[Prosper] Oakland County Market Promotes Food Businesses with Grants for Business Education

Sweet Occasions, Oxford

The Oakland County Market has been operating since 1966, predating the Oakland County Parks system that now manages it. In that time, cultural attitudes towards "recreation" have changed significantly – instead of "recreation" referring to packing the kids up in the station wagon and heading Up North for a long weekend once a year, recreation is something that people consider a necessary part of everyday life, and a real quality of life indicator. It is part of an active lifestyle that people want to easily be able to access on a weekly (if not daily) basis in their own neighborhoods, including everything from trails for hiking and biking to lifelong learning opportunities and farmers markets where people can support local businesses and socialize. "It's not just about physical activity; it's about social activity," says Jon Noyes, Supervisor of Planning for Oakland County Parks. "We now have different expectations [for recreation]."

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.

The Week We Ate (The EID Week in Review)

Of all the Detroit photos run in national news outlets this week...

Here is your official Detroit bankruptcy travel guide, courtesy of me and Fox News. [Fox]

The beer list for the Sweet 16 MBG Summer Beer Festival is out. Hour gave some pro tips and MittenBrew put together this handy guide to the 800+ beers on hand. [MBG / Hour / MittenBrew]

ICYMI:
~For the sake of Just Baked and their continued expansion, I really hope this cupcake bubble doesn't burst. Just Baked is one of the likely new tenants of the Woodward Gardens Block Development in Midtown, which will be completed by the end of the year. [Model D]
~Well we ARE a burger town. Check out the new Eastern Market Corporation murals by The Weird, presented by Inner State Gallery and 1xRUN, and read more about them here. [Pure Detroit FB / Model D]
~Okay so I was wondering about the beer on offer at the new Coors Light Sky Deck at the Detroit Opera House. So I asked. Answer: all the MillerCoors products (including Blue Moon and Leinenkugel). They also plan on hosting beer tastings with food pairings. [Model D]
~Mr. Tim of Detroit BBQ Company is one of Nikki's Boys, and this is why. [EID]

Pig + Whiskey: the best event of the summer. Nikki's Boys KILLED IT, btw. [Metro Times]

Are you guys just not familiar with The Bruery? I expected a lot more excitement about this. And am disappointed that it has not received it. THIS IS A HELL OF A LOT FUCKING BETTER THAN OSKAR BLUES, YOU GUYS. [Produce Station FB]

Bon Appétit Magazine gives some love to Vinsetta Garage, a "hip eatery" in an old gas station among many hip eateries in old gas stations in America. [Bon Appetit]

Have you been to the Wayne State University Farmers Market on Wednesdays yet? This is a project of SEED Wayne, overseen by Kami Pothukuchi. Read more about her work here in Urban Innovation Exchange. [UIX]

In keeping with "nothing keeps Detroit down" (even bankruptcy), after his world-famous coffeeshop closed in Ferndale, AJ O'Neill continued on to launch AJ's Coffee Works in Highland Park. Roasted by the century-old Becharas Brothers Coffee Company, Detroit Bold is very much a Detroit product. [Michipreneur]

Next thing you know Oak Park will allow broads and The Blacks to vote. !!! [Detroit News]

BuzzFeed does something other than run slideshows of Nicolas Cage as your favorite Disney princesses; Detroiters likely would have pitched a petulant fit over this but then the bankruptcy announcement happened and everyone expended all their energy on self-affirming fit-pitching instead. [BuzzFeed]

In a super-scientific and totally reliable study published by HuffPo, Detroit has been ranked the most gluten-free city in America. This is likely because of all of the meat that we eat. [HuffPo]

And that's a wrap now for Chen Chow. Looks like the Dali Group is officially kaput (at least in its Vegas-in-Birmingham capacity). [Crain's]

La Feria Detroit is getting closer to opening and is now hiring all positions. [La Feria]

Gas station food. I'm telling you, you guys. It's going to be a thing. [Royal Oak Patch]

What are some of the local products on offer at Whole Foods Market Detroit? Here's a nice rundown of Detroit producers that can be found on the shelves. [Model D]

His name is actually "Happy." LOL. [WXYZ]

The owner of Beans and Cornbread Soulful Bistro and Bar has opened Southern Nosh, a vegetarian soul food restaurant also in Southfield. Card-carrying meat-eater Nathan Skid of Crain's Detroit Business says it doesn't suck. [Crain's]

Thrillist took a look-see-eat at Bistro Joe's, the buzzy new bistro above Papa Joe's Gourmet Market in B-Ham. [Thrillist]

Wolverine Lake is this teeeeeeeeeeeeny tiny township in the middle of Commerce, Walled Lake, Wixom and West Bloomfield. (Fun bit of EID trivia: one time I threw a party in the park there and got into a fight with the cops around 2am.) Chef Jeff Rose is a well-known chef around town, and his new concept CAYA Smokehouse Grill is probably going to be worth the drive twisting and turning through all of the lakes in the area. Very pretty location, and did I mention there's a pretty cool park on the lake there? (Just don't party there after 2am. They don't like that.) [Freep]

Food Network was in town last week filming an episode of On the Rocks (think Kitchen Nightmares but for bars) at The Oxford Inn of Royal Oak. If you'll recall an announcement earlier this year to re-brand as a country-western bar was met with a lot of eye-rolling, ultimately hurting the business. When this opportunity to be a part of the Food Network's show came up and they took it. Lock and Key, a "speakeasy"-themed bar, is now open to the public, and the episode will air around the end of the year. An insider source tells me the production team and on-air talent was brutal during the flip, which is pretty typical for these kinds of shows, but owner Bob Higgins held it together and didn't pull an Amy's Baking Company. And now you can check it out for yourself. [Royal Oak Patch]

And here is an update on Craftwork in West Village. [Crain's]

Detroit, are you showing Next Food Network Star contestant Rodney Henry of Dangerously Delicious Pies Baked in Detroit Internet love? Vote for him up to 10 times a day on this Food Network poll. [Food Network]

At least the name "Red Sauce" still works. Red Sauce inside Breeze Dining Court at MGM Grand Detroit has ditched the Mexican and gone (back) to Italian. [My Fox Detroit]

Chef Robert of Bastone Brewery, Monk Beer Bar, Vinotecca and Craft is a lovable kind of guy (in a shitwit kind of way) who loves what he does. [Daily Tribune]

John D Bistro has a new chef (one of the The Detroit Three) and a new weekend menu. [Detroit News]

Free popcorn Tuesdays run through August 27 at MJR Digital Cinemas. With popcorn being almost as much as the cost of a movie ticket, seems like a pretty good deal. [MLive]

[Model D] Detroit's first Downtown Farmers Market is open every Thursday

The Compuware urban garden Lafayette Greens is now home to the first-ever farmers market in downtown Detroit. Located on the site of the former Lafayette Building, which was demolished in 2010, the garden is a result of Peter Karmanos, Jr. – Compuware's co-founder and Executive Chairman and also a Master Gardener – working with the city of Detroit to transform the area into a greenspace.

Read more.

The Week We Ate (The EID Week in Review)

McClure's has a new sweet and spicy pickle out, and it is only available at Whole Foods Midtown for now. This is a reason to brave the crowds, yes? (I've had it. It's awesome.) [McClure's]

A new microbrewery is coming to downtown Dearborn! This is how the west is won. [Dearborn Patch]

It's officially-official: DROUGHT will have a permanent home in Detroit at the new Shinola flagship store in Midtown, opening this summer. [Drought FB]

Turns the London Chop House is also totally metal, and Spin agrees with me on Guns + Butter. [Detroit News / Spin]

In case you missed it:
~The Cultural Living Room is now open to the public inside the DIA's Kresge Court. The design concept mixes modern and traditional, but why not just check out the pictures. [Model D / EID]
~June on Jefferson popped up during Jazzin' on Jefferson this weekend. Several stores are inhabiting newly-renovated storefronts in the Jefferson Chalmers commercial district, including Myra's Sweet Tooth and Goodwells Natural Foods. Also Coffee and (___), which was not originally reported because it was not originally listed on the website or mentioned in my interview. I'll make up for it, promise. [Model D]
~Just a Bit Eclectic is now open on Detroit's northwest side, selling vintage goods and antiques as well as teas from Detroit's INTU Specialty Tea and soups from Beautiful Soup. [Model D]
~HEY! Join me on June 29 for the Official Detroit Food Experience food tour with The Detroit Bus Company! We'll have house-made cheese and beer at Traffic Jam + Snug, have a picnic catered by Los Unicos taco truck and Mexicantown Bakery in Clark Park, and see how sausage gets made at Corridor Sausage Co.! [Detroit Bus Co]

Speaking of taco trucks, my first actual paid assignment as a freelance writer was a little over four years ago with Model D for a story about taco trucks in SW Detroit. So what I'm saying is, I did it before it was cool. Anyway here's this retro-chic story on SW taco trucks with a list of different vendors at the end and a sort of "white people guide to Mexican things." [Model D / Detroit News]

Apparently this was retro chic week! Hygrade Deli is "in" again, and now an unnamed national food network (though not necessarily THE Food Network) will be paying them a visit. [MLive]

And these places aren't trendy and won't be getting any fashionable food buzz anytime soon, but are worth checking out because they serve good food, the end. [Detroit News]

Attention all would-be mobile entrepreneurs: the MEDC has announced a new mobile start-up grant program of up to $10,000 for new or existing mobile businesses in order to boost Michigan's mobile food vending industry. There is also an additional grant of $10-50k for farmers markets at least four years old. [WILX]

The new Downtown Farmer's Market Detroit is held Thursdays at Lafayette Greens. (Hours will likely be changing as they figure out what times work best for customers.) [DFMD FB]

The Eastern Market Corporation Shed 5/Community Kitchen work was already happening so when the MEDC sent out this release earlier today I was a little confused, but maybe it's this particular $1mil grant that's new? And that's, like, a lot of money. So. YAAAAAAAAY! [Detroit News]

Michigan strawberries are in season! Here is a guide (with map) to U-Pick farms in metro Detroit. [Freep]

Sure, you know all the big name places to get ice cream around here ... but what about some of Detroit's lesser-known ice cream spots? Model D and Belle Isle to 8 Mile: An Insider's Guide to Detroit dig deep on this one. [Model D]

File under: best headline in the history of Crain's Detroit Business. "Union Joints Rolling at DTE Energy Music Theatre." [Crain's]

Commune is now Craft. It's still the basement of Bastone, now with more beer. [Commune FB]

Burgers burgers burgers (that pay workers living wages). [AnnArbor.com / Eyes on Windsor / Detroit News]

New steakhouse in St. Clair Shores, TBones Steak and Seafood, is overseen by former sous chef of SaltWater. Might be worth checking out? [Freep]

If Flavor Flav's Chicken + Ribs closes due to carbon monoxide leaks and no one notices because no one goes there, did it really happen at all? [TMZ]

Selma Cafe lives again in a new location! While no longer held in a private home, the brunch pop-up will happen in the common house of Sunward Cohousing on June 22. Brunch will be held on Saturday instead of Friday and hours will run later. Pretty much everything else remains the same. [AnnArbor.com]

Beerie
~Turns out I drink a lot because I'm a freakin' genius, THAT'S why. [MSN]

Poutine Queen
~I'm going to be spending some time in Canada this summer. In the interest of research, yes I will eat this. Even though it feels wrong, despite being a combination of two of my favorite things. [First We Fest]
~And here's 13 more. [The Grid]