[Metromode] Metro Detroit's Jerky Boys

STEVE FRANCIS-COUNTRY SMOKE HOUSE - DAVID LEWINSKI PHOTOGRAPHY

The state of Michigan has exactly two seasons: construction and hunting. With the orange barrels behind us and the orange vests in full force, Michigan's army of outdoorsmen arm themselves with all the essentials – and that includes Michigan-made jerky.

Up in the U.P. homemade jerky is a way of life, made fresh in-house at every gas station and roadside convenience store along U.S. Route 2. In metro Detroit, the art of dried, cured meat (outside of jerky's fancy cousin charcuterie) is a bit less ubiquitous, but one family is keeping the tradition alive and well, and they've built a loyal following worldwide.

Read more.

[EID Feature] Voigt's Soda House is open in the Livernois Community Storefront through the end of the year

All photos by Nicole Rupersburg.

2013 Hatch Detroit semifinalists Voigt's Soda House has popped up inside the Livernois Community Storefront on the Avenue of Fashion now through the end of the year.

Though they didn't make it to the final four in the Hatch competition, owners Sarah Pavelko and Billy Shuman have been working on this concept for over two years now and continue to move forward in their efforts to open a soda and sandwich shop. They won first place in the TechTown Retail Bootcamp Showcase in November, which got them one month inside the Livernois Community Storefront rent-free through December.

After this pop-up ends, Voigt's will continue doing catering and special events. They are taking their time finding a permanent retail location, waiting for the right opportunity for their combination soup and sandwich spot, coffee shop, and old-fashioned soda parlor. Ideally they would like to be located in Capitol Park.

The pop-up coffee and soda shop is open Wednesdays through Sundays through the end of the month. (Click here for hours.) They are serving homemade soups and creative sandwiches along with their own trail mix, sweets from Treats by Angelique, and Better Made and McClure's chips. They also have a full espresso bar, but the real highlight here is their old-fashioned soda fountain drinks, for which the place is named.

They make all their own syrups from fresh, seasonal ingredients and their own homegrown herbs, then mix them with carbonated water and other items like vanilla ice cream and Angostura bitters. Seasonal syrup flavors include lavender lemon, cran-orange pomegranate, vanilla, Russian Tea (black tea, orange, cardamon), Hot Toddy (jasmine tea, lemon, honey), and Sinterklaus (cranberry shrub with cider vinegar). You can also purchase their syrups to take home and use in your own sodas, cocktails, or give as gifts. Order for pickup in-store; delivery is available for orders over $50. Syrups must be refrigerated and have a self life of 1-2 months.

Before voting started for the Hatch Detroit semifinalists, I interviewed Sarah about the concept behind Voigt's for Model D. Here is the Voigt's excerpt from that story about all 10 semifinalists:

Voigt's Soda House is a modern twist on the classic soda shop, featuring sodas and cocktails with homemade artisanal syrups made from seasonal ingredients and local herbs. With a particular mindfulness towards Detroit nostalgia – taking a trip downtown to Hudson's or visiting Stroh's and stopping for sodas and ice cream at their soda counters – Voigt's will have particular local appeal while also feeding the growing demand for locally-sourced homemade artisan products. Soda flavors will include things like peach Thai basil, cherry lime phosphate, and celery lime gin tonic. They will serve cocktails, food, and even "Detroit Coolers." (Vernor's is a Detroit product, after all.)

Voigt's was created by Sarah Pavelko and her husband Billy Shuman in their kitchen in Detroit's North End. Pavelko needed a way to use all of the herbs growing in her garden and started experimenting with syrups and cocktails. After considering more traditional concepts like a bar or coffee shop, they decided the soda shop concept was more unique. Named after Voigt Brewing Co., once the largest brewery in Michigan before Prohibition, the name pays homage to Detroit's history and one of the original urban planner families that helped shape the city we know now.

Co-owner Billy Shuman making a soda. 

Voigt's does not have a location but they are considering their home neighborhood of the North End, where they have lived for the last 10 years and where they hope to partner with neighborhood nonprofits to offer job training for local youth. With the money from Hatch, they would be able to purchase a liquor license and operate as a full cocktail bar. [NOTE: as they did not win the Hatch competition, this is no longer part of their business plan.] Otherwise Voigt's will open as a breakfast and lunch spot serving homemade sodas. Long-term they are looking to produce Voigt's own sodas and offer delivery of "adult care packages" filled with all the fixings for specialty cocktails (in lieu of flowers or fruit baskets for special occasions).

[Model D] Chez Chloe makes traditional French chocolate lava cakes perfect for the holidays

Lava cakes from Chez Chloe.

Chloe Sabatier of Chez Chloe makes exactly one thing: traditional French chocolate lava cakes. 

Chloe Sabatier.

Sabatier, a 23-year-old French transplant, moved to Detroit from Paris just six months ago after having spent some time here during the summer of 2012 visiting her boyfriend. During her first visit, she started testing out her Chez Chloe concept of traditional French chocolate lava cakes. She sold them at farmers markets in Birmingham and Royal Oak, and found that her American customers loved her lava cakes, and was also surprised to find that many people, upon hearing her French accent, felt an immediate affinity for her and wanted to share their own memories of trips to Paris with her. She loved the instant camaraderie she felt with her customers. By the middle of August she would have a huge line in front of her stand, but in September she had to return to Paris to finish her marketing and communications degree.

Read more.

[Model D] Holiday retail happenings

Shopping local this holiday season? So are we, so we want to share with you some of the temporary pop-ups and one-night-only events that bring together a fantastic group of local artisans in one place, many of which don't have storefronts of their own. Make your list, check it twice, then check out some of these upcoming happenings.

Read more. 

[Model D] Pete's Chocolate Company working towards wholesale expansion in 2014

Pete's Chocolate Company.

Pete Steffy got into chocolate-making as a hobby while living in the small city of San Cristobal de la Casas in Mexico, where he was teaching English. He enjoyed it so much that he began making chocolate for fun and playing with different recipes that he would give away to friends and family. Eventually a real demand grew, and Pete's Chocolate Company, Detroit's first small-batch artisan chocolate company, started selling at area markets and special events.

Read more. 

[Model D] Prepare for the holidays with Eastern Market's Thanksgiving Market next Tuesday

The Tuesday markets season in Eastern Market may be over, but next Tuesday will see one last round for the year, just in time for Thanksgiving.

From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. next Tuesday, Nov. 26, shoppers can visit Eastern Market farms and artisan food vendors to pick up everything they need for their Thanksgiving dinners. "The idea of a Thanksgiving market came to us last year when the Tuesday before Thanksgiving people were calling us and asking if we were open," says Fiona Ruddy, Alternative Food Program Coordinator for Eastern Market.

Read more.

[Model D] Eastern Market is a prime example of urban placemaking according to MIT

Eastern Market

A study conducted by the Department of Urban Studies and Planning (DUSP) at MIT that was just released last week that explores the evolution of the urban planning and design of public places toward placemaking, evaluating high-profile placemaking projects throughout the country including Detroit's Eastern Market.

Read more.

[Model D] Pie-Sci to open own pizzeria next to Woodbridge Pub

You may have already heard that Jim Geary, owner of Woodbridge Pub, is a pretty nice guy. One of the things he has done to help build the Woodbridge community is open the kitchen doors of his pub on Sundays to a couple of guys who are really into pie -- pizza pie, that is.

Jeremy Damaske and AJ Manoulian are the team behind Pie-Sci, the Sunday night pizza residency that has been going strong for two and a half years now (to call it a "pop-up" still after all this time would be disingenuous).

Read more.

[Real Detroit] You Don't Know Shit from Shinola

Photo by Nicole Rupersburg.

The antiquated idiom "You don't know shit from Shinola" originated during WWII and referred to the American-made Shinola brand shoe polish (the implication being that a person is too stupid to know the difference between shoe polish and feces).

The original Shinola shoe polish is no longer made, but that doesn't mean the brand is dead. In 2012 the brand was resuscitated under new ownership. Tom Kartsotis, the formerly retired founder of Fossil (you know, that other watchmaker), established Shinola with the intention of bringing quality hand-crafted watch manufacturing back to America, and based it in Detroit – the heart of American manufacturing.

Read more.

[Model D] Whole Foods in Midtown on-track for summer opening, hosting local vendor fair and job info sessions

If you've driven by the corner of Woodward and Mack recently, you've seen the speedy progress the new Whole Foods Market in Midtown has been making. The walls are up, the concrete floor is poured, and right now they’re totally on-target to open at the end of May or beginning of June.

Read more.

The Week We Ate (The EID Week in Review)

Jacques Driscoll of Green Dot Stables is named a 40 Under 40; also unofficially one of Detroit's best humans. [Crain's]

I think people maybe missed the point of what was meant by the term "food desert." But sure, yes, let's show everyone how wrong they are about Detroit. [Deadline]

Speaking of deserts, Detroit's bagel desert days are almost done! [The South End]

Speaking of deserts again, Michigan practically was one this summer but at least it was good for grapes. [Crain's]

Convicted felon LaVan Hawkins's new place totally sounds legit. [Crain's]

It was a big week for beer gardens. Bill's Beer Garden in Ann Arbor finally got approved for their liquor license (just in time for no one to want to sit outside and drink anymore!) and Tashmoo Biergarten in the totes up-and-coming (because we say so!) Villages is back for season 2. [AnnArbor.com / Thrillist]

Saltwater is dun-zo. [EID FB]

Michigan Radio highlights local food producers (like Corridor Sausage Co. and Slow Jams Jam) and programs like the Michigan State University Product Center for the recent explosion in locally-made artisan food products. [Michigan Radio]

Eastern Market goes art deco with new facade for upcoming restaurant/pastry shop/B+B on Gratiot over by the meat mall. [Curbed Detroit]

Love + Buttercream is now open in Royal Oak in the former cup.cake location. The words "scrumptious treats" are used. Personally I prefer "sugar bombs to cram into your cake-hole." [Royal Oak Patch]

Hip(pie) Ypsi. I'm telling you. Let's Get Sconed is now open. [AnnArbor.com]

I found a new favorite place in the world. [EID FB]

Showgirls and coney dogs is how they do it in the D. The D Las Vegas, that is. [Las Vegas Sun]

I totally did not hate this. [MLive]

Hey, do me a solid and buy one of these. THX. [DP2A]

Pumpkins. Zombies. Haunted houses. Halloween. That is all. [EID FB et.al.]

[EID Feature] Maria's Comida Comes Full Circle

All photos by Nicole Rupersburg.

Last Saturday was the final day of operation for Maria’s Comida in Hamtramck. The eclectic (for lack of a better word) restaurant served what they called “Mexican-Asian fusion” cuisine, which included items like Asian Barbecue Chicken skillet pizza, Singapore Street Noodle wraps with cilantro rice and tortilla strips, Asian Baby Back Ribs, traditional tamales, made-to-order guacamole, and their infamous Smoked Ghost Pepper Burger topped with bacon and their house-made ghost pepper salsa. The menu was all over the map (so to speak), but as Hamtramck is metro Detroit’s finest melting pot where the only thing that would be weird to see would be a straightforward ‘Murican restaurant without any kind of ethnic flare, Maria’s fit right in.

Maria’s Comida is owned by the Pronko family. Father Alan is the chef and daughter Marie is the manager; mom Angela and son Fred are also heavily involved. Alan went to culinary school some 20 years ago, and helped open the first incarnation of the acclaimed Jack’s on the Riverfront in St. Clair Shores and P.F. Chang’s in Troy’s Somerset Collection. Marie actually came from a social work background but had experience in catering and private parties with her father and had always enjoyed it. Her brother had been long-haul truck driving for a food delivery company and was also looking for a career change, so when the opportunity came to open the restaurant the family took it.

Maria’s originally started out as a Mexican restaurant four and a half years ago, really for no other reason than because that’s what it was before and because, as Marie notes, it’s just good food. Then about two years ago they switched the menu over to the more Mexican-Asian fusion concept that they really became best known for. “We used to do Asian Wednesdays and those became our most popular nights,” Marie explains. “So [we decided to] mix it up a bit.”

The family is a mix of ethnicities but none of them happen to be Mexican or Asian. Does this then mean that they have no native claim over the cuisines and therefore should not even attempt them? No. Because that’s dumb. “My dad says you don’t have to be of that background to cook that food,” Marie states. “We don’t claim to be ‘authentic.’ We just like to take food and put a different flare to it.”

The place has stayed open for these past few years by sheer force of will. The day after Maria’s Comida opened in February 2008, the UAW went on strike at the American Axel plant in Hamtramck and shortly after the plant closed down. “I heard it used to be really busy when Axel was open!” Marie jokes. But they weathered the storm. Opening any small business and staying open is a hard thing to do, but surviving during Detroit’s dark days of 2008/2009 was practically impossible. Marie admits that they went through some difficult days; the entire family has been working open to close nonstop for the better part of five years to make it happen.

In short, they need a break.

Even though they’ve closed the doors to the restaurant itself, Maria’s will remain open as a production facility for their Maria’s House Made Salsa label. They’ve been producing their own salsas since they opened the restaurant and now have five unique flavors plus an “Asian-inspired” BBQ sauce, plus they’ll be increasing their bottled product line to include more items down the road (like their chopped salad dressing and enchilada sauce). Their products have officially been on the market for two years now and can be found on the shelves of roughly 20 local and regional stores including Holiday Market, Vince and Joe’s, Honey Bee Market and the Michigan Artisans Gallery in Eastern Market. They’re also in talks with Meijer, Kroger and Whole Foods, and Midtown’s Ye Olde Butcher Shop already has the products for when they open.

“For us when we first started the salsa is something we always wanted to do; it’s something we’ve been planning for a number of years,” Marie explains. “It’s a transition we’ve always been working towards. It’s challenging to do both businesses. We want to do a lot with both but with four people we can’t do 100% of both.”

On the restaurant side, Marie knows that to have a successful restaurant you need to have a liquor license and a good location. The former they definitely did not have, and I’ll take it upon myself to say they also lacked the latter. “We knew we’re not going to grow outside of this location. It’s been us busting our asses is how we’ve made it [this far].”

On the product distribution end, they develop all of the recipes and make each batch of salsa and sauce in their own kitchen by hand during the hours the restaurant isn’t open. They also hand-ladle the sauces into each jar (though not for much longer, which is a relief for them) and hand-label each jar before it gets sent to stores. It took them two years to get the product on the market because of the time it took to research bottles, labels, obtain dual licensure as a restaurant and manufacturing facility, and so on. In other words, selling salsa is a lot harder than it looks.

With their products as their main focus, Marie and her family are also entertaining some other ideas of how to utilize the dining room space. Right now they’re talking about offering cooking classes, maybe having monthly supper clubs or hosting pop-ups, and they are still available for catering orders (20 person minimum) and will also have retail hours starting in September when people can come in and buy their products. They will also serve as a community kitchen, already providing space for the production of Street Eatzz’ brand-new 313 Pepper Sauce and Belledine’s BBQ Sauce. “We’re hoping to have other people do that,” she says. “We want to develop this nice hub where we can develop ideas together and kick ideas off of each other. It’s really cool to have that energy bouncing around.”

Marie says that Alan is also really good at consulting and leading other small business owners in the right direction, and they’d like to do more of that. After their own long drawn-out experience going through all of their licensing and even learning as they go along (like the importance of labels, which they just totally re-vamped to give their products more personality and also indicate things like “Michigan made,” “vegan,” and “gluten-free”), they’ve got a lot they can share with others starting out, or those just idly considering it. She mentions putting together a manual of all the need-to-knows and also hosting monthly or quarterly classes just to give people an idea of what they’re really getting into: “’Now that you have the product, now what? This is what you need to know, here’s what you can expect, here’s what’s involved, here’s what stores are looking for.’ I think if people have the proper information they can make the decision for themselves … I feel like [that lack of information] is what holds people back.”

 

[EID Feature] This Cider House Rules: Tandem Ciders

Dan Young, owner of Tandem Ciders. All photos from Tandem Ciders.

When you think about "hard ciders," your first thought is probably that sickly-sweet alcoholic apple juice from the likes of Woodchuck and Strongbow, multinational corporate producers that make all of their ciders from apple juice concentrate and flavor it with -- what else? -- more apple juice concentrate. This is akin to forming your entire opinion of wine based on Bartles and Jaymes wine coolers. Cider -- as in "the hard stuff," as in the real stuff - can be as delicate and nuanced as a fine wine, and we Michiganders are in a unique position to appreciate the majesty of the fermented apple.

"One measure [of the growing craft cider industry] is that now the large conglomerate beverage companies are adding ciders to their product portfolios," explains Gary Awdey, president of the Great Lakes Cider and Perry Association. "But what I find much more encouraging is the increase in the number of small craft producers, and that’s somewhere that Michigan really excels. Michigan and the Great Lakes region is really the major cider region in North America. It doesn’t reflect in the volume of sales but is a good representation of the true variety that is being offered. There is a higher density of craft cider producers [here] than in other areas. Michigan residents have much easier day trips to cideries."

As the country’s second- or third-largest apple-producing state (depending on who you ask), Michigan is home to hundreds of different varieties of apples, from the table standards to rare antique and heirloom varietals. We also currently have the largest number of craft cider producers in the country. Many wineries and breweries are getting into the cider game as an alternative to beer and wine, and there are also larger-scale operations focused entirely on hard cider production. Unlike most beer and spirit producers, which are still forced to buy much of their hops and grain from out of state, Michigan ciders are made with Michigan apples picked and pressed by Michigan people running Michigan businesses for Michigan customers. Michigan’s craft ciders are dry, delicate, and above all else wholly Michigan.

Tandem Ciders opened in October 2008 on the Leelanau Peninsula in northern Michigan. As part of the Leelanau Wine Trail, they had a lot of explaining to do that first year of business when people came in looking for Riesling. But all of that is changing, says owner and cider maker Dan Young (who owned Tandem with his wife Nikki Rothwell). "Customer perceptions are changing from, 'What is this?' to 'Hey, this is great to have a cider!'" he says. "We'll ask people, 'Hey, are you tasting wine today?' [and they'll say] 'No, we're here for cider.' It's not just wine drinkers who run into us."

They'll still get confused consumers wandering in wondering if it's "like beer," but they're easily converted. Dan has had customers thank him for making cider and giving them another drinking option ... one that is "like beer" in that it is carbonated (usually--Dan also makes a flat cider available only in the tasting room) but also offers a different flavor profile, is naturally gluten-free and lower in alcohol (unless fortified with brandy--Dan makes one of those too), pairs well with food but can just as easily be enjoyed on its own, and has the complexity of wine and the body of beer while being something different altogether. Plus, it's perfect year-round. "People are realizing this is another drinking option and it's good to have."

And the best part is, it's truly local, utilizing all Michigan fruits. While many other cider makers will incorporate other fruits into their ciders (like raspberry or cranberry), Tandem uses exclusively apples (though they do make a "perry" -- cider made from pears -- in the fall). Dan wants each product to be an expression of the apples he uses, whether traditional cider apples like Sheep's Nose and Fameuse, classic table apples like Northern Spy and Red Delicious, antique apples, even crab and wild apples. Dan notes that there is much more awareness of ciders now, which he attributes to the growing craft beer movement. "20 years ago when microbrews came out it was a hard sell because people had no way to wrap their heads around it," he says. "[Now breweries like Short's and Right Brain are experimenting with different flavored beers] and people see something made from apples and say, 'Oh hey, great!'"

Dan also attributes cider's popularity with Michigan's rich agricultural heritage and Michiganders' inherent connection to the land, with agriculture as Michigan's second-largest industry. "... Michigan is known for its huge manufacturing base. Agriculture has been overshadowed by manufacturing [but is still a huge part of people's lives here]."

Tandem works with several local growers on Leelanau for the many different varieties of apples they use in their ciders. They've recently planted 12 different varieties of traditional hard cider apples and have their growers planting more traditional varieties for them, in addition to the heirloom and heritage varieties they also use. "Cider fruit is interesting -- [the apples] taste horrible when you bite into them; they're very tannic. But once they're fermented it leaves a lot more body and depth behind."

They'll continue making ciders out of popular table varieties too; their hottest seller is the Smackintosh, made predominantly with the same household staple Macintosh apples everyone knows and loves. "People just connect to that and remember their childhood stopping at the cider mill and eating those Macintosh apples."

In addition to the Smackintosh, which has a lot of residual sugar, Tandem makes a variety of different ciders highlighting different flavor profiles from the bone-dry Crabster (made with crab and wild apples) to the moderately dry Farmhouse (classic cider apples) and the semi-sweet and highly complex Early Day (a blend of six cider and table varieties).

Because of the unseasonably warm weather the state experienced in March followed by frost in April, Michigan has reported losses of upwards of 90% of their apple crops for the year (though actual growers say it's more like 75% statewide -- still huge). Up in Leelanau, they still have about 40% of their crop. What does this mean for the cider industry? "It's not going to be a big growth year," Dan says. "We're not going to be making any extra." He adds that last year's crop was so abundant he was able to make enough so that he will still have plenty to sell throughout this year and keep his business going.

"[Sometimes] there's apples coming out of everywhere and we don't have enough boxes to put them in, and some varietals are known for being really biennial. Downstate was hit really hard for fruit but I think we'll be okay," adding that it's the major producers who supply corporate chains like Meijer and McDonald's who are scrambling. Dan at least is resourceful. "Last year we picked a lot of wild apples. We picked some that were incredibly tasty and some that were incredibly tannic and bitter [but made for great cider]. We're already marking wild trees [for this year] and will definitely be doing more of that."

As one of Michigan's largest dedicated hard cider producers, Tandem is still by no means a massive operation and distribution remains limited, but southeast Michiganders can find their products at the Produce Station in Ann Arbor and the MI General Store in Ypsilanti. Many of their products are only available on draft in the Leelanau tasting room, as if you really need another reason to visit northern Michigan this year. (You do. It's this.) And hey, this place is something Mario Batali and I can agree on.

[EID Feature] Nano Growth: Brew Jus

All photos from Brew Jus.

Brew Jus is a nano-restaurant. Not sure quite what to make of that? Neither is the health department, the city of Ferndale or Oakland County.

To these various governing bodies’ credit, they’re trying. Well … except for the health department, which kind of functions like that kid in high school who’d rat you out for smoking in the bathroom because they’re terrified of getting in trouble themselves just for having known about it even though you totally would have gotten away with it if it hadn’t been for their meddling. That’s the health department. They’re not exactly the most popular of the bunch and they take their jobs very seriously. (Some would complain, but those people would also complain if they got, say, foodborne botulism from a restaurant serving unregulated food items. That is until they died from it. So let’s just, you know, keep the role of the health department in perspective here.)

Brew Jus is a brand-new “nano” restaurant operating inside (eventually) the Rust Belt Market in Ferndale. They’ve spent a lot of time and money building out a beautiful space and will be able to serve inside once they get all the proper permits and licensing and pass all the necessary inspections … all of which are taking longer than normal and changing as they go because, quite frankly, no one knows just what the hell to do with them.

See, Brew Jus is a whole new kind of business model. Not a full-blown restaurant with its own building and commercial kitchen; not a mobile vendor with its own recently-determined set of rules and regulations; not a pop-up which can skate in under someone else’s health department license so long as it is happening out of a licensed commercial kitchen. Brew Jus is none of these things.

Partner Nick Schultz admits it’s been difficult but for no other reason than that there is no precedent set for this kind of business and they’re all figuring it out as they go along. “The city has been great,” he says, but admits that “every week there has been a new obstacle.” (Most recently they had to switch from propane to natural gas, which required more construction inside the building and another inspection.) “The health department sees us as something there’s no mold for,” Nick states. Representatives from Oakland County told him that they’re having multiple meetings about him. “We’re the subject of these meetings and debates. It’s kind of flattering but also intimidating. I feel like we’re under a microscope.” He adds, “Looking back I don’t think it could have been done any differently; we’re coming against these obstacles together,” referring to the various governing bodies they’re working with.

Nick and his partner David Ballew both attended Oakland County’s FastTrac NewVenture program, a 10-week program designed for new and aspiring entrepreneurs to basically help them figure out how to run a business. “[Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson] is all about the small business,” Nick says. From the very beginning Nick and Dave have had advisors from Oakland County helping them, going to bat for them against the health department by saying, “This is a new concept; we need you to evolve.” (Which was met with, “This is a concept we don’t understand; there’s no rules for it.” Which kind of reminds me of that line from Coming to America when the King of Zamunda says, “Who am I to change the rules?” and the Queen responds with, “I thought you were the King.”)

Ultimately progress is being made and they do have a license to serve food. You can find them outside the Rust Belt Market serving sliders this weekend and Nick hopes they’ll be able to start cooking and serving inside in the beautiful space they built from scratch in early July.

Ah yes: sliders. Brew Jus seeks to redefine the relationship between food and beer with artisan sliders made with beer-inspired sauces. Nick is a chef and Dave is a brewer. “We would always have these conversations about how beer gets a bad rep in the food industry, how fancy restaurants don’t have good beer …” Nick says. [Editor’s note: I’d argue that that has already been changing for a few years now.] While attending culinary school, Nick put on a craft beer and food pairing event that received a great response, and the idea for Brew Jus really evolved from there.

Dave brews the beer and Nick makes the food. Each of their products are closely tied to one another: the beer is incorporated into the sauces used on their sliders and also into its own ice cream. Their ultimate concept is to be able to have a slider bar serving the sauces made from the beer, the ice creams made from the beer, and the beer itself: what Nick calls “the three stages of beer.” So their Cherry Wheat beer would also be used in their Angry Cherry sauce and made into a cherry wheat ice cream … long-longterm, they’d like to have these products available in stores and all color-coded in what Nick jokes is a “beer pairing for dummies!” Because both are very passionate about minimizing waste products (and there is a lot of waste in the food and beverage industry), the sauces are actually made from scratch using the spent grain from Dave’s brews.

It makes sense: Nick has been calling himself “The Sauced Chef” for a few years now (with his own blog and YouTube channel), a name that comes from his love of cooking and making sauces with alcohol. After working in the corporate world for years then getting laid off at the beginning of the economic recession, Nick took the opportunity to go back to school under the “No Worker Left Behind” program and followed his dream to go to culinary school. “I dedicated all of my time to it; I completely changed my career.” He started his official culinary career at the WAB, was part of the opening team at Toasted Oak Grill and Market in Novi (“[Chef] Steve [Grostick] took a huge risk on me”), worked VIP banquets and buffets for high rollers at Greektown Casino, and worked directly under the Executive Chef at the Detroit Zoo. He is now part of the opening team for Ferndale’s soon-to-open Local Kitchen + Bar; Local owner Rick Halberg has been incredibly accommodating and is allowing him weekends off so he can run Brew Jus. (Which is pretty much unheard of in the restaurant industry.)

Dave is also balancing another job in the meantime; a career restaurant person himself, Dave more recently got into brewing beer after he too was laid off during the recession and wanted to drink good beer but couldn’t afford it … so he started making it. They both hope that in the next year they can be running Brew Jus full-time.

“We’re very excited about brand,” Nick says. “We think we have good product … we’re hoping to make the best sliders in Ferndale!” They serve a selection of artisan sliders (larger in size than the typical “slider” and so a higher price point) as well as sides, like their potato salad made with their IPA-based mustard sauce, and will eventually add “malted” malts (made with their beer-based ice cream). They even have a vegan slider which Nick promised doesn’t suck (or your money back!).

Under construction at the Rust Belt Market.

Being inside the Rust Belt Market is something they’re also excited about. Nick sees the Rust Belt as a conduit for getting their name out and has built a very good relationship with owners Chris and Tiffany Best. “It’s so cool to be part of their market which is evolving so much,” he says. “They hand-pick their vendors [which is a huge compliment]. It’s been such a pain in the ass for them but they’ve stuck by us. We’re excited to be a part of this whole crowd, especially in Ferndale where people are very supportive of local businesses … we’re just very happy we found Chris and Tiffany.”

Nick and Dave have a lot of plans for what they’d like to see happen down the line. A contract brew with the WAB and getting their beer on tap at places like Local; a traveling slider bar with Motor City Street Eats; a late night menu outside the Rust Belt for the bar crowd; a manufacturing facility and their products on store shelves; possibly a nanobrewery at the Belt or maybe their own brewing facility … they’ve got a lot of ideas. But for now, the focus is just getting their indoor space approved and serving their sliders. “There’s so much talk about small business; it’s a buzz word,” Nick says. “But really a small business can be a nano-restaurant. It would be so cool to do this in a cost-effective but safe and healthy way.”

Despite the obstacles they’ve faced, there’s a certain satisfaction in being the FIRST to do something entirely new, and anyone who comes along after will have Brew Jus to thank for paving the way.

[Prosper] "The Family Business": Bon-A-Rose Home Style Foods

Bon-A-Rose Home Style Foods is the product of family: a family business, family recipes, the family name. “My parents purchased a 19th century home 30 years ago with the intention of opening a restaurant in it,” explains Anna Hoffman, owner of Bon-A-Rose. At the time they purchased the house, it was used as an upper and lower flat. In the ‘80s Anna’s parents converted it into a full-service, seven-day-a-week upscale Italian restaurant using all of Anna’s grandmother’s recipes. “It was always my mom’s dream to have a restaurant,” Anna continues. “Her parents had a restaurant in Detroit so she wanted to honor that.” The original restaurant, also called Bon-A-Rose, remained open for several years until Anna’s mother was forced to close it about 10 years ago due to medical issues.

The family kept the property and at the time Anna was doing bookkeeping for her father. It so happened that both of her daughters were having showers (bridal and baby) at about the same time, which triggered in her a passion to re-launch the family’s restaurant – but doing things a little differently this time. “When our last tenant left I talked mom into redoing the restaurant,” Anna says. “[I told her], ‘We already had the commercial kitchen so we can cater parties on-site and use grandma’s recipes.’” For her daughters’ showers, which they held in the old Bon-A-Rose space, Anna didn’t want to give the usual cheap trinkets as party gifts for guests, so she and her mom made their own salad dressings and marinara sauce with custom labels under the “Bon-A-Rose” name and gave them out as gifts.

Read more.

[EID Feature] Eastern Market Rules!

All photos by Nicole Rupersburg.

Eastern Market rules. As the oldest continuously-operated public market in the country (at 121 years), it has always been a popular place for wholesale distribution and has been home to a number of different meat packers and distributors for decades. Saturdays have always had a draw for families all over metro Detroit, so to call Eastern Market a local destination is nothing new. But lately it has become so much more than that.

It is no longer just a local destination; it is a national one. With the spike in Detroit tourism that has happened really over the past year or so, Eastern Market is a tourism hub and a draw entirely unto itself. The Los Angeles Times ran an op-ed which praised Eastern Market as "a bright spot" and celebrity chef Andrew Zimmern saw fit to pay a visit last summer while filming an episode of Bizarre Foods in metro Detroit ... which is to say nothing of everybody's favorite pizza place Supino Pizzeria, which has grabbed national coverage from the likes of the Food Network's "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" and the New York Times. Russell St. Deli is also a belle of the market with their own fair share of New York Times love. The best part is you can walk into any of these places at any time and have a chat with the owners like it's no big.

The recent slew of renovations (which will soon include a community kitchen) have also helped spurn the popularity of the market forward as old meets new, and Eastern Market Corporation President Dan Carmody has actively sought out the DIY artisan food producers who are creating so much local buzz (people like Perkins Pickles, Slow Jams, Corridor Sausage Co. and People's Pierogi Collective, among countless others). New stores are opening with increasing regularity inside the market district, including eclectic boutiques and community spaces as well as food shops. And it has solidified itself as a regional food hub.

Slice from Supino Pizzeria.

In the oft-traversed rhetoric of Detroit's rebirth, there often seems to be an assumption that these things happened overnight. In the case of someone like Midtown's Sue Mosey, Crain's 2012 "Newsmaker of the Year," the seeds for forward progress were planted over a very long two decades and only just recently have borne fruit. She may be newsmaker of this year, but she's been doing it for over 20.

But there are rare cases in Detroit where one can pinpoint an exact moment in time in which a pivotal change occurred, the very clear point at which "before" became "after." One such instance is Corktown. The other is when Dan Carmody and the nonprofit Eastern Market Corporation took over the market in 2006. In a little over five years the market has been transformed, and is in so many ways the heart of Detroit. They have been working hard to reinvent the market and stay at the head of the curve as people have enthusiastically embraced sustainable food culture, local food movements, and DIY food production ... as well as the city itself.

In honor of the 46th Annual Eastern Market Flower Day happening this Saturday, May 20 (the market's most popular event, drawing in over 200,000 people annually), here are some of EID's favorite spots in the market, new (and really new) and old. And more news: starting on Saturday June 9, EID will be offering the long-promised walking tours of Eastern Market - meet some of the business owners and the people behind the products, sample some food and learn a bit of history. More details to come!

Germack Coffee Roasting Co.

Really New
DeVries + Co.
The 118-year-old R. Hirt Jr. Co. is reborn as DeVries - a cleaner, more open space offers the same great products and then some. Read more here.

Germack Coffee Roasting Co.
The company best known for bringing us those pink pistachios now roasts their own coffee on-site in a brand-new, fully spiffy location that also serves as a coffee shop with WiFi and specialty market selling a variety of locally-made artisan food products. Instant love.

Detroit Mercantile
From the original maker of Made in Detroit, Detroit Mercantile is an all-things-Detroit store featuring locally-made clothing lines, cruiser bikes and rock posters. They'll also serve a Detroit-themed breakfast and lunch on Saturdays. Opens this weekend.

OmniCorp Detroit
Sort of a creative think-and-do-tank with actual hands-on equipment like a sewing machinery and even a metal working shop, OmniCorp is a hub for hands-on DIYers with "open hack" nights where anyone can go and make things using salvaged materials.

Signal-Return
A fully-functional print shop that uses old-fashioned letterpress for personal and commercial work (they also have a gallery space and teach workshops on using the letterpress and bookbinding).

Red Bull House of Art
It's so new it hasn't even opened yet, but check it out next week as it launches in time for Movement.

Some Unnamed Restaurant with Two Custom-Built Brick Ovens
So new it doesn't even have a name yet.

Also New
Supino Pizzeria
It only just opened in 2008 but fast became one of Detroit's most popular pizzerias, and with good reason - their Neapolitan-style pizzas are superior, and items are all sourced locally from places like Brother Nature Produce, Porktown Sausage and City Wings.

Russell Street Deli
Sustainability-sourced and community-conscious, Russell St. Deli (under new ownership since 2008) sources their products locally straight from the market and makes everything from scratch in-house while also giving back to the community through various philanthropic fundraising efforts. Also vegetarian and vegan-friendly.

Mootown Ice Cream
Just opened in the summer of 2011, this family-owned ice cream shop is the first ice cream shop in Eastern Market's history. Read more here.

Division Street Boutique
A funky, Detroit-centric T-shirt store (makers of the infamous "Detroit Hustles Harder" T's). They're also hosting their 4th annual block party during Flower Days this weekend.

Famers Restaurant.

Old
Bert's Warehouse
Whether you love them for the massive events they host (like the Dirty Show) or for the wall of ribbers lined up outside on Saturdays grilling endless slabs of meat for the masses while metro Detroit's finest warble their best karaoke, Bert's is a classic.

Cost Plus Wine Shoppe
Still one of the only places in the city where you can buy good beer and wine, Cost Plus has a nice variety of affordable craft and imported beers and small-production wineries, including many Michigan producers.

Gabriel Import Co.
Offering a huge selection of imported olives (sample as many as you'd like!) as well as Mediterranean specialties like hummus, tabbouleh and spinach pies made fresh daily.

Milano Bakery
Simple breads; fantastic homemade soups, sandwiches and desserts; and great pizza can be found at this Kosher bakery with the largest hearth oven in Michigan.

Vivio's
A Detroit staple famous for their Bloody Marys and mussels.

Cutter's
A best-kept secret a bit on the outskirts, their stuffed burger is one of the best in Detroit.

"The Meat Mall" (Gratiot Central Market)
Beef, corned beef (made by four generations of the same families), pork, poultry (including game birds), specialty meats (from goat to tripe), fish, BBQ supplies, a bakery, and prepared foods like sammiches. Six days a week (and sometimes seven for holidays and Lions games).

Rocky Peanut Company
An emporium of bulk candies, nuts and other items.

Louie's Ham and Corned Beef
Enough said. Read more here.

Farmers Restaurant
Greasy spoon gut-bombs breakfasts and also corned beef. Read more here, again.