Your HBIC Nicole Rupersburg moved to Las Vegas. This is her goodbye for now but not forever.
Hatch Detroit 2013 semifinalists Voigt's Soda House are now open through the end of the month in the Livernois Community Storefront. Stop by for a sandwich, soup, and old-fashioned soda and order some of their artisan syrups for the holidays!
Six hotshot young chefs in the same kitchen could be a recipe for disaster, but not at the first Young Guns dinner at The Root Restaurant and Bar. Here is my recap and the full menu from this event, which featured so much talent in one room it was unfair to all other rooms.
Tacos will replace pizza at the staple college town booze store Marcus Market, which underwent a serious facelift earlier this year. ALLEY TACO opens mid-January.
Dearest readers, do yourself a favor and read this. All the way through. Beginning to end. And understand why James Rigato of The Root Restaurant and Bar is one of Nikki's Boys. Oh, I went and saved the best for last.
If you missed the first Young Guns dinner…that sucks for you because it was totally awesome. But never fear! The next event has been announced, and tickets go on sale December 10.
NOVEMBER 29, 2013 [EID Feature] Young Guns: Nick Janutol, Forest Grill
This is the penultimate profile leading up to the sold out Young Guns dinner at The Root Restaurant and Bar on December 8: Nick Janutol, Chef de Cuisine of Forest Grill and recent replacement transplant (as in, moved back after moving away) to the Detroit area.
This is a beautiful story about a boy and his bagels. Detroit Institute of Bagels opened on Thursday, and it's been a long time coming. Two and a half years after our first conversation I sat down with owner and chief bagel maker Ben Newman again to take a look at how far he has come.
LET THERE BE BAGELS! Detroit Institute of Bagels opens on Thanksgiving Day!
All of the Young Guns have given terrific interviews for EID's Young Guns profile series, but Detroit's favorite young(-ish…his words!) Gun Andy Hollyday of the soon-to-open Selden Standard might just be my favorite yet.
Did you miss the full episode of America's Best Bites on the Cooking Channel earlier this year when they featured Chef James Rigato of The Root Restaurant and Bar in White Lake? Fret not; the whole thing is now available to watch in four segments on YouTube and here they are.
This week's Young Gun is Brennan Calnin of Imperial. He has worked for Takashi and loves butter, liver, champagne, and pirates. Read his thoughts on Michigan's culinary scene and his lifelong call to the kitchen here.
Detroit has got to be the most exhaustingly exasperating city in the country. If we just really need to feel like we are the best at something, it is that. So congrats there.
Chef Kate Williams is leaving Rodin but it's all good - she's moving on to some really cool new projects (SRSLY), and Rodin will tweak their menu to be more heavy snacks but is still keeping all the sexy drinks and music and vibe and people. The parting is totally amicable.
Another week, another Young Gun. This week it's Nikita Santches of Rock City Eatery. Check out what he has to say about Michigan's culinary scene, the people who have most inspired him, and how he wants people to step outside of their culinary comfort zones.
Soon Treat Dreams will be open every morning serving Great Lakes Coffee Roasting Company coffee and their brand-new line of fresh donuts baked in-house in the sort of wacky flavors you would expect from the people behind Treat Dreams.
On December 8, six area chefs will collaborate on a special "Young Guns" dinner at The Root Restaurant and Bar. Every week, EID will profile each of the participating chefs. This week meet Chef Michael Barrera of Streetside Seafood, and hear what he has to say about our local food scene and the important things about being a chef.
I do a LOT of writing on the food and bev industry in metro Detroit, and because of that I have a LOT of knowledge on those subjects (also I'm a bit of an obsessive information junkie). Last week I appeared on The Craig Fahle Show to talk about local meaderies. I put together some notes on places like B. Nektar Meadery, Schramm's Mead, and Kuhnhenn Brewing Co. which of course I never used. But DAMN there is a lot of good info in there, so I'm sharing it all with you. Here's your total mead primer, beginning at the beginning with loads of info on metro Detroit meaderies.
A pedal-powered brewery in Detroit? Shawn and Aaron Grose of Windmill Pointe Brewing Company want to make it happen.
Tickets to One-Eyed Betty's FestivALE are now on sale! $20 in advance/$25 at the door. Christmas, seasonal, and flagship beers from Bell's Brewery, Arbor Brewing Company, and Dark Horse Brewing Co., plus a 30-tap takeover of Short's Brewing Company inside and a special booth of extremely limited Christmas ales from St.Bernardus, Unibroue, and more. Whole animal roasts and tons of decadent cold weather comfort food.
This year, Eat It Detroit produced and promoted all Detroit Beer Week events, held October 17-27, 2013. Here is a list of events; check out the website for more details here.
The Chase Mission Main Street Grants are $250,000 grants awarded to small businesses that have been open and operating for at least two years prior to the program launch and employ fewer than 100 people. Over 40 Detroit area businesses are in the running.
Who are the most dangerous chefs in Michigan? Find out on December 8 as the Root Restaurant + Bar in White Lake hosts a special Young Guns Dinner with six of Michigan's up-and-coming chefs.
It's National Pizza Month poll time! What is the best pizza in metro Detroit? A national publication asked me, and so I asked you. ***I DID NOT MAKE THIS POLL*** and yes I know Buddy's is missing and that they totally missed the mark with the Supino selection (though that didn't stop you from voting for them by a landslide) and I think we all had a swell time making fun of these stupid selections, so thanks for playing!
Introducing: Ferndale Restaurant Week and a brand-new fall/holiday festival from One-Eyed Betty's, FestivALE.
Will The Stand Gastro Bistro be the best new restaurant in Birmingham? Maybe even the best in metro Detroit? With Chef Paul Grosz at the helm, it certainly could be. The Stand has officially opened; read more details about it here (including a full vegan menu and craft cocktails from the master) and see photos of the amazing transformation the former Zazio's space has undergone.
Ken Schramm is the guy who wrote the book on mead. Literally. Between him and B. Nektar on the other side of Woodward, Ferndale may now be called "Meaddale." Here's a look inside at the new spot and a chat with the man himself.
SEPTEMBER 19, 2013 [NEWS BITES] Eastern Market After Dark is tonight and features 48 venues plus previews of new restaurants
If you've been on the scene for awhile, it should come as no surprise to you to hear that Eastern Market can be just as lively at night as it is during the day with dozens of art and design studios, galleries, restaurants, and various other kinds of creative spaces. Here I check in with the organizer behind the Detroit Design Festival's Eastern Market After Dark, when all these spaces open to the public.
The full, unedited version of a piece originally written for Fox News, in which I take a look at cafe owners across the country and their retaliation against Wi-Fi-gobbling "coffee squatters," for reasons that go beyond simply just them taking up seats.
(revolver) is a new table d'hôte restaurant opening later this month in Hamtramck. Here co-owner Tunde Wey shares the full scoop on (revolver) - how the concept was born, how it has evolved, who is involved and what they're setting out to do.
Two James Distillery in Corktown is the first licensed distillery in the city of Detroit since before Prohibition. Here's a look inside their new tasting room and production facility, which includes a solid one-piece concrete bar that will be one of the only things left standing after humanity blows itself up and all that's left is rubble, cockroaches, and this bar.
Metro Detroit, meet your newest best thing ever. Public House, from the fine folks behind Imperial, will open soon in downtown Ferndale. Here's a look at the concept, the space, and the menus. Is it going to be just as awesome as Imperial? Yes. Yes it f-ing will.
Rock City Eatery is getting ready to open and the rockin' space is full of vintage items, century-old repurposed materials, hand-made furniture made by a local craftsman from reclaimed materials, and original artwork from Detroit's golden age of punk and Detroit's foremost punkstress. (And the menu rocks too.)
Warren-based Kuhnhenn Brewing Company has purchased a new facility in Clinton Township that will enable them to significantly increase their production capacity - up to 20,000 barrels annually. With this new production facility also comes a new tasting room and multi-season outdoor beer garden with an estimated capacity of 250-300 people. Here is a first look at the new space.
Tim Idzikowski of Detroit BBQ Company is one of Nikki's Boys. This is why.
A sneak peek of the new Griffin Claw Brewing Co. WITH the full food menu, the opening day tap list, Brewmaster Dan's full list of achievements while brewing under Big Rock, distribution plans, and Dan's wacky idea to distill a domestic absinthe.
When the Crowne Plaza Pontchartrain hotel opens in July, with it comes the Jefferson House and Urban Cellars, the hotel's signature restaurant and lounge that Executive Chef Justin Vaiciunas aims to make Restaurant of the Year.
The Kresge Court inside the DIA has been reborn as the Cultural Living Room, a new meeting place and bistro where the mix of traditional and modern design and the detailed attentiveness to local sourcing and healthful, from-scratch foods is an appropriate fit for this excellent arts and education institution.
On the eve of the biggest grocery store opening in Detroit's history, EID got the final batch of preview shots before the store opened to the masses the next morning. Haters gonna hate, but this is a whole lot more than just a grocery store.
Contrary to what you might have heard, there is more to Midland than just cows and meth trailers. There is also a mall. And inside this mall, there is a food court. And in this food court, two Detroiters are living their dream. UPDATE: Oh hey hiiiiii this was actually for the Food Network's "Food Court Wars" and I was on the teevee!
Detroit's new breed of coffeehouses are some of the best-designed spaces in the city. Stella Good Coffee - formerly known as Stella International Cafe - joins the ranks of thoughtfully-designed caffeinated hangouts with their newly remodeled space inside the Fisher Building, where they will also serve only pour-over coffees.
When Athina Papas first opened Mosaic in 2005, she was 25 years old and wanted a stylish place with a lounge atmosphere. But that was almost 10 years ago, and she's grown up. Now she wants to preserve the Greek heritage of Greektown and recreate the experiences she remembers from her childhood for the next generation.
One of the top bartenders in the country (at least according to Woodford Reserve and Bombay Sapphire) is leaving his position at Roast to become the corporate mixologist for Great Lakes Wine and Spirits, Michigan's largest wine and spirits distributor that is continuing to aggressively grow.
It would be easy to say that Red Crown in Grosse Pointe Park is simply mimicking the successful model already established by Slows and Union Woodshop. But Red Crown is offering something totally different than the other upscale-BBQ-meets-historic-preservation restaurants populating metro Detroit, and they're also the first restaurant in Michigan to serve still wine on draft.
Falling Down Beer Company is located in an unglamorous part of Warren (which is unglamorous to begin with) in what looks like used to be an old Big Boy's, and has already managed to build a fanbase more than 3,700 people strong before ever serving their first pint.
Building on the success of the Root Restaurant + Bar in White Lake, owner Ed Mamou and Executive Chef James Rigato will open a second location in Howell in 2014.
EID Co-Conspirator Stefanie Cobb visited the recently-opened Flavor Flav's Chicken + Ribs in Sterling Heights and spoke to the man, the myth, the legend himself: Mister Flav (who shares some insightful commentary about sustainability and international border crossings).
Here is something sweet for Valentine's Day. Mindo Chocolate Makers, available in specialty markets throughout metro Detroit, is the only bean-to-bar chocolate maker in Michigan. It all started because the chocolate in Ecuador was terrible.
A reaction to draconian dining room rules imposed by pampered princess prima donna precious snowflake New York chefs banning cell phone photography in their dining rooms. And a little bit of Godwin's Law.
Being a chef is terrible. Unless you love being a chef. Chef Brian Polcyn talks about raising his kids, opening (and closing) his baby, and mentoring the next generation of great chefs. He's also working on a third book, launching a charcuterie line with Garden Fresh Salsa, and has an eager new chef in place at Forest Grill.
Part of the $300 million renovation work going on at Cobo Center (in addition to that snazzy new three-story atrium) is a total revamping of their food service program. This includes Go Natural, a new concessions stand on the main concourse that serves all-natural, fresh, healthy foods.
Is the Latin invasion upon us once again? Meet Lena and Habana, Ann Arbor's latest sexy-time spaces with Latin fusion food and drink. From the team that brought you Jolly Pumpkin Brewery. And you know my feelings on that.
The Greeks may have all but left Greektown, but Greek culture is still very prominent in metro Detroit, and KouZína Greek Street Food will take Greek cuisine to the next level. Not fine dining, but pure and simple street food made from scratch by actual Greeks.
Have you been to Gastronomy yet? Why not? Gastronomy might not be in the sexiest city or have the sexiest space, but it does have the best food.
Voting in any capacity should be based on your own gathering an interpretation of information. This is mine.
Child Bite eats babies and that's how their beards stay so full. I recently caught up with them at the Emory and learned that there is such a thing as an International Beard and Moustache Competition; you can catch them and their beards this Saturday at the DIY Street Fair.
The DIY Street Fair is this weekend. In my Official Capacity as Restaurant Row Sponsor, I got to hang out with Passalacqua at Treat Dreams and subject them to my crazy ideas and Scott Maloney's crazy concoctions.
Russian-born, American-made. Nikita Santches of Rock City Pies is a semifinalist in this year's Hatch Detroit competition. He wants to transform his all-American pies to a full-service restaurant in the city of Detroit and live his own version of the American Dream. Plus, he strongly resembles all-American heartthrob Justin Timberlake. It's time you got to know your candidate.
Good people; good product. The homophonically playful Palate in Milford is focused on education with a sustainable ethos and steadfast integrity. Oh, and it's also an awesome craft beer bar.
I've got the inside scoop on the food of this year's Arts, Beats + Eats! (Seriously. I just put together the spreadsheet of the menu items yesterday. That's about as inside as you can get.) Here are the highlights of this year's festival foods.
Maria's Comida served their last ghost pepper burger last Saturday, but weep not for the business that is ending. The Pronko family will now be able to focus full-time on Maria's House Made Salsa and the space will now also serve as a community kitchen and consultation hub for other fledgling food producers.
So apparently you all really REALLY hate Yelp. Or do you? "At the end of the day, we all just love to hear ourselves talk. The problem is, we all hate that we all love that. We accuse other people of that as a form of personal indictment, but really the issue we have is that we can't hear ourselves talking over all their talking and it makes us huff and puff and stamp our feet."
Question: what is the one thing that could possibly make Jet's Pizza better? Answer: Michigan beer. And this place is real. It exists in Chelsea, Michigan, and is the only Jet's Pizza of its kind in the company.
Something Batali and I agree on: Tandem Ciders rules! Craft ciders are on the rise and Michigan has more producers than any other state. Banish all thoughts of Woodchuck from your brain; these are very different indeed.
After several years out of the restaurant business, chef/owner Rick Halberg is getting back to form with Local Kitchen + Bar, a place that revels in classic Americana.
Welcome to my neuroses.
The Grapes of Good Conversation: James Cadariu wants the Great Lakes Coffee Roasting Company's Institute for Advanced Drinking to be a place to congregate and communicate, a place where stories and ideas are exchanged, and above all else a place that advances the cause of quality consumables.
Much of food journalism is mere PR, and that is why I am not a "food critic."
Nano restaurants, beer pairings for dummies, the health department's fear of change, and the ever-quotable James Earl Jones: Brew Jus inside (...eventually) the Rust Belt Market is now open for business slinging sliders in beer-based sauces.
Appropriately peppered with plenty of profanity.
Imperial has been open for about a month now and the verdict seems to be a resounding f- yeah. Meet owner Jeff King and Chef Brennan Calnin and discover why they call it "a bar with a taco truck on the back."
Detroit is college for people who never went to college, or did but got a lib arts degree. Also, it's so hard being an early adopter.
The poutine prophecy is fulfilled, Hostel Detroit proves it more than just a place for globe-trotting urbex types to crash, and Michigan Avenue is the place to be to capitalize on the magic leprechaun juju of Corktown.
Detroit is the new Portland, America is the new Europe, and we all just want to make pickles.
Reasons like "No pampered princess precious snowflake chefs crying about it afterwards" are why the inaugural Baconfest Michigan on Saturday, June 2 is the best damned Baconfest in the Midwest.
Just in time for Flower Day, here is a rundown of recent happenings at Eastern Market Corporation and some of our favorite businesses, new and old. The 121-year-old public market has recently been reborn and is in so many ways the heart of Detroit, thanks to the diligent efforts of EMC President Dan Carmody as well as ambitious artisan vendors and entrepreneurs.
After closing late last year, the 118-year-old R. Hirt Jr. Co. in Eastern Market has been re-opened by the same family but under a new name. It's got all the same historic charm with some much-needed remodeling to modernize the space, and we daresay it's even better than before.
Michael Mina might not be the most recognizable name or face in celebrity chefdom, but his is still the only celeb chef presence in Detroit with two high-end restaurants under his name. This is what he had to say about it.
Michael Symon "gets" the Midwest. This is what he had to say about Detroit.
A photographic sojourn through mid-south-western Michigan's fine breweries with Motor City Brew Tours and other meeeeeedia. With funny captions.
Detroit has always been a meat-and-potatoes kind of town, but lately it seems like it's more meat-and-mac 'n cheese ... a rumination on Detroit's newfound upscale barbecue specialization.
Happy Oberon Day! Today Bell's summer seasonal brew Oberon is released to the masses, marking the true start of spring.
Detroit's legendary Green Dot Stables is reopening, but the real story behind this bar is likely to go down in Detroit's history yet another unsolved mystery, like "Who killed Jimmy Hoffa?"
A reflection on being alone in Dublin on St. Patrick's Day.
The 100-year-old garage that has its own TV show is now becoming a restaurant! This is a very exclusive sneak peak inside the preservation/renovation of Vinsetta Garage, a new restaurant opening this spring from the people behind Autoweek and Clarkston's infamous Union Woodshop.
Meet Eddie Farah and Adis Celic. You don't know them yet, but you will. John D Bistro is Ferndale's next newest hotspot, and they're taking things to a whole new level Ferndale has yet to see.
There are beer bars, then there are beer shrines. Clubhouse BFD is a juried exhibit of the brewing arts, where every day is Beer Fest.
If you like food carts and grilled cheese sandwiches, Cheese Dream is a dream come true. The newest addition in the upcoming 2012 season of Mark's Carts food cart corral, Cheese Dream takes the classic childhood comfort food and gives it a gourmet spin from classically-trained chefs.
Want to find love in Detroit? Here are some ways to ignite the spark this Valentine's Day, from finding your inner salsero at Vicente's Cuban Cuisine, keeping things fun with feather bowling and strong Belgian beer at Cadieux Cafe, following the The Dirty Show with a Dirty Detroit martini at valentine vodka, or taking a staycation at one of our AAA four-diamond-rated hotels.
From the Book of Duderonomy: To be a "solid dude" means that you're a good guy and your band's good too. For Dave and Derek of Solid Dudes Kitchen, it's all about putting good in so you get good out. Just like a crockpot.
JANUARY 13, 2012 A Conversation with Wolfgang PuckHe's been called "The Greatest Chef in the World." I had the chance to sit down with Wolfgang Puck while he was in town for the NAIAS and I got to find out a little more about the life of the world's first true celebrity chef.
AJ's Music Cafe is a community coffee house, and owner AJ O'Neil is also a potential congressional candidate. But what makes him a true representative of the voice of the people, and how does a coffee house help to create community? Read on.
Blair Nosan learned how to ferment vegetables on a Jewish farm in Connecticut, and is now using that knowledge and experience to build her community at home. This is how food sovereignty, community and spirituality can connect ... through pickles.
From stand-up comedy to a specialty beer and food store, Tim Costello of 8 Degrees Plato Beer Company in Ferndale would like you to come visit him and give him money. In exchange he will give you beer and even throw in a laugh or two for free.
Pete Steffy's hobby has turned into a full-fledged business thanks to Michigan's loosened cottage food industry laws and an increasing interest and demand for locally-made artisan food products. The Paris of the Midwest finally has its own chocolatier.
Detroit isn't the only city with art on the brain. Grand Rapids is a world-class destination about to be made world-famous by ArtPrize. But until then, metro Detroiters can enjoy this arts- and food-savvy city that's less than three hours away. It won't be our little secret for long!
It may not be gastro this-or-that, but this is MY Big Boy, and it's yours too.
Tony Sacco's Coal Oven Pizza makes true Neapolitan-style pizzas in a mammoth coal-fueled oven for a flavor that's fairly new to metro Detroit (and to the pizza world at large). But there's really nothing new about it.
They don't have a website, a Facebook page, and they don't advertise, but this 100% from-scratch bakery on Detroit's northwest side has been around for 17 years and consistently gets lines out the door. Walk in and smell the butter.
The Dexter Cider Mill is the oldest continuously-operating cider mill in Michigan, and has all that old world Americana nostalgic charm we love most about the cider mill experience - which is exactly why owner Richard Koziski took this on as his "retirement" project.
Annette May was the first female Certified Cicerone in the world, and is also an inspiration to other female beer nerds. Nicole sits down with Annette and her husband and finds out what it's like inside the world of the Cicerone.
We love our own Michigan wine countries, but if you live in metro Detroit there's one wine country that's even closer - Lake Erie North Shore in southern Ontario, less than an hour drive from downtown Detroit over the Ambassador Bridge. We love it because it's close, but also because the wines are fantastic and you can only get them here.
New owners have re-branded Chateau de Leelanau into a young, playful label, and have also introduced some flagship wines that demand to be noticed.
SEPTEMBER 24, 2011 The 5 Days of DRW: 24grilleExecutive Chef Christian Borden is redefining 24grille inside the Westin Book Cadillac; it will live in the shadow of Roast no more. His ambitious DRW menu is leagues beyond his competition.
Cops and Doughnuts is a 115-year-old cop-owned from-scratch bakery in downtown Clare, but it's also something more.
SEPTEMBER 9, 2011 Community COLORS: It's Still a Jungle Out There
The restaurant industry is the country's largest private sector employer in the country, yet slave wages and institutionalized racism are rampant. Colors - Detroit is working to change that.
SEPTEMBER 2, 2011 iBurger: Hamburgers Gone HalalThere are lots of places in Dearborn to get a good burger, but iBurger is the only place serving lean, juicy Angus-certified beef. It's also the only burger joint that is certified halal in a city where even McDonald's serves a halal McNugget.
AUGUST 26, 2011 Star Lanes Inside Emagine Theatre: It's a Restaurant, TooThe innovative Michigan-owned Emagine Theatre chain thinks outside the big box with an upscale bowling alley and sports bar serving gourmet bar food under Executive Chef Matthew Johnson.
AUGUST 12, 2011 The Root: Back to Basics
Executive Chef James Rigato rejects the contrived trappings of the fine dining industry and regales in the bounty and beauty of Michigan's agriculture, making believers out of us all over again.
In response to the bewildering backlash against Whole Foods opening a store in Detroit -- we take the Whole Foods 365 Everyday Value product line and compare prices to similar items at two other prominent Detroit grocery stores. The results were surprising.
JULY 29, 2011 Las Brisas: "Breeze" on Down Vernor for the Place That Has EverythingA little bit off the beaten path of Mexicantown lies Las Brisas, a spacious restaurant and nightclub with fantastic food and top-notch international talent.
It only took 120 years, but Eastern Market finally has its first ice cream shop.
It's a story about a cooler. And about street art. And about corporate commodification. And the authenticity of evolution.
Schuler's is a fourth-generation family-owned classic Americana restaurant that has been a staple in historic Marshall, MI for 102 years now. Meet the Bar-Scheeze that started it all.
Detroit-style deep dish is a strictly Michigan phenomenon, and these guys started it all. Chicago and New York can keep theirs.
Two years ago it sounded too good to be true, but the coffeehouse with late hours, free WiFi and printing, and responsibly-sourced French press coffees is a reality in Midtown.
Chef Robert Young has a California wine bar, Belgian brewpub and Cuban cafe under his command, and all out of the same kitchen.
If you like Groupon, you'll love these guys. This discount site is all food, all the time, and based in Michigan. Win and win.
The Brothers Newman have a plan: If you bake them, they will come.
Food trucks are hot hot HOT across the country; so why is Detroit last in the race?
MAY 10, 2011 The Henry Ford: Everything Old is Made New Again
A Detroit native now in Portland comes back for a visit and a chat.
