[EID Features] Young Guns I at the Root recap

I'm not actually doing a "recap" in which I describe every single thing I ate course by course in excruciating detail and how it made me feel about myself. My official recap is that I went to this dinner in White Lake where there was so much talent in one room, it was unfair to all other rooms. There were the six chefs - James Rigato, Nick Janutol, Andy Hollyday Michael Barrera, Brennan Calnin, and Nikita Santches - but there were also some serious wine and cocktail gurus: Joe Robinson of Bailout Productions, Antoine Przekop of Great Lakes Wine and Spirits, and Sommelier Evan Barrett from the Plum Market wine team led by Master Sommelier and HBIC Madeline Triffon. Plus many more area chefs, booze hounds, food and wine writers, and restaurant owners who either came to help out the six stars of the evening or just came to eat. And a wonderful time was had by all.

There were a lot of intentions with this dinner, which you can read about in more detail in my interview with Chef James Rigato here, but one of the major highlights was the emphasis on collaboration. After the dinner, as the boys all kicked back with some beers and shot the shit with each other basking in a job well done, Jessi Patuano, Rigato's right-hand woman in the kitchen at the Root, came out and chatted with me for a bit. What really struck her was that strong sense of collaboration in the kitchen: here there were six hotshot young chefs and every last one of them checked his ego at the door. As soon as each one was done with their own course, they were right there on the line asking the next guy how they could help him - no ego, no showmanship, no solitary lone wolves, just total solidarity. And that was the whole point.

Here is the full menu from this event, including wine and cocktail pairings. To keep the element of surprise throughout the meal, the menus weren't presented until the end of the dinner, given to guests as a parting gift.

Tickets to the next event on February 23 go on sale at noon today. Get on it. This is an experience unlike any other in Michigan. [UPDATE: This event sold out in 21 minutes.]

And once again, below is the complete series of interviews I conducted with each participating chef leading up to this event. Give them a good read. These guys really put their hearts and souls into these answers and put so much more thought and effort into them than I ever could have asked for or expected. Afterwards, talking with chefs individually or with their girlfriends privately, I found out just how much of themselves they put into this and, you know, at the risk of sounding insincerely sentimental, it was touching. Many of these guys stayed up until 3a.m. after working 12+ hours, taking hours to make sure their answers were just right. This is all them, 100%. Metro Detroit's Young Guns. Nikki's Boys.

James Rigato, The Root
Nick Janutol, Forest Grill
Andy Hollyday, Selden Standard and Roast
Brennan Calnin, Imperial
Nikita Santches, Rock City Eatery
Michael Barrera, Streetside Seafood

[EID Feature] Chef Paul Grosz takes a Stand

Photo by Nicole Rupersburg.

The Stand in Birmingham officially opens for business today. The hotly-anticipated restaurant taking over the former Zazio's space - a concept that rather majestically flamed out for any number of reasons up to and including a cumbersome, poorly-planned space draped in seizure-inducing swirls of neon and food that quite simply wasn't that good (even by Birmingham's notoriously mediocre standards) - is a partnership between Chef Paul Grosz of Cuisine and fine dining industry vet John Kelly with Greenleaf Trust/Catalyst Development, owners of the building, as the investors.

Chef Paul is the Executive Chef of this new concept, and he'll also continue overseeing Cuisine in New Center, running back and forth between both. I've know Chef Paul for a few years - he was one of the first chefs I really established a personal rapport with back during my early days as a scrappy blogger - and, knowing him as well as knowing the difficulty of taking on such a massive space and making enough money on it for the business to stay open, my first question to him was: are you insane?

The answer is yes but in a way that makes sense in the long term. Paul has a 10-year plan. Part of that 10-year plan includes positioning himself for retirement and being able to put his mark on something other than Cuisine - a restaurant he is very proud of and happy with, but one that is also very much events-driven given its somewhat isolated location in New Center across from the Fisher Building.

Paul is also considering the natural trajectory of the chef's career. As he is currently filling in for Mr. Charcuterie Chef Brian Polcyn at Schoolcraft, teaching Polcyn's charcuterie class while Polcyn is busy working on his latest endeavors, Paul is thinking more and more of following in Polcyn's footsteps and transitioning into the role of instructor. He'd like to teach more at Schoolcraft - not Polcyn's class, but possibly a new class on seafood, which receives little attention as part of the school's culinary instruction, and maybe even vegetarian and vegan cuisine. (Paul is big on seafood, and also on veggies, as you'll find on the menu at the Stand). He'd also like to mentor up-and-coming chefs and eventually get out of the kitchen entirely.

Chef Paul in the kitchen. 

But that's all part of the 10-year plan. For now, Paul is going to be in BOTH kitchens, overseeing all operations and doing the cooking himself along with the help of his culinary team.

The menu at the Stand is decidedly small and carefully-managed. Items include a lobster fried egg - a brioche-breaded soft-boiled egg with lobster and asparagus - duck confit cassoulet, rabbit, and waygu beef, with a purposeful emphasis on sea food. (Again, this is Paul's thing.) There is a charcuterie room in which they will cure and dry their own meats (which will also be supplied to Cuisine) that should be fully operational in the next month. And while that all sounds like a very protein-centric menu, vegetarians and vegans can take heart: YOU HAVE YOUR OWN MENU. Eight entirely-vegan items are highlighted on their own menu, so you don't just have to order whatever lame-o salad or soup made vegan as an afterthought.

The bar area comes with its own menu and includes things like veal sweetbreads, foie gras burgers, duck sliders, and daily oysters. And desserts will be just as special as the rest of the menu: Pastry Chef Kevin Kearney, who has worked with Paul at Cuisine for years, is now at the Stand making his unique creations like goat cheese cheesecake and funky ice cream flavors (he did it before it was cool). He is one of the finest pastry chefs in the area, so do be sure not to skip dessert.

The beverage program is just as thoughtful, with a small but solid selection of Michigan craft beers and an entire craft cocktail program designed by none other than Travis Fourmont.

The Hall of Culinary Fun.

Those of you who remember Zazio's Wizard of Oz-on-acid color scheme (an image surely burned into your brain if you ever stepped foot in the place), all I can say is...wow. The space is transformed. And by that I mean they COMPLETELY gutted it - like, everything. Like, they kept nothing. They scrapped everything short of actually bulldozing the building. The entrance is now on Peabody and diners will be greeting in the "lobby" before heading down what Paul calls the Hall of Culinary Fun. To the right, you will see the open kitchen with a 10-seat bar where they will host two degustation menu seatings per night (in lieu of actually having a "chef's table" in the kitchen). To the left is the separate bar area with comfy booths and a community table. Further down is the main dining room and three private dining rooms.

Hand-blown glass gourds from Epiphany Glass.

As you walk around the massive space, take note to pay attention to the design details. Wood for the bars, ceilings, the communal tables and booth backsplashes is all reclaimed wood sourced through the WARM Training Center in Detroit, much of it from deconstructed homes in Detroit and Hamtramck. Eric Gorges of Voodoo Choppers made custom metal art pieces, including a copper "replica" of the Mackinaw Bridge over the communal table in the bar. In the main dining room, a series of four hand-blown glass sculptures made by April Wagner of Epiphany Glass represent the four seasons of food - leeks in the spring, shellfish in the summer, squash in the fall, and ice wine in the winter. Janelle Songer made the ceramic pieces throughout the restaurant. It was very important to both Paul and John to make this a space that is a reflection of the community, using local artists and salvaged materials with roots in metro Detroit. They want this to be a place that appeals to everyone, to have construction workers sitting next to bankers and everyone be comfortable. Like at a lemonade stand, where everyone has the same experience regardless of who and what they are - hence the name.

In regards to my question of how they were going to break up this 10,000-square-foot space to maximize marketability and monetization (something else Zazio's struggled with), the three private dining rooms are the answer. The 14-seat communal table inside the wine cellar is one, perfect for private celebrations. The 10-seat Paul W. Smith room is intended for celebrities and high-ranking executives, and even has its own private entrance. The third is a 40-seat conference room wired for all AV equipment with a large TV for teleconferences, and this is the space with the most potential to bring in a steady stream of business business.

Part of Paul's 10-year plan includes possibly opening more Stands in other areas in metro Detroit, or working with John on another concept in Birmingham - seafood, perhaps? But he's got 10 years to figure that out. For now, he's focused on getting the Stand open, which quite possibly stands to be the best restaurant in Birmingham.

The Stand has already been operating for a few weeks, hosting private events and seminars. It opens to the public officially at 5 p.m. today and will be open 5-10 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 5-11 Fridays and Saturdays (closed Sundays). Eventually they will also be open for lunch.

Want to see more? View the Flickr set here. 

[EID Feature] Gastronomy: Restaurant of the Year (At Least It Should Be)

The best meal I ever had in metro Detroit was at Tribute in Farmington Hills when Takashi Yagihashi was still there. (In fact, that meal makes the short list for best dining experiences I’ve ever had in my life.) Following that meal are more meals at Tribute (post-Takashi) and a couple of trips to Iridescence (in both its OLD location in the MotorCity Casino before the hotel was built and the glorious new space). And now, Gastronomy.

My first visit to Gastronomy was in the first week they opened. They didn’t yet have a liquor license and were serving lunch only (they are now serving both dinner and alcohol). One look at the menu and a brief chat with the general manager and I knew, I just knew. Then I had the food.

Foie gras brulee.

Some places open with lots of fanfare – usually because of a really strong social media and marketing blitzkrieg (sometimes I even help with that); sometimes because of some local quasi-“star” player or established brand involved; sometimes because enough buzz was built on the ground level and people were simply really excited about, with or without the aid of PR. Gastronomy opened quietly … so quietly that barely anyone even knew about it. There were no feature spreads in the Free Press or Detroit News, no significant following on Facebook, no real buzz of which to speak. (A story in Crain’s from Nate Skid was so preemptive one could assume readers all but forgot about it; then there was some turnover with the chef and partners involved … i.e., Prentice is out.)

But does good buzz equal a good restaurant? I’m reminded of a line from the H.M.S. Pinafore: “’What never?’ ‘No, never.’ ‘What, never?’ ‘Hardly ever!’” In other words, the best places don’t usually need to blow their own horns.

Opinions on restaurants are highly subjective. (Just look at Yelp.) Here is fact: Gastronomy is the best new restaurant in metro Detroit, period. The end. There needs to be no further discussion. If Gastronomy isn’t adorned with “Restaurant of the Year” by the likes of Hour and the Free Press, they are wrong. Period. (Well, either wrong or playing a game of restaurant/advertiser politics, from which there is no escape.)

There are reasons why you might not know about Gastronomy. First, it is in a weird and somewhat off-putting office park in wholly un-sexy Southfield, and it is a place you must specifically seek out as it is tucked away in said weird and somewhat off-putting office park (you would never just drive by and feel compelled to pop in). Second, try as they did to re-vamp the interior of what was once a Morton’s Steakhouse (they tried to lighten it up with bright colors and also blew out a couple of windows to allow some natural light in), they can’t quite escape that “hotel conference center/banquet hall” vibe. (I blame the low ceilings.) But I’m not talking about metro Detroit’s sexiest restaurant (besides, that’s Roast); I’m talking about BEST.

Executive Chef Adam Hightower is no joke. A Michigan native and Schoolcraft culinary graduate, he has worked for private clubs in Michigan, New York, Florida and Houston; was on the USA Culinary Olympic Team in 2000; staged in Europe for a year; trained as a Sous Chef under Certified Master Chef Lawrence McFadden at the Ritz-Carlton’s flagship location in Naples; was the Executive Chef at Honolulu’s AAA Four-Diamond Bali by the Sea; and most recently returned from Hong Kong to oversee Gastronomy. This isn’t some small-potatoes Midwestern chef; this guy is the real deal, an accomplished culinarian able to compete on the world’s stage who chose once again to make Michigan his home.

And as a Michigan chef, Hightower’s menu at Gastronomy is a Michigan-by-way-of-the-world menu. Their whole concept is to source as much product from Michigan as possible, and if not Michigan than America (for example, their coffee is from Kona, Hawaii and is served in what they call an “American press”). Everything – everything – is made from scratch in-house, from the breads (including naan) and pastries made from in-house Pastry Chef Emily Davis (another Schoolcraft grad – this place could be an advertisement for that school) to the bitters, infusions and syrups used in the craft cocktails created by some of metro Detroit’s most noted mixologists. They have their own herb garden on the property and will also have their own greenhouse close by that will supply them year-round. They serve “black water” which they mix themselves, a “healthier” version of water with almost 45% more oxygen and 77 minerals. (It tastes like regular not-as-healthy water but looks like Coca-Cola. To their knowledge they are the only restaurant in the country serving it.)

Steak and eggs.

The menu is a tour of the familiar yet not, regional yet worldly. The lunch menu is full of salads and sandwiches (as would be expected), but with unique spins. (They also offer a “lunch box” which is a five-course mini-meal for only $16.) There is a whole section on the menu dedicated to a specific region of global cuisine that will change every 6-8 weeks (they started with Southeast Asia.) The dinner menu is where the culinary team really shines with items like the Foie Gras Brulee (with chocolate, pineapple, cherry and chili) and “Steak and Eggs.” (From the menu description: “It is what it is, we just do it differently.” Indeed.) The gastropub, attached to the restaurant but with an identity all its own, has its own “pub snacks” menu that includes the “Gastronomy Haute Dog,” a house-made hot dog with house-made bun served with house-made accouterments including pickled jalapeno, sweet relish, ballpark mustard and chipotle ketchup.

Flourless chocolate cake.

After my first visit, I scheduled a time to meet with General Manager and Sommelier Chris Salazar to talk about the concept and do that thing I do. I figured we would chat, I would order a couple of small plates, snap a few photos and be on my way. Instead I stayed for nearly three hours and feasted on an impromptu eight-course chef’s tasting which included all of the above items. Each item was equally or more spectacular than the one before it, and by the time I got to the “haute” dog – of all things – and the Rolling Stone’s cover of “Paint It Black” came on I was so happy I wanted to cry. The only bad thing about that meal was the fact that I knew it had to end. And then it did end ... with the Flourless Chocolate Cake – salted caramel crémeux, chocolate-covered Kona beans, vanilla malt whipped cream. It was the culinary equivalent of the crux of Beethoven’s 9th, the “Ode to Joy.”

Not only was the food itself phenomenal, on a level to which so many area restaurants aspire but so very, very few ever achieve, but the presentation was exceptional. Some more rustic chefs sneer at plating and presentation, considering it secondary to the food itself – they’re wrong. We eat with our eyes as much as our mouths. Adam Hightower understands this, and his presentation is in a league of its own.

To have your own experience of unadulterated joy, there is a chef’s table that seats up to eight people right outside the kitchen. Adam will also happily prepare a chef’s tasting for your table (whether you’re at the “special” table or not) upon request. There is no specific menu for this: Adam will come to your table to find out what your company likes and create a menu then and there. Vegetarians and vegans are also welcome; a special vegan menu will be introduced soon that isn’t JUST for vegans, but for anyone looking for a lighter, healthier meal.

Oh, and in keeping with the Michigan theme, they of course have a nice selection of Michigan craft beers, wines and spirits. Which probably went without saying but, you know, it’s still worth saying.

Want to see more? View the Flickr set here.