15 high-end metro Detroit restaurants offering curbside takeout to class up your quarantine

By Metro Times Staff on Fri, Apr 17, 2020 at 4:44 pm

There's nothing wrong with pizza from your favorite chain, but a month into Michigan's stay-at-home order and we miss, well, a lot of things. We're especially longing for a night out with great food and killer ambiance that demands non-sweatpants attire. Lucky for us metro Detroiters, we have a bevy of fine-dining restaurants who have pivoted to takeout and curbside pickup, no reservation required. From classic American dishes, Vietnamese fusion, elevated soul food, and oysters galore, these spots are open for business, coronavirus be damned. So ditch the paper plates, light a candle, and for god's sake, get dressed, because staying in just got a whole lot classier.

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Flowers of Vietnam

4430 W. Vernor Hwy., Detroit; 313- 312-4100; flowersofvietnam.com
A former Coney Island diner in Southwest Detroit was flipped into a high-end Vietnamese street food eatery in 2016. Enter Flowers of Vietnam, a destination restaurant. Their curbside pick-up menu offers a dinner for two packages, which include a starter of prawns or papaya salad, two entrees (shaky beef, fried tofu, or lemongrass chicken), and a vegetable side of either bok choy or cauliflower. Recently added is a fried chicken bucket filled with fried dark and white meat, with a house Cajun-Vietnamese rub, and biscuits. Their entire menu can also be ordered à la carte.
Photo via Flowers of Vietnam/Facebook

Mink and Folk

1701 Trumbull Ave., Detroit; 313-290-5849; minkdetroit.com
These Corktown-based sister restaurants have teamed up to make sure you have everything you need for quarantine times. Folk, the artisanal cafe and bistro offering all-day brunch, plus Mink, a Japanese izakaya-inspired casual fine-dining restaurant focused on ethically and sustainably sourced seafood, equals one hell of a curbside menu. Together they're offering grocery boxes, with smoothie supplies, charcuterie ingredients, and produce, as well as individual grocery items ranging from juice, gelato, produce, eggs, and fresh bread. From Mink, folks can snag fresh and whole 8-oz. Chilean sea bass or a 1.5-lb. Bronzino, or smoked whitefish spread, shrimp, and smoked ready-to-eat oysters. Mink also offers a seafood kit for $75 with a little bit of everything.
Photo via Mink/Facebook

Besa

600 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-315-3000; besadetroit.com
If modern fine-dining is your thing, look no further than Detroit’s Besa. An Instagramable date-night go-to, Besa will now offer its full menu available for takeout or free delivery to businesses located downtown Monday-Friday. Have your pick of a Hamachi hot pot, lamb and yellow split pea soup, butter lettuce and herb salad, Spanish octopus, or wild gulf shrimp to pair with Besa entrees like lamb belly Ragu, American red snapper, or Amish chicken breast, sea scallops, or an 8 oz. Creekstone filet mignon.
Photo via Besa/Facebook

El Asador Steakhouse

1312 Springwells St., Detroit; 313- 297-2360; elassadoredetroit.com
More than a steakhouse, El Asador takes a gourmet approach to traditional Mexican fare but with reasonable price points. Everything is made from scratch, and they claim to not even own a freezer so as to ensure fresh and quality ingredients. El Asador is offering its full menu — like Cazuela de Mariscos (a seafood medley, featuring sauteed shrimp, salmon, mahi mahi, scallops, mussels, calamari, lobster, with a smoked chili broth) and Ribeye Steak con Rajas, which includes a poblano pepper green sauce — for pickup or free delivery within Southwest Detroit zip codes.
Photo via El Asador Steakhouse/Facebook

Grey Ghost

47 E. Watson St., Detroit; 313-262-6534greyghostdetroit.com
Grey Ghost’s Ghost-to-Go, offered Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, offers a weekly best-of menu from the midtown eatery, including Brussels sprout slaw and ready-to-heat mac and cheese, stone-ground polenta, and supreme pizza quesadilla. Oh, and they've got meals for two, which include barbeque beef short ribs or a whole roasted chicken, as well as a burger kit with everything you need to make one of Ghost's signature burgers. And though their bar staff may not be able to whip up some boozy concoctions to go, they are making a changing selection of mixers, like housemade tonic water with chamomile, grapefruit, and quinine, and a housemade Bloody Mary mix made with roasted pepper, onion, and garlic.
Photo via Grey Ghost/Facebook

Ima
32203 John R Rd., Madison Heights; 4870 Cass Ave., Detroit; 313-502-5959 imanoodles.com
So noodle and rice stop may not be fancy smancy, but Ima was voted Detroit's best restaurant by The Detroit Free Press when it opened its flagship location in Corktown. Though Imas Corktown location is closed, their Midtown and Madison Heights outposts are offering curbside takeout with a limited menu with all the favorites. Warm up with a golden curry rice bowl, boombap, unagi-don, or noodle dishes spanning yaki udon varieties, and miso, forest, shoyu, and spicy tori ramen. Their latest creation, a spicy twice-fried crispy boneless chicken sandwich, boasting ginger, soy, sake, and garlic flavors is also available. Thirsty? They've got sake, wine, and beer to-go, too.
Photo via Ima/Facebook

Ima

32203 John R Rd., Madison Heights; 4870 Cass Ave., Detroit; 313-502-5959 imanoodles.com
So noodle and rice stop may not be fancy smancy, but Ima was voted Detroit's best restaurant by The Detroit Free Press when it opened its flagship location in Corktown. Though Ima’s Corktown location is closed, their Midtown and Madison Heights outposts are offering curbside takeout with a limited menu with all the favorites. Warm up with a golden curry rice bowl, boombap, unagi-don, or noodle dishes spanning yaki udon varieties, and miso, forest, shoyu, and spicy tori ramen. Their latest creation, a spicy twice-fried crispy boneless chicken sandwich, boasting ginger, soy, sake, and garlic flavors is also available. Thirsty? They've got sake, wine, and beer to-go, too.
Photo via Ima/Facebook

Marrow

8044 Kercheval Ave., Detroit; 313-652-0200; marrowdetroit.com
A contemporary butcher shop and restaurant with a local and sustainable philosophy, Marrow is showing us the beef, brisket, and beyond with their pick-up and delivery options. You can order everything from Marrow-assembled grocery kits with butcher shop essentials, brunch supplies, as well as meal kits for dumplings, ramen, meatballs, and more. For the ultimate meat freak, they've got ready-to-grill butcher bundles that include lamb, pork, sausage, and rabbit. They also have a selection of wine and beer to-go.
Photo via Marrow/Facebook

Pernoi

310 E. Maple Rd., Birmingham; 248-940-000; pernoibirmingham.com
Contemporary Italian bistro Pernoi has your pasta needs covered. A tidier curbside menu boasts rigatoni spicy vodka sauce, spaghetti carbonara, tortellini bolognese. Non-pasta dishes are on there, too, like ora king salmon, braised meatballs, and steak siciliano. Tiramisu, biscotti, and gelato are offered as dessert. Might as well grab some wine while you’re at it, which can easily be added to any order.
Photo via Pernoi/Facebook

Mabel Gray

23825 John R Rd., Hazel Park; 248-398-4300; mabelgraykitchen.com
The Detroit Free Press described Hazel Park's Mabel Gray as “Fine dining in coveralls” when it awarded the new world Americana eatery as the restaurant of the year in 2017. The weekly curbside carryout menu offers an array of favorites spanning Korean-style Brussels sprouts, dumplings, roasted mushroom soup, as well as at-home steak kits, featuring 60-day bone-in dry-aged American Wagyu Strip, raw, served with Mabel steak spice, horseradish cream, zip sauce, and caramelized onion. They've got Michigan roasted chicken kits, too, and a salad box with a pint of coconut milk green goddess dressing. Got a sweet tooth? They have fresh baked cookies, a whole bruléed cheesecake, and freshly churned vegan sorbets. (Orders must be made between Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. for pickup on Tuesday-Saturday, 3-7 p.m.)
Photo via Mabel Grey/Facebook

Table No. 2

18925 Livernois Ave., Detroit; 313-340-9550; tablenumber2.com
Executive chef and owner Omar Mitchell opened his white linen American restaurant along Detroit’s Avenue of Fashion this time last year. Now, after weathering construction on Livernois Avenue, Table No. 2 finds itself weathering the coronavirus shutdown. Though you may not be able to have an official date night out for a while, Table No. 2 has all the fixings to class up date night at home. Orders can be made online for pickup and highlights include, fried cauliflower, calamari, Carribean Jamaican jerk chicken satay, crab cakes, candied bacon, lobster mac, smoked beef short rib, crisp skin salmon, vegan mushroom risotto, and more.
Photo via Table No. 2/Facebook