It's What Knights Drink: Even Knights in Need of a Caffeine Fix

If you make it all the way to the end, I promise there's some *actual* information about mead here.



Oh em gee, remember how these totally made me el-oh-el this summer? I find that they are still very LOWL-worthy. I mean, my god, just LOOK. Batman! With a cartoonishly oversized bottle of mead in his hand with a caption that reads "It's What Knights Drink. Even Dark Knights." That's bloody brilliant, man!*

You know what else makes me LOWL? This:

Ian Radogost-Givens, meadmaker and fun czar at B. Nektar

Wait for it...


Eh??? EH???

Okay, but seriously now. I promised Brad [Dahlhofer, owner and meadmaker] and the Ians [Radogost-Givens and Washington, fun and brand czars, respectively] at B. Nektar Meadery that I would write something in exchange for their provision of booze for me. Well really how it happened was Brad emailed me, and I was all dawdle dawdle dawdle OMG I have like all these projects I need to wrap in the next couple of weeks and am totally freaking out except not really because I haven't started one of them and if I was really freaking out I would at least be making some sort of effort (PS, those are all for forthcoming issues of Metromode, Macomb Now, Arts Spectator, couple for 944, and a couple for edible WOW, and since all of that is print except Metromode you should totally check 'em out because I won't be linking to them here and there's gonna be some good stuff that if you miss in your mission to jock my style will make you very sad indeed), so then I get a text from Ian-not-number-one-because-the-Ian-formerly-known-as-Ian-number-two-didn't-like-being-number-two-so-now-it's-Ian-NOT-number-one-and-two and I was all, well now EVERYONE's covered it (The Publication That Shall Not be Named and then some other ones too) so I was like, "I don't want to do what everyone else is doing, psssssssshhhhhhh," so then Brad emailed me and invited me to the mead tasting that they have every other Friday at the Meadery and I went and then ANOTHER writer was there (ps, Brad, you really rocked the PR with this one man) and I decided then that I was going to write something that no one else possibly could or would write despite the fact that there are, like, 800,000 f%$#ing food bloggers in this city now since it's the new "it" place to be ever since Phil Cooley discovered Detroit like Columbus discovered America, and so here we are.

So I went to the mead tasting, which they have every other Friday evening from 5:30-10:00PM at the Meadery, which is located at 1505 Muggers' Alley, Ferndale. Well, not really; this is Ferndale after all, where people move after they lived in Detroit but before they relocate to Ann Arbor. Okay, so it's located at 1505 Brad is Paying For New Shocks For My Car After Driving in That Third World Parking Lot Alley, Ferndale.

Okay, so you can "Google Map" the directions and it's pretty dead-on (head west on 9 Mile from I-75, turn left at Chazzano), but once you're there, despite the signage, it's still tricky to find. Eventually I figured my best bet would be to track the packs of aging white people I saw darting across the open terrain, using my wily urban hunting skills to deduce that packs of aging white people would not be darting across a dark third-world parking lot unless there was trendy booze to be had nearby. Within moments I had stalked and cornered my prey.

You could probably just go ahead and follow the signs, though.

The spoils of my hunt ended up being many bottles of mead. On sample (and I'm doing this from memory and a very blurry photo, so I might miss a few...plus I had a LOT of samples, so factor that in as well) that evening was: Barrel-Aged Dry Cyser, Gewurtzraminer Pyment, Strawberry Pizzazz, Wildflower, Orange Blossom, Vanilla Cinnamon, Margarita Mead, Backwoods Cyser, and the mead of honor, the Chazzano Coffee Ethiopian Harrar Mead.

Barrel-Aged Dry Cyser: Described as their most "bone-dry" mead, this apple honey mead is aged in oak barrels and is crisp, clear and palate-cleansing. This was actually my favorite of the tasting.

Gewurtztraminer Pyment: A "pyment" is a mead made with wine grapes and honey. The Gewurtztraminer grape works well here because it is already a sweet, crisp, floral grape that seems a much more natural compliment to honey than some other pyments. This would be GREAT for food pairings, well-matched with anything the Gewurtz grape is already inclined to pair well with. Quite tasty and drinkable.

Strawberry Pizzazz: Like drinking straight strawberries and champagne; this will be a wonderfully refreshing beverage in the spring and summer, and would also be a great craft cocktail mixer. But don't ask me; I'll put whiskey in anything.

Wildflower: One of their staple meads available year-round, made with Michigan wildflower honey. I have to admit the first time I ever tried it, I found the flavor a bit off-putting, but now it has grown on me tremendously. Expect more floral notes than honey, as you might be inclined to assume (like me).

Orange Blossom: Another year-round mead made from the honey of orange and other citrus trees, aged in American oak. I always think the words "orange nectar" whenever I try this, though that might just be a nonsense descriptor I'm just making up. Definitely demonstrates the essence of orange with a clear hint of oak.

Vanilla Cinnamon: Like warm apple pie in a glass, this mead is liquid gold. Made with whole cinnamon sticks and vanilla beans, it is sweet but incredibly smooth. This is the kind of flavor that just makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Drinking an entire bottle of it in one evening like I did once will also produce the same effect. Try it warmed for added enjoyment.

Backwoods Cyser: This is a crisp apple honey mead aged in bourbon barrels, showing the richness and warmth of the bourbon-soaked oak. By that I mean you can totally taste the bourbon. This is like warm apple pie in a glass if you make your apple pie with Kentucky bourbon.

Margarita Mead: Made with dark and light agave nectar, orange blossom honey, fresh lime juice squeezed by hand, lime zest, and orange zest. The flavor is light with just a hint of margarita flavor (instead of overpowering, like drinking a straight mix); next time I'll be sure to try it BEFORE the Vanilla Cinnamon, which has a tendency to linger.

Ethiopian Harrar Mead: Why drink coffee in the morning when you can have alcohol that tastes like coffee instead (and not the sticky-sweet stuff of espresso-flavored vodkas either)? Right? Made with Chazzano Roasters' most popular flavor, the Ethiopian Harrar, and wildflower honey, this mead is an exercise in contrast: at once bitter and sweet, it has a high acidity with robust coffee flavor--it's like nothing you would expect and surely unlike anything you've tasted before. Coffee lovers and mead lovers both will be surprised by this one. And contrary to the thought process behind warming the Vanilla Cinnamon, you should NOT drink this warmed. Trust me on this one. Warming makes it have kind of a tang, and you do not want this to have any sort of tang (it's the high acidity, which warming emphasizes even more). What can I say; I tried.


The whole point of this post was to talk about the Ethiopian Harrar Mead, be tea double you. Thanks for hanging out.

*I've refrained from my usual stream-of-consciousness cursing just in case Brad at B. Nektar or Frank at Chazzano decides to link to this post from their website for some wholly ill-advised reason. People should never give me free things. They don't know what I'm likely to do with them. Especially when there's alcohol involved; that just spells disaster. D-I-S-A-S-ter. (That would have been a much funnier joke if there could be some sort of audio component here. It was this whole play on that Gwen Stefani song where she spells "bananas" repeatedly and thankfully correctly. I should be on radio. But then you'd also miss all the accompanying erratic hand gestures and highly animated facial expressions. Therefore, I should be on TV. Someone tell someone.)

Real Detroit Weekly: South Bar

South Bar is part of the Birmingham Renaissance of 2010. Opened in June, the spacious, hyper-modern concrete patio was an instant hit, with people waiting in line for over an hour just to put their names in and wait some more. Inevitably, the name and chic beach resort image drew comparisons to Miami's slick South Beach scene, but South Bar offers more than just pretty people in a pretty place drinking pretty things.

"At first, people thought we were fine dining but that's not what we wanted to be," explains Joe Spadafore, who owns South Bar, along with Steve Perdis of Main Street Billiards in Rochester. "We're more of a casual sports club; a food place with good prices."

Read the rest of the article here.

Real Detroit Weekly Extended Cut: Union Street

It can be easy to get caught up in the glitz and glamour of all the pretty, shiny new restaurants opening around town (and Slows), but there’s nothing quite like the old favorites, the places that have become Detroit staples: reliable, dependable, ever-present. Like your best friend from grade school who you don’t get to see as often as you’d like but you know will always be there for you.

Going into 2011, start revisiting some of these old favorites, like Union Street in Detroit’s Midtown. Located right across the street from the Majestic complex, Union Street has offered the local crowds a relaxing, comfortable, friendly place to eat and drink for more than 20 years. Whether it be hipster spillover from across the street, students from WSU, medical professionals from the DMC, older couples from the suburbs in town for a show at the Fox or DSO, art lovers from the DIA, area residents, black or white, young or old … you get the picture. Union Street is one place that is truly a melting pot of local culture. Even the workers – many of whom have been there for 10 years or more – run the gamut from artist to writer to musician to Master’s student to physicist. And that’s ultimately what the heart of Detroit is all about, and one of the things that make it great.

“This is Detroit’s best side, what it is and what it can be,” says Executive Chef John Wesenberg of the restaurant’s always-eclectic crowd. “People interact here, do business here. There’s a lot of laughter here,” he says, ironically over the din of laughter and conversation at 2:45 on a Wednesday afternoon. “We’re right here in the heart of it.”

Wesenberg was a patron here before he was the chef, and himself has been here 10 years. This is the kind of place where people come to talk to each other without distractions: there are no TVs anywhere, no sports or CNN, just a diverse mix of people all enjoying each other’s company.

The menu is equally diverse to fit the patronage. Union Street’s menu doesn’t easily fit into any kind of categorization, so let’s call it upscale casual contemporary American as a catch-all. But the prices are modest, appealing to all wallets, and the food is consistently GOOD. Wesenberg has two culinary degrees and has worked in high-profile kitchens, but ultimately it is this rich comfort food (don’t hold the butter) that he loves. They take great care in everything they do, from the housemade sauces and dressings to butchering their own meats and seafood and smoking their own brisket made with their own dry rub blend.


Take the Jumbo Lump Crab au Gratin, made with meaty chunks of shelled sweet crab in a decadent béchamel sauce topped with a six-cheese blend baked on top and served with sourdough toast points. Or the Lobster & Shrimp Casino Pasta, made with black tiger shrimp and lobster claw and tail meat sautéed with garlic, shitake mushrooms, diced tomatoes, spinach, white wine and crushed red pepper tossed with vermicelli pasta and “casino butter” (made with garlic, red pepper, white wine and, naturally, butter). Say it with me now: butter makes things better.

These dishes are downright decadent, and also damn delicious. You'll find a lot of seafood on the menu here since that is Chef John's particular passion, much of it doused in some sort of butter or cheese or cream (blessed be). For lighter fare try the black sesame seared Ahi salad, a top-grade cut of succulent Ahi tuna encrusted in black sesame on a bed of greens with their housemade mustard vinaigrette (French mustard grain and white wine, making for a light, complimentary flavor).

There is of course their popular Dragon Eggs – chicken breast stuffed with gorgonzola then battered and tossed in their HOT Rasta hot sauce. (No, really: it’s hot. If I’m saying it then it’s true times 10.) And as a pizza lover I can also tell you the thin-crust pizza made with a four-cheese blend is garlicky buttery deliciousness, and the Marghertia Pizza is one of the options available on their $5 special menu offererd Monday and Tuesday nights after 6 p.m. (Have I mentioned that yet?) And for my fellow turophiles (I love that word!), Union Street always has had and always will have baked brie on their menu (there was a period of probably 3-4 years where that was all I would order whenever I came here just because I could. Remember when Friday's had baked brie on their menu? Now I'm going waaaay back. That was actually how I discovered baked brie, and just as I started getting excited about it, it started disappearing from menus everywhere. Now it's rare to find it on a menu unless it's just a special, but not at Union Street, heavens no. No, it's always there. Dependable, like I said...).

The menu is updated regularly and there is always a different batch of specials worth investigating (like an asiago cheese tomato bisque I tried on a recent but unrelated trip); this is the kind of place where you will NEVER be disappointed. Also a great place for bottomless mimosa Sunday brunch, as well as a great place just to get a drink: they’ve got a small but handsome boutique wine selection and a nice collection of craft beers. Tuesdays are $2 beer specials, Wednesdays are half off wine bottles, and the selected Beer of the Month is available for only $2 all month long. A motto above the bar reads “Life is too short to drink cheap beer,” which is a true statement though I’ll tell you what, those $2 drafts ain’t Bud Light. (Short's award-winning Key Lime Pie ale was a recent selection, and while the selection of Michigan craft brews is humble they always have Founders Porter or Breakfast Stout by the bottle, which is enough for me.) Also, every Monday night select martinis are only $5 from 4 p.m. to close.

There is another sign posted above the bar that states "Dignity cannot be preserved in alcohol." Ay, there's the rub. But without alcohol I probably wouldn't be able to convince myself I still had any dignity so it's all very circular, no?


Union Street has an eclectic urban saloon-meets-speakeasy-meets grungy rock bar feel, and the crowd and menu is equally as idiosyncratic. It is friendly and comfortable, the kind of place you can go by yourself to get some work done and not be hassled but also great for meeting a friend to catch up or getting together a rowdy group. Or if you’re Jack White or Kid Rock, you can totally hang out here because that’s what you did before you were famous and in this place, this place that isn’t really known as a see-and-be-seen kind of place, no one will even bat an eye in your direction and the waiters may still remember you from when you played at the Gold Dollar. Your hands WILL be greasy when you leave (BUTTER), but you will be full and happy. And while you may have forgotten about it or taken it for granted while caught up in all the Roast-crepes-OMGSLOWS hysteria, Union Street is still there for you. Like a good neighbor. Like State Farm. It is the Detroit restaurant equivalent of State Farm.


Jumbo Lump Crab Au Gratin Recipe

8 oz. jumbo lump crab (shelled)
12 oz. white wine (chardonnay, pinot grigio or Chablis)
6 oz. heavy cream
1 oz. grated parmesan or Romano cheese
1 oz. Asiago, shredded
1 oz. mozzarella, shredded
1 oz. aged Spanish Manchego cheese, shredded
1 oz. Swiss Emmentaler cheese, shredded

Mix all cheese together

Reduce wine by half in sautee pan
Add jumbo lump crab
Add heavy cream and reduce by 20%
Add 2/3 of cheese blend – DO NOT stir by hand – gently fold in cheese with spatula
Pour into oven-proof ceramic serving bowl, top with remainder of shredded cheese and place under broiler in oven or in toaster oven

Cook until cheese is bubbling and lightly browned

Serve with toast points, tortilla chips or pita bread

Read the original version here, but know it is less one Slows reference, one self-deprecating joke about my dignity, and two mentions of State Farm.

Real Detroit Weekly: Bookies Bar & Grille

The triple-decker Clubhouse Sandwich.

It's still Bookies Bar & Grille. It's just better.

Bookies has been a downtown destination for eight years now, and after relocating to a huge three-story location on Cass in the heart of downtown Detroit's entertainment district, Bookies started getting a reputation as more than just a sports bar. Sure, if it's sports you want, it's sports you shall get with their numerous plasma screens and the 16-foot projection screen, but you'll also get live music, DJs and dancing, and exceptionally good bar food.

"We really felt the need to have a broader menu," says General Manager Tyler Herron. "We had a lot of repeat diners who came in just for the quality of the food and we felt we could really expand on that." And so, under Executive Chef Adam Grove's guidance, their menu went from 19 items to 58, bulking up on lunchtime favorites like sandwiches, burgers and salads, and also increasing their options for dinner entrees to include filet mignon and herb-breaded chicken parmesan on a bed of angelhair pasta. "We're not trying to be fine dining," Herron adds. "We're still a bar and grill with a fun, lively crowd ... [the expanded menu] is driven off of demand in the area for a good, fun place that has good bar food."

Read the rest of the article here.

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.

Real Detroit: Pizzeria Biga (Extended Cut)

Pizzeria Biga
29110 Franklin Rd., Southfield
248-750-BIGA (2442), www.pizzeriabiga.com
Hours: Sunday through Thursday11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Satuday 11 a.m. to midnight

What does James Beard Award-nominated chef and restaurateur Luciano del Signore do when he’s not creating exquisite nouveau-Italian dishes at Bacco Ristorante? He makes pizza, naturally! “It was pure selfishness,” Luciano says of his latest venture, Pizzeria Biga in Southfield. “[I opened Pizzeria Biga] due to the fact that there isn’t a true hand-crafted Neapolitan pizza in metro Detroit. I couldn’t just go out and buy it so we decided to create it!” And as luck would have it, it turned out to be the right kind of business for the current economy.

The dough has exactly three ingredients: milled wheat flour, purified water and a touch of sea salt, with no commercial yeast, which makes it much easier for your body to digest and thus healthier (Luciano also just perfected their new wheat crust, which is even healthier). The majority of their 57 toppings sound like items you would find at il mercato di Campo de’ Fiori rather than in a pizza joint in Southfield, Michigan. The name refers to an ancient form of leavening called biga used in Italian breads such as ciabatta. The pre-fermenting process is laborious but the long process pays off; the dough is light and airy and can cook very quickly. At Biga the 100% wood-fired brick ovens are fired at 900 degrees and they have perfected the 90-second bake time for their pizzas. This is the way Italians have made pizza for centuries. “Why mess with perfection?” Luciano posits.


They take the time to make things other places just don’t offer. Prosciutto di Parma, besaola, speck, lardo, grana (aka charcuterie and imported cheese) … charcuterie that isn’t imported is made in-house, like the duck prosciutto and bresaola, and many of their items are also prepped in the oven before going on a pizza -- oven-roasted tomatoes, roasted fingerling potatoes, etc.

The same is true of their house made gelato, which is made fresh daily as it is in Italy (freezing affects the flavors so today’s gelato was made today, tomorrow’s will be made tomorrow, and so forth). They use all natural milk (hormone- and antibiotic-free) from local Guernsey Farms Dairy blended with fine Belgian chocolate, their own macerated fruits and Italian espresso to flavor their rotating selections of gelato and sorbetto.

Whet your appetite with a charcuterie plate of house-made duck prosciutto and creamy caprino (Italian goat’s milk cheese). Then try the wood-roasted beets salad with olive pesto, walnuts, arugula, onion, balsamic, olive oil, parsley, goat cheese and a variety of the woefully underappreciated slightly-sweet beet. Follow that with the prosciutto pizza with arugula and grana (hard cheese) on their wonderfully delicate, chewy crust and finish it all off with luscious crema gelato. All you’re missing is the warm al fresco Mediterranean dining!

Hand-crafted products and gourmand-friendly toppings aren’t the only things that set Pizzeria Biga apart. They offer carry-out and delivery -- pretty standard, really -- but they do it with a little more panache. Curbside pick-up allows you to order online or from your iPhone app (yes, there’s an app for that), park in the designated pick-up spots and call the phone number posted on the sign at the space to tell them you’re there, and they then bring your pizza right to your car with a hand-held credit processor so you never have to leave your car.

Once you get your pizza home -- which you can order to-go in 12’’ OR 18’, though only 12’’ is served in the restaurant because it is the ideal size to enjoy it -- you will find an uncut pizza with instructions to rebake and cut along with your very own Pizzeria Biga pizza cutter (if you’re a first-time customer). They do this because it allows you a better at-home pizza experience, allowing the crust’s natural moisture to stay balanced until you’re ready to enjoy it. They also deliver within a four-mile radius and get this: beer and wine is also available for carry-out and delivery at LESS THAN retail cost, cheaper than you would find in any store because you’re not paying for any overhead. They also focus on small-batch, hand-crafted wines and beers to be consistent with the theme of their menu.

If you’re dining in, enjoy a free soup or salad and soft drink with your pizza or pasta during the Biga Lunch Break Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Glass pours and draft beers are half off during happy hour Monday through Friday 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the bar, and Sunday through Thursday after 8 p.m. the house pizza is only $2 with your drink purchase.

AND: they’re open Christmas Day. I KNOW. Luciano decided when they opened in June that they would be open every single day of the year for their first year, including Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s. Thanksgiving was pretty quiet but Christmas promises to be a little more lively, as the area has many non-Christian residents. New Year’s Eve also promises to be a more low-key affair than your usual high-ticket “swanky” events (which almost always disappoint, am I wrong?).

Fans of the AAA four-diamond Il Posto, which formerly inhabited this space, won’t even recognize it. When Luciano acquired the building, he had it taken down to the studs. The only thing salvaged was the common brick wall which creates archways around the dining area. But if what you liked most about Il Posto was the authenticity, you won’t be disappointed -- the whole identity of this place has been re-imagined from stuffy old-world formal Italian to breezy, casual, stylish yet equally refined nouveau Italian. It’s pizza … but it’s not “PIZZA,” at least not how we understand the pepperoni-grease-soaked with gobs of melty mozzarella (NOT THAT THERE’S ANYTHING WRONG WITH THAT) pizza here in ‘Merica. Pizzeria Biga offers a true taste of how the Italians do it, and this is why everything in Italy is better. (Except the narrow city streets common to ancient European cities that made those silly-looking dinky little cars popular. Of course for every Fiat there's a Ferrari, Maserati, and Alfa Romeo -- oh yeah, and Lamborghini -- soooooo ... everything in Italy is still better. Including but not excluded to pizza and sports cars.)

Read the article as it originally printed here.