Back in December, our food writer Jane Slaughter wrote a rave review of chef James Rigato's new Hazel Park joint, Mabel Gray. She called the menu "studiously local" and complimented the service and ambiance.
Well, it seems word of the little 43-seat restaurant reached the Big Apple and The New York Times sent a food writer to review the farm-to-table joint.
Of course, the writer couldn't get two sentences out without comparing Mabel Gray's aesthetic to similar restaurants in Detroit's apparent Empire State twin city, saying "the restaurant initially appears to have been airlifted from Brooklyn."
Sigh.
The review is short and other than noting that a plate of crispy fried potatoes is "hopelessly addictive," the writer keeps her opinions of the restaurant, menu, and Rigato to herself. The space, instead, is reserved for educating readers about the diverse crops that grow on Michigan farms, and offering little bits of trivia about our fine state.
This is a place where Faygo, a Detroit-made soda pop, is on the menu, and where affable waiters will inform you that Michigan grows sugar beets 50 out of 52 weeks of the year.
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You can read the whole thing in all its glory here.
