[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.

[Real Detroit Weekly] Top Chef: Detroit's Rising Culinary Masters

Photos from the Root Restaurant and Bar by Nicole Rupersburg.

Chef Alexis Henslee, Metropolitan Cafe
Way way wah-wah-WAY out at the corner of Van Dyke and 24 Mile Rd. in Shelby Township – an area not exactly known for cutting-edge cuisine – Executive Chef Alexis Henslee is changing people's perceptions and drawing in diners from all corners of metro Detroit (thanks in part to some very well-timed love from Dame Abraham). Metropolitan Café has been open since May 2010, and almost immediately caught the attention of greater metro Detroit for Henslee's "upscale yet accessible" contemporary American menu that truly highlights the bounty of Michigan's agriculture. Henslee has a huge passion for Michigan products, and being situated in what seems to be this far-flung corner of Macomb County is an advantage for this cosmopolitan restaurant – they are surrounded by farmland, by the very same small farmers Henslee loves to work with.

Henslee grew up in northern Michigan where her parents owned a restaurant and where she really developed her enthusiasm for all things homegrown. She attended the Schoolcraft College Culinary Arts Program where her initial focus was pastries, until she was introduced to savory cooking and hasn't looked back since. Now she is one of only a handful of female executive chefs in metro Detroit running a high-profile kitchen, and she's rocking it out.

The menu at Metropolitan Café caters to all tastes and price ranges; you can go full-throttle fine dining if that's what you're after, but you can also order a less-fussy sandwich or pasta dish for under $10 – they may be cheap but they're anything but simple. The Metropolitan Café is "metropolitan" by absolute definition, and Henslee succeeds in striking the balance between fine and fun dining, fusion and friendly food exceedingly well.

Chef James Rigato, the Root Restaurant and Bar
The Root Restaurant and Bar is another unexpected culinary mecca in what most outsiders consider a culinary wasteland. Located in a strip mall – a strip mall! Take THAT pompous perceptions of what fine dining should look like! – in White Lake (hang a left at Pontiac and drive another 30 minutes), the Root is all about going back to the basics.

Executive Chef James Rigato speaks with such passion and enthusiasm for what he does that it's easy to get swept up in it, and there's no better place to be so easily swept. (He also REALLY loves Patrick Swayze.) The Root is all the fineness of fine dining without any of the attitude. It's sophisticated while still being FUN, and their ethos of transparency and accessibility is carried throughout every aspect of their restaurant.

For Rigato, the menu at the Root is his opportunity to truly communicate through food. He uses the highest quality products he can get his hands on and everything is made from scratch and prepared in-house, from smoking the bacon to baking the breads. Rigato is another staunch supporter of using Michigan products, and puts right on his menus the names of the different local farms and purveyors they work with.

The Root hasn't even been open for six months but the word has spread fast. Turns out, when you do something this noteworthy and unique, people are willing to drive great lengths to experience it for themselves. The menu is contemporary American but really quintessentially Michigan; they also host prix fixe dinners monthly that really focus on the of-the-moment products of the season. Check out their "Wild Game Feast" on November 30, a five-course menu that's all about the tastiest of all Michigan's wild animals - rabbit, pheasant and deer. Also check out their Black Friday Brunch on November 25.

See the full article here.

[944 Detroit] Michigan's Ski Resorts

Photograph provided by Boyne.

"Aspen. Park City. Telluride. Vail. Harbor Springs, Michigan?

'Northern Michigan’s ski resorts offer just as many activities and amenities as some of the top-rated (and top dollar) ski destinations in the country, with an exceptional value and proximity to home that makes multiple trips throughout the season possible. [...] Being in such close proximity to downtown Petoskey and Harbor Springs means the opportunities for quality shopping and dining are abundant..."

Read the rest of the article here.

[HOT LIST] Pie

The pie counter at Blake's Orchard and Cider Mill. Photo by Nicole Rupersburg.

Not that we can't eat pie any old time, but there's something about fall that has America clamoring for the stuff. Maybe it's because some of the country's most popular pies – pumpkin and apple, for instance – pair so beautifully with this most magnificent of seasons. Or maybe it's just that it's getting cold, and we're fattening up for winter. Something that can be easily accomplished with a fork, enough pie and a winning attitude. Here's where to stock up.

#1 Rock City Pies Ferndale

Twentysomething Nikita Santches has a lot going on – he's into personal cheffing, he's got plans to open a restaurant. He also makes pie. Which he sells at Ferndale's year-round, indoor Rust Belt Market, held every Saturday and Sunday. Follow Santches on Twitter – @RockCityPies -- to find out what he'll be bringing to the market. (Tweet at him if he forgets.) Try a slice of his salt caramel apple or buy the whole pie – if there's any left.

#2 Sweet Potato Sensations Detroit

This Old Redford institution all ways fills us up with West Side love. Owner Cassandra Thomas began tinkering with the humble yam decades ago, baking them into cookies for her husband. Today, she's got sweet potato cakes (featured on the Food Network a few years back) cheesecakes, cobblers, ice cream – and pie, naturally. Get you some.  

#3 Achatz Pies Multiple locations

For many Detroiters, there's only one place for pie. This one. It's a chainlet of Metro area shops that saw its origins in the early 1990s as a little family business operated out of a home in Armada. Shelly's Pumpkin Praline are the three words you need to know when you hear those magic words, "Can I help you?" Where you go after that is up to you – not that there are all that many wrong turns. Tip: Buy direct from the store. They're better.

#4 Ackroyd's Redford

Aha, you say. Ackroyd's doesn't do pie. Not in the traditional sense, no. That is because Ackroyd's is not an American bakery, it is a Scottish bakery, and has been since before many of us were born (the 1940s). Times have changed, Redford has changed, but this little bit of the Auld Sod remains – hand pies (cheese and onion!) for starters, decadent butter tarts – let's call them tiny little pies – for dessert. That is what you do.

#5 Zingerman's Bakehouse Ann Arbor

You can't discuss pie in these parts and not talk about Zingerman's. (Yes, they crush in this category too -- it's enough to make us want to punch a wall.) Tucked away in a faceless industrial park on the southern end of town, this isn't tourist-land. This is strictly come in, get whatever, get out. Like, for instance pie. Glorious, glorious pie. Of all kinds. As you'd expect, ingredients are way up to snuff. So are prices. (Worth it.) 

BUBBLING UNDER Confections by Lynn (Ypsi), Blake's Orchard and Cider Mill (Armada), Grand Traverse Pie Company (multiple locations), Dexter Cider Mill (Dexter), Schmucker's (Toledo -- yes, Toledo)

[Real Detroit Weekly] Cantina Diablo's

All photos by Nicole Rupersburg.

"There are a lot of trendy Mexican/Tex-Mex/Mexi-cali/Mexi-Merican/Mexican-fusion restaurants opening in metro Detroit lately. But none of them are quite so ... red.

'Cantina Diablo's in Royal Oak offers a little something for everyone who wants a little of a lot of things. It is the second location of the brand, owned by the same folks behind Rosie O'Grady's, and it carries over a lot of the same themes as Rosie's. Where Rosie's is something of a thematically general Irish sports pub, Cantina Diablo's is the Tex-Mex equivalent..."

Read the rest of the story here.

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

[Real Detroit Weekly] Halloween Party Foods

Christmas is for kids. Valentine’s Day is for breeders and people who’ve had lobotomies. But Halloween? Halloween is the ultimate adult holiday, from the socially acceptable skimpy costumes to the part where you eat candy for breakfast, lunch and dinner WHY? Because you’re an adult and you can. What better way to honor this most important celebration of the seven deadly sins than with a ghoulishly gluttonous fetish-y fete? Now, we’re no Martha Stuart and we also know the only reason you’re doing this is to (a) show off your skimpy costume, or (b) see all the chicks you invited in their skimpy costumes, so we’re going to keep this as simple as possible with these ready-made recipes.

Spiked Apple Cider
One gallon of Michigan apple cider to one quart of Captain Morgan’s Spiced Rum. Too strong? Pussy.

Pumpkin Beer
You simply MUST have some on hand, and one of the best on the market is Michigan Brewing Company’s Screamin’ Pumpkin Spiced Ale, available wherever Michigan craft beers are sold.

Candy Caramel Corn
Take a bag of candy corn and toss it with a bag of caramel corn in a large serving bowl. Done.

Candy-Coated Caramel Apples
Halloween is a time for treats, so take the classic fall culinary delight of caramel apples (make your own with DIY kits sold in cider mills and grocery stores) and add a little something extra: after rolling the apple in caramel, then roll it in a mix of plain Halloween-colored M&M’s and Reese’s Pieces for a festive orange and black that tastes like summer diets shot to hell.

Day of the Dead Cupcakes
Get some standard Devil’s Food cake mix and chocolate frosting (we like Duncan Hines’s Creamy Home-Style Classic) from the store and make a few batches of cupcakes. To decorate in your Halloween theme, skip the fancy carved jelly candies and piped buttercream frosting; buy some skull candies from the store (your best bet will be grocers that cater to a Hispanic clientele), or make your own in advance following these simple steps:

Ingredients
Skull molds (optional)
Decorations of choice
1 tsp. vanilla
2 small egg whites (or whites from 1 large egg)
1 tsp. light corn syrup
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup cornstarch

Directions
1. Sift powdered sugar in large mixing bowl and combine corn syrup, vanilla and egg whites in small bowl until well blended. Add liquid mixture to bowl containing sugar.

2. Use hands to mix sugar and liquid together until it begins to form a soft, gritty dough. Shape into a large ball and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

3. Pull off 1 heaping tbsp. of dough at a time and form each into the shape of a skull, or press the sugar dough into each mold. Use cornstarch on hands and surface to keep dough from sticking. Set the sugar skulls in a cool, dry place to harden overnight.

4. Decorate your sugar skulls the following day using a small paintbrush dipped into food coloring or sugar frosting with a pastry bag or frosting tip.

Roasted Pumpkin Fondue - we've already covered this earlier this week with Y Kant Nikki Cook

See the original story here.

[Y Kant Nikki Cook] Cider Mill French Toast

All photos by Nicole Rupersburg.

I got inspired while making trips to various cider mills over the last week, so I thought that "Cider Mill French Toast" might be fun. The basic idea was to take stale plain fried doughnuts, soak them in cinnamon custard, prepare them like French toast, then top them with a cider caramel sauce. I decided to make ALL of this myself, because that's sort of the point right? This resulting recipe is sort of a Frankenstein of various other recipes I found that sort of  did what I wanted. I adjusted quantities and tweaked some ingredients to the flavors I wanted.

Cider Mill French Toast
Need: One dozen stale plain fried doughnuts and 1/2 stick unsalted butter.

Cider caramel sauce

Ingredients
4 cups apple cider
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1/2 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

Directions
1. Pour cider in heavy large skillet. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Boil cider mixture until reduced to 2 cups, about 15 minutes.
2. Add sugar and butter. Cook until sauce thickens slightly and is reduced to 1 1/2 cups, stirring occasionally, about 6 minutes longer.
3. Transfer to small bowl. Cover; chill. Remove vanilla bean before using.

This can be made up to three days in advance.

Custard sauce

Ingredients
4 cups whole milk
1 cup granulated sugar
3 beaten eggs
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1 cinnamon stick

Directions
1. In a heavy saucepan over low heat, cook and stir milk, cinnamon stick, vanilla bean (with the seeds scraped out and added to milk) and sugar until sugar is dissolved.
2. Stir in a small amount of hot milk mixture into eggs (throwing the eggs directly into the hot pan without mixing a little hot milk in first will cause them to scramble and separate); pour egg mixture slowly into pan, stirring constantly. Cook and stir until mixture is thick enough to coat a metal spoon. (Dip the spoon in the pan; it should come out with a thin film, solid enough to run your finger across the back of the spoon and leave a mark.)

2. Remove from heat. Cool to room temperature, stirring several times so that the bottom does not continue to cook at a higher temperature.
3. In a deep pan, spread out the stale doughnuts. Pour the custard over the doughnuts and let sit for at least 30 minutes on each side. Transfer the rest of custard to a bowl; press a piece of waxed paper or plastic wrap on top of custard. Refrigerate.

And now, it's time to make French toast!

Directions
1. Turn burner on to medium heat and coat skillet with butter. Once pan is heated and butter is melted, add four doughnuts to the pan. Cook until both sides are browned (flip a few times to ensure even cooking). There should be no more visible liquid custard on the outside of the doughnuts. Cook remainder of doughnuts (add more butter as needed).
2. To serve, put doughnuts on a plate, pour some of the chilled custard over top, then finish with some cider caramel (heat before serving if you so desire). No syrup needed for this French toast!



I really wish someone would have told me it would take 8 days of nonstop stirring to make custard. So during attempt the first I got really bored then really impatient, so I cranked the heat up to a medium setting and walked away. I came back to find my "custard" foaming and curdled. (Actually, I think "curdled" might not be the best word: I do believe the eggs were actually going through the process of scrambling.) So with attempt the second, I kept it on low heat and patiently stirred occasionally, waiting for that magic "coat the spoon" moment.

It took two hours.*

Of course, nowhere on any of the recipe sites did it SAY it would take two hours (that I saw, or paid attention to, anyway - and by GOD did I try desperately to find out about an hour into attempt the second).

This is why I don't cook.

*Actually I'm not even totally sure how long it took, as I eventually decided I really couldn't afford to sacrifice any more of my day on this and since I'm only using the custard to soak the doughnuts in anyway, that it was simply done enough. As the custard sat it did thicken to "coat the spoon" desirability.