Photos by Tom Perkins except where noted.
King’s Bakery It’s hard to imagine making improvements to the classic shawarma, but King’s did just that by adding a layer of cheese and wrapping it up in manoush, a Lebanaese flatbread. In short, King’s makes delicious cheesy shawarma in better bread. Find King’s Bakery here. Credit: Tom Perkins except where noted.
King’s Bakery It’s hard to imagine making improvements to the classic shawarma, but King’s did just that by adding a layer of cheese and wrapping it up in manoush, a Lebanaese flatbread. In short, King’s makes delicious cheesy shawarma in better bread. Find King’s Bakery here. Credit: Tom Perkins except where noted.
La Noria The second restaurant from El Barzon’s owners brings Detroit more-than-excellent takes on traditional tacos and pizzas. But it also offers new-for-Detroit flavors like the chapulin pizza (topped with sauteed grasshoppers) and tacos arabes, a type of taco native to the central Mexico’s Arabic population that melds the best of Arabic and Mexican cuisine. A must visit. Photo via Facebook. Find La Noria here Credit: Tom Perkins except where noted.
La Noria The second restaurant from El Barzon’s owners brings Detroit more-than-excellent takes on traditional tacos and pizzas. But it also offers new-for-Detroit flavors like the chapulin pizza (topped with sauteed grasshoppers) and tacos arabes, a type of taco native to the central Mexico’s Arabic population that melds the best of Arabic and Mexican cuisine. A must visit. Photo via Facebook. Find La Noria here Credit: Tom Perkins except where noted.
LoLo Potluck Want a break from the usual Lebanese fare that we categorize as “Mediterranean?” Try LoLo’s Egyptian cuisine. Among the best dishes is mahshy, a common, colorful Egyptian plate that’s similar to grape leaves. But Lolo replaces the grape leave wraps with cabbage, eggplant, or green pepper. The wraps are then stuffed with a super fragrant, red mix of rice, tomatoes, onions, parsley, dill, and cilantro, along with a hit cumin. Find LoLo Potluck here. Credit: Tom Perkins except where noted.
LoLo Potluck Want a break from the usual Lebanese fare that we categorize as “Mediterranean?” Try LoLo’s Egyptian cuisine. Among the best dishes is mahshy, a common, colorful Egyptian plate that’s similar to grape leaves. But Lolo replaces the grape leave wraps with cabbage, eggplant, or green pepper. The wraps are then stuffed with a super fragrant, red mix of rice, tomatoes, onions, parsley, dill, and cilantro, along with a hit cumin. Find LoLo Potluck here. Credit: Tom Perkins except where noted.
Noodletopia Chinese noodlemaker Noodletopia pulls all its noodles in house and is truly a noodle paradise. But the star of the lineup of entrees is the Sichuan noodles. The dish’s noodles are long, firm, chewy, and carry the dressing well, and the balance between the aromatics, sugar, black vinegar, chili oil, ground pork, and Sichuan peppercorns is just right. Find Noodletopia here. Credit: Tom Perkins except where noted.
Noodletopia Chinese noodlemaker Noodletopia pulls all its noodles in house and is truly a noodle paradise. But the star of the lineup of entrees is the Sichuan noodles. The dish’s noodles are long, firm, chewy, and carry the dressing well, and the balance between the aromatics, sugar, black vinegar, chili oil, ground pork, and Sichuan peppercorns is just right. Photo via Instagram. Find Noodletopia here. Credit: Tom Perkins except where noted.
Culantro Ferndale’s new Peruvian restaurant is quickly becoming a hit with dishes like aji de gallina — a slightly spicy chicken and rice dish that’s yellow from the use of Peruvian aji amarillo chili peppers, and “rich from the unusual cream sauce made with ground walnuts.” Culantro doesn’t serve booze, but mixes awesome drinks like the chicha morada, a “sangria-like mocktail” made purple from the use of dried Peruvian corn. Get there! Courtesy photo. Find Culantro here. Credit: Tom Perkins except where noted.
Culantro Ferndale’s new Peruvian restaurant is quickly becoming a hit with dishes like aji de gallina — a slightly spicy chicken and rice dish that’s yellow from the use of Peruvian aji amarillo chili peppers, and “rich from the unusual cream sauce made with ground walnuts.” Culantro doesn’t serve booze, but mixes awesome drinks like the chicha morada, a “sangria-like mocktail” made purple from dried Peruvian corn. Get there! Courtesy photo. Find Culantro here. Credit: Tom Perkins except where noted.
Standard Bistro and Larder Yes, it’s near Ann Arbor, so it’s not exactly in metro Detroit. But we couldn’t resist including the new Julia Child-inspired French restaurant by chef Alex Young, a James Beard Award winner who recently left Zingerman’s Roadhouse to open his own shop. Southeast Michigan is short on excellent French cuisine and has very few James Beard Award-winning chefs in its ranks, so this is an especially exciting combination. Courtesy photo. Find Standard Larder and Bistro here Credit: Tom Perkins except where noted.
Standard Bistro and Larder Yes, it’s near Ann Arbor, so it’s not exactly in metro Detroit. But we couldn’t resist including the new Julia Child-inspired French restaurant by chef Alex Young, a James Beard Award winner who recently left Zingerman’s Roadhouse to open his own shop. Southeast Michigan is short on excellent French cuisine and has very few James Beard Award-winning chefs in its ranks, so this is an especially exciting combination. Courtesy photo. Find Standard Larder and Bistro here Credit: Tom Perkins except where noted.
FOLK Detroit Corktown’s newest, cutest cafe offers excellent coffee from Hyperion and seasonal hash, breakfast plates, biscuit sandwiches, house made granola, wholesome salads, meat pies and family meal specials based on the owners’ global travels and family recipes. Find FOLK here. Credit: Tom Perkins except where noted.
FOLK Detroit Corktown’s newest, cutest cafe offers excellent coffee from Hyperion and seasonal hash, breakfast plates, biscuit sandwiches, house made granola, wholesome salads, meat pies and family meal specials based on the owners’ global travels and family recipes. Find FOLK here. Credit: Tom Perkins except where noted.
Lovers Only This new, hip downtown Detroit burger restaurant is a product of the team that brought you Ferndale’s well-loved Voyager seafood restaurant. Turns out they’re as skilled on land as they are at sea, and they developed a menu of “burgers and sandwiches that draw from the chefs’ rich culinary experience — as well as family memories — to create a menu that not only delivers deliciousness, but a story as well.” Photo via Instagram. Find Lovers Only here Credit: Tom Perkins except where noted.
Lovers Only This new, hip downtown Detroit burger restaurant is a product of the team that brought you Ferndale’s well-loved Voyager seafood restaurant. Turns out they’re as skilled on land as they are at sea, and they developed a menu of “burgers and sandwiches that draw from the chefs’ rich culinary experience — as well as family memories — to create a menu that not only delivers deliciousness, but a story as well.” Photo via Instagram. Find Lovers Only here Credit: Tom Perkins except where noted.
Prince’s Bakery One of the best dishes at Princes — one of Dearborn’s best Lebanese bakeries — is the sfeeha. The mini beef pies are a small, nearly pyramid-shaped pastry that cradle a big, red Lebanese meatball. Prince’s packs the tender minced meat with plenty of sauteed onion, garlic, tomatoes, and a seven-spice blend of salt, black pepper, cardamom, and more. Like a lot of Lebanese meat, it’s a slightly sweet but mostly savory package, and it’s more moist at Prince’s because of the quick trip through the its super hot oven. Credit: Tom Perkins except where noted.
Prince’s Bakery One of the best dishes at Princes, one of Dearborn’s best Lebanese bakeries, is the sfeeha. The mini beef pies are a small, nearly pyramid-shaped pastry that cradle a big, red Lebanese meatball. Prince’s packs the tender minced meat with plenty of sauteed onion, garlic, tomatoes, and a seven-spice blend of salt, black pepper, cardamom, and more. Like a lot of Lebanese meat, it’s a slightly sweet but mostly savory package, and it’s more moist at Prince’s because of the quick trip through the its super hot oven. Credit: Tom Perkins except where noted.
Lumen Lumen has one Detroit’s best patios and views as it looks across the newly built Beacon Park and downtown’s cityscape. But the real attraction at this futuristic-looking restaurant is the beer and food, as the folks who brought you Griffin Claw Brewing are behind the concept. Think prosciutto mac and cheese, pan-seared salmon with chimichurri, and PEI mussels with white wine and chorizo. Find Lumen here. Credit: Tom Perkins except where noted.
Lumen Lumen has one Detroit’s best patios and views as it looks across the newly built Beacon Park and downtown’s cityscape. But the real attraction at this futuristic-looking restaurant is the beer and food, as the folks who brought you Griffin Claw Brewing are behind the concept. Think prosciutto mac and cheese, pan-seared salmon with chimichurri, and PEI mussels with white wine and chorizo. Find Lumen here. Credit: Tom Perkins except where noted.
Dos Locos The slow fall of Hamtramck’s once-mighty Campau Tower greasy burger joint was sad to witness, but something awesome popped up in its place —a top notch taqueria. The couple behind Dos Locos trades in excellent tacos, quesadillas, and specials like Argentine empanadas. Get here fast. The later the better, as it’s open ‘til 4 a.m. Photo via Instagram Find Dos Locos here. Credit: Tom Perkins except where noted.
Dos Locos The slow fall of Hamtramck’s once-mighty Campau Tower greasy burger joint was sad to witness, but something awesome popped up in its place —a top notch taqueria. The couple behind Dos Locos trades in excellent tacos, quesadillas, and specials like Argentine empanadas. Get here fast. The later the better, as it’s open ‘til 4 a.m. Photo via Instagram Find Dos Locos here. Credit: Tom Perkins except where noted.
Sullaf Sullaf is the last restaurant standing in what once was billed as Detroit’s “Chaldean-town.” Among its best plates is the lamb shank, which arrives one of two ways. In the first, the shank looks like a white club bearing a huge bulb of slide-off-the-bone meat laced with glorious lamb fat. A second version arrives in a bowl with a large shank with super tender pink and red meat. Sullaf submerges it in a volcanic-looking stew with whole cooked tomatoes, onions, oil, and serves it with triangles of pita bread. It’s a piquant and lemony dish — the kind that you think about for a week after the meal. Find more about Sullaf here. Credit: Tom Perkins except where noted.
Sullaf Sullaf is the last restaurant standing in what once was billed as Detroit’s “Chaldean-town.” Among its best plates is the lamb shank, which arrives one of two ways. In the first, the shank looks like a white club bearing a huge bulb of slide-off-the-bone meat laced with glorious lamb fat. A second version arrives in a bowl with a large shank with super tender pink and red meat. Sullaf submerges it in a volcanic-looking stew with whole cooked tomatoes, onions, oil, and serves it with triangles of pita bread. It’s a piquant and lemony dish — the kind that you think about for a week after the meal. Find more about Sullaf here. Credit: Tom Perkins except where noted.

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