[Fox News] Top 10 reasons to visit Detroit

Photo by Nicole Rupersburg.

While Detroit has now earned the notorious distinction of being the largest municipality ever to file bankruptcy in U.S. history, over the years its food, arts and cultural scene has been thriving. Business owners and community members have been hard at work trying to push for a rebirth of the Rust Belt town, and as a result has created a city filled with unique cultural and culinary treasures. Here are 10 great reasons to visit Detroit --and not to write it off.

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[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.

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[HOT LIST] Spanish coffee

Spanish coffee. Photo source: The Internet.

The Spanish coffee is one of those holdover dessert drinks from the Reagan Era of steakhouse sovereignty. While once the grande dames of dining, these places are now mostly houses of old people food (though the "classic" steakhouse certainly seems to be coming back into vogue as of late). While other dessert drinks (like the ice cream-based Hummer) have been mostly relegated to the realm of revived steakhouses and horrible national chains with apostrophes in their names, the Spanish coffee has managed to attain a certain level of credibility, even amongst the craft cocktail crowd. Part nouveau trendy, part nostalgic throwback, the Spanish coffee is simply a lovely winter warmer and always will be. The places you'll find it are as varied as the recipes they use, but certain things are consistent: coffee, whipped cream, sugar rim, booze (usually coffee liqueur, brandy, rum, or any combination thereof).

#1 Tom's Oyster Bar (Royal Oak)
The secret to an excellent Spanish coffee is Tia Maria, a vanilla-infused Jamaican coffee liqueur. For many years, Tom's was widely renowned across metro Detroit for having the best Spanish coffee EVAH. This was because of Tia Maria. Then Tia Maria was suddenly and inexplicably unavailable in Michigan for a hot second (sometime in/around 2010-ish), and people took notice: Tom's Spanish coffee simply wasn't what it used to be. But then! Tia Maria just as suddenly and inexplicably became available in Michigan again (because the MLCC is awesome and is obviously a rational and consistent entity) and now Tom's Spanish coffee is just as awesome as ever. And not just because they set it on fire. But a little bit because of that.

#2 London Chop House (Detroit)
This is one of those recently-revived steakhouses of sovereignty but done so impeccably well (provided one can appreciate such painstaking throwback) that you just have to sit back (in the plush red leather booths) and enjoy the point at which historic preservation, well-funded nostalgia, museum-like reverence, and unapologetically untrendy classic steakhouse cuisine collide. The Spanish coffee is about half rich, creamy homemade whipped cream and half booze with a dash of coffee for warmth and color. With a lounge singer crooning hits from the Great American Songbook and a belly full of oysters and steak and starch and heavy cream sauces, it's hard not to get into the spirit of the place. The Spanish coffee is a perfect ending to a meal that is, by necessity, already over the top (and there's probably enough calories in that whipped cream alone to fully replace an actual dessert). They also serve that classic Hummer concoction, which they made famous back in the diz.

#3 The Emory (Ferndale)
They're not really known for their Spanish coffee, but they should be. Known best as a beer and burger bar (REALLY good beer and REALLY good burgers, and a build your own Bloody Mary bar on Sundays), their Spanish coffee is a local best kept secret. But if you're hanging out there one day and you see a blue flame and sparks emanating from behind the bar, that's their Spanish coffee - they light the brandy on fire and then spark it with cinnamon. Topped with rich whipped cream and a maraschino cherry, you totally won't feel like a wuss for ordering this because (a) fire, and (b) hipster bar. (Probably it's ironic?)

#4 Torino Espresso Bar (Ferndale)
Their Spanish coffee recipe is modeled after Tom's, right down to the orange twist, though it feels like it makes more sense here being that this is a cocktail bar with an emphasis on coffee and not a seafood house with an emphasis on oysters.

#5 Bacco Ristorante (Southfield)
Italian, Spanish, whatevs, there are no boundaries here. At Bacco you get a bowl of Spanish coffee to enjoy on its own (it's enough) or with one of their house-made pastries or gelato.

Bubbling under The Hill Seafood + Chophouse (Grosse Pointe), Santorini Estiatorio (Greektown), Clawson Steakhouse (Clawson), Terry's Terrace (Harrison Twp.), Fishbone's (Greektown, Southfield, St. Clair Shores)

 

[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.

 

[HOT LIST] FOOD! DETROIT! THE BEST YEAR EVER! [2011 edition]

Brooklyn Corktown (photo by Nicole Rupersburg)

#1 DETROIT IS THE NEW BROOKLYN.
The natives got their feather hair extensions ruffled over that one, then continued to make it true. The Tashmoo Biergarten was probably the most-lauded example of this, and then there were all the DIY artisan food producers like Detroit Institute of Bagels, Suddenly Sauer, Pete's Chocolate Co., so on and so forth. Also pop-up uhhhhhhhh...restaurants? I guess? Well, anyway, restaurant owners let other would-be chefs, food producers and restaurateurs use their kitchens, as was the case with Neighborhood Noodle popping up at Supino Pizzeria once-monthly on Mondays, Pie-Sci working out of Woodbridge Pub on Sundays, and Traffic Jam and Snug being the commercial kitchen home of Perkins Pickles.

But who started the meme? ME. ME. I DID. IT WAS ME.

Er, sort of.

In a Twitter post dated June 9, 2011, I wrote: "Corktown is to Detroit what Brooklyn was to New York in the '90s." (With a link to this story in the New York Post, written by moi.)

To which Dave Gasparovich (who hails from, predictably, Chicago) was all, "WAAAAAAAAAAAH, I hate you, you're stupid."

OH YEAH, DAVE? WHO'S LAUGHING NOW, HUH?

Let's follow the meme a bit, shall we?

June 13, 2011: New York Post: The new Detroit cool 
Note: Actually it ran on June 8; not sure why the discrepancy but this is relevant when referencing my Twitter post on June 9.
Hostel Detroit, Pink FlaminGO!, Slows, Astro, Sugar House, Le Petit Zinc, Detroit Institute of Bagels, Mercury Burger Bar, Roosevelt Park ... all the bases were covered and "Brooklyn" was alluded to (especially obvious to a New York audience). This piece was followed shortly after by this in the New York Times, which many attribute as being the origin point of the "Detroit is the new Brooklyn" meme. But in reality, nowhere in this story is the Detroit/Brooklyn comparison made, or even hinted at; they actually went with the vastly less popular "Detroit is the new Berlin" meme. (Also true; not the point.) Also TriBeCa, in a quote. Please note, TriBeCa is not in Brooklyn. Nor was TriBeCa ever in its very worst days even a tenth as dumpy as Detroit. And if we're being really real here, if Corktown is Detroit's Brooklyn the rest of Detroit is not Manhattan, it's the Bronx.

July 1, 2011: New York Times: Detroit Pushes Back with Young Muscles
Detroit is lifted in parties, pictures and positive discourse. (Also see above.)

Then, a meme is born:

July 7, 2011: PBS: Is Detroit the new Brooklyn?
There, now it's out there, in no uncertain terms. Stated in the form of a question lessons the authority of the claim a bit, but that didn't stop this meme-train from reaching epic proportions.

The self-appointed guardians of the city's image then chimed in on the subject:

July 12, July 26 and August 9, Model D (and here, and here).
July 21, NPR.
August, 7STOPS (A navel-gazey blog by a blank-slater who insists it's about more than just the blank-slating, and the origin point of "Detroit is the new Detroit." Cute.)
August 15, MLive.
September 26, Curbed Detroit.

Now this was mostly a summer thing, and any remnant of its relevance was pretty much lost with that whole HuffPo hullabaloo. (In which half a dozen bloggers argued via multiple back-and-forth huffy-puffy blog posts over the right of anyone's claim to the city if they don't actually live there, and whether or not the city needs the suburbanites anyway. Seriously. This is a conversation that actually happened.) Except that .... nyooooope, still going strong well into November:

November 11, Crain's Detroit Business.

And finally:

November 21, 2011: MLive: Detroit Cliche Watchdog: Let's just go ahead and change the name of the city to Brooklyn
Could we? Brooklyn sounds nicer. A tree grows, and all.

Now we just need our very own hot hipster butchers, like what they have in Brooklyn. (But but but ... can ours be hot plz?) Then the circle will be complete.


#2 FERNDALE SAYS TO DETROIT, "ANYTHING YOU CAN DO I CAN DO BETTER."

Red Hook (photo by David Landsel)

Heh ... it's funny 'cuz it's true. Curbed Detroit mentioned this in their Corktown versus Ferndale Curbed Cup neighborhood showdown, but we can even look at this on a larger scale. After some particularly Cooley-centric coverage in 2010, Slows stopped "hogging" the media spotlight (get it?) in 2011, though Corktown continued to do so.

Old-timey craft cocktail bar the Sugar House opened in Corktown. Ferndale answered directly with the Oakland Art Novelty Company, and a little less directly with the Valentine Vodka cocktail bar and the Italian-themed Torino Espresso + Bar. Astro Coffee also opened on that same block of Michigan Ave. that is home to Slows and Sugar House (question: WHERE THE FUCK DO YOU PARK). Ferndale fired back with Red Hook, which also resuscitated our favorite fallen bakery, Pinwheel Bakery. And, again, Torino Espresso + Bar.  Detroit had a whole bunch of pop-up retail happenings; Ferndale opened the Rust Belt Market.

And the competition continues as we barrel into the new year with Sean Harrington's Hot Taco (on Park Ave., next to Centaur) in a neck-and-neck race with Woodward Imperial (another taco joint with a fancy sign). What Ferndale did NOT get, however, was a hostel or a B+B. (*fingers tapping*)

Mussels Provencale at Joe Muer Seafood.

#3 HOLLYWOOD ISN'T THE ONLY ONE REBOOTING OLD FRANCHISES.
Last year at about this time I wrote about the London Chop House reopening soon. Well, it still hasn't opened yet, but perhaps we'll see it before the Mayan apocalypse of 2012. Whether or not that corpse is worth digging up, spritzing with perfume and making it dance around like Bernie on a bender, only time (and probably a lot more of it, knowing how things tend to work in Detroit) will tell.

But 2011 did see another storied Detroit establishment revived: Joe Muer Seafood opened in the former Seldom Blues spot in the Renaissance Center as a partnership between Joe Muer, grandson of Joseph Muer Jr. who opened the original location in Eastern Market in 1929 (it closed in 1988 after nearly 60 years in business), and Joe Vicari of the Andiamo Restaurant Group (which have been opening Rojo Mexican Bistros like Taco Bells lately), after what was rumored to be a high-profile bidding war between the Vicaris and Matt Prentice for that primo locale. And after much restructuring over the last two years, the Matt Prentice Restaurant Group is poised for a huge comeback of its own next year with Gastronomy.

#TooOldForFrostedTips

#4 THE FOOD NETWORK REALLY, REALLY LOVES DETROIT. (REALLY.)
In a seemingly endless stream of clips that aired on the Food Network this year featuring metro Detroit restaurants (because when WE say "Detroit," we mean metro Detroit and so should you THE END ... seriously, it went on for days), the loud, frosted-tipped Guy Fieri visited Union Woodshop and Clarkston Union, Traffic Jam and Snug, Supino Pizzeria ... and possibly more? Or no? Idk, I felt like there was a new episode premiering every damn week LONG after the point that I thought they had all aired already. Also, the short bald-headed one came into town and loved Supino too.

6,955 monthly active users as of Dec. 6. Aww, I wuv u 2!

#5 EAT IT DETROIT WAS BORN.
Really shoulda been #1, I know, but I'm super-modest. Dining in Detroit was re-named and re-branded with a whole new focus and a facelift (hey, I know I'm no spring chicken anymore), resulting in the in-your-face Eat It Detroit. And you like it; you really like it!

Bella Piatti (photo by Nicole Rupersburg)

No, but seriously, #5: BIRMINGHAM STOPPED SUCKING SO HARD.
First Commonwealth opened and it was LAFS. Sure, it's only open for breakfast and (late) lunch, but they roast all their beans in-house and serve chef-prepared foods and all of their products are ethically-sourced. Truth be told, it feels a little out of place in Birmingham for all its emphasis on quality and sustainability, but it's about damned time.

Then Tallulah Wine Bar and Bistro hired on Executive Chef Daniel Campbell who gave the menu a much-needed revamping, then Tallulah owner Mindy Vanhellemont opened a second restaurant in Birmingham called Bella Piatti which Campbell also oversees. You know how restaurants tend to need a couple of months to gain their footing before you can really give them a fair assessment? Bella Piatti was firing hard on all cylinders only a month into their opening, and is more than a welcome addition to Birmingham's dining scene: it is a welcome addition to the dining scene of the whole of metro Detroit, a farm-to-table restaurant using Michigan products with an Italian emphasis (basically, it's SW MI's answer to Trattoria Stella).

Not all new openings showed as much promise, but at the very least, in the swamp that is Birmingham's overpriced and underwhelming dining scene populated by flashy restaurants with mediocre food, these little bright points of light give hope to the city that has been alternatively known as "Boringham."

[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 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.