[NEWS BITES] YallaEat! New walking tour reveals Eastern Market's Arab history, merchants, food

Olives at Gabriel Import Co.

There is a new free walking tour series starting next Tuesday at Eastern Market. YallaEat! celebrates the history of Arab merchants in the historic market district. Find everything you need to make a traditional Arabic meal in the market, learn the history of Arab entrepreneurs in the market, visit the market's Arab-owned businesses and meet the owners. The greater Arab community is one of the largest ethnic cultures in metro Detroit (if not THE largest) and its impact on our culture and heritage is hugely significant. This tour will help show you why. Here's more info:

Who’s hungry for history? The Arab American National Museum (AANM) says, “Yalla (Arabic for ‘let’s go’) eat!”

AANM’s YallaEat! Culinary Walking Tour is a new, immersive cultural experience being offered free of charge this fall as a pilot program and next year as a fee-based program. The docent-guided walking tours of Detroit’s historic Eastern Market in September and October 2013 will help refine future tours, including those the Museum will conduct this spring along Warren Avenue in Dearborn, amid the largest concentration of Arabs outside the nations of the Arab World.

Those who register online for the Tuesday and Saturday afternoon tours this fall will hear the story of Arab Americans in metro Detroit while exploring the long history of Arab merchants in and around Eastern Market. Participants will visit diverse Arab and Middle Eastern businesses – all founded by immigrants and family run – meet and talk with the owners, enjoy some free samples and do some old-school shopping.

“Before supermarkets like Kroger and Meijer, you would have to visit multiple family-owned stores to secure all of your groceries,” says Dr. Matthew Jaber Stiffler, AANM researcher and culinary guide.

“Our tour participants will visit businesses that, taken together, sell all of the ingredients of a typical Arab American meal: from olives, cheese and cucumbers as an appetizer, to meat, rice, and bread as a main course, to coffee and nuts for after dinner,” Stiffler says.

Well-known Detroit-area community leader Ed Deeb, a proud Arab American, wrote the introduction for the YallaEat! Eastern Market tour. In 1972, Deeb founded the Eastern Market Merchants Association to help vendors get more recognition from the City of Detroit. He was also a co-founder of the Eastern Market Corporation and founded the Michigan Food and Beverage Association in 1987.

“You will note during your tour that the Arab American merchants and shop owners are friendly, personable and eager to see you,” Deeb says. “They are always proud to meet people of their own heritage and to introduce others to Arab American traditions. What stands out most is how they are intermingled with the other ethnic business people throughout the Market.” 

Tours run approximately two hours and 30 minutes; comfortable walking shoes are required. Opportunities to shop are offered at most stops. Tours begin and end at Germack Coffee Roasting Company, Roastery & Espresso Bar, 2517 Russell St., Detroit. Founded by Armenian immigrants from Syria in the 1920s, Germack offers fresh roasted coffee and nuts from across the globe.

Tour registration is free but an online RSVP is required at www.arabamericanmuseum.org/yallaeat. RSVPs will be accepted until each tour date’s 15 slots are filled or until noon the day prior to each tour.

YallaEat! Culinary Walking Tours: Eastern Market

Presented by Arab American National Museum

1 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2013

1 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2013

2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28, 2013

1 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2013

2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5, 2013

1 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2013

The Week We Ate (The EID Week in Review)

Welp. Cheesecake Bistro is closed already (for "renovations;" reopening "soon"). Which surprises no one. Allegedly it's under new ownership and management, so let's hope they also have sense enough to give it a new name. [EID FB]

Campus Martius Park and Beach got its own bar and grille (check out photos here) as well as its own food vendors Mondays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. [Crain's / Thrillist / D:hive]

Is The Sugar House one of the best bars in the country? Playboy says so. [Playboy]

And on the hottest sunniest most swelteringest day, let there be bottled iced coffee from the bestest People of the Bean, Anthology Coffee. [Anthology FB]

It's Monday so again, COFFEE. Always Brewing Detroit in Grandmont Rosedale is now open! Here's some photos. The grand opening is scheduled for July 19. [Curbed]

In case you missed it:
~If you follow me on Instagram (@eatitdetroit) then you already got a teaser of this...the biggest new development happening on the Avenue of Fashion will be a huge cafe/restaurant in a century-old barn, a yoga studio, a high-end retail shop, and will also have a fantastic courtyard for drinks and events. It will open in phases over the next few years, starting with the courtyard this summer. [Model D]
~Coffee and (_______) is now open in a beautifully renovated space on Jefferson. This is their second pop-up; find out more about pastry chef Angela Foster's plans and why it's called (___). Also check out the Kung-Food dinner there this and every Friday through July 9. [Model D]

This event is Saturday! With ME! Have you bought your tickets yet? This is also kind of a second-anniversary party-thing too, because I haven't had time to put together a real one. So it's this. Official Detroit Food Experience + EID 2-Year Anniversary! Join me! [Det Bus Co]

So, who makes Michigan's best burger? The results from MLive.com are in...and will probably surprise you. [MLive]

And since we have burgers on the brain, Crain's Detroit Business's Nathan Skid talks to Iron Chef Michael Symon about his plans to open B Spot Burgers in the D. [Crain's]

Woodward Whiskey, the latest from Valentine Distilling Co., is now available! (And it's good, guys. Much like the Liberator Gin.) [Promote Michigan]

One thing I learned this week is that people get HEATED when it comes to discussions about allowing dogs in restaurants. [WILX]

Another thing I learned is that some people have no idea what the fuck I'm talking about when I refer to "session beers," but that doesn't stop them from commenting. Anyway, since session beers (DEFINED AS 4% ABV AND LOWER) are something the rest of the world has been doing well for centuries now (farmhouse ales and saisons and pilsners and kolsches and ESBs and traditional stouts and some wheat beers and so on, and not just "watered down" Budweiser, which is the American version and apparently the only other available option aside of XTREME beers), it's time for American brewers and beer bars alike to get the fuck with it already. If I can drink more in one sitting, I will spend more and stay longer. Good for you (beer bar owner and/or brewer) and good for me and good for the economy and good for America. [Red Eye]

Here's a great story on DROUGHT and the CEO, Crain's Detroit Business Twenty in Their 20s Cait James, in Metromode. [Metromode]

Restaurants are the new food trucks. [Metromode]

Meet the boys of Bailout Productions. [Model D]

Detroit's most popular patio is at Green Dot Stables, and it hasn't even opened yet. [GDS/EID FB]

Chef Luciano del Signore of Pizzeria Biga was featured in Pizza Today. [Pizza Today]

This wine country is only an hour away, very inexpensive and not yet run over with tourists. Sure, it's not Traverse City, but: all of the above. The wines are also very interesting and worth exploring (definitely not doing the same thing as the SE MI trail and certainly not the same as northern MI). [Windsor Star]

Fair Food Network is extending its Double Up Food Bucks program from farmers markets into three full-service grocery stores: Honey Bee Market, Metro Foodland, and Mike's Fresh Market. [Fair Food Network]

So you hear a lot about urban farming in Detroit. But what about the soil itself? [Model D]

Detroit Chocolat opened their first storefront on Lakeside Circle, a local chocolatier that uses and sells products from other Michigan makers like Kelly's Karamels and Germack Pistachio Co. This fourth-generation chocolatier spent a decade working for Morley. In the store you will also find products from The Popped Kernel, Cherry Republic, Better Made Snack Foods and Faygo Beverages Inc. [Macomb Daily]

Necessity is the mother of invention. This family turned unemployment into Aunt Nee's Taste of Mexico Salsa. [Metromode]

You guys, social media! This time Just Baked in Entrepreneur Magazine. [Entrepreneur]

The proposition of a new Red Wings arena (that has been reported and speculated on for forever now) has been approved by others based on its merits as a proposition and the fact that Mike Illitch has already gobbled up all the property. This $650 million sportstainment megaplex still needs county approval. You know, the same county that approved a massive jail at the entryway of downtown. [Detroit News]

Bring me more whiskey and rye! [BuzzFeed]

Ever wondered about the legality of carrying cheese on a plane? This is for you. [Wisconsin Food]

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]

The Week We Ate (The EID Week in Review)

Metal up your ass and in your mouth.

In case you missed it:
~So this grocery store opened. It was kind of a big deal. (It even has its own beer.) [EID]
~So this band played a big show on Belle Isle with a bunch of other bands and 50,000 people. It, too, was kind of a big deal, despite what your typical low-rent Detroit hipster would have you believe with their soul-sucking snark. (Actually that also applies to the point above, too.) Anyway, if you want to keep it all metal all the time, eat these. [Orion / EID]
~This week I went back to the future of food trucks, following up on a series I started two years ago in Metromode and Concentrate. [Metromode]

Another mission of Whole Foods Market Detroit -- nay, THE MOST IMPORTANT GROCERY STORE IN THE WORLD -- is to not just CARRY healthy products, but also teach people about them and how to cook with them. They have quite a bit of (free) programming geared around this too. [Freep]

And here's a short video from Crain's Detroit Business interviewing Whole Foods Market Community Liaison Amanda Musilli. [Crain's]

And more on Whole Foods Market Detroit from the The Wall Street Journal. [WSJ]

And this is what I meant by "demonstrable." [Freep]

Musical dining room chairs continue as Chef Daniel Campbell, formerly of Silver Pig Restaurant Group, steps in to replace Andy Hollyday of Michael Symon's Roast, who will leave to open his own restaurant. Also: ANDY HOLLYDAY IS OPENING HIS OWN RESTAURANT. If you've had your ear to the ground there have been rumors and whispers about this for awhile, and now it is confirmed. Hollyday's new joint will open in Midtown later this year. Stay tuned as there will be lots and lots more to come on this one. [Freep]

Turns out famous people love pizza - first Christina Hendricks professes her love for Supino in Esquire, then some dude from Breaking Bad and Low Winter Sun dines at Pizzeria Biga Royal Oak. STARS ARE JUST LIKE US! [Esquire / Detroit News]

Hard cider and a winery are coming to Blake's Cider Mill in Armada. It's like all my dreams are coming true. [Voice News]

The pop-up has passed, but I have a feeling this Local C team is one to watch. [EID FB]

"So, Amy, what do you do?" "Well, just this week I was honored by the White House as a Champion of Change for my work with Detroit SOUP. What do you do, Nicole?" "I post links to Facebook with snarky captions and have over 1,000 followers on Instagram." Thankfully I managed not to drool all over myself while chatting with Amy Kaherl during Creative Mornings Detroit last Friday. [Freep]

For my next public engagement, check out this Detroit Food Experience tour with The Detroit Bus Company on June 29. We'll hit Traffic Jam and Snug, have a picnic in Clark Park with tacos from the Los Unicos truck, then get a guided tour of the Corridor Sausage Co. production facility in Eastern Market Corporation! [Det Bus Co]

Detroit definitely had grocery stores on the brain this week. Produce in general, really. Farmers markets overall. [Freep / WSU / Freep]

Urban farming in Detroit: people did it before it was cool. [Freep]

Green Dot Stables celebrates one year of selling sliders by playing the ponies and offering up free beer and BBQ with however many hundreds of their closest friends. [Thrillist]

RIP Jerry from American Coney Island. [American Coney Island FB]

Dangerously Delicious Pies Baked in Detroit's Rodney Henry is a finalist on Next Food Network Star! Which I'm not sure if that's new news or old news but woooooooooo! [Food Network]

In honor up MLive's upcoming state-wide best burger challenge, AnnArbor.com (part of the MLive publication group) posted this slideshow of Washtenaw's wackiest burgers. Also, if you would like to partake of the challenge yourself or recreate it in your free time, here is their full burger-eating schedule for the week. [AnnArbor.com / MLive]

Avalon celebrated their sweet 16 this weekend with, naturally, sweets! [Avalon FB]

And the Rattlesnake celebrates 25 years. [Freep]

The next big thing in booze? Local small-batch spirits. It's already well underway. [MLive]

So, what did Michigan drinkers vote as the best cocktail bars in the state on Michigan Radio? These. [Michigan Radio]

Knight's Steakhouse will be coming to downtown Ann Arbor with their quality meats and cocktails. [AnnArbor.com]

Jolly Pumpkin Brewery makes Weekly Pint's list of the 20 best sours of summer for their La Roja Grand Reserve. [Weekly Pint]

You guys, social media! [Crain's]