The best things we ate in metro Detroit in 2023

Pasta at Tiliani

1002 S. Military St., Dearborn; 313-444-8889; tiliani.com

It’s all made in-house, either on the extruder machine, soothing to operate, or folded by hand for the pocket pastas. Chef Hisham Diab makes mafaldine, a wide noodle with wavy edges, dark with squid ink, and stuffs it with shrimp and clams. He fills agnolotti with two sweet fall squashes, and he tops sage-infused tagliatelle Bolognese with comforting blobs of snowy, buttery stracciatella. (Read our full review.)—Jane Slaughter

Scallop motoyaki at Basan

2703 Park Ave., Detroit; 313-481-2703; basandetroit.com

Basan is one of a limited number of high-end spots that opened in recent years in Detroit and turned out dishes that live up to the price. The restaurant, by the crew behind Grey Ghost, trades in Japanese and Asian-inspired fare. Perhaps the best plate we tried was the scallop motoyaki with buttery, smoky scallops, miso mayo, lemon, smoked salt, olive oil, smoked trout roe, and garlic chips. The scallops are torched on the grill, imparting even more smokiness. (Read our full review.)—Tom Perkins

Sourdough pizza at Sicily’s Pizzeria & Subs

3554 Vernor Hwy., Detroit; 313-554-0755; sicilysdetroit.com

It’s the fermentation, which takes three days, that produces the sourdough flavor we love, but also the crust’s lightness and crunch. It’s the airiest, holey-est, best-tasting pizza crust you’ll find. You can load it up if you want, but this crust is best suited to minimalist renderings like Tomato Pie, with no cheese: a Detroit-style square pan pizza with plenty of bread on the bottom, that basically tastes of sourdough and crushed tomatoes, freshness itself, with crisp, wispy edges that rise above the topping (though it also includes olive oil, oregano, Parmesan, and chiles) or the Benchmark Margherita: both fresh and aged mozzarella plus olive oil, Parmesan, and basil leaves. (Read our full review.) —Jane Slaughter

Tantanmen ramen at Shun Ramen & Sushi

30491 John R Rd., Madison Heights; 248-742-7712; facebook.com/shunramensushi

Prior to opening Shun, chef Kevin Chai didn’t spend much time in the kitchen. He got excited about ramen after watching YouTube videos on how to build a bowl and decided to go to a months-long class in Japan. After completing it and waiting out the pandemic, he opened this Madison Heights spot, which has quickly earned a reputation via word of mouth. Arguably his best bowl is the tantanmen, which is Japan’s take on the Chinese dan dan noodle dish. Chai’s version holds a rich, complex broth that’s nutty from the sesame tare and heated with chili paste, though it can be made without the latter. Shun prepares it with a slightly creamy, viscous pork broth, as opposed to the more common chicken broth, and the crumbled pork and char siu is excellent. (Read our full review.) —Tom Perkins

Mezcal Soup at Mezcal Mexican Restaurant

51 W. Forest Ave., Detroit; 313-974-7441; mezcaldetroit.com

The creamy (because of sour cream) golden broth is full of shredded chicken and avocado slices that almost melt. Like every dish I tried there, it has just the right amount of zip, not enough to burn you. And because the soup does not include mezcal, you owe it to yourself to try one of the many varieties of agave the owners have imported, mostly from Oaxaca. (Read our full review.) —Jane Slaughter

Tacos from Casa Amado Taqueria

2705 Coolidge Hwy., Berkley; 248-398-3294; casaamado.com

In January 2023, this spot’s Chef Amado Lopez was named as a semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation in the Emerging Chef category. The taqueria serves up authentic, flavorful tacos with fresh ingredients. (Read our full review.) —Tom Perkins

Steamed fish at ShiangMi

31519 W. 12 Mile Rd., Farmington Hills; 248-579-9898; shiangmi.com

The emphasis here is on authentic dishes from Hunan; don’t let the server steer you to the “American popular” plates. Steamed Fish Fillet with Chili Sauce is an enormous deboned basa, a type of Asian catfish, enough for two, served in a candle-warmed dish. As a bonus, it’s Christmasy to look at, with snow-white fish and red and green chilis, floating in a sauce you spoon over the sweet-nutty meat. Even better is complex, throat-tickling Boiled Basa Fillet with Pickled Cabbage, a little closer to a soup, with the best citrusy broth. It uses lots of red chilis and the famous lip-numbing Sichuan peppercorns, along with bean sprouts. (Read our full review.) —Jane Slaughter

Brisket from the Smokehouse in Holiday Market

1203 S. Main St., Royal Oak; 248-541-1414; holiday- market.com

Some of the best smoked brisket to be found in the area is served inside this upscale grocery store in the ’burbs. Chef Kirk Churchill has been serving up succulent smoked brisket at Holiday Market for a few years now, which we found “moist, smokey, flavorful, and the fat content is just right. ... Decadent, even.” (Read our full review.) —Tom Perkins

Black Tonkotsu at Shiromaru

5365 Crooks Rd., Troy; 248-792-6015; shiromarutroy.com
Pork bones are roasted and then simmered for many hours to produce the rich and creamy broth (not literally creamy; think pork fat) that embraces the slippery house-made ramen. The chef swirls in aged black garlic, some wood ear mushrooms, green onions, half a marinated egg, and best of all, pork belly chashu, braised till it’s chopstick-tender. The various mouth-feels alone — slidey noodles, velvety soup — would be enough to make this dish a star, but the lush flavors take it to the mountaintop. Classic (plainer) tonkotsu and Red, with spicy chili garlic sauce, are also on hand. (Read our full review.) —Jane Slaughter

Massaman curry at Basil Babe

701 W. Cross St., Ypsilanti; 734-487-4000; basil-babe.com

Perhaps no dish stands out from this year like the massaman curry at Ypsilanti’s Basil Babe, a collaboration between chef Haluthai Inhmathong and her mom, who opened and owned Ann Arbor’s Siam Square until 2018. The Thai curry dish has some Middle Eastern fingerprints on it, and Basil Babe’s take is practically silky, rich, and deep. Though its flavor is bold, the heat is bearable as it doesn’t seem to contain any of the chilis usually a part of Thai curries. Inhmathong wouldn’t reveal any Basil Babe secrets, so we’re left to speculate; the dish’s deep red-orange broth can be composed of ingredients like coconut milk, peanuts, palm sugar, star anise, and cinnamon, and, in many versions, fish sauce. (Read our full review.) —Tom Perkins