Radio returns — Detroit radio was never so hot. Cliff Bell's sold out of tickets for the one-night-only performance of WTYN Detroit Radio. The "radio play" promised guests a genuine supper theater, with a limited dinner menu and selections of Valentine Vodka cocktails. Given this enthusiastic response, they have added an encore performance for Monday, April 4; admittance at 6:30 p.m., show at 8 p.m.; $10 to get in; call 313-961-2543 for reservations.
Like it raw — Throughout April, the folks at Detroit's newest raw food outpost, Raw Café, are holding classes on Thursdays and Sundays, teaching how to prepare "restaurant quality" raw, vegan organic food. Courses include "The Power of Raw Food Nutrition" (April 7) and "Smoothies and Juicing with a Purpose" (April 14). Classes are $99 and take place in the restaurant, at 4160 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-778-9774.
Drink it in — Are you a fan of Michigan-made beer, wine and spirits? There's a new online resource for you: drinkmichigan.org. It has neatly distilled information on everything from microbreweries and brewpubs to maps of wine country tours.
Troy time — We're smack in the middle of Troy's Fine Dining Restaurant Week. Fifteen Troy restaurants are participating, and you can get three-course lunch specials for $15 per diner and three-course dinner specials for $25-$35. The list of restaurants runs from Benihana to Tre Monti Ristorante, and all information is available at troyrestaurantweek.com. Hurry, though; the deals end March 25.
Food/Thought — The abundance of gluten-free products that can be found on the shelves of most markets is evidence of the multitudes of people who suffer with the eight most common food allergies — wheat, shellfish, dairy, eggs, peanuts, soybeans, fish and eggs. Jules E. Dowler Shephard in Free for All Cooking: 150 Easy Gluten-Free, Allergy-Friendly Recipes the Whole Family Can Enjoy (Da Capo Lifelong Books, $19.95) provides solutions for those folks with recipes that don't sacrifice flavor for health. Whip up a batch of gluten-free flour for your pantry and get cookin'.
Bottoms Up — When we were ready to do some booze infusion, local celebrity mixologist Dave Kwiatkowski turned us on to the Laura Palmer cocktail. The base liquor is black tea-infused gin that can be made simply by steeping four tea bags or four teaspoons of whole leaf tea in a fifth of gin for 2-3 days. Mix 2 ounces of the tea-infused gin with 3/4 ounce of lemon juice, 3/4 ounce limoncello (optional), and 1/2 ounce of simple syrup in a highball glass. Add ice and top with club soda.
The Works — What if you could get a pressure cooker, a rice cooker and a slow cooker for a hundred bucks? The Fagor 670040230 Stainless-Steel Electric 3-in-1 6-Quart Multi-Cooker combines all three functions. Pressure reduces cooking time when you're in a hurry. The lid will not open while there's pressure inside the cooker. After browning a roast in the pot, set it for slow cooking in the morning and it's ready to eat at the end of the day. An anti-overheating valve is an added safety feature. The rice cooker does all varieties of rice perfectly and keeps them warm and ready to eat for hours.
