE these the best sandwiches in Detroit right now? (To sum up your comments, in a word, no.) Mudgie's, Russell Street Deli, Mike's Famous Ham Place, Detroit Vegan Soul (D.V.S) and Lunchtime Global all make an appearance on this list from Thrillist. [Thrillist]

LADY farmers. [Freep]

Detroit can haz goats? Will these cities provide a model that Detroit can follow, or is Detroit a special and unique snowflake city that other cities' methods doesn't apply to what with all the rumored rabid dogs and whatnot? [MLive]

Great profile of The Detroit Three in this week's Metro Times Detroit. [MT]

Jamaican me crazy! Need to know where to go for Jamaican food that isn't Bahama Breeze? Here you go. [Freep]

Freakin' Unbelievable Burgers is coming to Farmington Hills. The Flint-based burger joint has already received some national buzz. I'd love to say I've visited but Flint is far. Farmington Hills is less far, so that's nice. [Metromode]

Troy-based chain Olga's Kitchen has a new CEO and he's got big plans for the company. [Crain's]

Things having to do with people on TV
~The Detroit episode of Cooking Channel's Chuck's Eat the Street aired last week. Here the Detroit News speaks with celeb chef Chuck Hughes about his experience of Detroit. [Detroit News]

~Iron Chef Michael Symon was in town last week for the Greening of Detroit annual fundraiser gala at Roast. Here Hour Detroit talks with Symon about Detroit, Slows BAR BQ, B Spot Burgers, The Chew, and everything else. [Hour]

~Another Michigan native is competing on Top Chef. Aaron Cushieri hails from Livonia and previously worked at Assaggi Bistro before moving to Chicago where he is now under the wing of another chef with Michigan history, Takashi Yagihashi, at Slurping Turtle. The previous Top Chef winner was Kristen Kish, another Michigan native. Can a native Michigander snag the title of Top Chef two years in a row? [Detroit News]

Beerie (and merdie)
~B-rad of B. Nektar is featured in this BBC News story about the rising popularity of mead. [BBC]

~Jerry of Hour Detroit talks seasonal beers - the best of the Michigan-made Oktoberfests and pumpkin beers from breweries like New Holland Brewing Co., Dragonmead Brewery, Atwater Brewery, and Griffin Claw Brewing Company (GCBC) - as well as info on seasonal food pairings. [Hour]

~GAYOT.com - The Guide to the Good Life named Jolly Pumpkin Brewery's Bam Biere as one of the 10 best craft beers. [Gayot]

~Bars staying open until 4am? Not the first time this has come up - Granholm previously shot this down. But with all of the changes and loosening-up on local liquor laws as of late, this might actually stand a shot. [Freep]

[EID Feature] Chef Paul Grosz takes a Stand

Photo by Nicole Rupersburg.

The Stand in Birmingham officially opens for business today. The hotly-anticipated restaurant taking over the former Zazio's space - a concept that rather majestically flamed out for any number of reasons up to and including a cumbersome, poorly-planned space draped in seizure-inducing swirls of neon and food that quite simply wasn't that good (even by Birmingham's notoriously mediocre standards) - is a partnership between Chef Paul Grosz of Cuisine and fine dining industry vet John Kelly with Greenleaf Trust/Catalyst Development, owners of the building, as the investors.

Chef Paul is the Executive Chef of this new concept, and he'll also continue overseeing Cuisine in New Center, running back and forth between both. I've know Chef Paul for a few years - he was one of the first chefs I really established a personal rapport with back during my early days as a scrappy blogger - and, knowing him as well as knowing the difficulty of taking on such a massive space and making enough money on it for the business to stay open, my first question to him was: are you insane?

The answer is yes but in a way that makes sense in the long term. Paul has a 10-year plan. Part of that 10-year plan includes positioning himself for retirement and being able to put his mark on something other than Cuisine - a restaurant he is very proud of and happy with, but one that is also very much events-driven given its somewhat isolated location in New Center across from the Fisher Building.

Paul is also considering the natural trajectory of the chef's career. As he is currently filling in for Mr. Charcuterie Chef Brian Polcyn at Schoolcraft, teaching Polcyn's charcuterie class while Polcyn is busy working on his latest endeavors, Paul is thinking more and more of following in Polcyn's footsteps and transitioning into the role of instructor. He'd like to teach more at Schoolcraft - not Polcyn's class, but possibly a new class on seafood, which receives little attention as part of the school's culinary instruction, and maybe even vegetarian and vegan cuisine. (Paul is big on seafood, and also on veggies, as you'll find on the menu at the Stand). He'd also like to mentor up-and-coming chefs and eventually get out of the kitchen entirely.

Chef Paul in the kitchen. 

But that's all part of the 10-year plan. For now, Paul is going to be in BOTH kitchens, overseeing all operations and doing the cooking himself along with the help of his culinary team.

The menu at the Stand is decidedly small and carefully-managed. Items include a lobster fried egg - a brioche-breaded soft-boiled egg with lobster and asparagus - duck confit cassoulet, rabbit, and waygu beef, with a purposeful emphasis on sea food. (Again, this is Paul's thing.) There is a charcuterie room in which they will cure and dry their own meats (which will also be supplied to Cuisine) that should be fully operational in the next month. And while that all sounds like a very protein-centric menu, vegetarians and vegans can take heart: YOU HAVE YOUR OWN MENU. Eight entirely-vegan items are highlighted on their own menu, so you don't just have to order whatever lame-o salad or soup made vegan as an afterthought.

The bar area comes with its own menu and includes things like veal sweetbreads, foie gras burgers, duck sliders, and daily oysters. And desserts will be just as special as the rest of the menu: Pastry Chef Kevin Kearney, who has worked with Paul at Cuisine for years, is now at the Stand making his unique creations like goat cheese cheesecake and funky ice cream flavors (he did it before it was cool). He is one of the finest pastry chefs in the area, so do be sure not to skip dessert.

The beverage program is just as thoughtful, with a small but solid selection of Michigan craft beers and an entire craft cocktail program designed by none other than Travis Fourmont.

The Hall of Culinary Fun.

Those of you who remember Zazio's Wizard of Oz-on-acid color scheme (an image surely burned into your brain if you ever stepped foot in the place), all I can say is...wow. The space is transformed. And by that I mean they COMPLETELY gutted it - like, everything. Like, they kept nothing. They scrapped everything short of actually bulldozing the building. The entrance is now on Peabody and diners will be greeting in the "lobby" before heading down what Paul calls the Hall of Culinary Fun. To the right, you will see the open kitchen with a 10-seat bar where they will host two degustation menu seatings per night (in lieu of actually having a "chef's table" in the kitchen). To the left is the separate bar area with comfy booths and a community table. Further down is the main dining room and three private dining rooms.

Hand-blown glass gourds from Epiphany Glass.

As you walk around the massive space, take note to pay attention to the design details. Wood for the bars, ceilings, the communal tables and booth backsplashes is all reclaimed wood sourced through the WARM Training Center in Detroit, much of it from deconstructed homes in Detroit and Hamtramck. Eric Gorges of Voodoo Choppers made custom metal art pieces, including a copper "replica" of the Mackinaw Bridge over the communal table in the bar. In the main dining room, a series of four hand-blown glass sculptures made by April Wagner of Epiphany Glass represent the four seasons of food - leeks in the spring, shellfish in the summer, squash in the fall, and ice wine in the winter. Janelle Songer made the ceramic pieces throughout the restaurant. It was very important to both Paul and John to make this a space that is a reflection of the community, using local artists and salvaged materials with roots in metro Detroit. They want this to be a place that appeals to everyone, to have construction workers sitting next to bankers and everyone be comfortable. Like at a lemonade stand, where everyone has the same experience regardless of who and what they are - hence the name.

In regards to my question of how they were going to break up this 10,000-square-foot space to maximize marketability and monetization (something else Zazio's struggled with), the three private dining rooms are the answer. The 14-seat communal table inside the wine cellar is one, perfect for private celebrations. The 10-seat Paul W. Smith room is intended for celebrities and high-ranking executives, and even has its own private entrance. The third is a 40-seat conference room wired for all AV equipment with a large TV for teleconferences, and this is the space with the most potential to bring in a steady stream of business business.

Part of Paul's 10-year plan includes possibly opening more Stands in other areas in metro Detroit, or working with John on another concept in Birmingham - seafood, perhaps? But he's got 10 years to figure that out. For now, he's focused on getting the Stand open, which quite possibly stands to be the best restaurant in Birmingham.

The Stand has already been operating for a few weeks, hosting private events and seminars. It opens to the public officially at 5 p.m. today and will be open 5-10 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 5-11 Fridays and Saturdays (closed Sundays). Eventually they will also be open for lunch.

Want to see more? View the Flickr set here. 

The Week(s) We Ate (The EID Week in Review Double-Header pt. 2)

ICYMI (um, for next year now I guess):
Here are many ways to avoid the Dream Cruise entirely. And for whatever reason they all seem to revolve around beer. I like beer. Also zombies. There's a thing about zombies. And pop-ups because pop-ups. [EID]

And then there were four. [Hatch]

Sometimes I bury really good nuggets of information in my posts just to see if you're paying attention. I've determined that you're not, but other local media persons damn sure are. So here's more on the new Kuhnhenn Brewing Co. production facility that will be opening in Clinton Twp. (as well as a new take-out location for Bad Brad's). [Macomb Daily]

Bistros fare better than big restaurants in Birmingham, in part because of a shift in customer interests, but also because of the much higher overhead with larger spaces. Crain's Detroit Business checks in with Commonwealth, TOWNHOUSE, Social Kitchen + Bar, and Forest Grill to see how their model of smaller spaces with plenty of outdoor seating and more casual atmospheres attracts more customers. Now the question is...how does this bode for the Stand? [Crain's]

DRW announced their fall dates (Sept. 20-29, FYI). [DRW]

No one does XTREME foods better than Detroit! And, really, are we at all surprised by this? HEY, let's have a food festival dedicated entirely to fried foods! EXTREME fried foods!!! [MLive]

Also, Michigan's biggest contribution to the world of chain restaurants is Domino's Pizza. But hey, at least we're not Illinois. [Thrillist]

First pumpkin beers, now cider mills are opening for the season. Well, the end of summer isn't ALL bad. Yates Cider Mill is now open! [Yates FB]

Lock and Key, the new lounge inside the Oxford Inn that was redone by Food Network Extreme Makeover: Bars, is now open for your judgement. [Detroit News]

Famous person drinks coffee. [Freep]

Looks like Ferndale is getting a big new development that will likely become four storefronts, which means, more likely than not, another restaurant or two. Looking for space for your own concept you want to open? Get in on this early. [Ferndale 115]

A sad: yes, iconic Ann Arbor institution Blimpy Burger has closed. A happy: they're relocating. A sad: they don't know where or when yet. A happy: the best restaurant closing photo in possibly history. [AnnArbor.com / EID / Michigan Radio]

Mattie Armstrong and Ye Olde Tap Room were on Comedy Central's Drunk History. [somewhere on the internet]

Thrillist popped over to the newly-relocated MotorCity Wine, now in Corktown (and with a fab patio). Here is what they came up with for a first date (or any date, when you're still in that stage of dating where impressing the person matters) wine guide. [Thrillist]

Interested in getting involved with the growing local food economy? Have a small start-up food business that you want to get off the ground? FoodLab Detroit is having their first-ever member drive now. [FoodLab]

Alley Wine: now even closer to being almost open. [Alley Wine FB]

Small Plates is opening a second location in Syracuse, NY, with plans to make it a national chain. Probably like the Cheesecake Factory. Only plates will be small, instead of gargantuanly large. So that's a new twist. Remember a few owners, management teams, and years ago when this was one of the best restaurants in Detroit? Memories... [Syracuse.com]

Vegan news: The FBI's largest domestic terrorist organization is now trying to buy space for its propaganda in Detroit using the promotion of veganism as a lifestyle choice that will save Detroit as its excuse. [Freep]

Soooooo...Snack in the Box is opening soon. Somehow I don't imagine this was a pre-opening PR stunt. Oh, Detroit... [Motor City Muckraker]

Chinese fooooood? Yes and then. Here's a list of a few spots I've heard of and more I haven't because, honestly, this is really not my thing. But this is Freep writer Erin's thing! And she totally provides. I think. I wouldn't actually know. I like pizza. [Freep]

Bookies Bar N' Grille and The Oakland are both celebrating anniversaries this Friday. Something tells me there is not going to be a lot of audience overlap here. Like, "MAN, I TOTALLY wanted to go to the Oakland's party but then I'm going to miss out on Bookie's!" is probably something you're not going to hear. But maybe! But probably not. [Detroit News]

Beerie
~The best food bloggity-blog named Jolly Pumpkin's La Roja the best beer in the state. They are not wrong. [First We Feast]

~Let my people go. Or something. [Nasdaq]

~Here is USA TODAY's recap of a list made by The Daily Meal (which was probably aggregated from somewhere else) that says the exact same thing. So, once again, YAY Bell's Brewery and Founders Brewing Co., from now into infinity for every time they should appear on one of these lists, which is every time one of these lists is made and then aggregated in perpetuity. [USA Today]

~Why does The Big Lebrewski Brewing Company not exist yet? Why/ WHY???? [Spotted by Locals]

~People really expend a lot of energy wringing their hands over this. [Business Week]

~Five years ago, oh how people laughed. Now it is being said that craft beer is BETTER in cans. "Ugh, is that a BOTTLE in your hand? You sooooooo just don't get it." [Slate]

~As someone who goes to Vegas usually as few times every year, this news makes me very, very happy. Even as recently as last month when I was there for just a couple of days I noticed some new spots with an actual, bonafide, LEGIT beer list. I've been to both spankin' new Five50 Pizza Bar at ARIA and the very fine Sage at ARIA, and while I think it's a bit early to claim they have the BESTEST BEER LISTS EVAAAAAR as the article seems to suggest (they don't; still a lot of predictable brews and didn't see much evidence of these so-called rare birds), it's still vastly improved from what it used to be. I wouldn't make Vegas your next beercation destination, but give it a year - things happen quickly there. [Forbes]

Misc
~Seriously though, First We Feast is just fucking brilliant. And here is a rant about Cro-Tards and XTREME foods I could not possibly have written better myself. [FWF]

~The cronut. The waffacle. The ramen burger. Now Pepsi-flavored Cheetos. Please let this be the cultural nadir of the XTREME subset of "foodie" culture. [Food Beast]

~USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! [Top Info Post]

~I'm not sure how the math behind all this works (the claim is, essentially, that servers made MORE money despite the automatic gratuity being slightly less than their actual tip average prior to that AND adding tip-sharing with the kitchen crew), but here's another one to add to the "the tipping system in this country is absurd" category. [Slate]

~But for as long as our archaic tipping system is still in place, if you REALLY want to know how to get better tips, take a cue from this guy. Allons-y! [Stranger on Baker Street]