[HOT LIST] The Best of Waterford

"Covert" camera phone shooting inside Calabrese's Pizzeria

Waterford. It is the Macomb County of Oakland County, the bastard child of Pontiac and White Lake, the butt of all local hillbilly, redneck and white trash jokes. And yes, Waterford isn't all hoighty-toighty like Birmingham, and the people are decidedly blue collar (however, there is also a lot of money out there on the western and northern borders of White Lake and Clarkston, FTR). The watering holes are exactly that, and the dining scene is pretty humble. But Waterford is also full of natural beauty, with 34 lakes surrounded by forests, several state and county parks, and protected wildlife habitats. The roads all wind around the lakes and the drive is serene; seeing geese, deer, rabbits and all forms of lake and forest wildlife is very common. And despite their simplicity, there are some fantastic restaurants out here (if you can break out of the white tablecloth mindset). From classic American coney islands to Lebanese cuisine, Waterford has a little of everything.

#1 Calabrese's Pizzeria II (4668 Dixie Hwy.)
Is it possible that one of Detroit's best pizzas is way, waaaaaay up here, hidden in Waterford Township in this tiny little pizzeria with about 11 seats all decorated in retro kitsch? For over 40 years, Calabrese's has been one of Waterford's best-kept secrets. The pizza is excellent, without a doubt; but the piece de resistance is the mozzarella bread. "Can mozzarella bread ever really be that good?" you may wonder. It's really just dough, cheese, maybe some butter and garlic salt...surely nothing terribly different from one place to another, right? Words cannot accurately depict the superiority of this humble-looking bread. It starts with the dough - soft, tender, but baked crispy to the edges...just the slightest crunch, nothing dry, just enough. The dough itself is infused with garlic flavor - we know not how, nor do we ask. Surely garlic salt would be obvious but the flavor wouldn't be so infused, and garlic butter would make it greasy...but there it is, defying immediate explanation. Then, it is covered in mozzarella. The mozzarella doesn't bubble and brown: it liquifies, becoming a glassy coat of cheese covering the bread. The flavor: mozzarella-garlic-dough magic. This is not something that can be described. It must be experienced.

#2 Taqueria San Jose (4550 Elizabeth Lake Rd.)
There is no shortage of places in Waterford and Pontiac where you can stuff your face full of Mexi-Merican fare; it's really kind of the Southwest Detroit of the northern suburbs. But places where you can get more Mexican Mexican food are in much shorter supply. Taqueria San Jose is about as fancy as a mess hall, but the food is hands-down some of the best Mexican you will find in metro Detroit. Not Waterford; not Oakland County - metro Detroit, including the city. Tacos come in all the delicious flavors you'd expect from a proper Mexican joint, including tripe and tongue. Order the three taco entree with al pastor (marinated, slow-cooked pork), chorizo (Mexican sausage) and carne asada (grilled steak). They come on corn tortillas with diced onion and cilantro - wedges of limes and radishes are already at your table, as well as homemade tortilla chips and salsas which include a runny, spicy brownish-red salsa made from roasted chiles that is addictive. The entree also comes with Spanish rice and homemade refried beans; even the beans are outstanding. And all that for $6.75. The horchata (sweetened rice milk with ground almond and cinnamon) tastes like homemade rice pudding.

#3 Heroes Bar-B Q + Brew (998 W. Huron St.)
A no-frills family place by day and boisterous bar by night, Heroes serves up hearty Midwestern food like fall-off-the-bone ribs, juicy burgers and steaks, and planked whitefish. Locals love this place because of the consistently friendly staff who will make you feel right at home (they like to say that "you're only a stranger once"), the lively energy (the place is always busy), and the solid food. Nothing fancy, but a reliable stand-by.

#4 Irish Tavern (4703 Elizabeth Lake Rd.)
Nicole remembers when this place opened several years ago; it was the best bar in the area and also happened to be one of the closest to her apartment. She became a regular pretty quickly. The IT has changed quite a bit since it was one of Nicole's old haunts, but all for the better: they added a kitchen after their first couple of years in business, and a recent remodel has made it look more like an Irish bar and less like a Waterford bar. This is simply a great place to go drink, with a more polished feel than most other Waterford dives. (Not that we don't love a good dive, and Waterford's full of 'em.)

#5 Village Place (4710 Cooley Lake Rd.)
What Lafayette Coney Island is to Detroit, Village Place is to Waterford. It's not that the food here is really so outstanding - and people, you really need to start accepting the fact that Lafayette's isn't either - but it's open 24 hours a day and it is a Waterford rite of passage. Anyone who has ever partied semi-regularly in Waterford, White Lake, Union Lake, Commerce Twp. or West Bloomfield has been here at 3 a.m. at some point. It is also located directly next to the IT (don't let the street names confuse you; they practically share a parking lot), so if you're hanging out at our favorite bar you don't have to go far to sober up. Nicole knows this from experience.

Bubbling under Hot Pepper Thai Restaurant (4212 Pontiac Lake Rd.), Walt's Original Coney Island (3425 Highland Rd.), Custard Corner (3005 Pontiac Lake), La Marsa (4240 Pontiac Lake Rd.), Sweet Water Bar + Grill (7760 Cooley Lake Rd.), Grand Azteca IV (2505 Pontiac Lake Rd.)

[EID Feature] Whole Foods is Really Not That Expensive, We Promise

We're still reeling from the negative response the official Whole Foods to open in Detroit's Midtown announcement received from a very specific contingency of "Detroit is perfect the way it is" cheerleaders. Enough so that we're making it this week's theme.

Anti-Whole Foods "arguments" seem to fall into one of three major categories:

Number One. "We already have University Foods and Honey Bee and that's enough." To that contingency, wherever you got your business and/or urban planning degree from should no longer be allowed to teach. But we already addressed that, so let's move on.

Number Two. "They're using MY tax dollars to..." We've found that whenever a person starts a sentence with "They're using MY tax dollars to..." what-the-hell ever, that the rest of that sentence is going to be nothing more than a steaming stream of ignorance with a complete absence of understanding of how federal and municipal tax spending works. We call them "armchair politicians" and we just tune them out. But, for argument's sake (because we love a good argument), let's review. Actually, someone already did it for us:

Detroit is paying to attract a supermarket. That’s problematic. When Detroit pays to attract or retain sports teams with multi-million dollar stadium investments? No problem.

Tax credit financing for the Compuware Building or the Book-Cadillac restoration? Never a discouraging word.

Public infrastructure dollars spent so sprawl developers can build houses that will compete (in a shrinking market) with homes (built when this was a growing market) in the inner-ring suburbs? That’s progress!

When Ed McNamara decided taxpayers should build Northwest (now Delta) Airlines’ new branch office in Romulus (i.e. the new airport)? Look to the ground and shuffle your feet.

Hells bells, the very products sold in University Foods, Whole Foods or any other grocer are subsidized to the tune of billions of federal dollars. Leave the Whole Foods nickels alone for a second, and take aim at the piles of cash dumped on “heartland” agri-business.

Yet, a subsidy for a high-profile grocery store in a resurgent part of Detroit is the threat to our free market system? Columnist, please.

(From Jeff Wattrick at MLive, read the full article here.)

For good measure and just to make sure we cover all bases, we'll also throw in those film incentives that everyone was aaaaaaaall excited about and when threatened by "One Tough Nerd" Rick Snyder, created a large-scale uproar with protests and everything. Ironically, by some of the exact same people who are behind such precious jewels as the new Facebook fan page, "Whole Foods Isn't Worth $4.2 Million in Incentives." (Their opposition's Facebook fan page, "I am happy Whole Foods is coming to Detroit because I am not insane," is currently outpacing them in "fans" 90 to 12.) For the record, in 2010, the Michigan Film Office paid out $95 million in movie credits, with another $209 million approved but not yet paid. That equals - wait for it - over 72 times as much of YOUR tax dollars as what is being doled out to Whole Foods. So, please, pretty pretty please, shut up.

Number Three: "Whole Foods is too expensive and people in Detroit can't afford it."

Is that so? Well, to prove that line of logic totally and completely wrong, we did a little covert research this week, hitting up the Whole Foods in Troy and photographing a random sampling of kitchen cupboard staples and day-to-day necessities that are part of their brand signature 365 Everyday Value line (like Meijer's eponymous generic label and Target's Market Pantry line), then compared their prices to the prices for the same exact items at University Foods and Honey Bee (which, for whatever reason, are being upheld as Reason Number One).

Also, bear in mind, the 365 label is largely organic, which you already know is more expensive anyway, whereas many of the University and Honey Bee comparisons are not. We differentiate where possible. We also note where prices were compared to other generic labels instead of name brands.

Basic cereal

Here we looked at standard cereals, particularly corn flakes.
 

Whole Foods: $2.69
Honey Bee: $2.49 (generic label)
University Foods: $3.19 (generic label)

Beans
Garbanzo and pinto. Maybe not common in every household, but a common enough canned good.

Whole Foods: $1.39 garb & pinto (both organic)
Honey Bee:  $1.39 garb, $1.29 pinto (not organic)

University Foods: $.99 garb, $1.29 pinto (not organic)

Broth
We look at 11-oz. non-organic small cans, 32-oz. non-organic large cans, and 32-oz. boxed organic to compare solely to Whole Foods' 32-oz. boxed organic.

Whole Foods: $1.99 (organic)
Honey Bee: $1.19 (small), $3.39 (large), $3.49 (organic box)

University Foods: $1.05 (small), $2.49-3.19 (large), $3.49 (organic box)

Frozen waffles
Here we compare Whole Foods' organic frozen waffles to Eggo and Kashi (limited selections available at comp stores)

Whole Foods: $2.69 (organic)
Honey Bee: $2.99 (Eggo brand)
University Foods: $2.85 (Eggo brand), $4.59 (Kashi brand, closest organic comparison available)

Frozen Fruit Bars
Not popsicles, but whole fruit bars. Best comparison at comp stores was Edy's Fruit Bars.

Whole Foods: $2.99 16-oz. 4-pack
Honey Bee: $3.00 16.5-oz. 6-pack
University Foods: $3.99 16.5-oz. 6-pack

Please note: the weight in ounces are nearly identical though the bar count differs.

Instant oatmeal
Once again comparing Whole Foods' organic product to non-organic products at comp stores, same weight.

Whole Foods: $3.39
Honey Bee: $4.19
University Foods: $4.19

Kettle chips
Here we compare pricing on 15-oz. bags of kettle chips at Whole Foods to much smaller bags at comp stores. We're not making this up.

Whole Foods: $1.49 (15-oz.)
Honey Bee: $3.99 (9-oz.)
University Foods: $3.49 (8-oz.)

Yogurt
Here we look at 32-oz. containers of yogurt from Whole Foods, organic and not, as well as single-serving cups, compared to non-organic comp stores.

Whole Foods: $2.69 (non-organic large), $2.99 (organic large), $.79 (single)
Honey Bee: $3.29 (non-organic large), $4.49 (organic large), $1.29 (single)
University Foods: $2.59 (generic non-organic large), $3.19 (Dannon non-organic large), $.79 (single)

Mayonnaise
32 ounces of non-organic mayo at Whole Foods compared to 30-oz. Hellman's at comp stores.

Whole Foods: $3.99
Honey Bee: $6.29
University Foods: $5.99

Pasta sauce
25-oz. jars of organic pasta sauce at Whole Foods compared to same size both organic and non-organic at comp stores.

Whole Foods: $3.39 (organic)
Honey Bee: $2.89 (Prego), $4.99 (organic)
University Foods: $3.19 (Ragu), $3.59 (organic Ragu)

Peanut Butter
18-oz. organic peanut butter at Whole Foods compared to same size both organic and non-organic at comp stores.

Whole Foods: $3.99 (organic)
Honey Bee: $2.89 (non-organic JIF), $4.49 (organic)
University Foods: $1.99 (non-organic JIF on sale at time of research), $7.69 (organic)

Items we were not able to covertly snap pictures of include:

Milk (comparing both organic and non-organic at all three stores)

Whole Foods: $3.49 (gallon, non-organic), $3.49 (half-gallon, organic), $1.99 (half-gallon, non-organic)
Honey Bee: $3.49 (gallon, non-organic), $4.59-5.59 (half-gallon, organic), $2.49 (half-gallon, non-organic)
University Foods: $3.69 (gallon, non-organic), $3.79-4.49 (half-gallon, organic), $2.69 (half-gallon, non-organic)

Eggs (comparing all organic at Whole Foods to both organic and non-organic at comp stores)

Whole Foods: $2.99-4.39 (all organic)
Honey Bee: $1.49 (large white non-organic), $1.99 (large brown non-organic), $4.49 (large white organic)
University Foods: $1.00 (large white non-organic, on sale at time of research), $2.99 (large brown organic, on sale at time of research, regularly $4.39)

Orange Juice (comparing all organic at Whole Foods to all non-organic comp stores)

Whole Foods: $3.39 (half-gallon, organic), $3.99 (half-gallon, organic juice blends)
Honey Bee: $2.49 (half-gallon, non-organic), $4.59 (half-gallon, non-organic juice blends)

University Foods: $2.99-3.99 (half-gallon, non-organic), $3.49 (half-gallon, non-organic juice blends)

Okay? Cool? Can we be done with this idiocy now and just be happy we're going to have something nice for once, FOR ONCE?

Yours truly,
The staff of Eat It Detroit

[Real Detroit Weekly] Gourmet Undergrad

(All photos by Nicole Rupersburg.)

Just because you’re living in a dorm doesn’t mean you have to survive on Easy Mac, and contrary to popular dorm legend vodka is not in fact a food. These original recipes are all made with easy-to-find ingredients with minimal preparation involved, and can be cooked entirely in a microwave or toaster oven. Get your gourmet grub on while you get your learn on.

Fondue Sandwich (serves 3)
Inspired by Swiss cheese fondue, this recipe takes all those great flavors and puts them in a sandwich.

Ingredients:
● Emmathaler cheese (one kind of Swiss)
● Gruyere cheese (another kind of Swiss; can also use Comte, which is the French version)
● 6 slices of hearty sourdough bread (we used Avalon International Bread’s Farnsworth Family Farm deli-style sourdough)
● ½ stick salted butter
● 3 cloves freshly-peeled garlic, sliced thin or minced
● 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
● 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions:
1) Remove rack from toaster oven and preheat to 450˚F.
2) Make a quick garlic-infused “clarified” butter by placing butter and garlic in a bowl and microwave on high until melted (about 1 minute). Scoop white solids off the top. Let butter cool and harden. Spread butter on one side of all 6 slices of bread.
3) Place 3 slices on rack, buttered side down. Cut desired amount of cheese into thin (1/8’’) slices; should have equal quantities of both cheeses.
4) Place thin slices of cheese on bread. Sprinkle nutmeg and pepper onto each slice. Place remaining 3 slices of bread on top (buttered side up) to form sandwich.
5) Place rack in oven and for about 15-20 minutes (flipping once) until cheese is melted and edges of bread are slightly brown. Cut into halves and serve while hot.

Guacamole 3-Way (serves 4-5)
Easy to make, always delicious and GASP, healthy even – the possibilities for guacamole are endless. Now you can say you had your first college 3-way. Serve with your favorite tortilla chips.

[HOT LIST] Detroit Grocery Stores + Markets

(All photos by Nicole Rupersburg)

How do you start a hipster riot? In Detroit, it seems, all you have to do is click your heels together and say repeat the words "Whole Foods" three times. (Actually, you don't have to click your heels together and you only have to say those two little words just the once. Once is plenty.)

And, right, so, of course we get it. Some of you are happy with the existing options. And why not. Eastern Market is amazing. (We should know. We basically live there.) The Honey Bee on Bagley has Mexican Coke and guacamole and that is also awesome. Some of you, the sort content to go through life quietly punishing yourselves for various hidden sins, even think that University Foods is a real grocery store. (Let's not start another mini-riot; instead we'll just bob our heads up and down in agreement and move on.) You like to think that Detroit is just fine the way it is, give or take a light rail line or two. 'Grats. Loving your optimism.

Us, though? Well, if you're asking, we say Whole Foods can't come soon enough. Sure, it's not going to fix all of Detroit's problems, but you know what else won't fix all of Detroit's problems? Not opening a Whole Foods. That's what. (And neither will light rail, and neither will Dan Gilbert and neither will a Somerset pop-up store, but again, in the interest of keeping the peace, let's move on.)

Yes, come early 2013, we won't be pried out of our Eastern Market lair all that easily, but having a massive selection of organic produce, artisanal food products, assorted imported and organic food stuffs, boutique wine and craft beer, all within walking distance, available seven days a week and late into the evening hours? This is not something we will be unhappy about. Not at all.

Then again, a year and a half is a long way off. In the meantime, let's take a look at some of of Detroit's best existing markets and shops. Some you've heard of, some you haven't; they're all fanbloodytastic.
 
#1 E and L Supermercado Southwest
You love Honey Bee for the Mexican Coca-Cola in the bottle. Well, it's half the price here. E and L has a huge selection of fresh tortillas and other Hispanic food products and produce (this is Southwest, after all). They also have a fantastic prepared foods counter where you can get proper tacos (chicken, steak or pork with onions and lime) and quesadillas for a buck-thirty each or 3-for-$3 (and you can call-ahead order while on your lunch break for a quick grab-and-go). Their homemade guacamole is also cheaper than Honey Bee (and is better too, IOO), and their homemade tortilla chips and salsa will make you swear off all other pre-packaged store brands forever and ever, amen. But the real beauty is their butcher counter: they have the widest selection of butchered meats at the cheapest prices and highest quality anywhere in the city ... and, really, even beyond. Porterhouse steaks, ribs, filets, beef tenderloin, chorizo, al pastor, even goat (barbacoa); and let's not forget their 16-ft marinade counter loaded with marinated chicken wings, drums, fajitas, and carne asada; or their top-quality luncheon meat counter sliced to order. And it's all criminally cheap.

#2 R. Hirt Jr. Co. Eastern Market
It's Detroit's own genuine, bonafide, olde-timey general store selling lots of odds-and-ends and kitchen trinkets, but the reason we love R. Hirt so very much - despite its severely limited hours - is that cheese counter. THAT cheese counter. The cheese and deli counters are the showpiece of R. Hirt, located right front-and-center (and usually causing some massive bottle-necking in the narrow aisle). The selection is enormous. Blah blah blah meats, BUT, cheeeeeeese. Over 300 different varieties of cheese are on-hand here, some sitting out and letting their luscious aromas waft throughout the building, the rest stored in their massive backroom freezer. The emphasis isn't huge on locally-made cheeses (though there are some), but the import selection is outstanding and, no joke, up to $10 per pound cheaper than Zingerman's. Feel free to ask for samples; we certainly do.

#3 (Tie) Cost Plus Wine Shoppe Eastern Market + Motor City Wine Downtown
Detroit's abundance of liquor stores is well-documented (usually tagged with key words like "food desert"), but despite all the widely-available booze there are two - two - stores in all of Detroit where you can find a quality selection of small-production boutique wines from all over the world. Cost Plus has a larger store and thus a larger selection, and we've found some mind-blowing Chilean wines for a whopping $7. Cost Plus also has a nice collection of Michigan craft beers from some of our favorite labels (Bell's, Founders, New Holland, Short's). Motor City Wine has a smaller but exquisitely-curated wine selection, and is also a hotspot for live music with their "Hot Pot" Detroit techno Thursdays and world-renowned jazz on weekends. They have a leg up on Cost Plus with later hours, weekly events and regular wine tastings, and what they lack in craft beer they make up for by being located above another of our faves: the Grand Trunk Pub, which sells mix-and-match sixers of beer to go.

#4 Azteca Supermercado Southwest
Food desert. Pfffffff. The sheer abundance and per-capita density of grocers, supermarkets, butchers and bakers in Southwest Detroit more than makes up for what might be lacking elsewhere in the city. It's really quite astounding how many places there are to buy fresh food in SW, and how busy they all always seem to be. We don't really love Azteca for any one thing - we love them for all things. Fresh CHEAP produce (and a ginormous selection), fantastic butcher shop, fantastic bakery, a complete line of both American and Hispanic food items (like two full grocery stores in one), a huge and sparkling clean store, and awesome weekly specials that are cheap cheap CHEAP. If you want to settle for smaller selections at higher prices with lower quality and claim that it's "good enough," that's your prerogative.

#5 Goodwell's Natural Foods Midtown 
Goodwell's is essentially the local mom-and-pop version of Whole Foods. The focus is all on natural and organic foods with lots of vegan and raw this-and-thats. Their homemade pocket sandwiches are cheap and delicious, making it a nice little alternative to the often-overrun and rather 'spensive Avalon International Breads next door, while still maintaining the same ethos. The grocery selection is small but has all the staples you need; because it is all organic it is also more expensive, but such is the price you pay for eco-consciousness and sustainability. Which, if you're shopping here, you probably already know.

Bubbling under Honey Bee La Colmena (Mexicantown), Al-Madeena Grocery (Hamtramck), Lafayette Foods (Lafayette Park), Kim's Produce (Midtown), Polish Market (Hamtramck)

[944 Detroit] Detroit Restaurant Week

This published in April 2011 for the Spring Edition of DRW. View the PDF by clicking here; below is also the restaurant listings and featured segments from the article. (This was for spring but is also a nice way for you to ramp up for the forthcoming Fall Edition.)

Detroit Restaurant Week launched in fall 2009 with a concept created by the Downtown Detroit Partnership and produced by Paxahau Event Productions. Since its launch it has attracted more than 85,000 people and generated more than $1.5 million in sales for participating restaurants. Featuring the top restaurants in the area offering three-course menus at a fixed price of $28, it has (re)introduced the community to Detroit’s world-class dining destinations. On April 1 through April 10, the spring edition of Detroit Restaurant Week once again showcases the best of Detroit’s culinary talents.

As Detroit Restaurant Week has grown, it has evolved from one season to the next.  For this fourth promotion, DRW is excited to introduce Angelina Italian Bistro into the fold of participating restaurants.

“We had talked to them a few years ago when they first opened and wanted to give them some time to find their way in the marketplace and cement their footing in Detroit,” explains Jason Huvaere, President and co-founder of Paxahau Event Productions. “We’re looking forward to their participation and are really excited to see what they come up with.”

Also new this time around is a sponsorship by Quicken Loans.

“Quicken has been a part of downtown culture for awhile now,” Huvaere states.

“We presented them with the opportunity to get involved with and support DRW and they came in with guns blazing!”

They will provide coverage of Restaurant Week on their “Destination 313” program on WJR, as well as continue to promote the event and the restaurants to their downtown employees, who are within walking distance of many of the participating restaurants.

“As Detroit Restaurant Week continues to grow we want people who work down here to enjoy these restaurants after work,” Huvaere adds, noting that Quicken is committed to promoting these businesses not just during DRW but year-round, in keeping with DRW’s greater goal of presenting these restaurants as places to go not just during the promotion and not only for special occasions but also for dinner and drinks after work, or just because.

Click through for the complete restaurant listings.

[EID Feature] Las Brisas: "Breeze" on Down Vernor for the Place That Has Everything

(All photos by Nicole Rupersburg.)

Southwest Detroit has been receiving a lot of attention lately. Sure, they have food trucks (LONG before it was "cool"), but the Southwest neighborhood has also been hailed by the Freep as one of two "thriving" neighborhoods in Detroit (the technicality of that point could be argued but whatevs, at least they still have concentrated street retail and foot traffic) and adventuresome types looking for an "authentic" experience have lately been taking up the mantle of SW urban explorers.

The fact is, Southwest Detroit offers something that no other neighborhood in the city can offer: a highly concentrated ethnic population that has made Southwest Detroit synonymous with "Mexicantown" (one small corner of the area at Bagley and 24th) and even reminiscent of the cultural diversity of the American Southwest.

There are a lot of popular go-to spots for urban explorers: Mexicantown Restaurant, Los Galanes, Xochimilco, Mexicantown Bakery, Armando's, Cafe con Leche, those newly-appreciated taco carts. But if you drive just a little bit farther down Vernor - outside of the population density, which tends to get damn-near claustrophobic on weekends (SW gets pretty bumpin'), a ways past Clark Park to just west of Springwells - you'll find a little-known gem called Las Brisas.

Las Brisas has been here about 25 years, but in 2005 the original owners sought to retire and sold the business to Ricardo Lopez, whose family owns the Aranda's Tire chain (which had a store right across the street from Las Brisas).

And then, the economy ... well, you know all about that. The Lopez family owned another restaurant which they had to shut down, but through it all continued to operate Las Brisas. But things are looking up now: most recently the restaurant went through a massive remodel which moved the bar, raised the ceiling, increased the space and updated the look. Outside it looks like a regular, unremarkable building on Vernor, but inside it is a warm and spacious restaurant with lots of natural light and one of the largest nightclubs in the area with live music and dancing every weekend.

By day, it is a restaurant serving popular Mexican-American food. They've got all the favorites - tacos, enchiladas, burritos - and everything they do, they do very well. Mexican-American cuisine gets a bad rep - some people want to gripe over a lack of "authenticity" (ironically these people are almost never Mexican), while others have the impression that the food is just plain bad, an impression well-earned by lackluster Mexi-merican joints with sub-par fare. At Las Brisas, you get the very best of both worlds: traditional Mexican items catered to American palates (i.e., lots of cheese, lots of deep-frying) and all of it done exceptionally well.

The kitchen team gets in early every single morning to make all the dishes for the day, so everything you eat is homemade fresh daily. During the week you can stop in for their lunch buffet from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, for only $6.50 you get all-you-can-eat buffet items which include build-your-own tacos, deep-fried beef tacos (all the awesomeness of deep-fried mini tacos only homemade and fresh, not frozen), chicken flautas in crisp fried shells, chorizo-and-cheese burritos (drained of all that excess grease), creamy fresh-made guacamole and a variety of other items. Off the regular menu, their Mexican sandwich and tortas are their most popular signature items; you can also order extra-large family-style combo plates of tacos, burritos and enchiladas with beans and rice for dine-in or carry-out. They have different daily specials for carry-out, dine-in and the bar in addition to their lunch buffet.

The food may be simple and not treading any new territory, but when simple dishes are done well they far surpass their bland counterparts. Las Brisas may be a bit off the beaten path from the high-traffic stretch of Vernor, but the food here is 100x better than what you get at some of the better-known, more popular places that make up Mexicantown. As an added bonus, they have their own private parking lot that's guarded by security during all hours of operation, assuaging any concerns over safety for visitors.

On weekends, the place becomes a full-blown nightclub, bringing in popular singers, bands and DJs from all over the different states of Mexico (as well as mariachi bands earlier in the evening). It gets packed at night, bringing in crowds of 250+ people who will line up around the building to get in. Cover is only $5 for DJs (bands and singers will cost a little more), and the party goes all night. Afterwards, you can even stick around for your post-party late-night fried food feasting until 4 a.m., ending your evening in the same place you started it with dinner so many hours ago. (This is why they call themselves "the place that has everything.")

If you're having a party, they can cater, deliver, or you can even hold it at the restaurant starting at only $7.50 per person with all the food and service included, for anything from business meetings to birthday parties to weddings.

While the well-known hotspots of Southwest and Mexicantown certainly have their own unique appeal, try broadening your horizons a bit with a place with great food and top-notch international talent. Las Brisas ("the breeze") is well worth the journey off the beaten path.

Want to see more? Check out the Flickr set here.

[Real Detroit Weekly] Berkley Front

(Photo by Nicole Rupersburg)

"The year was 1994. Through the fog of flannel-shirted grunge there was still a glimmer of raw punk ethos and rockabilly pompadours in the likes of Social Distortion and Detroit's own Suicide Machines. It was also the year that the Berkley Front opened. One has nothing to do with the other, but the Front certainly looks like the kind of place Mike Ness and Jason Navarro could be spotted grabbing a beer together, with its stamped tin ceiling and old school jukebox filled with the Morrissey, Wilco, etc.

'For 17 years running, this place has been a beer bar. It has always been a beer bar, and it will always be a beer bar. They were here before being a beer bar was cool. It's pretty much the protopunk of metro Detroit beer bars..."

Read the rest of the story here.

Want to see more? Check out the Flickr set here.