[NEWS BITES] YallaEat! New walking tour reveals Eastern Market's Arab history, merchants, food

Olives at Gabriel Import Co.

There is a new free walking tour series starting next Tuesday at Eastern Market. YallaEat! celebrates the history of Arab merchants in the historic market district. Find everything you need to make a traditional Arabic meal in the market, learn the history of Arab entrepreneurs in the market, visit the market's Arab-owned businesses and meet the owners. The greater Arab community is one of the largest ethnic cultures in metro Detroit (if not THE largest) and its impact on our culture and heritage is hugely significant. This tour will help show you why. Here's more info:

Who’s hungry for history? The Arab American National Museum (AANM) says, “Yalla (Arabic for ‘let’s go’) eat!”

AANM’s YallaEat! Culinary Walking Tour is a new, immersive cultural experience being offered free of charge this fall as a pilot program and next year as a fee-based program. The docent-guided walking tours of Detroit’s historic Eastern Market in September and October 2013 will help refine future tours, including those the Museum will conduct this spring along Warren Avenue in Dearborn, amid the largest concentration of Arabs outside the nations of the Arab World.

Those who register online for the Tuesday and Saturday afternoon tours this fall will hear the story of Arab Americans in metro Detroit while exploring the long history of Arab merchants in and around Eastern Market. Participants will visit diverse Arab and Middle Eastern businesses – all founded by immigrants and family run – meet and talk with the owners, enjoy some free samples and do some old-school shopping.

“Before supermarkets like Kroger and Meijer, you would have to visit multiple family-owned stores to secure all of your groceries,” says Dr. Matthew Jaber Stiffler, AANM researcher and culinary guide.

“Our tour participants will visit businesses that, taken together, sell all of the ingredients of a typical Arab American meal: from olives, cheese and cucumbers as an appetizer, to meat, rice, and bread as a main course, to coffee and nuts for after dinner,” Stiffler says.

Well-known Detroit-area community leader Ed Deeb, a proud Arab American, wrote the introduction for the YallaEat! Eastern Market tour. In 1972, Deeb founded the Eastern Market Merchants Association to help vendors get more recognition from the City of Detroit. He was also a co-founder of the Eastern Market Corporation and founded the Michigan Food and Beverage Association in 1987.

“You will note during your tour that the Arab American merchants and shop owners are friendly, personable and eager to see you,” Deeb says. “They are always proud to meet people of their own heritage and to introduce others to Arab American traditions. What stands out most is how they are intermingled with the other ethnic business people throughout the Market.” 

Tours run approximately two hours and 30 minutes; comfortable walking shoes are required. Opportunities to shop are offered at most stops. Tours begin and end at Germack Coffee Roasting Company, Roastery & Espresso Bar, 2517 Russell St., Detroit. Founded by Armenian immigrants from Syria in the 1920s, Germack offers fresh roasted coffee and nuts from across the globe.

Tour registration is free but an online RSVP is required at www.arabamericanmuseum.org/yallaeat. RSVPs will be accepted until each tour date’s 15 slots are filled or until noon the day prior to each tour.

YallaEat! Culinary Walking Tours: Eastern Market

Presented by Arab American National Museum

1 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2013

1 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2013

2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28, 2013

1 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2013

2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5, 2013

1 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2013

[EID Feature] Santorini Estiatorio: Preserving Greek Culture in Greektown

All photos by Nicole Rupersburg.

Awhile back, I interviewed Athina Papas when the former Mosaic reopened as Santorini Estiatorio, an open, airy space that channels the warm, sun-soaked Mediterranean island of Santorini in its curves and colors. As a new participating restaurant in the 2013 Spring Edition of Detroit Restaurant Week, I felt it was time to go back and share the story of Santorini.

The Papas family is a family of long-time Greektown entrepreneurs (the family currently owns Pegasus locations in Greektown and Saint Clair Shores, Pappy's Sports Bar in Greektown, and has ownership in Greektown's Atheneum Suites). Athina Papas and her sister Stella followed in their parents' footsteps when they went off on their own and opened Mosaic in 2005, both in their twenties and looking for the kind of environment that appealed to them and their friends. Mosaic was known as a hotspot for the see-and-be-scene crowd, with a gorgeous bar that appealed to trendy sensibilities and regular DJ nights and lounge events.

But that was almost 10 years ago, and the girls have grown up.

"We see the differences now and then in how we’ve grown up," Athina says. "We were more focused on [dining and DJs] with Mosaic. Now what we want to create is something that’s going to last longer. We're getting away from entertainment [element] and [are focused more on] interacting with people, with family." Now 32 years old, Athina wanted to recreate the more of that convivial family dining experience she remembered having growing up and being with her family at her parents' restaurant Pegasus, a staple of Greektown and, until recently, one of the few truly Greek restaurants left. Now that she's older, she's also more passionate about preserving the Greek culture that is her background.

"Being the next generation came into play," she says. "When we opened Mosaic we had seven Green restaurants in Greektown, and one was family. The market was already saturated. We didn't want to compete, but be different. But as the years progressed, more and more restaurants were closing and the Greek items [at Mosaic] were selling the most. That kind of told us people are still coming to Greektown for Greek food. Now there's only three Greek restaurants here and we're all getting older, and we remember how much fun it was having family dinner [at Pegasus] on Sundays, when everybody would know each other because people were all coming down here to this really thriving area."

For Athina and her siblings, it's that feeling of community that they're trying to preserve; one that was, until recently, all but lost. "We don't want to talk about Greektown and how cool it was. What will it be in 15 years? If we can preserve that history and culture not just for Greeks but for everyone – we wanted to take a stand and really be part of the process to bring back the culture of Greektown."

Saganaki feta.

The longevity of Pegasus, which has been open since 1981, is something that really speaks to Athina. This is a place people come to on dates, on birthdays and anniversaries, for prom, for Tigers games, and just for a night out with family. It's casual, comfortable, and is associated with positive memories for many people throughout metro Detroit. "People still remember Pegasus from when the streets were packed every night," says Athina. "The atmosphere is for everyone. [We know we] can't be everything to everyone but we want everyone to feel comfortable."

Santorini Estiatorio is Mosaic reborn. If Pegasus is the old-school family-style Greek restaurant, Santorini is its more refined cousin – the design is more airy and stylish (evoking the sand and surf of Santorini), the menu more contemporary, but it is still wholly, 100% Greek. A true Greek restaurant in Greektown, just with more modern sensibilities. "We're really focused on getting people to enjoy to every part of the Greek experience," Athina explains. "We're using Greek liqueurs and growing a Greek wine list; we want it to be quality wine and a good experience."

Lunch and dinner menus include a large selection of traditional and contemporary Greek dishes – it's a big menu with a lot to choose from, but do check out the saganaki feta (wrapped in phyllo dough and drizzled with Greek honey), the lamb burger (with tzaziki sauce and red onion), and the excellent marinated octopus. (And I'm definitely eyeing the original Greek pizza for a future trip.) For Detroit Restaurant Week, check out their menu here.

Opening a Greek restaurant isn't the only thing Athina is doing to support the preservation of Greek culture and heritage in Greektown. She has also been involved with the newly-opened Hellenic Museum, working with them on fundraisers and other events. She's also seeing more second- and third-generation young people who remember going to Greece in the summer as kids and who want to keep those memories alive getting more involved in preserving the culture, from the Greek Independence Day Parade which started out with 500 people and has grown to 4,000, to involvement with other Greek cultural institutions and events.

"First and foremost, people clearly still come down [to Greektown for Greek culture]. When there’s an event going on the Greek restaurants are the first to get jammed. People are still coming down here for that atmosphere and for those things." She recalls the days when the streets of Greektown were filled with people and music and parties, a continuous celebration of Greek culture late into the night (and early into the morning) for Greeks and non-Greeks alike. "If we all work together [we can] bring back some of those cultural events. It [took] us as a generation to say, 'Hey, we want to keep this.' From that aspect we can bring some of that stuff back. The environment has changed, but that doesn't mean it can't keep changing."

 

[Real Detroit Weekly] London Chop House

Steak Tartare. Photo by Nicole Rupersburg.

The London Chop House offers a fine dining experience unparalleled in metro Detroit. This iconic Detroit institution originally opened in 1938 and remained open for 53 years, racking up national accolades as being THE place to see and be seen outside of New York and L.A. Known as much for its exquisite food and service as it was for being the social hub of Detroit's power elite – and during the many years of the Chop House's reign as the grand dame of Detroit dining, Detroit's power elite were among the nation's top – the Chop House is legendary, so much more than a space but a symbol of wealth, power and prestige.

And one year ago it reopened.

Read more.

[Real Detroit Weekly] Anchor Bar

Photo by Nicole Rupersburg.

Lately Detroit has become known for the sort of see-and-be-seen bar scenes that appeal to the would-be Brooklynite trendophiles. And we love them! We love these craft beer bars and craft cocktail bars and anything else with the word "craft" in it. But sometimes you want to go ... well, where everybody knows your name, and also where you don't feel like you need to have a distiller-level knowledge of bourbon just to fit in.

Anchor Bar is that place. A family-owned business for over 50 years (with 20 years in the same location in downtown Detroit), Anchor Bar is that neighborhood place you always go back to no matter how many times you might stray. Sure, we all get tempted by those flashy new joints with their witty drink names and their architecturally-interesting repurposed furniture built from salvaged industrial materials. But sometimes we just want to go somewhere homey.

Read more.

[Deadline Detroit] Re-Opening The London Chop House: Genius Move Or Wishful Thinking?

Photo by Nicole Rupersburg.

It’s Saturday night, Sweetest Day no less, and I walk into the London Chop House without reservations. It’s fully booked for the evening, but the staff happily accommodates me and my dining partner. It helps there’s a no-show.

It’s no exaggeration to say the Mad Men-era restaurant that opened nine months ago (after being shuttered for about 20 years) continues to glow.

Read more.

 

[Edible Wow] Pierogi in Metro Detroit

When the Dodge brothers opened their Dodge Main automotive assembly plant in Hamtramck Township in 1914, the area was little more than a sleepy community of French and German farmers. When the call for work went out at the plant, Polish immigrants descended upon this tiny township (and later fought for it to be recognized as its own city). This two-square-mile area was built to accommodate tens of thousands of immigrant factory workers, resulting in densely packed housing with family homes crammed into 30-foot lots. At its peak in 1930, the city had 56,000 people in it, 83% of which were Polish.

The Polish immigrants brought with them their own cultural traditions, and soon Hamtramck was filled with hundreds of bars, beer gardens, Polish restaurants, Old-World bakeries and sausage shops.

Polish cuisine is rooted in the rich farming fields of Poland where potatoes, cabbage and beets thrived. Thus much of what we know as traditional Polish food is heavy with these ingredients: golabki (stuffed cabbage), cabbage soup and stew, sauerkraut (pickled cabbage), beet soups, potato dumplings, potato pancakes, and potato and cheese pierogi are all staples of a traditional Polish diet.