[Model D] Top of the Pontch, Jefferson House, Urban Cellars opening in the Crowne Plaza Hotel Pontchartrain

Photo by Nicole Rupersburg.

As the Crowne Plaza Hotel Pontchartrain undergoes a serious exterior overhaul to prepare to welcome its first guests this June, the overhaul happening inside is just as ambitious, both in design and concept. 

The Jefferson House will be the Pontch's primary restaurant, located across from the lobby. The look is modern meets old world: copper leaf ceilings, plush cream-colored chairs, dark-stained wainscoting covering the walls. It's warm and rich and comfortable, refined without being too stuffy. They'll serve breakfast, lunch and dinner, and will also have a 40-seat outdoor patio on Jefferson. Attached to the Jefferson House is Urban Cellars, the hotel's sizable bar, which will specialize in craft cocktails.

Read more.

[Real Detroit Weekly] London Chop House

Steak Tartare. Photo by Nicole Rupersburg.

The London Chop House offers a fine dining experience unparalleled in metro Detroit. This iconic Detroit institution originally opened in 1938 and remained open for 53 years, racking up national accolades as being THE place to see and be seen outside of New York and L.A. Known as much for its exquisite food and service as it was for being the social hub of Detroit's power elite – and during the many years of the Chop House's reign as the grand dame of Detroit dining, Detroit's power elite were among the nation's top – the Chop House is legendary, so much more than a space but a symbol of wealth, power and prestige.

And one year ago it reopened.

Read more.

[edibleWOW] Café Cortina

This story originally published in edibleWOW.

Café Cortina has been open since 1976 and is easily one of the most celebrated restaurants in metro Detroit, having been recognized by both local and national publications numerous times for their excellence on all levels. One entire wall of the corridor leading to the stunning stone courtyard is adorned with various newspaper and magazine clippings with glowing reviews proclaiming “Restaurant of the Year” and “Best of Detroit” (as well as recognition from Zagat, Wine Spectator and the Food Network), along with shots of various celebrities who have dined there over the years. But Director of Operations Adrian Tonon (son of owner Rina) remains quite humble about all of it. “The national accolades and awards are an honor to receive,” he says. “We’ve been applauded by media all over the world, but at Café Cortina there is no such thing as success; there are only moments of success and then we strive for the next one, to supersede our last performance.”

Situated in a somewhat far-flung location in Farmington Hills on 10 Mile Rd. just east of Orchard Lake Rd., Café Cortina takes a bit of effort on the part of the patron to get to – this isn’t the kind of place you would just happen to drive by. In the original plans for the construction of I-696, it was supposed to run along 10 Mile Rd., which would have made Café Cortina an easy exit from the freeway. But due to some financing issues the project was moved north to 12 Mile Rd. “My parents put their life savings into it,” Tonon explains. “They had no choice but to move forward with it.”

An outdoor wedding party.

30 years later it is clear they made the right choice. “We would not be a culinary destination if it wasn’t for where our location is,” says Tonon. “You have to do something special for people to come this way. We’re a destination restaurant like so many in Italy.” They have expanded continuously over the last three decades, adding more dining space and a beautiful outdoor courtyard made of stone and covered in crawling ivy. They are a favorite location for weddings and parties, and continue to offer the same excellent food and service that has made them such a major (if understated) player in Detroit’s dining scene for so long. “We never rest on our laurels. We were gardening in 1976 when we were made fun of for having an herb and tomato garden out back.” What a difference 30 years makes.

Café Cortina continues to stay relevant because they strive to keep the restaurant and experience very boutique and artisanal. Executive Chef “Hoffa” (Jeffrey Hoffman) has been with them for 14 years. He is a Culinary Institute of America graduate and worked under the infamous Jimmy Schmidt for many years. The Tonons often send him to Italy (where they still retain their strong connections to friends and family) to work in different kitchens and train in traditional and contemporary Italian cuisine. “Hoffa’s the kind of chef who just wants to cook,” says Tonon. “We’ve had some great times and done some incredible things together. He’s really simple and all about food; he doesn’t need the accolades.”

That same sense of modesty and humility permeates all aspects of Café Cortina, from the servers who have been here 10 and 20+ years to Tonon himself. They truly care about the customer experience above all else. “We take serving others very seriously,” Tonon says. “We feel very fortunate in life to be able to create moments of happiness in other people’s lives. Hospitality is very important to us.”

The cuisine is very simple, hearty, traditional Italian food exquisitely done. “We are very true to what Italian cooking is,” notes Tonon. “We’re not reinventing anything here. We have a modern day presentation but this is still what you would get on the table in Italy 150 years ago.” Their menu is heavily influenced by the seasons. In the summer about 70% of their produce comes from their own garden and the rest is sourced from Michigan farms; this is especially noteworthy considering they’ve been doing it this way for 30 years now.

As a traditional Italian restaurant, they also bring in prosciutto from Parma, mozzarella from Campania, even certain kinds of tomatoes grown in Italian lava rock. “We source where the best products in the world come from. We want the best of the world’s products. If it’s not from Italy it’s usually from Michigan or California.” Everything is made in-house from scratch, including their pastas that are made with a special flour that comes from Italy and pastries made by their own pastry chef, Chef Hoffa’s wife.

Equally as important as the food itself is their commitment to the community. “We’re very community-based and outreach-based,” Tonon says. “Giving back is very important to us.” Tonon is very involved with local philanthropic organizations and takes his social responsibility (and that of the restaurant’s) very seriously. The Adrian Tonon Project is a 501c3 nonprofit organization and an extension of Café Cortina that seeks to find would-be philanthropists who might not have the financial ability to donate funds but can donate specialized skills and connect them with organizations in need of those skills. This past June, Café Cortina also hosted the first Yelp Helps event in Michigan, where 16 nonprofit organizations were brought under one roof.

“[We ask ourselves] ‘How do we start a movement to help others and for others to help others?’” Tonon explains. “We as chefs, restaurateurs, and foodies need to create that awareness of ‘we can help.’ Food brings people together. Breaking bread is one of the most powerful things in life.”

[Model D] Greektown Casino opens Brizola and new Market District food court

Greektown Casino hasn't had a proper fine dining establishment since the Alley Grille closed in 2009, and they've never had one located on the main gaming level. Enter the newly-opened Brizola.

Located on the main floor of the casino, Brizola was formerly the nightclub Eclipz Lounge (sidenote: we’re not sure what the thing is with the "z" either).

Read more.

[Deadline Detroit] Re-Opening The London Chop House: Genius Move Or Wishful Thinking?

Photo by Nicole Rupersburg.

It’s Saturday night, Sweetest Day no less, and I walk into the London Chop House without reservations. It’s fully booked for the evening, but the staff happily accommodates me and my dining partner. It helps there’s a no-show.

It’s no exaggeration to say the Mad Men-era restaurant that opened nine months ago (after being shuttered for about 20 years) continues to glow.

Read more.

 

[Metromix] ZIN Wine Bar

French Chicken. All photos by VATO for Metromix.

Plymouth’s Grape Expectations closed their doors on December 31, 2011. After three weeks of interior overhauling it reopened again on January 21, 2012 as ZIN Wine Bar and Restaurant. Much like Grape Expectations, ZIN is a wine bar, but that is where the similarities cease. ZIN is a totally new approach to the wine bar-restaurant concept, not just to Plymouth but to all of metro Detroit.

Partners Jorge Manzano and Steve Papas worked closely with previous owner Lisa O’Donnell to make it a smooth transition between Grape Expectations and ZIN. They hired Executive Chef Justin Vaiciunas in May 2011 so he could start developing the menu and get a feel for the Plymouth clientele … a strategy which has worked well for them, as regular customers were slowly introduced to Vaiciunas’s inventive yet unfamiliar techniques and started to get excited about the new concept.

[Real Detroit Weekly] Cutting Edge Cuisine

The Roast Beast. Photo by Nicole Rupersburg.

There are restaurants new and old – and new-old – in metro Detroit that are putting us on the map as more than just the economically depressed auto capital of the world and home of Slows and The Abandoned Train Station. These places, whether steeped in the rich culinary traditions of the rich people who once thrived here or part of the new breed of contemporary restaurant representing nü-Detroit, are known locally and increasingly nationally for their excellence in all forms of fine dining, from exquisitely prepared dishes to culinary-inspired craft cocktail programs and everything in-between. These places represent some of the best in metro Detroit's cutting-edge cuisine.

London Chop House • 155 East Congress Street • Detroit

It is the most infamous restaurant in Detroit of all time: the London Chop House. It was a Detroit institution on a level entirely its own, like none that have come before or since. The London Chop House was the very symbol of Detroit's power and prestige, epitomizing Detroit's wealth and grandeur. Granted, those were different days, but perhaps it stands as a testament to Detroit's slow-but-sure recovery that such storied institutions as this and Joe Muer Seafood are re-opening under a new regime of local restaurateurs with proven track records. The London Chop House & Cigar Bar will open later this fall at 155 Congress St. in the lower level of the Murphy Building, in the same location as the original. The Gatzaros family, who also owns the Fishbone's chain and Detroit's Wah-Hoo, is behind this re-launch of this most prestigious name. We expect that it will be part homage to the original and part all-new concept for a new era of Detroit. Details have been kept mum, which just further piques our excitement.


Rattlesnake Club • 300 River Place Drive # 1900 • Detroit

The Rattlesnake Club is a Detroit institution in its own right, and could even be considered the offspring of the original London Chop House. Former chef-owner Jimmy Schmidt worked his way up the ranks of the Chop House to Executive Chef before opening the Rattlesnake, which he owned and operated for over 20 years before selling it earlier this year to Jimmy Stroh of Stroh Cos. Inc., the landlord of the building that has been home to the restaurant all this time. Schmidt is staying on board as a consultant for the menu and otherwise the restaurant hasn't changed a wink – that's a good thing. Earlier this year the 'Snake got a bit (get it?) of a facelift, primarily in the bar/lounge area, and they also introduced a new pricing structure that organizes the menu into "prix fixe" courses a la Restaurant Week. Executive Chef Chris Franz and Chef de Cuisine Jeff Lanctot have both worked under Schmidt for many years and carry on his style as ever before, with impeccably prepared and presented contemporary American dishes and all items from breads to desserts made in-house. Master Sommelier Claudia Tyagi came on board earlier this year to freshen up their wine list, and a small plates menu allows diners to experience the exceptional cuisine of the 'Snake without having to spend an exceptional amount of money. The "new" Rattlesnake isn't so much new as it is merely updated to further play to its well-established strengths. Hey, if it ain't broke don't fix it – just dust it off once in a while.

Roast • 1128 Washington Boulevard • Detroit

Tired of hearing about Roast yet? Too bad. Because you're going to keep hearing about it. Again and again and again until they STOP being the hippest restaurant in Detroit that just freakin' NAILS IT on all counts of what a restaurant should be. Excellent service from a knowledgeable and passionate staff; comfortable yet aesthetically lush décor; an aggressive craft cocktail program that truly brings back the classic craft as well as an impressively curated selection of boutique wines and craft beers (including many Michigan labels you simply will not find elsewhere). And then, of course, there is the food. For dinner, start with some of their house-made charcuterie, a selection of smoked and cured meats. If you're feeling saucy, opt for some crispy fried sweetbreads or roasted marrow. Otherwise delve into the pork shank confit or dry-aged steak; there is also the "Roast beast of the day," the critter that spends the whole day prior slow-cooking on the spit that is the focal point of the main dining room. (Note: while there are a select number of vegetarian dishes available, this place really shouldn't be the first choice for non-meatatarians ... might want to sit this one out, guys. More meat for the other meat-eaters.) Up at the bar you can order off their more casual menu, which features items like crispy pork crackling and the Roast Coney Dog made with pulled pork and red hots. There is also the unforgettable Roast Burger – with bacon, cheddar, fried egg and pickled onion on an English muffin – which is now joined by two new signature burgers. The Roast Cocktail Hour is one of the best weekday happy hours in the area, and now their recently-introduced "Flights and Bites" menu on Sundays pairs small plates with beers from around the world for a small price.


Cork Wine Pub • 23810 Woodward Avenue • Pleasant Ridge

Pleasant Ridge is the blink-and-you'll-miss-it segway city between Ferndale and Royal Oak, but along that stretch of Woodward just south of 696 you'll find Cork Wine Pub, an unassuming little place that's sort of tucked away in plain sight. They haven't yet been open a full year, but this is another metro Detroit restaurant that fast caught the attention of the area's culinary illuminati. Executive Chef Ruben Blake Griffin is new to the title but has been with the restaurant since they opened their doors last November. He continues to uphold the ideals put into place in the very beginning of highlighting seasonal, regional flavors and working directly with local farmers. The menu is structured into courses – choose a selection from each section for a full five-course meal, or select a few of the 20-or-so small plates options to share with the table tapas-style. Be sure to save room for dessert; their exquisite desserts are all made in-house by the extraordinary pastry chef Tanya Fallon. For the "wine pub" portion, they offer over 100 wines by the glass and bottle and also sell them in their attached market. Cork also has an extensive collection of craft beers and classically-inspired craft cocktails, rounding out the full gourmand experience nicely. The vibe is casual urban chic, so whether you're coming here for a full dinner or just for a few drinks you'll feel comfortably cool.

See the original article here.

The 5 Days of DRW: 24grille

All photos by Nicole Rupersburg.

From the very beginning, it seems that 24grille inside the AAA-four-diamond Westin Book Cadillac has been plagued with issues, not that your average restaurant-goer would know that. Despite problems with partners and upper management on all conceivable levels of common-grade restaurant industry salaciousness and scandal (you've read Bourdain, no?), their initial delay in opening (a full 6 months after the hotel - and Roast - opened), and their struggle to really define themselves in a culinary scene not wanting for lack of steakhouses and contemporary American cuisine, 24grille has survived the rough waters of these past two and a half years and now finally has a strong team in place that will guide it to its greatest potential.

The staff over the past year has changed almost entirely, which includes the addition of Executive Chef Christian Borden and General Manager Nicole Nassif. "She is insanely smart," says Borden of Nassif, and it's hard not to notice: after sitting in on part of the DRW staff training, I can plainly see this is a woman who runs a tight ship, takes no BS, and is exactly the kind of firm-handed manager this high-volume, high-profile restaurant desperately needed.

But solid management can only take a restaurant so far. There needs to be a chef in the kitchen equally as focused, talented and committed for the restaurant to surpass merely "good." And that is where Borden comes in.

Chef Christian (center)

You may recognize his name from Atlas Global Bistro; in fact, many people seem to think he's still there (an easy mistake to make, considering their new chef is also named Christian). Borden is the one who made Atlas what it was. It was his inventive menus, his truly global fusion flavors on every plate, his simply superior food that drove diners out to that desolate stretch of "Tween-town" (that lonely mile between Fox Town and Midtown that has some really nice condos and not a whole lot else). But after five and a half years, Borden was ready to leave, and an opportunity at 24grille presented itself at just the right time (actually, it was around the time of the Fall 2010 Detroit Restaurant Week).

Borden has been here a year now and has spent this time reconceptualizing the menus, redefining the brand, and generally acclimating to the significantly faster pace. We spoke a few days before the Fall 2011 Restaurant Week started; the hotel was at 100% occupancy and they were slammed every day, lunch and dinner, seven days a week, nonstop. And it's been that way since he started.

"It's a completely different world than Atlas," he says. "We're just a mile down the street and it's completely different." He is referring both to the pace and to the volume; there is simply no downtime to be had here.

Which is fantastic news for him, really. While he made a name for Atlas during his years there, 24grille is the place where he can really make a name for himself. The restaurant has an automatic built-in clientele of wealthy traveling businessmen, socialites and celebrities who, let's just be real here, aren't going to be taking casual strolls down Michigan Ave. to see what other options are available (and it's a long walk to Slows). Despite being good-with-so-much-potential-to-be-better, the restaurant has never hurt for business, and that means Borden's food now has more visibility than ever before, and people from all over the world can experience it.

It's also time for 24grille to step out of Roast's robust shadow. While the menu concepts are entirely different, the general appeal is the same and the individual "looks" aren't too drastically different (oh, sure, 24grille is a little more tempered glass and industrial chic, Roast is a little more plush leather and textured walls, are we really going to split hairs here?). 24grille tries to have a little more casual appeal (and their $8 "lunch sac" really just can't be beat), but the menu still boasts decidedly not-casual items like pork belly and duck confit (at the very least, these aren't meant for the "casual" diner). There is a nice mix of small plates and full entrees that will satisfy every appetite and craving, and the menu is also quite approachable: think steaks and seafood, but steaks and seafood done in a way you've never seen around here.

But for Detroit Restaurant Week, Borden is going balls-out. There are no salmon filets, no short ribs, no chicken sous-vide on this menu. It is 22 items of Borden's mad culinary genius, flirting with South American, Asian, and French traditions with influences of the American South and Gulf coast, all prepared in a way that honors Michigan's regional flavors and with an unapologetic disregard to your culture-shocked palate. Just eat it, Detroit. There are 21 fantastic restaurants participating in this season's Restaurant Week, but this is one not to miss.

Crackle sausage.

FALL 2011 DRW MENU
FIRST COURSE

Crackle Sausage
(Spicy homemade sausages, crispy vermicelli noodle and sweet chile sauce)
-or-
Three Sisters Soup
(Prepared with sweet corn, Michigan white beans and butternut squash)
-or-
Michigan Sushi
(Prepared with polenta cakes, succotash and sashimi tuna)
-or-
Yucatanian Pulled Pork Tacos
(Three crispy tacos with three garnishes)
-or-
Poached Pear and Goat Cheese Salad
(Petite herb greens, pomegranate, crispy walnut and Valencia honey vinaigrette)
-or-
Chinese Barbeque Pork
(Cha siu-glazed pork belly, ginger, shallot and lychee)
-or-
24 Caesar Salad
(Baby romaine hearts, croutons, Parmesan cheese, toasted tomato and citrus-anchovy dressing)
-or-
Michigan Corn Crêpes and Wild Mushrooms
(Thin French pancake, seared mushroom, shallot and herb vinaigrette)
-or-
Watermelon Salad
(Local melons, ricotta salata, mint, macadamia, 20-year cherry-oaked balsamic)
-or-
Salmon Gravlax with Jalapeño Waffle
(Toasty waffle, tangy radish salad and cool lemon cream)

SECOND COURSE

Georges Bank Diver Scallops with Ruby Red Grapefruit
(White cocoa butter-seared mammoth scallops, zucchini pearls, bitters and ginger blanc)
-or-
White Marble Pan-roasted Pork Tenderloin
(Spiny pepper-crusted pork, Maytag bleu, wild huckleberries, toasted pistachio and Port reduction)
-or-
Duck Breast on Roasted Italian Plum
(Slow-roasted boneless duck breast with stewed Italian plum jam)
-or-
Lamb Leg on Roasted Vegetables
(Lamb rolled in coffee and vanilla, pickled thyme, roasted shallot, radicchio, Parmesan, shiitake and chives)
-or-
Florida Skate and Minneola Citrus
(Seared, flaked southern coastal fish, Florida citrus, jicama and fried capers)
-or-
Angus Coulotte with Cotton Onions
(Chargrilled steak, Virginia onions and green peppercorn butter)
-or-
Chicken Saltimbocca
(Amish chicken, prosciutto and herbs with white wine-Marsala braise)
-or-
Ratatouille
(Seasonal vegetables, fresh herbs, Calabro ricotta and tomato-Chardonnay butter)

THIRD COURSE

Gingersnap and Apricot Cheesecake
(Peppery gingersnap crust, smooth cream batter and local stonefruits)
-or-
Five and Dime Milkshake
(Vanilla bean gelato, malted milk, whipped cream, scoop straw and sprinkles)
-or-
Soda Jerk Float
(Cherry-vanilla syrup, ice cream, Coke in a bottle, whipped cream and maraschino)
-or-
Bread Pudding
(Nutmeg custard, banana bread pudding, walnut streusel and English toffee)
-or-
Summer's End Blackberry Panna Cotta
(Honey and black pepper Italian custard and minted blackberry-orange compote)
-or-
Scoops
(Chili, lime and lemongrass sorbet, chocolate sea salt gelato, lychee and strawberry ice cream)

Want to see more? Check out the Flickr set here.

[944 Detroit] Cork Wine Pub

To view this article you must view the PDF by clicking here.

Here is also the full text of this brief "Inside Dish" piece:

Birmingham, Royal Oak, Ferndale…Pleasant Ridge?  Thanks to the newly-opened Cork Wine Pub, this stretch of Woodward that was previously a dead zone is now the new “it” place to be, and with good reason: while there are no shortage of bars, clubs, lounges, and restaurants in the surrounding areas, there are few that truly cater to an adult crowd with a sophisticated palate.  “This is a place adults can go to and enjoy a bar,” explains Beverage Director Jeffrey Mar.  “It’s a place you can feel like a gentleman.”

The cozy space is bright and colorful, full of natural light and warmth.  As a “wine pub” they offer 150 wines by the bottle with 40 available by the glass, all of which were chosen because they are a great value, immediately drinkable, and really represent a place – there are no big-name mass-produced labels here.  They also offer a small but handsome selection of craft beers, but where they perhaps shine the brightest is in their extensive selection of liquors and liqueurs.  “I’m a big connoisseur of craft cocktails,” Mar admits, and the timing couldn’t be better: the trend is catching on like fire on absinthe and Cork is ahead of the curve with a robust menu of classic cocktails, hand-crafted contemporary creations, and limited-quantity barrel-aged cocktails.  This may not be a lemon-drop-and-Jaeger-bomb kind of place, but it’s not trying to be.

The menu is an equal accomplishment.  Executive Chef Bree Hoptman is putting forth exceptional effort.  The menu is seasonally-themed with locally-procured ingredients featuring succulent combinations such as duck with quinoa and winter vegetables and roasted beets with brown butter, garlic and bleu cheese.  The artisanal cheese selection is decadent, as is Pastry Chef Tanya Fallon’s tantalizing spread of housemade breads and desserts.

Also in keeping with growing trends, Cork has a retail wine shop next door open Tuesday – Saturday from 10 a.m. to last call where all their wines are available for purchase at 35% off their restaurant prices.

23810 Woodward Ave
Pleasant Ridge, MI 48069

(248) 544-2675

www.corkwinepub.com

944 Detroit: In the Garden of Eatin'

Also from the November 2010 issue, this one you have to view as a PDF by clicking here. (Thinking out loud: kind of funny to see how much of this information is already outdated only six months later.)

But for funsies, I'll give you the full text I had compiled pre-edit:

Top Nine Dining Trends in Metro Detroit (2010)

Pizza Goes Posh
It’s a staple of the American diet and comes in as many combinations of styles, flavors and preparation methods as there are possible permutations in a game of Sudoku.   But thanks to a new breed of wine bar, pizza is no longer pedestrian.  It all started with Crust Pizza and Wine Bar, with locations in Rochester Hills and Bloomfield Township.  Think Prosciutto di Parma with Maytag Bleu cheese, arugula and extra virgin olive oil...on a pizza.  Taste Pizzabar in Detroit features a uniquely urban loft atmosphere serving exceptional pizza with chewy, flavorful crust made fresh daily. Birmingham’s Quattro reinvented itself in May to be Quattro Pizzeria & Wine Bar, a little more casual and fun with a particular emphasis on the wine -- there’s something for every taste and budget.  And just this June, James Beard-nominated Chef Luciano Del Signore opened Pizzeria Biga in Southfield.  This is truly Italian-style pizza, with a thin, crispy crust and such toppings as duck prosciutto, Italian tuna and speck.  

Don’t Know How You Do the BBQ That You Do So Well
These places are so new you can still smell the paint amidst the aromas of sweet, succulent meat slow-cooking in the smoker.  Rub BBQ and Pub and Red Smoke Barbecue both just opened in Detroit this summer and both serve a variety of classic barbecue dishes in a trendy atmosphere with such distinctly Detroit touches as exposed brick walls and hardwood floors, and an extensive list of Michigan beers.  Over in Royal Oak, Lockhart’s BBQ opened in August and is already the talk of the town with its “REAL” barbecue offerings.  Following the Texas BBQ traditions, Lockhart’s is owned by a native Texan with a pit master who intensively studied his craft in Texas and uses a smoker built in Texas and yes, the name itself pays homage to the city in Texas where American barbecue was born. 

One Bottle of Wine for Now, Three Bottles for Later: Restaurant-Markets
Two new restaurants have opened in the past year that have really made a mark ... with their markets.  Toasted Oak Grill & Market in Novi offers a sharp selection of boutique wines (including a wide selection of Michigan wines), house-made charcuterie, artisan cheeses and a variety of house-made specialty products for purchase in the market. The restaurant also offers their complete wine list at retail pricing with only a corkage fee.  In Birmingham, Tallulah Wine Bar and Bistro offers farm-to-table dining with a wide, diverse selection of worldly wines.  Next door Tallulah Too offers those same wines for purchase, as well as nightly wine flights and tastings.

Show Me the Way to the Next Whiskey Bar(BQ): Food Tours
Sometimes the best way to discover what an area has to offer is to have someone else show you.  Check out some of these businesses offering highly specialized food- and drink-themed tours.

Motor City Brew Tours: http://motorcitybrewtours.com
Focused on the craft beer movement in Michigan, tours include bus transportation to three different breweries, with brewer-led tours and generous beer samples at each stop.  $49 + fees.
Taste-Full Tours: http://www.taste-fulltours.com
All tours are bussed from Royal Oak and cover a variety of themes, from a Junkfood Junket to a Motown Chowdown.  Chefs Laura and Laura also host Taste-Full Tastings above Royal Oak’s Cloverleaf Fine Wines complete with appropriate wine pairings. $35-65.
Savor Ann Arbor: http://savorannarbor.com/
Guided walking tours throughout downtown Ann Arbor and Kerrytown exploring history, architecture, shops and culinary treats.  Themes include sweets, vegetarian, and international flavors.  $30 for all includes food.

Discover Detroit Dining: http://www.discoverdetroitdining.com
Launched in early 2010, 3D Tours offers themed packages, pairing dinners and signature events from Taquerias & Tequila to a Brunch Bike Tour through Eastern Market.  $30-65.

Inside Detroit: http://www.insidedetroit.org
They primarily offer private tours, but their signature Know Before Your Go series is their most popular public event.  You’ll get a guided tour of different bars in the city rich with detailed local history and fun facts, receive drink specials and meet bar owners so you too will be “in the know.”  $10-15.

Attainably Sustainable
Locovorism.  Eco-conscious eating.  Sustainable cuisine.  Call it anything you want, there’s no doubt that more environmentally- and economically-aware methods of food procurement and preparation are among the biggest national food trends right now.  “Sustainable” refers to sourcing from local producers and purveyors so foods are freshest and the money stays within the local economy; using and promoting organic growing methods for ecologic sustainability and a more healthful diet; and utilizing locally-grown seasonal produce with simple preparation methods to highlight their own natural flavors.  Here are a few of our favorite farm-to-table restaurants.
Ann Arbor: Arbor Brewing Company, eve: the restaurant, Grange Kitchen + Bar, Zingerman’s

Detroit: Avalon International Breads, Mudgie’s Deli, Woodbridge Pub

Oakland County: Inn Season Café, Forest Grill, Mind Body + Spirits, Tallulah Wine Bar and Bistro, Toasted Oak Grill & Market

Makes Us Weak: Restaurant Weeks
Even the biggest foodies can have a hard time tasting all that a single town has to offer, which is what makes various “Restaurant Week” events so enticing.  Three-course prix fixe menus at discounted prices allow diners to sample a city’s different restaurants while still being conscious of their wallets -- the only thing you have to worry about is how many reservations you can make in one week!  

Detroit Restaurant Week:  http://www.detroitrestaurantweek.com/
Spring and Fall: $28 dinner
Birmingham Restaurant Week
February: $15 lunch/$25 dinner
Troy Restaurant Week: http://www.troyrestaurantweek.com/
March & August: $15 lunch/$30 dinner
Ann Arbor Restaurant Week: http://annarborrestaurantweek.com/
January & June; $12 lunch/$25 dinner

High-End Mexican
Once upon a time this may have sounded like an oxymoron, but metro Detroit has seen simple Mexican cuisine go from humble taquerias to full-blown white tablecloth dining.  Cinco Lagos in Milford is the reincarnation of Chef Brian Polcyn’s nationally-renowned Five Lakes Grill, reborn last summer in response to a shift in consumer’s palates.  Thankfully Chef Polcyn’s charcuterie skills are still on display with his housemade chorizo.  Rojo Mexican Bistro in Novi is part of the Andiamo family of restaurants and impresses guests with guacamole prepared tableside and an extensive tequila list.  El Barzon in Detroit used to be one of the city’s best-kept secrets until the word got out and people discovered that Chef Norberto Garita’s half-Mexican/half-Italian menu was ALL authentic and ALL exceptional (not to mention very reasonably priced). 

Coming Home to Clawson
Clawson may just be a teeny-tiny township that you have to drive through in order to get from the north suburbs to Royal Oak, but this little city has gone “Wee! Wee! Wee!” all the way home, making a name for itself with some of metro Detroit’s Best in Class.  For example, that sliver of a sushi bar at Noble Fish is overwhelmingly agreed upon to churn out the best sushi in the tri-counties.  Frittata is a very popular breakfast/lunch/brunch spot, serving up gourmet fare in an achingly charming atmosphere.  For truly authentic Asian cuisine, the dong stops at Da Nang.  Their Vietnamese dishes have won rave reviews from critics all over metro Detroit since they opened in 2009, even making a few “best of” and “top 10” lists.  Clawson’s cuisine is nothing if not ethnically diverse, and the northern Italian cuisine at the two-year-old Due Venti is widely regarded to be among the top nouveau Italian restaurants in the area. 

Fine Dining vs. Fun Dining
With the shift in the economic climate over the past few years, fine dining has taken a serious hit. But too often the fine dining concept is unnecessarily intimidating, turning customers off with a perceived priceyness that isn’t always representative.  These new restaurants are fine dining in spirit and comparable in cost, but allow customers to feel a little more comfortable with a decidedly more casual atmosphere.  Zazio’s in Birmingham is a neon-soaked romp but don’t let the lime green and tangerine fool you: this place offers the full fine dining experience.  J. Baldwin’s in Clinton Twp has a family-friendly atmosphere and serves more casual fare like their stone-fired pizza, but you can also get Grilled Australian Lamb Chops and Filet Mignon at prices on par with the Rattlesnake Club.  Toasted Oak Grill & Market in Novi is doused in bright colors with texturizing patterns and materials and eclectic accents all creating a warm, comfy dining climate.  But the regional American menu focused on fresh locally-sourced ingredients and Michigan-made products is pure contemporary brasserie, and charcuterie is a particular specialty.

944 Detroit: Isn't it Grand?

Photograph provided by ArtPrize.

"Grand Rapids is fast becoming an impossibly hip, progressive arts town, thanks in large part to the explosive success of last year’s inaugural ArtPrize competition. ArtPrize began in 2009 and made waves throughout the international arts community by announcing the world’s largest prize for art: $449,000 in total prizes, with $250,000 going to the first place winner. And that wasn’t the only exciting thing about the contest; the entire competition was voted on by the public — the art world’s answer to American Idol.

'ArtPrize was nurtured into existence by 28-year-old Rick DeVos of Western Michigan’s empire-building DeVos family. His goal with ArtPrize was to create conversation — people talking about art, to artists, to each other; students studying art, people practicing art, people loving art, people just discovering art [...] Grand Rapids is just far enough away from metro Detroit to make it a nice weekend getaway, and in addition to this groundbreaking art competition, it also offers a wealth of exceptional places to eat, drink and be merry..."

Read the rest of the article (with an insider's restaurant and bar guide) here.

Real Detroit Weekly: Mon Jin Lau

"For more than 40 years, Mon Jin Lau in Troy has been the place where local and national celebrities go as a Detroit-area destination. A look at the wall of pictures in the lobby, featuring owner Marshall Chin posed next to top actors and sports stars show a little piece of this restaurant's history as a see-and-be-seen kind of place.

'Bryan and Brandon Chin, Marshall's sons and the third generation to operate MJL, have further solidified its reputation as a destination for local trendsetters, party people and celebutantes from all over the country.

.."

Read the rest of the article here.

Real Detroit Weekly Extended Cut: Roast

Michael Symon’s Roast
1128 Washington Boulevard, Detroit
(313) 961-2500, www.roastdetroit.com
Hours: Monday through Thursday 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 5 p.m. to 11 p.m., Sunday 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Bar opens daily at 4 p.m.

The word is out on Michael Symon’s Roast: this place is operating on a level that other area restaurants don’t even come CLOSE to touching. For the “Best Restaurant” category, there simply was no other competition. (No offense, everywhere else.)

Most *good* restaurants excel in one or two areas, more if they’re exceptional. Roast is the exceptionally rare place that absolutely NAILS it on all counts. There is not a single detail, not a single nuance of product, service or experience that is overlooked at this juggernaut of Detroit-area restaurants. This place is a well-oiled machine with a solid team behind it making sure it keeps firing on all cylinders.

First, the food: yes, they have a lot of meat. The hanger steak, smoked pork chops and roast beast of the day (which slow-cooks on a spit visible to the main dining room) are all favorites. The lamb ragu with paparadelle pasta is a sleeper hit, particularly because the tender homemade pasta is just as much the star of the dish as the juicy lamb itself. But some of the most noteworthy items on the menu are found under the appetizer section. The house-made charcuterie platter – which refers to the art of curing, smoking and preserving meats, a Symon specialty and one of the current culinary crazes in metro Detroit – is a rotating selection of pancetta, terrines, rilettes and sausages prepared for two. The beef cheek pierogi is once again an accomplishment of not only succulent meat but also the delicate dumpling dough. With the crispy veal sweetbreads, eat first and ask questions later. And the roasted marrow, drenched in oil and served on a sawed-off bone, has made it to the bucket list of mandatory Detroit dining alongside Slows’ mac & cheese and Buddy’s pizza. It may not appeal to all palates – it’s a bit gelatinous – but a necessary experience nonetheless.

Second, beverages: they have the best of all things you will find at any bar anywhere. Best beer list? Check, heavy on Michigan-made craft brews and fun, funky French and Belgian imports. The list itself is as precise in flavor profiling as the best wine lists. Best wine list? That may be more difficult to quantify but the list is extensive, runs the full gamut of price points, offers a wide selection of international and domestic labels, and is partial to lesser-known names. Best cocktails? You haven’t even HAD a cocktail until you’ve had one of theirs. The art of the classic hand-crafted cocktail – another current local craze – is demonstrated expertly here. High-quality gins, bourbons, rye whiskeys and vermouths dominate this menu of classic and classically-inspired hand-crafted cocktails, and be sure to ask about their current barrel-aged selections.

Other restaurants only dream of having a staff as knowledgeable, friendly and welcoming as the seasoned staff at Roast. Behind the bar, Travis Fourmont and Brian Vollmer (the “cocktail nerds” behind that majestic menu) are less “mixologists” and more your friendly neighborhood barkeeps plucked straight out of an 1800s saloon who make Corpse Revivers not because they’re trendy but because they are complex and delicious. Saddle up to the bar and you’ll feel right at home.

The atmosphere is posh while still being comfortable. The prices are surprisingly low – most steaks and entrees are under $30 – but the best thing about Roast, that final touch that makes them wholly untouchable, is the cocktail hour. From 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, enjoy $3 bites, $4 select beer and wine and $5 pours. Those “bites” include the ineffable Roast Burger: a 5-oz. burger topped with bacon, cheddar and fried egg served on a toasted English muffin. This creation has forever destroyed the burger bell curve; not all burgers are created equal but this one isn’t even fair. During cocktail hour(s) you can enjoy all the best of what Roast has to offer and spend only $15. It’s where Detroiters go to be bougie on a budget.

Read the print version here.

Chicago's Cafe des Architectes and My Cardinal Rule of Restaurant Dining

I would like to share with you today my cardinal rule of restaurant dining: food in restaurants should not be difficult to eat. If it cannot easily be cut apart, chewed apart, portioned into reasonable-sized bites utilizing the cutlery at my disposal, picked up as a finger food and bitten into reasonable-sized portions without half of it landing on or around my plate, slid onto a fork, stabbed onto a fork, or in any other reasonable and passingly polite way transferred from YOUR plate to MY mouth, you should not be serving it in your restaurant. Fine dining is already intimidating enough for a lot of people - what's proper etiquette? which fork do I use first? what's the proper way of ordering? how can I not make an ass out of myself in front of this waiter who just greeted me in French and told me he would be my "emissary" to the restaurant for the evening? Really, all these rules of decorum - whether real or simply perceived by the insecure diner - can be daunting, but once you get past all that -- past ordering the wine (oh thank god there's a bin number and I don't have to try to pronounce it!!!), past ordering the entree ("What's 'ratatouille'???" "I don't know, I never saw the movie!"), and are finally at the point of being able to relax and enjoy yourself, your mono-lingual fumbling through the Fratalianish menu comfortably behind you, the last thing you expect to encounter is having to fumble with your food. But too often chefs get a little too stuck on visual presentation and fail to account for any practicality in the act of actually EATING it.

Take for example the "Pintxos" at Cafe des Architectes in Chicago. "Pintxos" is French for "tapas" which is Spanish for "small plates" which is American Bougie for "appetizers." Basically the pintxos menu is a small plates menu, served daily from 4 to 7 p.m. and only available at "Le Bar" (that's what it's called, srsly). The pintxos is a combination of toppings - think chorizo with crushed tomatoes, Manchego with black olives - served on crostini. At only $5 each, they're a wonderful and inexpensive way to sample a number of different items. I always prefer going this route since I like to be able to taste more for less, especially without having to lock into an expensive entree I may or may not even enjoy and will probably get sick of eating after just a few bites. I get bored with food easily. Unless it's cheese.

And yes, I also ordered the cheese plate while I was there.


I selected the asparagus + goat cheese and the beef tenderloin + roquefort pintxos. The presentation was lovely: two large crostini piled high with thinly-sliced asparagus/sliced tenderloin and crumbled goat/roquefort cheese, diced tomatoes, greens, held together (but not really) with a toothpick on a plate EXACTLY big enough to fit the two crostini. So cute! So clever!

How the fuck do I eat it?

At this point in your meal you are intractable ... you've already come this far, after all. You're not about to let it all come crashing down around some damn crostini. With steely determination you grab your fork and butter knife and begin sawing into this pretty dish. The crostini cannot - WILL NOT - be cut. It is toasted but still chewy; as you saw back and forth the only thing you succeed in doing is knocking all of the toppings off of it, which ultimately means they end up all AROUND the plate because the plate is *just* big enough to fit them in the first place. With dedication you decide to pick the crostini up and eat it as finger food - it's only a few bites, really; this seems perfectly appropriate. But alas, the toppings are piled too high and are too unstable--no sooner do you attempt one bite than half of the tiny artfully diced tomatoes end up on your plate, in your lap, on your chest, in your cupped hand and all over your fingers. Pretty much everywhere but your mouth, really. Then one of the large gobs of goat cheese plops onto your phone as you still have the crostini raised to your mouth with which you are trying to gently pull and shake the loose toppings in the greatest danger of going over thereby coaxing them down your gullet, then the crostini itself gives in and the whole bloody mess ends up in deconstructed piles on and around your plate, and despite this place having the word "architect" in the name you're pretty sure it wasn't meant as a Derrida reference.

You are undeterred. It is now a matter of principal.

Surely there MUST be some way of eating this. So now you determine that you must first eat the majority of the toppings off the crostini THEN eat the crostini with just a few sparse toppings on it as finger food because CLEARLY you cannot pick up the whole thing nor can you cut it into manageable pieces for ease of edibility. I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you. So you pick up your fork and resolutely begin eating the individual toppings. Until you get to the thinly-sliced asparagus. Which is too long to be slid onto the fork, and too thin and slippery to be stabbed onto the fork, and too ungainly to be picked up crostini-and-all and consumed as wholly without the fork.


You start to panic. The diced tomatoes are everywhere. It looks like a four-year-old child ate at your place setting. You've stained your shirt, soiled the table linens and the napkin on your lap which thank GOD you remembered to put there or else you'd have to buy a new pair of jeans for the remainder of your stay in Chicago, your food is all over your face and fingers and you STILL haven't figured out just how in the holy hell you're supposed to eat these things and you're humiliated because you KNOW the entire staff has seen your struggle and are probably laughing to themselves about it and you think to yourself, THIS is the fine dining experience??? You're convinced it's you; that you're doing something wrong and that everyone else is effortless and graceful in the way they delicately eat these dishes.

I am not a delicate person. Most often I'm a bear with a bullhorn in a china shop full of anthropophobics with sensitive hearing. I'm loud and messy and clumsy. I prefer paper plates over china, licking my fingers clean over wiping them on linens, and eating with my hands over using utensils pretty much always. (I'm not sure how I got this gig as a food writer either. Moving along.) If there is something to be spilled, stained, dropped, knocked off a plate, flung from a plate due to a utensil malfunction, etc., I will be the person who makes it happen. So I understand what's it's like; I do. You don't have to be ashamed anymore! Much as I loathe restaurants that try to sell me on the idea of preparing and cooking my own food at three times the cost of me just doing it at home and having to cut my own salad greens, I ***HATE*** not being able to actually EAT the food I order because it's just too damn difficult to maneuver.

It always makes me think of my days in retail, may I starve and die a thousand deaths before returning to that realm. We would receive new visual directives, like extensive window changes that required 10-ft ladders, fishing line, wooden planks, 5-ft decals, 8-ft foam boards, 2 boxes of straight pins, a roll of packing tape, industrial-strength double-sided tape, 14-ft banners, 27 mannequins each wearing 3 layers of clothing and heavily accessorized, beaded chandeliers and added track lighting we had to install ourselves (go ahead: ask me about my last trip to the emergency room that resulted in 11 stitches), and we would be allocated less than $40 in payroll (or approximately one manager and one part-time minimum-wage associate working two hours each) to implement the directive. And all these times I would wonder, has anyone on the corporate visual team ever actually TRIED to set this within the same set of restrictions in personnel, time, and professional skill sets as they expect us to be able to do? Much like I wondered that I also wonder if some of the chefs in these high-profile kitchens ever try to eat some of their more visually striking creations with a plain old fork and knife.

They tasted great, BTW. Not trying to diminish that. Once I was able to Cirque du Soleil them into my mouth, that is.


All of that being said - and it was quite a mouthful! AY-OOOO! - I feel bad that Cafe des Architectes has to take the brunt of my wrath regarding challenging cuisine. It's not just them. It's actually a very fine restaurant with a clever and inventive French-inspired menu and really wonderful staff (Lisa at "Le Bar" was absolutely lovely: very engaging, clearly able to read her customers well, gave a great wine recommendation - the whole staff seemed excellent in this regard). I came here to try their Chicago Restaurant Week lunch menu, which sounded rather exceptional in a sea of some 200+ rather average-sounding menus. But being the perennially tardy person that I am, I missed the lunch menu and wasn't as excited about the dinner option, so I opted for the pintxos and, naturally, the French cheese plate with Brie de Meaux, Langres, Crottin Maitre Seguin, mango chutney, an OUTSTANDING balsamic reduction, candied walnuts, and crusty breads. The glass of Pascal Jolivet Sancerre Sauvignon Blanc I had to pair was absolutely delightful, and at $19 for a glass I could have bought a whole bottle AND a king-sized candy bar at Costco! Yes, my biggest gripe about this place specifically was the outlandishly overpriced wine list (see: Ravenswood Zinfandel, $14; Cakebread Cellars Merlot, $19...per glass).


It being located inside the ultra-sleek Sofitel Hotel, the decor is done in an edgy, dramatic art deco palette of red, black and white with a lot of play on geometric shapes and patterns seemingly echoed in the presentation of the dishes. Despite my above griping (come on, I NEVERRRRRRR get to do that anymore!), I did enjoy this place and would certainly visit again. Having not been to all the gastro-this-and-thats in Chicago I can still pretty comfortably say that I don't think this place is doing anything so terribly different than the others, but it is nonetheless an enjoyable meal. Check out their Restaurant Week lunch menu below to see for yourself why this place made my short list.

Café des Architectes
French | Lunch, Dinner
20 E. Chestnut St. | Chicago IL 60611
City-N.Michigan | 312 324-4000
Enjoy Executive Chef Greg Biggers' cuisine rooted in French culture showcasing products from Midwestern farmers at Cafe des Architectes. The restaurant is located in the fashionable Gold Coast neighborhood and is a modern restaurant with dramatic appointments created by interior designer Pierre-Yves Rochon. Vibrant colors, overstuffed chairs, sprawling banquettes and lamps that employ upside-down toques as lamp shades grab your attention. The carefully crafted interior's design serves as the perfect landscape for the approachable cuisine crafted from ingredients procured from local farmers. "Top Ten Chicago Restaurant," Chicago Sun-Times, 2009. 3 stars, Chicago magazine, Chicago Tribune. Open Daily. B: 6am-11:30am; Br (Sat. and Sun. only): 11:30am-5pm; L: 11:30am-5pm; D: 5pm-11pm. Reservations accepted for lunch and dinner only.Valet

RESTAURANT WEEK
February 18-27, 2011
Lunch Menu
$22

APPETIZERS
(choice of one)
Celery Root Velouté
truffles / micro salad / fresh herbs
Artichoke Salad
oven dried tomato / carrot mousse / lemon confit
Rillettes of Salmon
chives / crème fraiche / baguette croûton

ENTRÉES
(choice of one)
Shrimp Terrine
avocado / piquillo peppers / lemon
Grilled Red Mullet
dill / cider vinegar sabayon / spinach purée
Stuffed Leg of Lamb
ratatouille niçoise / winter spices / cardamom jus

DESSERTS
Pistachio Cream
chocolate coulis / iranian pistachios / crisp
Pineapple Soup
coconut sorbet / brunoise of exotic fruits / vanilla
Chocolat Moelleux
cakey / creamy / crunchy

Real Detroit Weekly: New Year's Eats

7 in West Bloomfield

To celebrate its one-year anniversary (they opened 12/1/2010), 7 in West Bloomfield is offering an all-inclusive evening of dining and dancing for only $60 per person (and that includes tax and tip). The four-course meal runs from 9 to 11 p.m. (limited seats are available). The upscale appetizer buffet will have shrimp cocktail, smoked salmon, oysters Rockefeller, sushi, assorted cheeses, fruits and vegetables and a gourmet salad display.Options for the sit-down entree selections include filet mignon, pan-seared Chilean sea bass and lemon chicken piccata, all served with loaded whipped potatoes and a vegetable medley. And, of course, be sure to save room for dessert. There will also be party favors, a champagne toast and balloon drop at midnight, late-night snacks and a DJ spinning all night long. Cash bar; VIP booths and bottle service available. Call 248.737.9777 to reserve yours in advance.

Bookies Bar & Grille

Downtown Detroit's favorite entertainment destination bar, Bookies Bar & Grille, will be popping bottles precisely how you'd expect them to: with lots of music and booze. For their New Year's Eve party they are offering a $50 ticket, which includes an open bar from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. (four hours to drink $50 worth of booze? EASY) as well as a late-night coney dog buffet, champagne toast and balloon drop at midnight, and three floors of the hottest hip-hop, dance, house and top 40 mash-ups featuring DJ Technician and DJ Salvador Rivera. Watch the ball drop in Times Square on their HD TVs and 16-foot projection screen. Reserved seating and coat check is available, and a four-course prix fixe dinner menu is also offered for an additional $30 (not including tax or tip). Tickets can be purchased at bookiesbar.com.

Fishbone's

If Greektown's Monroe Street can substitute for the raucous French Quarter in Virgin on Bourbon Street (you'll only know that movie because it was filmed in Detroit, and not for any other reason), then Fishbone's Rhythm Kitchen Cafe is a wholly acceptable fill-in for the candy-colored hedonistic Creole vibe conjured by Mardi Gras. Fishbone's is a Detroit-styled homage to the voodoo jazz of the Bayou, complete with plastic beads and krewe masks. If you're looking for a New Year's Eve that requires a little less planning and preening — something as easy as, well, the Big Easy — head to Detroit's own Fishbone's. Enjoy their usual selection of fresh seafood and sushi as well as steaks, pastas and Creole cuisine, then kick back when the Brian Sheehan Band kicks off at 10 p.m., playing classic rock, new wave and original cuts on what is rumored to be a "sparking" guitar.

Gaucho SteakHouse

The only authentic Churrascaria in metro Detroit, this Brazilian steakhouse offers the kind of dining experience you won't get anywhere else. Your meal is presented in the Brazilian and Portuguese "rodizio" style where "gauchos" (meat carvers) bring a seemingly endless stream of fire-roasted skewered meats to the table (16 in all) and shave off unlimited portions to your pleasing — use the green and red chips to signify when you're ready for more or when you're throwing in the meat towel. Beef ribs, baby back ribs, lamb leg and chops, rump roast, bottom and top sirloin, chicken, sausage, pork tenderloin and more await you, along with their gourmet 30-item salad bar with accompaniments such as smoked salmon, salami, asparagus, and grana padano (a hard cheese similar to parmesan). The prix fixe menu is always $43.99 per person, and they will be open until midnight on New Year's Eve.

Bourbon Steak inside MGM

There are few other restaurants in metro Detroit that come even close to matching the atmosphere of sophistication and distinction of Michael Mina's Bourbon Steak inside the MGM Grand Detroit. This is not the kind of place you visit unless you have extra money you don't want anymore; that being said, the exceptional staff ensures that your experience is well worth the splurge. If you're after something a little more champagne and charcuterie and a little less bump and grind this New Year's, Bourbon Steak's indulgent tasting menu is calling to you. This special menu is $100 per person with an an additional wine pairing available for $50 per person (tax and tip not included). Start with an amuse bouche of caviar parfait, first course choice of lobster bisque or steak "Oscar," entree choice of prime rib or curried lobster thermidor and a Knob Creek malted milkshake with chocolate ice cream sandwich and salted bourbon caramel for dessert. Truly spectacular wine pairings include Moet & Chandon Cuvée Dom Pérignon 1992 and Louis Carillon Puligny-Montrachet Burgundy 2006. Dinner service is offered 5 p.m. to midnight and reservations are required.

Sangria Tapas Cafe & Sky Club

SalsaDetroit.com, Metro Detroit Salsa, NuestroDetroit.com and Cuatro Cirios Tequila are bringing you the kind of New Year's Eve celebration you can step, twirl and cha-cha your way through with Salsa Explosion. Sangria Tapas Cafe and Sky Club will be doing what they do best: creating a sexy-as-hell culture of Latin food, music and dance in downtown Royal Oak. Four DJs will be spinning salsa, merengue, bachata, reggaeton and top 40 tracks to keep your pulse pounding and your hips swinging until 4 a.m. Tickets are $25 at the door or $15 in advance or with dinner purchase, and include continental breakfast. Three-course dinner packages include one tapa, entree and dessert and range from $30-50 (paella for two is $70 and includes two tapas and two desserts). Prix fixe dinner packages do not include tax or tip. Make reservations for one of three dinner seatings at 248.543.1964; tickets for the party afterwards are available through salsadetroit.com and sangriaroyaloak.com.

Tom's Oyster Bar

As luck would have it, New Year's Eve falls on a Friday this year. For those of you out there unfortunate enough to have to work that day, never fear: your after-work happy hour is continuing as scheduled at Tom's Oyster Bar in Royal Oak. From 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. enjoy $4 martinis, $3 calls, $3 pints and $1 oysters. And since you're already here, stick around for their NYE lobster specials: an a la carte lobster tail dinner and a surf and turf with lobster tail and prime rib (specials will run 5 p.m. to midnight). They will still have the full board of fresh fish that they're known for, as well as their namesake selection of six different cold water raw oysters. They — you know, THEY — do say oysters are an aphrodisiac ... and who doesn't want someone to kiss at midnight? Just some things to keep in mind. You're welcome.

Andiamo on the Riverfront

The tricky thing about New Year's Eve is all too often trying to enjoy it safely. This year Andiamo on the Riverfront is offering guests a package that will allow them to pop bottles without worry and let the booze flow like water. Guests will start with a four-course dinner at Andiamo and afterwards enjoy the evening doing all of the pure and innocent things people do in hotels, such as play Yahtzee in a deluxe room at the Marriott Renaissance Center. Enjoy its stunning views of Detroit and Windsor, all for only $279 per couple (tax, tip and alcohol not included). Call 313.567.6700 for reservations. RDW

Originally printed here.

The London Chop House Returns; So What Should We Expect?

The London Chop House is one of the most storied establishments of Old Detroit, perhaps second only to the J.L. Hudson's building in its infamy. People still tell stories about it to this day -- nearly anyone with any interest in Detroit history and/or dining culture can tell you that this was the place Chef Jimmy Schmidt cut his teeth before opening the Rattlesnake Club, or that this place was so popular that the Caucus Club was opened merely to contain its spillover (with another interesting sidestory that the Caucus Club was where Barbara Streisand got her start -- true, if only down to the actual letter of the phrasing). It was one of the top-ranked restaurants in the country from the 1950s into the '80s, collecting top honors from a variety of publications as well as a James Beard Award along the way. It was a revelation in painstakingly detailed tuxedoed service at a time when this kind of service was still very much in vogue, far exceeding other establishments in its committment to its customer experience.

When a guest made a reservation, he would arrive to find his table with books of
matches and a reserved sign all imprinted with his name, as well as a card with
a coin in a slot reimbursing him for his phone call. Alpha types jostled for
table #1, while regulars glowed with the knowledge that their suavely jacketed
waiter had remembered how many ice cubes they liked in their
highballs. (Famous in its Day)

The Chop House was a hallmark of Detroit's former grandeur, the very embodiment of wealth, power, and prestige that local industry afforded high-powered businessmen. To look at some of the old menus now reveals a steakhouse that is mostly unremarkable save for comparisons to anything other than a steakhouse, but this was the kind of place where the food played second string behind the concertmasters that were image, image, image. The London Chop House meant money, and diners may just as well have eaten their hundreds pan-seared with garlic and white wine for the privilege of being seen in a place imbued with such illustriousness.

But that Detroit is gone.

I'll spare you the hand-wringing over That Which Once Was; that time has passed and most of us who "reminisce" about it today weren't even alive to see it. The London Chop House is the preferred go-to reference point of how great Detroit once was, much as Slows is the contemporary go-to reference point of how great it can be once again. (Conversely it is also an fitting analogy of how far Detroit hath fallen; read this piece on its imminent closing, printed three years before it actually shut its doors, in the New York Times.) Anyone who has spent any length of time writing about food and/or history in this town has spilled their fair share of Internet ink waxing nostalgic on the Chop House (self included). So the news that leaked last week -- news that may have been a bit overlooked in the course of all the holiday hubbub -- that the London Chop House would be reopening after nearly 20 years was met with surprising quiet.

Or maybe it isn't so surprising. At a time when every new high-profile venture in Detroit is met with much fanfare and the usual suspects doing backflips months in advance of its opening on the Craig Fahle Show et.al., the re-opening of the London Chop House has been shrouded in secrecy. The few who do know any significant details about it -- whether garnered by legitimate means or through the grapevine of legitimate hearsay -- aren't at liberty to talk about it.

Here's what CAN be said: the restaurant that is opening is under the ownership of the Gatzaros family, local restaurateurs responsible for the Fishbone's chain as well as the fairly-new Wah-Hoo (an upscale Chinese restaurant in the Central Business District). It is being called the London Chop House & Cigar Bar. It will be located at 155 Congress St. in the lower level of the Murphy Building, the same location as before.

Aside from its name and location, any other similarities between the old Chop House and this doppleganger have yet to be revealed. The owners are extremely tight-lipped about it (like, legal action tight-lipped ... like, this might be my third law suit threat tight-lipped), and while it is supposedly scheduled to open in about a month there is almost no information available about it.

The secrecy may serve it well: sometimes the best way to build interest in something is to say absolutely nothing about it. But this lack of buzz early on may also not bode well for the new business: it is possible to be so secretive that no one knows about it, and thus no one cares. Perhaps they want to test the waters and get their feet wet before striking up the band and setting off the fireworks -- a prudent move for such a high-profile venture. Or should I say re-venture. The Gatzaros family have a solid enough track record with their successful chain of Creole-styled seafood restaurants (whether you think Fishbone's is a particularly good chain of restaurants I'll leave up to you), though this would be their first foray into true fine dining. If, indeed, that is the track they're pursuing, which is merely assumed by the namesake.

The question I'm left asking is: why? In my cautious and hesitant nature (some would say sarcastic ... some would say worse), I can't help but wonder if this reincarnation is less about living up to the former incarnation's glory and more about simply capitalizing on it. But let's just say the efforts are sincere: can it live up to the reputation of THE London Chop House? ***THE*** London Chop House. It would be like Rome trying to call itself the Holy Roman Empire again. Only, you know, on a much smaller scale.

The truth is, it can't be what the London Chop House once was. That ship sailed with the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald. That level of impossibly proper service is not just a thing of the past here; it's a thing of the past everywhere. Where fine dining establishments once tried to out-grandiose each other, now they struggle to downplay their own fine dining nature to appeal to a wider clientele. "Sure, plates may be $30 on average and that's without any sides, apps, or dessert, but we're TOTALLY a place for the Every Man, just look how bright our walls are!" They call themselves "bistros" and design their spaces to look like renovated lofts with exposed brick and pipes. Very specific cultural shifts have occurred since the time that kind of dining with the burgundy leather wingback chairs in the cigar lounge and middle-aged male waiters with white gloves and 1965 Rothschild wine on a business lunch was popular; such visible flauntings of excess are no longer desired or admired (you can spend the same amount of money on your total bill, so long as you're wearing jeans and your server is more chummy than formal). The Chop House was very much a symbol of its time and place ... neither of which exist anymore.

Reopening the London Chop House is akin to trying to resuscitate the former glory of Detroit. But Detroit has changed. The world has changed. Spew all the pro-Detroit rhetoric you want--Slows is not the London Chop House nor is it meant to be. There are a lot of great things about Detroit, not the least of which being self-made opportunities for people who, say, got an English degree and then floundered for a few years and then decided "Oh, hey, I want to write about food now" and actually get away with it. I'm not complaining over here.

But to have the bravado to re-open an INSTITUTION (in the true sense of the word) such as the Chop House--that's going to be a very difficult scale to balance. On one hand you'll have the inevitable detractors who will eagerly proclaim that it isn't "the same;" on the other hand you're faced with the quintessential impossibility of making it so. There is also the added burden that anything reopening under the same name with the same expectation of standards will only tarnish the memory of the original place by not living up to them, forever tainting that image, image, image. Perhaps the secrecy is due to the fact that they haven't quite figured out the balance themselves yet. Or maybe it will just be so mind-blowingly awesome that we just have to wait and see.

And so I guess we wait and see.