Detroit Middle Eastern cuisines offer diners much more than falafel
Metro Detroit abounds with restaurants serving Middle Eastern food, offering indisputable proof that the area’s residents have embraced the cuisine. It goes to show you how, despite any American anxieties about immigration, we literally hunger for the fresh, exciting flavors our newcomers offer. Yet it’s worth pointing out that the “Middle Eastern” fare most chow…
Six ways Detroit keeps the most important meal poppin’
In case you hadn’t heard, Detroit’s breakfast and brunch game is sick. A bevvy of new restaurants have conceived of some of the most interesting takes on the most important meal of the day. What follows is a list of eye-opening breakfast and brunch spots in metro Detroit, and day-starting dishes to get you going.…
What we learned spending months searching for metro Detroit’s best burgers
For about a year, we ran a column in Metro Times called “Burger Quest.” We had thought it would be fun to look at a different burger in each installment and judge it on its merits. Maybe we bit off more than Yours Truly could chew: It turned out that having a burger with clockwork…
Meet the next generation of metro Detroit sandwich chefs
Metro Detroit’s longtime sandwich institutions have always done it right and deserve respect — Mudgie’s, Lunch Box, Russell Street, Bread Basket, Lou’s, and a few others continue to reign as Detroit’s supreme sandwich makers. But sandwiches are everywhere, and — beyond the aforementioned reliable kitchens — the ubiquitous hoagie, hero, panino, sub, sammie, or samuel…
Detroit area restaurateurs show how treating people right pays off in flavor
The 21st century has seen an explosion of books and documentaries arguing that eating is a political act. It began in 2001 with the publication of Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation, then gathered steam in 2004 with the film Super Size Me. It reached a higher pitch in 2006 with the publication of Michael Pollan’s…
A culinary course in Detroit’s Chinese offerings — one step at a time
Ask a random group of Americans to name some Chinese dishes, and most will likely mention egg rolls and fortune cookies. Of course, an increasing minority of Americans will know that these are actually American innovations, and that the cuisine served in China is far more varied. To put it in Chinese, we Americans are…
Detroit dishes worth describing in detail
Sooner or later, everybody has that moment when they take a bite of a dish and have their socks absolutely knocked off. It’s less common than you might think. Sure, it’s never been easier to post a picture of tonight’s dinner online and scream, “OMG,” or “au jus sauce FTW!” But that deeply personal moment…
Finding metro Detroit’s international appetite — in ethnic groceries
Ethnic supermarkets have boomed in the United States alongside an influx of demand coming from an ever-diversifying population, and metro Detroit is certainly no stranger to this phenomenon. Just drive down John R or Dequindre in communities like Madison Heights, Sterling Heights, and Warren; visit Conant Avenue in Hamtramck; or head to Bagley Street in…
