The Week We Ate (The EID Week in Review)

UK vs US

Tomorrow night the Rattlesnake will be featured on the Detroit episode of Chef Race: UK vs US. Other stops on the BBC America's city your included Eastern Market and the Grosse Ile Yacht Club, but it was in the Snake's kitchen that the elimination challenge took place. Executive Chef Chris Franz even got to take part in the judging. The episode airs Tuesday, Nov. 13 at 10 p.m. on BBC America. [Rattlesnake Official]

Some major kind of filming is happening this week at Vinsetta Garage and Union Woodshop, but they have since scrubbed their Facebook accounts of all mention of it. Good thing I have a good memory (even if I do only ever skim things): Vinsetta and the Woodshop (or is it the Clarkston Union? again, I only ever skim things and for porkssake they both have the word "Union" in the name) will be featured in a new series on the Discovery Channel called "United States of Bacon." Filming is scheduled for this week. [hazy Facebook recollections]

Wolfgang Puck's new Pizzeria + Cucina inside the MGM Grand Detroit is very much open and very much awesome. The space, however, still looks exactly like Saltwater, though perhaps a bit less blingy. [EID FB]

Sometimes a pop-up is more than the sum of its parts. Cafe con Leche del Este is a coffeehouse, yes, but it is equally a community effort and a bit of a social experiment. With help from the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation's Revolve Detroit program and many others, this pop-up is both testing the waters and the theory that a community CAN build a business if there is enough demand and support. [Deadline]

And while you're there, try La Lumbre del Diablo. [Thrillist]

1917 American Bistro celebrated three years in business this weekend. [1917 FB]

Old people are the original hipsters. [Deadline]

A rising tide floats all boats in this retail desert that is Detroit. (Though it's a bit of a stretch to position Astro Coffee as a competitor of Sugar House and Slows.) [Det News]

Calder Dairy's egg nog is now available in stores. Oh yes, this is happening people. [EWOW FB]

And I did, too. [Pie-Sci FB]

This too. [EID FB]

Eat It GR
~It's Founders Brewing Co's quinceañera and there is much celebration to be had. [MLive]
~Mitten Brewing is now open and is very sports bar-meets-microbrewery. It's less douchey than it sounds: think more vintage sports memorabilia and less 42 flashing flat screen TVs visible from any point in the room. [Rapid Growth]
~Grand Rapids Brewing Co. is still on track for their Dec. 5 opening. [GRBC FB]
~Someone is living my dream life on Michigan's west coast. Her name is the Cheese Lady, and she recently opened her third location in Grand Rapids in addition to her Muskegon and Kalamazoo shops. [some blog]
~Want to buy a brewery? You can buy this one via Craigslist and have your very own Beer City USA-adjacent microbrewery. Provided you have half a mil. [MLive]

[NEWS BITES] Wolfgang Puck Pizzeria + Cucina opens tonight

In the wake of last night's monumental election results (the times, they are a'changin'), representatives for MGM Detroit ninja'ed this announcement into their morning emails: Wolfgang Puck Pizzeria + Cucina, Wolfgang Puck's newest restaurant at the MGM Grand Detroit, is opening today at 5 p.m. They will be open for dinner only, 5 p.m. -10 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday and 5 p.m. - 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, closed Monday and Tuesday. Executive Chef Marc Djozlija, a longtime Puck veteran, is once again at the helm.

Below is the full press release. (Note the little added announcement at the bottom.)

Celebrated chef Wolfgang Puck returns to MGM Grand Detroit, the city’s premier entertainment destination, with the opening of Wolfgang Puck Pizzeria + Cucina, the first of two new Puck restaurants at the hotel casino.

“It’s great to return to Detroit and to the MGM Grand with the opening of our casual Italian concept,” said Wolfgang Puck. “Our Pizzeria + Cucina is the perfect place to relax with family and friends. Great Italian food is all about great ingredients. It doesn’t have to be complicated, just delicious!”

Wolfgang Puck Pizzeria + Cucina offers guests a warm and inviting atmosphere in a comfortable setting with an approachable Italian menu.

“Our guests, who love Italian food and Wolfgang Puck, have been anxiously waiting for Wolfgang Puck Pizzeria + Cucina to open,” said Steve Zanella, general manager of MGM Grand Detroit. “We are extremely excited to welcome the restaurant to the MGM Grand Detroit family.”

At the helm in the kitchen is Executive Chef Marc Djozlija, former chef of Wolfgang Puck Grille and a 16-year veteran of the Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group. The menu features Puck’s famed wood-oven baked pizzas and pays tribute to Italy through pastas and specialty dishes and is complete with Italian favorites including antipasti, salads, handmade pastas, and enticing entrees featuring delectable meats and fish.

The menu highlights multiple varieties of pizza to choose from including the Margherita Pizza with mozzarella, tomato sauce and basil; Wild Mushroom Pizza with goat cheese, leeks and basil pesto and Italian Sausage Pizza with rapini and roasted garlic.

Additionally, guests can find house-made pastas and rustic Italian dishes including Penne Carbonara with sautéed English peas and crisp pancetta; Rigatoni with Bolognese meat sauce; Seafood Linguini “Fra Diavolo” with clams, shrimp, calamari and spicy tomato sauce; Chicken Piccata with lemon-caper butter sauce; Grilled Salmon with white beans, artichokes and rosemary butter; and Grilled Ribeye Steak with Tuscanpotatoes and salsa verde.

As a perfect finale, Pizzeria + Cucina offers a creative and playful dessert menu featuring classic Italian favorites with a modern twist. Decadent creations include Butterscotch and Bittersweet Chocolate Panna Cotta, Ricotta and Mascarpone Cheesecake with fresh berries and Affogato with hazelnut ice cream drenched with espresso.

The bar features a dynamic beverage list complementing the menu’s exquisite Italian flavors including domestic and international beers and a comprehensive section of wines, many imported from Italy. The bar offers an array of perfectly executed specialty cocktails including the Cucina Manhattan made with Bullet Rye, Carpano Antica Formula Vermouth and Bitter Truth "Jerry Thomas" Bitters and the Il Professore with Nardini Grappa, Cocchi Barolo Chinato, Luxardo Morlacco Cherry Liqueur and orange juice.

Wolfgang Puck Pizzeria + Cucina is open for dinner only, 5 p.m. -10 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday and 5 p.m. - 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, closed Monday and Tuesday. To make reservations, please call 877-888-2121.

A second Wolfgang Puck restaurant, Wolfgang Puck Steak, will open at the hotel this December.

The Week We Ate (The EID Week in Review)

The effects of 5-Hour Energy.

Hatch Detroit voting has started! A vote for Rock City Pies is a vote for America. [EID FB]

The "stunning" Great Lakes Coffee Roasting Company comes in at lucky #13 in this month's Food + Wine as one of America's 25 best new wine destinations for their "fantastic list of obscure natural wines." And don't forget about the beer! [Food + Wine / EID FB / scan courtesy of the Produce Station]

Michael Mina's Saltwater and Bourbon Steak are both closing and will be replaced by two new Wolfgang Puck concepts, Wolfgang Puck Pizzeria + Cucina and Wolfgang Puck Steak. Both operations will be overseen by Chef Marc Djozlija, who was temporarily displaced from Detroit when the Wolfgang Puck Grille closed earlier this year. Sad to see Mina go, but happier to see Marc stay. [Marx Layne press release / Freep]

This might wig out Dexter fans, and also WHAT is with this trend with Detroit businesses naming themselves randomly strung-together words that don't make sense or are in any way indicative as to what the thing actually is? Detroit Collision Works. Auto body shop? Nope, boutique hotel made of shipping containers. Sure, that was totally my first guess. [Curbed Detroit]

Farmington Hills-based $600 billion company 5-Hour Energy is the subject of an investigation being conducted by the New York state attorney general. Because people from New York hate everything that isn't from New York. Also, Deadline Detroit's Jeff Wattrick does some serious investigative probing of his own and finds that the secret to 5-Hour Energy's Hulk-inducing medicinal magic is ... caffeine. [Crain's / Deadline]

Gastronomy is now serving booze and open for dinner, and Southfield gets a new moniker. [Gastronomy FB / EID FB]

Here's a first look at Cafe Muse's new bar and menu. [Thrillist]

Cafe Con Leche has also caught New-Seattle-itis and would like to be a part of Detroit's growing coffee culture! Their current Indiegogo campaign will help raise some funds for a roaster and some new equipment. So, you know, cough up some cash. [CCL FB / Indiegogo]

SPICY GARLIC SAUCE. [Curbed Detroit]

Football Handegg season has started, and now you can get a decent beer at Ford Field. [EID FB]

The first-ever National Sour Beer Day was this Saturday. Told you it would be a thing. I celebrated accordingly. [SBD FB / EID FB]

Also, Founders Breakfast Stout was released ... which means CBS isn't far off. [EID FB]

So these exist. (Many LOLZ @ "artificially flavored.") [EID FB]