[Model D] Restaurateur Tony Vulaj to open Midtown Zeff's and Tony V's Tavern in Midtown

Anton Vulaj, who goes by the nickname "Tony V," has two new restaurants opening in the coming months in Midtown.

Vulaj is no stranger to the Midtown restaurant market: he's been in the game for 14 years now as the owner of the Olympic Grill on Warren and Campus Diner on Cass, both just steps away from the Wayne State University campus. "I like the neighborhood," he says. "Clientele-wise I know I won't have a better clientele than I do with Wayne State University."

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[HOT LIST] Detroit delivery

This post authored by EID Co-Conspirator Stefanie Cobb.

The Detroiter: knockwurst with coney sauce, grilled onions and cheddar on a sesame bun. Bucharest Grill.

From time to time, we have one of those days where we find ourselves pants-less in bed and starving without an ounce to motivation to move, much less to put on pants to leave and get food. Or maybe it’s one of those nights where you’re a six-pack-plus-some deep, and all there is to eat in your apartment is a half-empty box of linguine and ketchup packets. Seeing as how it’s generally frowned upon to venture out drunk and pants-less, how will you fulfill that basic human need for pizza nutrition? Delivery, of course, and here are some places that will bring food right to you. Sadly, you're still going to have to put on pants to answer the door. (But only for like, five seconds. Then RIGHT back off again.)

PIZZA:
Because who isn’t in the mood for pizza?

The ghost pepper pizza at Amar Pizza.

Amar Pizza (313) 366-0980
Sunday-Thursday 10am-11pm, Friday and Saturday 10am-12am
Pizza, halal, sandwiches, salads, and other fried goodies. All awesome. They’re located in Hamtown at Caniff and Conant St. They deliver within a two and a half mile radius. And yes, they're famous for their ghost pepper pizza, which is not -- and we cannot emphasize this enough, ***NOT*** -- what you want to order when you're actually hungry and actually want to eat something, and YES it's just as hot on its way back out. Show off some other time. "Oh it's not that hot." Fuck you.

Jet's Pizza (313) 297-7000
Monday-Thursday 10am-12am, Friday and Saturday 10am-2am, Sunday 11am-12am
Deep dish, duh. They deliver in and around Midtown.

Vince’s Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria (313) 842-4857
Tuesday-Friday 11am-10:30pm, Saturday 2pm-11pm, Sunday 2pm-10pm
They’ve proudly been located in Southwest for over 50 years and have a menu that offers pizza, pasta, salads, sandwiches and more. It’s pretty much the whole Italian spread.

Happy’s Pizza (313) 874-5555
Monday-Thursday 11am-11pm Friday-Saturday 11am-1am
More pizza, delivering to the Midtown/Downtown and New Center area.

EVERYTHING ASIAN:
Chinese, Thai, you get it.

Panda Chinese Restaurant (313) 297-6593
Greasy, sturdy portioned Americhinese food with very speedy delivery.

Bai Mai Thai (313) 567-8424
Monday-Thursday 10:30am-10pm, Friday 10:30am-11pm, Saturday 4:30pm-11pm
Found in Lafayette Park. Do try the Coconut Fried Rice!

New China One (313) 872-8888
They’re located in New Center so cover most of the Midtown/Wayne State radius. The perk of ordering from China One is that their kitchen is visibly pretty clean.

Bangkok Cuisine Express II (313) 832-3408
Monday-Friday 9am-9pm, Saturday 12pm-9pm, Sunday 12pm-6pm
The Drunken Noodles are pretty solid and they’re conveniently located to accommodate all Midtowners.

Konbini: For all your Red Bull, Ramen and Haagen-Dazs needs, night or day.

LATE NIGHT:
So you just got home from the bar and have the drunken munchies, do ya? No worries, we’ve all been there.

Bucharest Grill (313) 965-3111
Monday-Thursday (and Sunday) 11am-11pm, Friday-Saturday 11am-2am
Hello Chicken Shawarma with curly fries, allow me to devour that fuck out of you so you’re the last thing I see before passing out on my bathroom floor. See you in my dreams. Delicious Romanian-Mediterranean grub delivered until 2am. The End.

Detroit 1 Coney Island (313) 832-7380
Open 24 hours but delivery goes until 2am. Closed at 4pm on Sundays.
D1 is a boozer’s dreamland. Everything fried, cheesy, and smothered in Coney sauce delivered to your door.

Konbini Delivery www.konbinidelivery.com
Tuesday-Sunday 11am-3am
They cater to those who reside between Midtown and Downtown. Konbini will deliver a variety of products from fresh produce and salads to playing cards and condoms. This is a real thing. Want tampons and Garden Fresh salsa? Done. All you have to do is go to their website and add your desired items to the shopping cart. They’ll be waiting at your door in no time at all.

THEY DELIVER?
Hell yes they deliver.

Mudgie's Deli.

Mudgie’s (313) 961-2000
Monday-Friday 11am-9pm, Sunday 11am-4pm
You better believe that Mudgie’s delivers to all of Corktown and some of the Midtown/Downtown area. For all you Mudgie’s novices (if there are any), they serve up some real mean sandwiches using locally-made products. They also have soups, salads, and darling little cupcakes. Thank you, Mudgie’s.

Harmonie Garden Café (313) 638-2345
Monday-Saturday 9am-9pm, Sunday 11am-4pm
Holy falafel! This Middle Eastern hole in the wall delivers to all of Midtown. They have falafels and more falafels, but also breakfast, soups, salads, sandwiches and then some more falafels. Falafel.

CK Mediterranean Grille and Catering
Monday-Friday 10:30am-8pm. Closed on weekends.
They have a decent spread of Fattoush salad, Shawarma, Kabobs, Hummus, etc. CK delivers within the Downtown radius.

Maccabees at Midtown (313) 831-9311
Monday-Wednesday 8am-10pm, Thursday-Friday 8am-12am, Saturday 9am-12am, Sunday 11am-4pm These newbies inhabit the ground floor of, go figure, the Maccabee building in Midtown. They deliver around that area for orders with a $20 minimum. They’ve had quite a bit of buzz since their recent opening. The menu offers bistro-style American cuisine such as sandwiches, burgers, and breakfast foods.

Hot Spokes
Monday-Friday 11am-4pm
Detroiter Shanye O’Keefe is the founder of Hot Spokes, a bicycle delivery service within the boundaries of Midtown. They will deliver food from Cass Café, Shangri-La, Slows To Go, Goodwells, PJ’s Lager House, Seva, Avalon, and Louisiana Creole Gumbo. If any of those places ignite your craving, simply call any of the restaurants listed, place your order and tell them you’d like delivery through Hot Spokes. They’ll pick up your order and bike it right to your door.

The Week We Ate [The EID Week in Review]

The "maids" of Chou Anime Cafe in Midtown.

Easy Like Sundae has officially opened in downtown Ferndale. The first four comments on Downtown Ferndale's photo? Not, "Congratulations!" Not, "Welcome to the neighborhood!" Not, "So excited to have another great business down here!" Not, "Go Ferndale!" No: "Are there any VEGAN options?" Seriously, you guys, I'm trying to be supportive of your lifestyle choices but you can be profoundly f-ing tedious sometimes. How about we congratulate them on opening before we start brow-beating the vegan/lactose-free/gluten-free agenda, hm? It's FROZEN YOGURT. [Ferndale Patch / Easy Like Sundae FB / Downtown Ferndale FB]

Detroit finally gets mass transit! Sort of. The Detroit Bus Co. puts the "pub" in public transportation. [Thrillist Detroit]

The Corktown train keeps a'rollin, with or without the train station. [Curbed Detroit]

I wrote the preview on Local Kitchen + Bar (almost ready!) but Curbed picked it up, which is always worth noting -- especially since that bitch just surpassed me in followers this week. [EID / Curbed Detroit / Curbed Detroit FB]

MotorCity Wine turns two! [MLive]

The solidest of dudes filmed a short at the solidest of places: check out Solid Dudes Kitchen as they win at Green Dot Stables. [Solid Dudes Kitchen]

Pumpkin beers have started coming in and I apparently have too much time on my hands. [EID FB]

Three Andiamo restaurants (including the flagship Warren location) will be changed over to the mouthful-of-a-name, Joe Vicari's Andiamo Italian Steakhouse. [Macomb Daily]

Phil Cooley, former model and most interesting man in America. [Vice]

A Travel Channel writer names the 7 best beer destinations in the country and includes Traverse City, citing Short's (in NOT-nearby Bellaire) and Mackinaw Brewing Co. (RLY?) as reasons. He also included Beer City USA TIE city Asheville, NC, acknowledging its title as Beer City USA while conveniently failing to mention it was a TIE with ... wait for it ... Grand Rapids. Clearly this person thought it best to suckle at the teet of Batali than do any actual reporting. Why the snub, chum? (All that being said I still love Traverse City more than anywhere and anything else.) [Travel Channel / MLive / The Daily Meal]

Speaking of Batali, he makes his picks for the 9 best restaurants in the world and included not one but TWO places in Traverse City, the Cook's House and Frenchie's (a sandwich shop). That's right folks, according to Joey Tribbiani Mario Batali, a sandwich shop in Traverse City belongs on the very same list of the best restaurants in the world as Le Bernadin and Le Louis XV. The kicker is he's really NOT being paid off by the Traverse City Convention and Visitors Bureau. (I asked.) [The Daily Meal]

The Brinery stimulates our gastronomy AND economy. [Concentrate]

Suburban nightclub South Bar closes after yet another shooting. Oh, Birmingham... [Downtown Publications]

NPR gets all NPR-y about Detroit coney dogs. [NPR]

Beer is good for the economy. [MLive]

The Bottom Line Coffeehouse will be opening in Midtown next week. It's now Facebook official. [TBL FB]

More importantly, Anthology needs a roaster and we need Anthology. [indiegogo / Anthology FB]

The Detroit News has been in a cryogenic slumber since 2005. They should really read Curbed more. [DetNews]

Motor City Street Eats announces their Dearborn summer schedule. [MCSE FB]

Mae's poured their patio this week! Sitting in the sunlight will make us feel less bad about sucking down butter burgers and salted caramel cream-filled chocolate chip cookie sandwiches. [Mae's FB]

Maria's Comida has announced they will be closing the restaurant on August 18 and transitioning over to a manufacturing facility for their "Maria's House Made" salsas and barbecue sauces. Last chance for a ghost pepper burger! [Maria's FB]

I have a feeling if I ever make it to Tokyo my head will explode. Perhaps this place can ease me into it. [HuffPo]

[HOT LIST] The Best of Waterford

"Covert" camera phone shooting inside Calabrese's Pizzeria

Waterford. It is the Macomb County of Oakland County, the bastard child of Pontiac and White Lake, the butt of all local hillbilly, redneck and white trash jokes. And yes, Waterford isn't all hoighty-toighty like Birmingham, and the people are decidedly blue collar (however, there is also a lot of money out there on the western and northern borders of White Lake and Clarkston, FTR). The watering holes are exactly that, and the dining scene is pretty humble. But Waterford is also full of natural beauty, with 34 lakes surrounded by forests, several state and county parks, and protected wildlife habitats. The roads all wind around the lakes and the drive is serene; seeing geese, deer, rabbits and all forms of lake and forest wildlife is very common. And despite their simplicity, there are some fantastic restaurants out here (if you can break out of the white tablecloth mindset). From classic American coney islands to Lebanese cuisine, Waterford has a little of everything.

#1 Calabrese's Pizzeria II (4668 Dixie Hwy.)
Is it possible that one of Detroit's best pizzas is way, waaaaaay up here, hidden in Waterford Township in this tiny little pizzeria with about 11 seats all decorated in retro kitsch? For over 40 years, Calabrese's has been one of Waterford's best-kept secrets. The pizza is excellent, without a doubt; but the piece de resistance is the mozzarella bread. "Can mozzarella bread ever really be that good?" you may wonder. It's really just dough, cheese, maybe some butter and garlic salt...surely nothing terribly different from one place to another, right? Words cannot accurately depict the superiority of this humble-looking bread. It starts with the dough - soft, tender, but baked crispy to the edges...just the slightest crunch, nothing dry, just enough. The dough itself is infused with garlic flavor - we know not how, nor do we ask. Surely garlic salt would be obvious but the flavor wouldn't be so infused, and garlic butter would make it greasy...but there it is, defying immediate explanation. Then, it is covered in mozzarella. The mozzarella doesn't bubble and brown: it liquifies, becoming a glassy coat of cheese covering the bread. The flavor: mozzarella-garlic-dough magic. This is not something that can be described. It must be experienced.

#2 Taqueria San Jose (4550 Elizabeth Lake Rd.)
There is no shortage of places in Waterford and Pontiac where you can stuff your face full of Mexi-Merican fare; it's really kind of the Southwest Detroit of the northern suburbs. But places where you can get more Mexican Mexican food are in much shorter supply. Taqueria San Jose is about as fancy as a mess hall, but the food is hands-down some of the best Mexican you will find in metro Detroit. Not Waterford; not Oakland County - metro Detroit, including the city. Tacos come in all the delicious flavors you'd expect from a proper Mexican joint, including tripe and tongue. Order the three taco entree with al pastor (marinated, slow-cooked pork), chorizo (Mexican sausage) and carne asada (grilled steak). They come on corn tortillas with diced onion and cilantro - wedges of limes and radishes are already at your table, as well as homemade tortilla chips and salsas which include a runny, spicy brownish-red salsa made from roasted chiles that is addictive. The entree also comes with Spanish rice and homemade refried beans; even the beans are outstanding. And all that for $6.75. The horchata (sweetened rice milk with ground almond and cinnamon) tastes like homemade rice pudding.

#3 Heroes Bar-B Q + Brew (998 W. Huron St.)
A no-frills family place by day and boisterous bar by night, Heroes serves up hearty Midwestern food like fall-off-the-bone ribs, juicy burgers and steaks, and planked whitefish. Locals love this place because of the consistently friendly staff who will make you feel right at home (they like to say that "you're only a stranger once"), the lively energy (the place is always busy), and the solid food. Nothing fancy, but a reliable stand-by.

#4 Irish Tavern (4703 Elizabeth Lake Rd.)
Nicole remembers when this place opened several years ago; it was the best bar in the area and also happened to be one of the closest to her apartment. She became a regular pretty quickly. The IT has changed quite a bit since it was one of Nicole's old haunts, but all for the better: they added a kitchen after their first couple of years in business, and a recent remodel has made it look more like an Irish bar and less like a Waterford bar. This is simply a great place to go drink, with a more polished feel than most other Waterford dives. (Not that we don't love a good dive, and Waterford's full of 'em.)

#5 Village Place (4710 Cooley Lake Rd.)
What Lafayette Coney Island is to Detroit, Village Place is to Waterford. It's not that the food here is really so outstanding - and people, you really need to start accepting the fact that Lafayette's isn't either - but it's open 24 hours a day and it is a Waterford rite of passage. Anyone who has ever partied semi-regularly in Waterford, White Lake, Union Lake, Commerce Twp. or West Bloomfield has been here at 3 a.m. at some point. It is also located directly next to the IT (don't let the street names confuse you; they practically share a parking lot), so if you're hanging out at our favorite bar you don't have to go far to sober up. Nicole knows this from experience.

Bubbling under Hot Pepper Thai Restaurant (4212 Pontiac Lake Rd.), Walt's Original Coney Island (3425 Highland Rd.), Custard Corner (3005 Pontiac Lake), La Marsa (4240 Pontiac Lake Rd.), Sweet Water Bar + Grill (7760 Cooley Lake Rd.), Grand Azteca IV (2505 Pontiac Lake Rd.)