[HOT LIST] FOOD! DETROIT! THE BEST YEAR EVER! (2013 Edition)

Whole Foods Midtown. Photo by Nicole Rupersburg.

Wow, 2013. This was quite the year as far as years go, amiright? While last year's "BEST YEAR EVER" recap was relatively easy to put together - everything that happened rather thoughtfully happened in easily-identifiable themes - this year was kind of schizoid. The echo chamber got even more echoey. There was more news with more people covering it, making it even more difficult to keep track of everything as it all started to sound like so much white noise.

In the end though, trends that have been developing for years now continued to grow and evolve. New places opened and old places closed, while others still rebranded. Some things got everyone talking, though what they said often came across as hive mind shoutiness. While some people will debate what the best new restaurants were, to me the interesting question to ask is, what were the biggest things that happened in food this year? Here's my answer.

#1 Whole Foods opened.
Fucking deal with it. This was huge. This was huge for so many reasons. And this validated the "Detroit Renaissance" narrative in so many ways. This of course didn't stop people from whining about it and whining about how people were praising it and whining about people who were whining about praising it because that's just what you people do, but the fact that a grocery store opening incited so much "dialogue" and took over the Internet for interminable weeks (…months, YEARS) is all the proof I need that this was hands-down the biggest story of the year.

#2 Eastern Market got one bajillion dollars for its much-touted Shed 5 renovation.
I'm pretty sure it's going to be a 5-star luxury all-inclusive resort now? Or something? So the Shed 5 renovation has been in the works for some years and there has been a steady stream of foundation money flowing in to fund this or that part of it. Suffice it to say, by the time it's done it is going to be A.MAHZ.ING. Among its many features will be a pimp-ass community commercial kitchen, a 200-seat patio, an 18-hole golf course*, I can't even keep track of it all.

#3 Eastern Market is just fucking awesome.
The end. I mean, just, the fucking end. I keep nutting over this because here's the thing you may or may not realize: for all the buzz that Midtown and Corktown get, Eastern Market is the one district in Detroit that has the potential to be Detroit's definitive tourism draw, a singularly unique experience that travelers cannot easily replicate elsewhere, a place that is entirely walkable with a host of options for dining, drinking, shopping, exploring. High profile/much-buzzed-about restaurants, local artisan shops, local food vendors, scores of hand-made and ethnic items from soaps to spices, art galleries and artists studios (dozens! or at least a single dozen which is still a lot!), makerspaces, old-timey letterpress studios (TWO of them!), easy access to the Dequindre Cut greenway which will be further expanding and connecting to other city greenways, and and and SHED 5!!!! and so much more. Midtown is great, the DIA is pretty, it is completely feasible to walk from, say, Rodin to the Bronx in the middle of the night in the middle of winter (/sarcasm), Corktown is nice with its 12 bars along a mile-long stretch of Michigan Avenue and all the barren lots in between, yepyepyep all great. But Eastern Market is where its at. Next year Detroit City Distillery, Dave Mancini's Supino extension, and the restaurant currently known as Frontera all open, which will just further underscore this point.

The Stand. Photo by Nicole Rupersburg.

#4 A bunch of new places opened.
Here is a not-all-all-comprehensive but still meatier than most list of new places that opened in 2013 smattered all throughout greater metro Detroit. If I didn't include something, it is for no particular reason other than it didn't pop into my head. I'm not saying these are the "best" of 2013 because I just don't think that kind of designation is relevant in this market, for reasons.

51 North - a brewery/meadery/winery in Lake Orion
Aventura - a massive wine bar/tapas restaurant/lounge complex in A2 owned by the proprietor of Sava
Bagger Dave's - the one in Greektown, listed here because it's in Detroit and everything in Detroit is relevant
Beignets - food truck based in Hamtramck
Bigalora Ann Arbor - the third location of the casual Italian restaurant and pizzeria formerly known as Pizzeria Biga
Bistro Joe's - a fancy restaurant in the upper mezzanine of a grocery store in Birmingham, which works better than you might think
Brizola - fancy restaurant inside Greektown Casino
Buffalo Wild Wings - the one in Greektown, listed here because it's in Detroit and everything in Detroit is relevant
Cafe ML - Bill Roberts' latest in a Bloomfield
Carnaval Mexican - a casual take-out Mexican place, listed here because it's in Detroit and everything in Detroit is relevant
CAYA Smokehouse - upscale BBQ in Wolverine Lake
The Cheesecake Factory - listed only because it was apparently such a big deal (a line around the BLOCK, people - and it's 12 Oaks Mall so it's a big damn block)
Chelsea Alehouse - brewery in Chelsea, where Michigan's first-ever (now defunct) microbrewery opened in the '80s
Craft Work - newly opened in Detroit's West Village since I first put this post together, this is the latest from Hugh Yaro, co-owner of Ronin and Commonwealth
Detroit Institute of Bagels - Detroit's only bagel shop
Detroit Vegan Soul - Detroit's only vegan restaurant
Falling Down Beer Co. - brewpub in Warren known for elevated gastropub fare
Fenton Fire Hall - a historic renovation project in downtown Fenton from the folks that brought you Vinsetta Garage and Union Woodshop
Firebird Tavern - beautifully renovated space in Greektown from the owners of Pulse known for a craft beer and solid bar food
Grace of India - one of Detroit's only Indian places, a casual take-out place listed here because it's in Detroit and everything in Detroit is relevant
Great Lakes Culinary Center - not really a restaurant but a big, beautiful events space, rentable commercial kitchen, and demonstration center in Southfield
Griffin Claw - new brewery and distillery in Birmingham from the folks at Big Rock
The Grindhouse - Corridor Sausage Co's food truck
Huerto - upscale Mexican in a Bloomfield
Isalita - upscale Mexican in A2
Jefferson House - ambitious contemporary American menu inside the Crowne Plaza Detroit
La Feria - Spanish tapas in design-forward space in Midtown
La Palma - a fast and casual Lebanese take-out and dine-in place in Midtown listed here because it's in Detroit and everything in Detroit is relevant
Luxe - second location in a Pointe
Macabee's - generic American menu, listed here because it's in Detroit and everything in Detroit is relevant
Marais - upscale French cuisine in a Pointe
Market North End - I'm actually not even sure. Birmingham I think?
Meeting House - contemporary American in Rochester
Melt - gelato, coffee and candy in Midtown, listed here because it's in Detroit and everything in Detroit is relevant
MEX - upscale Mexican in a Bloomfield
Midtown Grille - generic American menu, listed here because it's in Detroit and everything in Detroit is relevant
Monk Beer Bar - the Belgianier little brother of Belgish Bastone in downtown Royal Oak, located in the space that was previously Cafe Habana
Moo Cluck Moo - burger and milkshake joint that made headlines for un-fast-food ingredients and paying employees $15/hour in Dearborn Heights; second location also opened in Canton
Old German - in the basement of the Grizz in A2
Ottava Via - contemporary Italian restaurant and pizzeria in Corktown from the Mercury Burger Bar people
Patagonia Parilladas - an Argentine steakhouse in Southwest
Public House - sliders, milkshakes, fried foods and cocktails in Ferndale from the people behind Imperial
Red Crown - historic renovation, craft cocktails, house-smoked BBQ and upscale Southern food in a Pointe
Republica - a surprisingly fun little spot in Berkley with emphasis on Michigan craft beer
(revolver) - a pop-up that stays popped up in Hamtramck
Rock City Eatery - Eastern European meets American cuisine with contemporary spin in a rocked-out space in Hamtramck
Schramm's Mead - a lovely tasting room with excellent small plates in Ferndale
SkyBar and Lounge - the menu and drink list fail to impress, but the 33rd-floor view of downtown Detroit does not
Smoke Street - BBQ in downtown Milford in the old Five Lakes Grill/Cinco Lagos space
The Stand - Chef Paul Grosz's latest in Birmingham (and it's phenomenal)
Trattoria Pizzeria Da Luigi - possibly just called "Da Luigi" now, this is Italian food and wood-fired pizza in downtown Royal Oak from the former owner of Sangria
Thomas Magee's Sporting House and Whiskey Bar - handsome new bar in EASTERN MARKET
Two James Spirits  - gorgeous tasting room in Corktown
Vellum - a (not sure what to say here) restaurant in Ann Arbor

#5 EVERYONE came here, again.
Only this time the locals weren't quite so tickled with it. (It was only a matter of time.) Eddie Huang set a new bar of Detroit-backlash-baiting by first Saying All the Right Things then pissing on a lamp post in the middle of a street. And then there was that whole Bourdain thing.

#6 More shit to open next year.
OHMYGOD IT'S LIKE IT JUST WON'T STOP!!!!!! On deck for next year: Dave Mancini's new place next to Supino, Andy Hollyday's new place in Midtown called Selden Street, Top of the Pontch inside the Crowne Plaza, two new Bucharest Grills (one is a production spot), a second Russell Street Deli (it's called something else, idk), Detroit City Distillery in Eastern Market, the restaurant currently known as Frontera (it will be called something else by the time it opens), a permanent space for Guns + Butter (but oh, will the magic still be there if it's no longer limited and exclusive?), Craft Work in West Village (kind of sort of open already but not really?), another new spot in Ferndale from the folks at Imperial, that BBQ place on 9 Mile that's supposed to be opening in the old AJ's space, Whiskey Disco and something else new at the old Oslo, Kuhnhenn's second location and major production space, Atwater Brewery's new brewpub in a Pointe as well as their MASSIVE NEW PRODUCTION SPACE IN CORKTOWN ACROSS FROM MUDGIE'S which they've been very cagey about announcing and still no one from the Atwater camp has gone on the record about it, Maurice Williams' new spots The Addison and Restaurant 55, Atlas Global Bistro maybe possibly reopening downtown, Alley Wine in Midtown, that douchey-sounding new place in Royal Oak replacing Sangria (but the chef is awesome!), Michael Symon's B Spot Burgers (several locations in the works), Batch Brewing in Corktown, Rubbed in Corktown, Gold Cash Gold in Corktown (not only is this actually still happening, but I'm told they also have a chef), a Chez Chloe food truck, those two restaurants on the ground floor of the Broderick ("Still happening," I'm told), those two restaurants inside the GAR building ("Still happening," is rumored), Cafe con Leche's second location in New Center, and I'm sure many more I missed.

Cultural Living Room. Photo by Nicole Rupersburg.

#7 Re-boots continued to be hot. 
They were hot in 2011. Hotter still in 2012. And in 2013 they were…well, probably equally as hot as in 2012, but still pretty hot.

Bella Piatti - Bella Piatti in Birmingham got a new owner and a whole new old world Italian menu to go with it.
Bigalora - Pizzeria Biga had to re-name itself Bigalora in order to go forward with trademarking so they can continue opening more and more locations, but worry not, this didn't affect the restaurants at all (aside from some expected menu tweaking that comes with streamlining a new concept).
Cultural Living Room - The Kresge Court inside the DIA got a whole new look and concept, making it a great place to stop for lunch, for meetings, for reading, or whatever.
Craft - Cinq became Commune and Commune became Craft, but it's still in the basement of Bastone, now with a retro '70s look.
Lock + Key - the PDR at Oxford Inn got a new look and concept thanks to a TV show that does such things.
Forest Grill - Forest Grill is going after the "casual dining" dollars by ditching the white tablecloths and introducing a burger menu.
Red Crown - Red Crown in Grosse Pointe Park is now under new ownership and management, making it effectively a new restaurant.
Rodin - Rodin recently lost their opening chef and is undergoing a slight change in concept; the new menu is thematically similar but with all new items less geared towards sit-down fine dining and more geared towards chilling at the bar.
Tallulah - Tallulah in Birmingham is now under new ownership and management, making it effectively a new restaurant. For those of you keeping score, yes, it would appear former proprietor of Bella Piatti, Red Crown, and Tallulah Mindy Lopus has entirely left the restaurant biz, but not the food and beverage biz - her next project is Detroit Wine School.
Torino - Looks like Torino's ongoing identity crisis finally paid off with a new chef and a very buzzy tasting menu that changes weekly.
Treat Dreams - Treat Dreams in Ferndale significantly expanded their space this year, and have also expanded their offerings to include coffee and donuts in the morning - and their Wicked Donuts are already being met with rave reviews.

PS, will Opus One ever reopen? I do not know but it has now been closed for over a year now.

#8 Pop-ups popped harder.
Last year I said pop-ups would eat themselves. They didn't. Instead, they popped harder.
Guns + Butter emerged as the real star, getting featured on That Bourdain Show and then going international with events in L.A., Singapore and Dubai. A brick and mortar location is in the works for 2014. (revolver) is basically a permanent restaurant pop-up, featuring new chefs every weekend with pre-sold prix fixe dinners with two seating times nightly. MotorCity Wine and St. Cece's Pub embraced the pop-up mania and started hosting popular weekly events featuring different guest "pop-ups," in effect acting as restaurant incubators. And unlikely spaces like Shinola and Salt + Cedar hosted pop-up dinners, as well as random arts spaces and not-yet-open restaurants. More economic growth corp-organized pop-ups in Jefferson Chalmers and the Avenue of Fashion demonstrated the model's potential for long-term economic development in targeted neighborhoods. We also saw a few pop-ups go permanent, including Always Brewing Detroit and Coffee and (_____) (though Coffee and (_____) will temporarily close Jan. 6 until sometime this spring as they secure their Certificate of Occupancy to go full-fledged permanent).

La Feria. Photo by Nicole Rupersburg.

#9 Hatch alum rocked this year.
Rock City Eatery, Detroit Institute of Bagels, Detroit Vegan Soul, La Feria, and Anthology Coffee all opened permanent locations this year. Next year we should see HenriettaHaus Coffee Roasters and Batch Brewing open in their permanent homes. Which just goes to show, everyone "wins" in this competition, even if it's not the $50,000 grand prize.

#10 Caffeine fiends won the most. 
Good or at least serviceable, there are more places to get a decent cup of coffee now than ever before in Detroit. There's Anthology Coffee and Detroit Institute of Bagels in Corktown, Always Brewing Detroit in Grandmont Rosedale, Coffee and (____) in Jefferson Chalmers, the Roasting Plant and Urban Bean Company downtown, the completely renovated Stella Good Coffee in New Center, multiple new Great Lakes Coffee outlets throughout metro Detroit (including, most recently, Ford Field), plus a second retail location for Avalon still in theory happening (next year?). Also, tea started to strike your fancy, with local tea companies Joseph Wesley and Eli Tea Company available at some of these independent cafes and generally gaining "steam." (lol)

Rock City Eatery. Photo by Nicole Rupersburg.

#11 Good food, good design.
For the third year in a row, your eyeballs didn't have to suffer for the sake of your tastebuds. Restaurateurs continued to show a strong cognizance of the importance of aesthetics, with thoughtfully-designed spaces that continued to emphasize reclaimed materials and flourishes from local artisans. Check out Fenton Fire Hall, La Feria, MEX, Ottava Via, Public House, Red Crown, Rock City Eatery, The Stand, Stella Good Coffee, Two James Spirits, and Urban Bean Co. Even pop-ups showed a high-minded level of design, working in collaboration with the AIA Detroit on beautiful, if temporary, spaces.

Two James Distillery. Photo by Nicole Rupersburg.

#12 Booze. Always booze. 
This was a BIG year for booze news. Craft beer continued its soaring growth and in metro Detroit we saw plenty of new places open, including Griffin Claw, Falling Down, and 51 North, with Batch Brewing, a second location for Kuhnhenn, and second and third locations for Atwater in the works for 2014. Artisan spirits made a flying leap into popular consciousness as increasingly more breweries started distilling, established distillers like Valentine and New Holland increased their product lines with nationally-recognized products, and the first licensed distillery in the city of Detroit since Prohibition - Two James - opened. Next year Griffin Claw will be in full-bore distilling mode with a separate cocktail bar attached to the brewery, and Detroit City Distillery will open in Eastern Market.

Craft ciders also grew, though they haven't quite yet popped in the mainstream the same way beer and spirits have. Many area cider mills are now making their own hard ciders, and Virtue Cider's Sidra de Nava is bringing national attention to Michigan's craft cider scene.

Use of cans continues to grow as a popular packaging method, and next year even giants like Bell's and Founders are jumping on. Griffin Claw, Right Brain, and Rochester Mills also released their products to the retail market this year, and they're only available in cans. Even Vander Mill ciders are distributed in cans. Because replacing bottling lines and creating packaging systems can be prohibitively expensive, a lot of this canning growth can be attributed to Michigan Mobile Canning, which has helped a lot of these products get to the retail market.

And then there was mead. I wrote a LOT about mead this year (the collected knowledge dump is here), and from all of this I can tell you one thing with certainty: meads are going to explode in coming years, and Michigan, specifically metro Detroit, more specifically Ferndale, will be at the heart of it. Merds from all over the world will flock here to visit the birthplace of B. Nektar and Schramm's. To briefly sum up, B. Nektar is now available in about half of the states in the country and has a brand-new brewing license to continue to expand their product offerings. Schramm's Mead is now open, making one of the top meads in the country from the guy who wrote the book on it. Once Kuhnhenn's production facility in Clinton Township is up and running they're going to be pumping out mead in crazy quantities. And you really might as well learn to be down with the meadness because it's not going away.

Also in news, Greenbush, Odd Side Ales, Right Brain, Rochester Mills, and Griffin Claw all started distributing this year. And new to the Michigan market was Oskar Blues, the Bruery, Green Flash, and Evil Twin.

Coors Light Sky Deck.

#13 And some other crap.
Grocery stores got fancier and will likely continue to do so. Rooftop patios became a thing - see the Coors Light Sky Deck and the stop/start of whatever it was called on the roof of the Music Hall. Urban beach bars also became a thing thanks to Danny Gillyberts and his Quirky Quicken Kaskading Kiddie Pool and Beach Bar. In general, patios just got better. Sports picked up the "local" mantle, with Comerica Park, Ford Field, the Joe Louis Arena, and the Palace all putting newfound emphasis on local foods and local craft beer (though Ford Field does it best). And while we certainly saw a bit of a slow-down in street food (our net gain of food trucks this year was, like, two), metro Detroiters spoke loud and clear that they want to keep the street in their street food when the ill-conceived Food Truck Cafe closed after just two months in business. (A sub shop is set to open in its place.)

*I'm kidding about that. Or am I????

[EID TV] Catch the full episode of Cooking Channel's "America's Best Bites" featuring the Root

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 + Bar in White Lake? Fret not; the whole thing is now available to watch in four segments on YouTube and here they are:

[EID Rants] He had you until "Chernobyl:" Bourdain came into town and people lost their shit

At Duly's in Detroit. Photo from Bourdain's blog.

Oh, Detroit. Remember how excited you were on Friday about Bourdain's most recent visit to Detroit airing on CNN's "Parts Unknown" on Sunday? Remember how you lost your shit every time anyone posted anything about Bourdain and almost sprained your fingers "liking" it so hard?

Remember when CNN first posted teaser clips from the episode, and you lost your shit? Remember when CNN posted a trailer for the episode and Bourdain called Detroit "awesome," and you lost your shit? Remember when the Free Press posted effectively a scene-by-scene recap of the whole episode in advance, and you lost your shit? And then, as if you could have possibly had any more shit to lose, Bourdain himself posted his own thoughts on Detroit on his tumblr blog and you lost so much shit it's amazing you didn't die of dehydration like victims of dysentery?

Those were such simpler times, weren't they? When all one had to do was write "Bourdain" and "Detroit" in a headline and get a thousand million "likes"?

Oh but you are a fickle bunch, aren't you Detroit? Any celebrity who comes into town is only as praise-worthy as the last bit of praise they doled out to you.

Everyone was all hashtag-happy watching the "Parts Unknown" season finale shot in Detroit...and then Tony dropped a bomb. The "Chernobyl" bomb. And you lost your shit again. Because, I mean, UNFAIR, right? And he also showed abandoned buildings (including the Packard Plant, the most abandonedest building of all), and it was all, "WAAHHHHHH, WE HAVE ENOUGH RUIN PORN, WHY DON'T YOU SHOW EASTERN MARKET AND THE DIA."

Now. I am not Anthony Bourdain's biggest fan. This should come as a surprise to no one. But I also understand a bit about travel media. And the thing is, whether or not you've noticed, Detroit is a hot commodity in the national narrative right now, and everyone has been writing about it - writing glowingly positive things about Dan Gilbert's investments downtown and the growing startup scene and young people and creatives and popups (which, it should be noted, Bourdain also included). And every lifestyle section and travel outlet has run their own version of The Detroit Travel Story - Fodor's, Frommer's, HuffPo, Conde Naste, Travel + Leisure, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Guardian, Yahoo News, Time, Fox News, Food + Wine, Bon Appetit, and on and on and on it goes. And most of those outlets name the DIA and Eastern Market (and Slows, let's not forget Slows) as Things You Must Do in Detroit.

So CNN (stands for: Cable News Network) has this show hosted by the country's most outspoken culinary bad boy and you expect him to cover the same shit everyone else does, huh? Here's the thing: "Parts Unknown" isn't a travel show. This is CNN, not the Travel Channel. Anthony Bourdain is not personally hand-crafting a travel itinerary to the destinations he visits. The point of this "Parts Unknown" is to show these cities in a way that hasn't been done for an international cable television audience before - the good, the bad, the ugly, the unknown. I mean, it's right there in the title. RIGHT there. So sorry those of you who thought that with all the cheerleading lead-up that this episode was going to be all puppies and fucking rainbows. But guess what (and brace yourselves for this one): Detroit is not all puppies and fucking rainbows. Sure, parts of Midtown, Corktown, downtown and a handful of neighborhoods smattered throughout Detroit's 141 square miles are varying degrees of okay (some even nice!), but the bulk of this city's mass is a shithole. Spend some time driving around that huge swath of land east of 75 and north of 94 if you need some convincing. Or Northwest. Or west. Much of Southwest. East. North of New Center. Meh, most of New Center. Mostly everything not on or near the Woodward Corridor. Dan Gilbert might own most of downtown but the bulk of the rest of the city still looks like a bombed-out third-world post-apocalyptic nightmare.

Or, as Bourdain said, "The only place I've ever been that looks anything like Detroit does now is Chernobyl."

And you lost your shit. (Here and here and don't miss the BATTLE RAGING here.)

No one does self-righteous outrage quite like Detroit, and every time any kind of FOREIGNER (meaning anyone not actually from Detroit, often also including those who dare live north of 8 Mile or south of Ecorse or west of Telegraph, though no one ever uses the latter two as examples because apparently the real crime is living in Ferndale, not in Melvindale or Dearborn Heights) comes to Detroit and dares to tell the tale of it, we are all apparently Detroit-obligated to pitch an indignant fit because they either (a) spent too much time covering all the obvious places ("What about all the things that aren't Eastern Market and the DIA and Slows???? UNFAIR."), or (b) spent too much time not covering all the obvious places ("What about Eastern Market and the DIA and Slows? UNFAIR.").

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.

To be fair, much of this exhausting indignation is spurred on by the three dozen Detroit-based media outlets (60% of which didn't exist three years ago) all trying to beat each other to the same story, which is why we now have liveblogs and Twitter recaps and sensational BATTLE RAGES headlines aplenty. And perhaps this is why we also now confuse shiny happy hashtag journalism with actual real (and often harsh) journalism. Bourdain didn't set out to validate Detroit. He set out to tell the truth about it. And the truth is that a whole hell of a lot of it looks like a nuclear reactor melted and the city was abandoned overnight and left for the cockroaches. But that there are also people still living, still surviving despite that. And the vast overwhelming majority of them aren't white yuppie Brooklyn transplants funded by Detroit Venture Partners. There are black people barbecuing (yes, Anthony Bourdain came to Detroit and HUNG OUT WITH BLACK PEOPLE...which might actually be a national television first). There are firefighters risking their lives on a daily basis for $10 an hour but still manage to have their camaraderie because really, what else is left? There are Salvadoran immigrants making pupusas and serving them out of their homes. There are the obligatory coney dogs, but from Duly's and not the oft-filmed Lafayette and American. And yes, there are white people doing pop-up dinners in artsy spaces because that's part of the Detroit fabric now too.

In other words, this was broadcast journalism, not PR.

He didn't mince words. He didn't try to spare your feelings. He didn't try to cater to fragile Detroit egos. He did call Detroiters "bold, proud, ferociously enterprising survivors," and so I ask you, is this really how bold, proud, ferociously enterprising survivors act? Detroit, you are capable of being tougher than this. Admitting reality is not the same as admitting defeat. Be proud of your fucked-up city, but know (and admit) that it is fucked up. For fuck's sake, you just made me defend Anthony Fucking Bourdain. Not everything has to be one extreme of tinkling yourself with excitement or the other of spearheading a Twitter hashtag lynching. Learn how to be stoic. People will respect you more.

The Week We Ate (The EID Week in Review)

Behold: the douchiest of bags. 

ICYMI:
~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. [EID]

~Wicked Donuts is coming to Treat Dreams starting November 16. [EID]

~Some of the best grocery stores in the city are in Southwest Detroit. From authentic Hispanic food items and produce from Latin America to the most extensive selection of fresh baked goods, butchered meats, and hot foods sections to rival restaurants, places like Honey Bee Market, E+L Supermercado, Gigante Prince Valley, and others make simple grocery shopping an exciting adventure. [Model D]

~Eastern Market Corporation is a prime example of placemaking according to a new study released by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)'s Urban Planning Department. [Model D]

~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). I recently appeared on The Craig Fahle Show to talk about local meaderies. I put together some notes on places like B. Nektar, 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. [EID]

~Upcoming events! [EID]

Eddie Huang was profoundly affected by Detroit because abandoned buildings. Watch all of the profoundness in his three-part show when he eats burgers with a rapper, whips his wang out and pisses in a street (because, you know, when in Detroit), and visits our version of the Springfield Tire Fire. [Freep]

It's been over a year since La Feria Detroit took home the top prize in the 2012 Hatch Detroit competition, and Detroiters have been waiting patiently as we've watching the building take shape. Now they are officially open for lunch and dinner! Urban Innovation Exchange checks in with co-owner Elias Khalil in anticipation of the opening. Did you know he wrote the book on the Cass Corridor? Read on. [UIX]

The anticipation just keeps building: Detroit Institute of Bagels opens next month! [DIB FB]

Anthology Coffee has expanded their hours and are now open on Sundays at Ponyride! They are now open every day 9am-4pm. [Anthology]

Congratulations to B. Nektar Meadery, who just received their federal brewing license! The meadery will now start making braggots, beer/mead "hybrids" that require a brewery license to produce. [EID]

Blood soup, glands, bone marrow, and other organs? Yep, you can eat those here in metro Detroit! Here are some of metro Detroit's scariest foods, just in time for Halloween! Braaaaaaaaaaains... [Freep]

The Daily Meal lists 7 reasons to visit a Detroit Lions game. Local food reasons like McClure's Pickles Bloody Mary, The Sugar House, SLOWS BAR BQ, Russell Street Deli, Pegasus Taverna, Zingerman's Creamery, and Hungry Howie's Pizza. [The Daily Meal]

The Downtown Farmer's Market Detroit may be over for the season (along with most of the other farmers markets), but Brother Nature Produce will continue on through the winter thanks to their hoop houses, though now owner/farmer Greg Willerer, who quit his job as a teacher to become an urban farmer, does get a little bit of a break. [UIX]

Here's what Blaze Pizza in Royal Oak looks like. [Thrillist]

Smoke Street Restaurant is now open in Milford in the former Cinco Lagos/Five Lakes Grill space. [Prosper]

Check out The Oakland's Shane Bang at the Las Vegas Cocktail Competition sponsored by GQ. [YouTube]

The Week We Ate (The EID Week in Review)

From Imperial.

ICYMI:
~ For the next several weeks, I'll be profiling many of the full-service supermarkets throughout Detroit for Model D as part of a Green Grocer series for the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation. We started this week with select neighborhoods in northwest Detroit featuring stores like Metro Foodland, Glory Supermarket, and more. Now when people ask you "where do you buy groceries in Detroit [besides Whole Foods]," you can point them here. [Model D]

~Approved! Congratulations to Detroit City Distillery; they've been approved as a distillery by the city and will start major construction on their space in Eastern Market next month. They're looking to open next spring. [Model D]

~A pedal-powered brewery in Detroit? Shawn and Aaron Grose of Windmill Pointe Brewing Company want to make it happen. [EID]

~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, Inc. (Official), 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 is going to be THE holiday party! [EID]

~Downtown Detroit's Bagger Dave's Burger Tavern is set to open November 10. [EID]

~What's going on this weekend and next? Oh just ALL OF THIS. [EID]

First We Feast has the trailer for the Fresh Off The Boat With Eddie Huang Detroit episode, in which he eats burgers with rapper Danny Brown and does other things. [FWF]

Not all of Corktown has found the pot of gold at the end of the Detroit Is Cool Now rainbow. PJ's Lager House has struggled since the day PJ bought it despite introducing a (very good) food menu in the past couple of years to bring in more business. Bottom line: it might seem like business is booming for all the trendy businesses, but such is not the case for everyone. [Crain's]

The next statewide MLive.com search: Michigan's best pizza. Dear Gonzo, you need an official Detroit consultant. And that person should damn well be me. Please someone make this happen. [MLive]

Imperial is once again hosting their Day of the Dead celebration this year from October 31-November 2 and the skulls designed by local artists for the charity art auction are even more amazing this year than last, PLUS they have a killer special menu with three different kinds of tamales and of course, special drinks as well. These guys know how to do shit, for real. And here are the skulls. [RDW / Imperial FB]

Dia de los Muertos is coming up (Nov 1-2). Celebrate with Savor Southwest by visiting the dozens of ofrendas displayed at restaurants, stores, businesses, and churches throughout the neighborhood. And here's a handy guide to all of them! [SDBA]

Royal Oak is get yet another pizzeria bar and cafe next year, this one called Iron Horse. This is in addition to the Blaze Pizza that opened today and Trattoria Da Luigi that opened just a couple of months ago, plus Pizzeria Biga - Royal Oak and...that...other one. The name of which I forget. It's right on Main Street. Something Neapolitan-nana-something. And the Franklin Cafe that opened earlier this year, which has fallen way short of the really cool cafe/market I thought it would be. [RO Patch]

Bistro 82 and Sabrage are moving along in Royal Oak (in the old Sangria space) and could be open by mid-November. The word "ultra-lounge" still makes me skeptical, even though the chef they have is outstanding. I mean, the place could have a great chef but still be super-douchey, you know? [RO Patch]

B. Nektar continues to grow and expand, now adding New York to their growing list of distribution markets. Plus, B. Nektar's Evil Genius IPA-style mead has been out of production for awhile but Honey Bee Market still has a ton left for all you merds out there. [BeerPulse / EID FB]

Eastern Market Corporation: the go-to example of placemaking from Next City. [Next City]

Couple of factual gaffes here (Tom's Tavern is in Detroit, not Ferndale; Dangerously Delicious pies vacated Comet Bar months ago, and the then-editor of Thrillist even wrote a story on it for this very same publication), but an otherwise nice rundown of some of Detroit's best dives. [Thrillist]

Under The Radar Michigan stopped in Detroit for a full episode and covered Shinola, Dangerously Delicious Pies Baked in Detroit, and Diner en Blanc on Belle Isle. [PBS]

Most of you will probably roll your eyes, but the Starbucks inside of the Crowne Plaza Detroit Downtown-Convention Center is now open. Good for travelers and for when locals are staycationing and in need of immediate caffeine. [EID FB]

Misc.
~Some excellent advice for you all working and aspiring chefs out there from Marc Vetri. (Most of this advice can very easily be translated into most other professions too; it is the ethos that is important here.) [HuffPo]

~America is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay behind on tea, the world's second-most popular beverage (second only to water). Starbucks is looking to change that, aiming to do for tea what they did for coffee. [Freep]

~Yessy yes yes. [EID FB]

~Anyone else remember going to the local police station to have your Halloween candy scanned after trick-or-treating? The poisoned/needle-stuck-inside candy scare was big in the '80s; not sure if it's even still really a thing now. [some blahg]

The Week We Ate (The EID Week in Review)

OVER IT. *snap snap* 

ICYMI:
~IT'S MOTHERFUCKING BEER WEEK, YO. [DBW / EID]
~Several Detroit businesses, including Hacienda Mexican Foods, foodjunky, and Detroit Mini Donut, are in the running for a $250,000 Chase Mission Main Street grant. They have to reach 250 public votes by November 15 to be considered for one of 12 available grants by the panel of top business professionals, so help them out with a quick vote. [EID]
-You could save your life a lot of time by checking in with my weekly events round-up to see what cool stuff is coming up. [EID]
-With the chilly weather, the fall foliage, and Halloween fast approaching, it's time to hit your favorite cider mill while it's the peak season! And these are the best ones out there. Also, it is now officially official: Blake's Hard Cider Co. cider house and winery is now open for business! [EID]
-And let's not forget The Dexter Cider Mill, the oldest continuously-operating cider mill in the state of Michigan. [EID]

THIS JUST IN: You are all officially over Slows. So 2010 called and wants its listicle back. Travel + Leisure names SLOWS BAR BQ one of the best mac + cheeses in America, begging the question: IS it though? Is it REALLY? Is it even the best in Detroit at this point? Or metro Detroit if you have to be snippy about the arbitrary 8 Mile border? And what did you say? In a word, no. [T+L / EID FB]

Everyone's trying to Make Detroit Happen. [WXYZ]

Bourdain promises to show people a Detroit they've never seen before. So, POP-UPS! [MLive]

Our very own Joe Robinson of Bailout Productions won first in the nation on Thrillist's search for the best Bloody Mary! Next he will be going to New York to do a Food Network Chopped brunch and compete for the title of America's Best Bloody. Congrats, Joe! I think this calls for a Bailout Bloody Brunch pop-up somewheres! (Green Dot Stables mayhaps?) [Thrillist]

The 5-month-long process has finally come to an end: Detroit City Distillery has been approved by the city of Detroit! They expect to open sometime in 2014 in Eastern Market. Read more about them here. [DCD FB / Metromode]

Great Lakes Coffee in Midtown now has a beer and wine to go license. [GLC FB]

The government shutdown affected not just Batch Brewery but every single brewery (both those trying to get licensing as well as ANY new product for distribution) in the country. [MLive]

Oh hey, Rock City Eatery gets some love from Thrillist, including their selection of Michigan craft beers from breweries like Dark Horse Brewing Co. and New Holland Brewing Co. AND that soon-to-be-be-famous mac and cheese in a parmesan bowl. [Thrillist]

B. Nektar Meadery is having one HELL of a Devil's Night release party. [B. Nektar]

The Woodward Hall beer hall popped up during the Tigers home ALCS serving beer from Michigan breweries. The Tigers are done but is the beer hall? Or will they come back for other special events in the future? (Indoor beer halls sure are better than outdoor ones what with their indoor plumbing and freedom from the tyranny of Michigan weather.) [Woodward Hall FB]

Marcus Market in Midtown got one hell of an exterior overhaul from the same folks behind the La Feria facade. Marcus Market, you are now officially a part of the Detroit Design District at Cass and Canfield! [EID FB]

THIS guy. (Tunde, that is.) Detroit News gives some love to Revolver and chats with co-owner Tunde Wey, a Detroit personality, if you will. (And you will.) [Detroit News]

Progress is progressing at downtown's Bagger Dave's. [Det Reg News Hub]

Here's a nice feetch on MotorCity Wine. [Metro Times]

The pastry chef's name is actually Kevin, not Eric (as originally printed), but otherwise a fitting review for the stellar The Stand Gastro Bistro. [Detroit News]

Hiller's Markets are taking some cues from Papa Joe's Gourmet Market and Whole Foods Market Ann Arbor getting all fancified. [Crain's]

According to the Metro Times, these are the best bars in greater metro Detroit. [MT]

The new 7-Eleven is looking quite a bit a lot Whole Foods-y. [Design Taxi]

National Pizza Month

Gizmodo has publishing this *AMAZING* pizza map showing where the closest pizza chains within a 10-mile radius are anywhere in the United States. Take a look at the full map on top - Michigan bleeds orange for Little Caesars. [Gizmodo]

The pizza cocktail now exists. (To be fair, despite the name that promises something wacky and potentially disgusting, it's basically a riff on a Bloody Mary with better marketing. But that doesn't make for a good Buzzfeed story.) [Buzzfeed]