Food

Detroit is one of nation’s top 7 most underrated food cities

There's no better way to make the foodie radar list than having "underrated" next to your name. Excerpt: "Being in Detroit puts you in ridiculously close proximity to some of the most authentic, best-tasting food you'd normally need a passport to enjoy. With the proper research/guidance, it's totally possible to travel the culinary world in 20mi, leaving you with a TON of leftover cash to blow on the important things... like even more food." More here.

Yates Cider Mill opening new location in Orion Twp

Yates Cider Mill, a top metro Detroit destination for cider, donuts, jams, other small-batch foods, and the entertainment experience of watching the cider-making process, is taking the family tradition to a new location in Orion Township. It's not uncommon to see long lines and crowds at the Rochester Hills mill.The new location is expected to follow suit, building on the business based on Michigan apples. It will be located at Canterbury Village and is expected to open by the fall, the high season for the cider mill outings. Owner Mike Titus is also expanding the Rochester Hills operation, opening for the first time for a spring pressing. Opening day is April 15. And by the first of May Yates will open the Ice Cream Shoppe and sell chocolate and vanilla custards. Yates, a grist mill that dates back to 1863, is said to be one of the longest continuously operating businesses in the state, and the popularity of the mills, which merge agriculture and economics, is at a high. Source: Mike Titus, owner, Yates Cider Mill Writer: Kim North Shine

New and larger Park Grill fires up in Grosse Pointe Park

A look at Park Grill's  Facebook page makes it clear that its absence hasn't gone unnoticed, and since the Grosse Pointe Park Mediterranean eatery reopened Monday, posts of gratitude keep coming. The family- and friend-run spot in the burgeoning Park business district re-opened this week after an eight-month renovation that enlarged the space and overhauled the aesthetics. The eatery also added to the menu, created an extensive beer list with four on tap, and a specialty cocktail menu with an endless Bloody Mary bar come summer. "The response has been overwhelmingly positive, and we are excited to see so many loyal customers and new faces come through our doors during our first couple days," says general manager Brian Czerny. Park Grill is located in a prominent corner spot at 15102 Kercheval Avenue and is one of several new developments joining solidly established businesses in the stretch of blocks with mostly 1920s-era architecture. The renovated space is nearly twice the size of the old one and will have an outdoor patio. Park Grill, which is owned by the Kokoshi family, Albanian immigrants who turn out some their favorite recipes, can now seat 62 inside, 17 at an L-shaped bar, and 20-25 outdoors. To keep up with demand, the restaurant has added staff and is still looking for more. Source: Brian Czerny, general manager, Park Grill Writer: Kim North Shine

Gluten- and nut-free pizzeria opens in Troy

A dad frustrated by the challenge of taking his daughter out to eat without her getting sick from meals that came with nut-free and gluten-free claims has opened his own restaurant in Troy, and he's seeing a rush of grateful customers who share his desire to just enjoy a meal out without worry. The dad, Gabe Hertz, and partner and pizza specialist, Ken Karapici, opened Renee's Gourmet Pizzeria in February in Troy. The word of mouth in the allergy community has attracted customers from across metro Detroit to Ann Arbor.  Renee's is located at 1937 W. Maple Road. There's room for 60 to eat and there's carryout. Hertz named the restaurant after his daughter who was diagnosed with nut allergies and Celiac's Disease, a wheat intolerance, at age 5. "My daughter can't have one speck of wheat or it can put her into two weeks of pain, and I love taking her out to eat," Hertz says. Nuts are life-threatening. She and most people with her carry an EpiPen. "Finally, she said, 'Dad, that's it, I'm not going anywhere else to eat with you. It was a month and a half before she walked in here." Once he decided to open his own restaurant, Renee became the taste-tester for what the pizzeria would sell: a thin New York style pizza, calzones, soups, Hungarian dumplings, soups, cinnamon sticks and more. "I've waited for a long time for someone to do this. Finally, I thought, you know if no one else is doing it, I'm going to do it. And no one is doing 100 percent gluten-free and nut-free like we are. Unless you are 100 percent free, you will have cross contamination." He wanted to open a gluten- and nut-free restaurant that served food just as tasty as anywhere. "I didn't want to build a gluten-free facility. I wanted to build a good gluten-free facility. Anybody can put out cardboard." The reaction from parents has been as important as the bottom line, he says. "It's not uncommon for someone to drive and hour, hour and a half to get here. Imagine there are parents who can finally open a menu and say, 'Wow, we can have anything on this menu!' The parents are in tears. I'm in tears. It's amazing to see, in my opinion, the comfort we give families. I know, if I could find one place my daughter could eat and not get sick, I would go three hours just to get that dinner with her." Source: Gabe Hertz, co-owner, Renee's Gourmet Pizzeria Writer: Kim North Shine

Grosse Pointes get new breakfast & lunch option at Jagged Fork

After a major makeover, a former Biggby's coffee shop in Grosse Pointe Farms has reopened as a breakfast, lunch and brunch spot that's attracting east siders with its offbeat menu and fresh, cozy dining room. The Jagged Fork opened March 3 on busy Mack Avenue, and after a slow build-up the restaurant was packed by the weekend with customers "who have been so wonderful, so supportive," says The Jagged Fork co-owner Francesco Adamopoulos. "We're anticipating we'll have big crowds this week. So far I've loved the community. The reception has been nothing but warm. I swear after I talk to people, and I'm thinking about them after they leave, I just feel so good about them. They are just so salt of the earth." Adamopoulos, who was born into the restaurant business as one of three children of Greek parents who spent every summer in Greece for years running a banquet hall, is a partner in the restaurant with his brother, Stavros Adamopoulos, and a business partner, Tom Teknos. The Jagged Fork is their third restaurant venture; the first being Zoe's House of Pancakes, which is in West Bloomfield and owned by Stavros, and the second, The Hudson Cafe in Detroit. The parents have owned The Hercules Family Restaurant in Farmington Hills since the mid-1980s, after having a restaurant and store in South Africa in the 1970s. The Jagged Fork's menu borrows from its partner restaurants' menus -- including a Latin-influenced breakfast such as huevos rancheros, a popular turkey burger, and homemade corned beef and hash. Adamopoulos and his chefs make the salsa verde and salsa ranchero in house. The creative menu offers four different kinds of eggs benedict, a long list of unusual and classic omelets, skillet breakfast dishes, sweet and savory crepes, pancakes, waffles, and sandwiches and salads for lunch. "We've always done chores for the restaurants: peeled potatoes, unloaded fish, set and bused tables. We were born into it." The owners' decision to move into the vacant Biggby's brings back to life a block at 18480 Mack Avenue. It was quieted at the end of 2012 when the Michigan-based coffee shop failed to reach a lease agreement. The Biggby has since reopened at a new location on Mack Avenue in Grosse Pointe Woods. Adamopoulos says the location "kind of found us" when the realtor who leased them The Hudson Cafe spot told them about a "great spot in Grosse Pointe" as the owners were contemplating whether to open their next restaurant in Grosse Pointe or Troy. While all is going well so far, it's stressful being just 27 years old and responsible for the restaurant's success and the financial well-being of a dozen employees. "When you open a new business you're stressed out, you're scared. There's a lot on the line. I'm a young guy. It's crazy doing something so big at this age," he says. "But the customers really make it fun. When you have customers like we've had this week, it's so much fun to come to work. I've been overwhelmed by the show of enthusiasm." Source: Francesco Adamopoulos, owner, The Jagged Fork  Writer: Kim North Shine

The Bird & The Bread offers Euro-style, family-friendly eats in Birmingham

It was always a part of the plan for The Bird & The Bread to be a welcoming restaurant for families. What was not as planned was the extent to which family would play into the charmingly-named, stunningly designed and decorated space where food described as modern Euro casual with an American twist is being brought to Birmingham by the owners and creators of Vinology in Ann Arbor and and Vinotecca in Royal Oak. The Bird & The Bread at 210 South Old Woodward opened for dinner Feb. 22 and will open for lunch March 25. It is connected to The ELM, a banquet room for about 150 guests that is under construction and will open March 18. Brunch will be served at The Bird & The Bread before Easter. But back to the family ties. First, the restaurant name. It comes from the nicknames given to the twin 3-1/2-year-old children of the owners by their grandfather. One, the smaller girl with a cry more like a squawk, was dubbed The Bird. The heftier son was more like a dense loaf of bread and took his nickname from that. Later, as the family thought up the name of their future restaurant that would serve more as a comfort food place than their wine-focused previous endeavors, the inclusion of bread, as in fresh-baked loaves, and bird, as in chicken, made sense. The whimsical nature of the name fit the family attitude and restaurant design, which includes an emphasis on environmentally sustainable construction and has a stave -- a room that feels like being inside a wine barrel. "We agonized and agonized about the name of this restaurant because it's the first time for us not to do a vino concept," says co-owner Kristin Jonna, who grew up around good food and wine as the daughter of John Jonna, one of the founders of Merchant of Vino and former owner of Merchant's Fine Wine. She has traveled the world honing her craft -- wine and food -- and is known as one of Michigan's wine experts. The Jonnas also created Vinotecca inside the Bastone complex in downtown Royal Oak, and own and operate the successful Vinology in downtown Ann Arbor. The departure from a fine-wine restaurant -- though the Bird & Bread will have a good selection -- was a response to something missing in Birmingham. "Birmingham has done high end well. It didn't necessarily need more of that," Kristin Jonna says. "We felt what was untapped was a more a casual concept, more of an everyday family restaurant." That should not imply that hot dogs and chicken fingers are on the menu, though executive chef Jim Leonardo, who is splitting his time between the new restaurant and Vinology, "is loving getting the chance to cook food he serves to his family," she says. Further tying in the family connection, the grandfather's 30-year-old collection of cookbooks decorates The Bird & The Bread's walls and light fixtures in the space that's broken into comfy, homey rooms such as the nook and the stave and a restaurant entrance that welcomes diners with the warmth of a pizza oven and rotisserie. The ELM banquet space, which has a simpler, elegant decor and a completely different food selection, is named after nephews Enzo and Luke and niece Maya, the children of Vincent Jonna, who's also in the family restaurant and wine business. "We are just so excited and ready to go," says Jonna. "We want people to know, the families to know, we're here and want to share The Bird & The Bread with them." Source: Kristin Jonna, co-owner, The Bird & The Bread Writer: Kim North Shine

Revolver restaurant in Hamtramck thrives on revolving chef concept

The owners of revolver saw promise in melding the concept of table d'hôte -- a set, pre-selected menu at a fixed price - with up-and-coming chefs, a belief in using locally sourced food and a desire to build a community around it all. And in just under six months, they are seeing their vision catch on. Tunde Wey, who with Peter Dalinowski opened revolver at 9737 Joseph Campau in Hamtramck in September, says revolver will be adding to its list of revolving chefs and opening more days for its reservation-only seatings. Instead of serving dinner only on Fridays and every other Saturday, revolver will also be open every Saturday and some Sundays. "We want to grow with demand naturally as opposed to trying to force it,"  says Wey, who describes revolver and the chefs he and Dalinowski select to prepare the day's meal as "artisanal fare, handmade, farm-to-table with attention to detail. Typically the food is new American, he says, but guest chefs have also served Japanese sushi and Indonesian food. "We're open to all kinds of food genres. But we want food that's approachable and comfortable," says Wey, who like Dalinowski is a self-taught chef and entrepreneur. The pair wanted to go into the restaurant business and do it in a way that it spoke to things they care about: nurturing the cooking community, bringing people who love different food experiences together and operating in a socially responsible way. "We've gotten tons of requests from chefs recently and we sell out our dinners," Wey says. "There are so many talented chefs and caterers here waiting to be discovered, and so many people out there who want to try their food first." The restaurant has room for 36 guests per seating, but can go up to 40. Tables -- the four six-tops and one 12-top -- are seated so that guests often make new acquaintances in their dining companions. "We have people making friends, getting phone numbers," says Wey. "We're hoping to facilitate a marriage one day." Want to hear more thoughts from Wey on revolver? Check out his November 2013 blog post on Metromode's sister publication, Model D. Source: Tunde Wey, revolver Writer: Kim North Shine

Nom Nom’s Cupcake Factory to add third shop & pizzeria in Detroit

Kravings answering call for modern kosher carryout in Oak Park

After more than 40 years in business, Quality Kosher Catering is finding a new and different market for its food. Daniel Kohn, the 28-year-old grandson of the founder, is part of that market -- the young Jewish community with an appetite for updated and creative Kosher food. With that in mind, Kohn is overseeing the opening of the company's new takeout spot in Oak Park, Kravings. It's located at 25270 Greenfield Road and has a dining room that seats about 25. It has a grill, sushi bar and fully certified Kosher kitchen turning out traditional and contemporary Kosher meals. Kravings' official grand opening is this week, but after a few weeks of what was supposed to be a soft opening Kohn says it's clearer than ever that the demand for more modern kosher food is high. "The only bad thing since we've opened is how good the reception has been," says Kohn. The idea to open Kravings came together about a year ago. Quality Kosher Catering, which started in Southfield in 1968 by Kohn's grandmother, is the exclusive caterer for the Congregation Shaarey Zedek synagogue in Southfield, but the vast majority of its business is outside the temple, across metro Detroit, says Kohn. "It was a pretty spontaneous idea," he says. "It came up in the last year. It was about five months from the time we decided to do it to when we opened. "Our business on its own started changing. A lot of clients who knew us and were comfortable with us and liked our food started calling for smaller orders. We were doing that from our catering location, but it was not ideal. "In conjunction with that, Unique Kosher carryout, which had been around for about 25 years, was closing. The owner approached me and was planning on retiring and was looking to sell his business. So it was a combination of looking to solve a problem we were having and having the opportunity to purchase a great location." At the same time the demands of local, young Jewish residents who had moved away and seen modern, trendy and different Kosher foods in other cities were looking for the same in metro Detroit. "The Kosher community has changed a lot and evolved a lot, especially in the last 10 years," Kohn says. "A lot more people, young people, are moving back from Chicago, New York, and demanding something fresh, something more hip." Sushi, brisket burgers, a quality steak and other grilled foods meet that demand. At the same time, Kravings wants to keep the traditionalists happy by serving Kosher staples. Source: Daniel Kohn, general manager, Kravings Writer: Kim North Shine