Hour Detroit | February 2025

RESTAURANT YEAR

The Linguine alle Vongole at our Restaurant of the Year is prepared with fresh linguine, Manila clams, garlic, chile, white wine, lemon, and butter.

GORMAN’S DESIGN CENTERS

Michigan’s recognized leader for quality home furnishings and interior design.

A store full of ideas for the way you want to live. Gorman’s offers a one-stop resource for your home furnishings solutions. World class furniture, lighting, art, area rugs, window treatments and accessories from the BEST 100 Brands. Plus, experienced, professional interior designers to help you put it all together. Furnishing your home has never been easier.

Add Gorman’s National Low Price Guarantee, Gorman’s “MUST BE RIGHT” policy, and there’s no reason to shop anywhere else. Gorman’s has it all.

Over 80 years of furnishing Michigan’s Finest Homes. The best service, selection and savings are at Gorman’s Design Centers.

Photo by Blaine Siesser Photography

Iconic Moments.

Iconic moments deserve iconic settings. As we celebrate our 100th year of hospitality, envision celebrating your special day in one of our beautifully restored ballrooms. Our thoughtfully redesigned guestrooms and event spaces create a sophisticated urban oasis perfect for any occasion. Connect with one of our wedding specialists today at westinbookcadillac.com or by calling 313-442-1616.

Photo by Jermme of @WeddingsbyJermme

Photo by Dave and Ang Photo

34 Restaurant of the Year

After a decade, our 2025 pick continues to exceed our expectations by pushing boundaries with a globally inspired seasonal menus

44 Grecian Getaways

A guide to eating, drinking, sunbathing, sightseeing, and more at some of Greece’s most sumptuous resorts.

Feel the warm breeze and take in the views on the restaurant patio at Nous Santorini, a luxury resort in Greece.

Soak up the sun on America’s Favorite Beaches and savor craft cocktails and fresh Gulf seafood. From emerald waters to outdoor dining, St. Pete-Clearwater is a feast for the senses.

Up Front

MADE IN MICHIGAN

This Emmy-winning comedy editor grew up in Farmington Hills.

BOOKS

Give the gift of great reads from local authors this Valentine’s Day.

MEDIA

A longtime WDIV-TV anchor passes the torch to the next newsman.

24/Seven

FASHION

Located above Carhartt, this training center teaches sustainable clothing skills.

DESIGN

This historic Lake Orion lakefront home with a barn exudes earthy charm.

MI STYLE

The Detroit Lions’ team reporter reveals the secrets behind her iconic looks.

CULTURE CONVO

Ryan Patrick Hooper reveals his longtime love affair.

LISTINGS

Catch Cirque du Soleil in Windsor, plus more live performances to check out.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

Our writer joins an educators’ tour of Detroit’s Underground Railroad stops.

RECREATION

Here’s why the U.P. is one of the most unique travel destinations anywhere.

DRINKS

A conversation about Black History Month prompted a pop-up bar.

FOOD FOCUS

How one man brought world-class truffles to Detroit’s dining scene.

Q&A

We interview the baker who is bringing Filipino “makes and bakes” to Motown.

RECIPE

CONTRIBUTORS

DATING IN DETROIT:

TELL US ABOUT YOUR MOST MEMORABLE DATE OR YOUR DREAM DATE

Paris Giles

WROTE ABOUT DETROIT’S UNDERGROUND RAILROAD TOURS, PAGE 52

“It was ostensibly a hangout with a newish friend. We caught a comedy show at Old Miami, had drinks at Kiesling, and then walked around Midtown for hours, finding little reasons to touch each other along the way. At the end of this very Detroit night, I was buzzing with electricity and sure that we were more than just friends.” In addition to being a regular contributor to Hour Detroit, Paris Giles was the senior editor at BLAC and a beauty and wellness writer at Bustle. Lately, she’s learning how to speak Italian and thinking semi-seriously about whether 35 is too old to start her own fashion brand. You can find her on Instagram (@parisgiles_).

E.E. Berger

PHOTOGRAPHED RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR, PAGE 34

“My dream date would be a visit to the Detroit Institute of Arts, some dinner at Leila (I could make a meal on the labneh alone), and finishing up with a cocktail at Evening Bar.” E.E. Berger has been photographing Hour Detroit’s Restaurant of the Year since 2022. She shoots commercial and editorial assignments covering food, lifestyle, and travel. Berger lives in Detroit in her 1930s Tudor-style home with her husband, daughter, and a crew of pets. You can find her on Instagram (@eeberger).

Lauren Wethington

WROTE ARTS AND CULTURE LISTINGS, PAGE 51

“My dream date in Detroit would start with a bike ride down the Dequindre Cut, followed by a few hours on Belle Isle and then dinner at my favorite restaurant, Selden Standard. An after-dinner cocktail at Sugar House would be the cherry on top!” Lauren Wethington has been writing our arts and culture listings (and other articles) since 2022. She is a graduate of Wayne State University and a lifelong Detroiter. Wethington enjoys covering everything the greater metro area has to offer, including music, art, food, entertainment, and outdoor adventures. She lives in Royal Oak with her husband, Nick, and her three cats

VOLUME THIRTY ISSUE TWO

PUBLISHER: Jason Hosko

EDITORIAL

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Kate Walsh

DIGITAL EDITOR: Christina Clark

COPY EDITOR: Olivia Sedlacek

ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Jack Thomas

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT: Juliana Lumaj

CONTRIBUTORS: Bill Dow, Paris Giles, Ryan Patrick Hooper, Michelle Kobernick, Jenn McKee. Daphne Nikolopoulos, Danny Palumbo, Megan Swoyer, Lauren Wethington

INTERNS: Isabella Amadori, Noah Francis DESIGN

CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Lindsay Richards

SENIOR PRODUCTION ARTIST: Stephanie Daniel

ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR: Steven Prokuda

CONTRIBUTORS: E.E. Burger, Rachel Idzerda, Jacob Lewkow, Sal Rodriguez, Josh Scott, Rebecca Simonov SALES

MEDIA ADVISORS: Samantha Alessandri, Cynthia Barnhart, Hannah Brown, Karli Brown, Sarah Cavanaugh, Cathleen Francois, Donna Kassab, Lisa LaBelle, Carol Lawrence, Mary Pantely & Associates

PRODUCTION

PRODUCTION MANAGER: Crystal Nelson

PRODUCTION COORDINATOR: Amanda Kozlowski

ACCOUNT MANAGER: Elizabeth Kowalik

GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Joe Salafia

SPECIAL PROJECTS EDITOR: Emily Doran

IT

IT DIRECTOR: Jeremy Leland DIGITAL

DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL STRATEGY: Travis Fletcher

DIGITAL DEVELOPMENT MANAGER: Matt Cappo

SR. DIGITAL DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST: Luanne Lim

DIGITAL DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST: Izak Geisler

DIGITAL STRATEGY INTERN: Isabella Amadori CIRCULATION

CIRCULATION MANAGER: Riley Meyers

CIRCULATION COORDINATORS: David Benvenuto, Cathy Krajenke, Rachel Moulden, Michele Wold

MARKETING & EVENTS

MARKETING & EVENTS MANAG ER: Lyndsay Zelenak

COMMUNICATIONS & PR LEAD: Regan Wright

WEDDINGS ACCOUNT MANAGER: Karen Wilkie

MARKETING AND EVENTS COORDINATOR: Maya Stephenson

MARKETING RESEARCH

MARKETING RESEARCH DIRECTOR: Sofia Shevin

MARKETING RESEARCH COORDINATORS: Alyssa Fueri, Kristin Mingo

MARKETING RESEARCH SALES COORDINATOR: Alexandra Thompson

MARKETING RESEARCH SALES ASSISTANT: Theresa Lowery

PRS GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Kendra Okamoto

MARKETING RESEARCH INTERNS: Allyvia Hennika, Maisha Mumtaz

BUSINESS

CEO: Stefan Wanczyk

PRESIDENT: John Balardo

DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS OPERATIONS: Kathie Gorecki

PUBLISHING & SALES ASSISTANT: Logan Neaton

SENIOR ACCOUNTING ASSOCIATE: Andrew Kotzian

ACCOUNTING ASSOCIATE: Austin Schmelzle

DISTRIBUTION: Target Distribution, Troy

5750 NEW KING DRIVE, TROY, MI 48098

TELEPHONE: 248-691-1800 FAX: 248-691-4531

EMAIL: EDITORIAL@HOURDETROIT.COM ON THE WEB: HOURDETROIT.COM To sell Hour Detroit magazine or for subscription inquiries: 248-588-1851

FRIDAY & SATURDAY SUNDAY

BUFFET BRUNCH

Our iconic restaurant is a beautiful and unique setting for all your special dining events. A day at The Whitney is more than “Dining Out.” Stroll the Mansion, take an historic, architectural tour, enjoy a spirited Happy Hour in The Ghostbar, join us for a Paranormal Dinner experience. Enjoy beautiful live piano with dinner and brunch. We are honored to a ccommodate your Private dinner s, Wedding Ceremonies and Showers.

EDITOR’S LETTER

People often ask how they “can get in Hour,”

whether it’s their work as a creative or an article on their business. One of the best ways is knowing how to sell yourself. You can be the best in your field, but you’ve got to capture our attention. Less than 10 months ago, we received a perfect pitch from the author of this year’s Restaurant of the Year feature:

“Hello! My name is Danny Palumbo, and I’m a freelance food writer moving to Detroit in 2 weeks! I’ve had work published in the L.A. Times, Bon App, Thrillist, The Takeout, The Austin Chronicle, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and more!” His pitch was enthusiastic and succinct and addressed his skills. Timing also plays into it: We were looking for a writer to do a story on Roman Village’s 60th anniversary, and Palumbo — who had great clippings and said he liked to write about “everything, especially Italian food” — seemed like a great fit. And he was. He went on to write several more food and dining articles for us — not all Italian-based!

We loved Danny’s writing so much we decided to hand him one of the biggest writing assignments of the year, Restaurant of the Year. Our editorial team had already decided that this year’s honoree would be the long-overdue Mabel Gray, celebrating its 10th anniversary. And while Danny was relatively new to Detroit, James Rigato’s restaurant had been on his radar for a while.

“I heard tales about Mabel Gray before I moved here,” Danny says. “I knew it was this sort of ethereal, mythical restaurant — menu always changing, handwritten menus, a real focus on ingredients in season. I had no idea what the actual heart and soul of this place was, though. My first experience there was Sunday at Nonna’s, a once-in-a-while Italian American pop-up dinner, and it just blew me away. … Every experience I’ve had at Mabel Gray has been meaningful, which is as good as it gets as far as restaurants go. Rigato is just the best. Insightful, empathetic, talented. A real teacher. You can tell he’s made an impact on everyone he’s ever come across.” Read much more about our 2025 Restaurant of the Year in the feature beginning on page 34.

In addition to our cover story, in this issue you’ll also find articles relating to February topics, including Black History Month, Valentine’s Day, warm-weather getaways, and, of course, the Lions — because we are firm believers, as we go to press just after they won the NFC North title, that they will be in the Super Bowl on Feb. 9. Enjoy!

To send us a pitch, please email the editorial team at editorial@hourdetroit.com.

KATE WALSH, EDITOR KWALSH@HOUR-MEDIA.COM

From Our Readers

2025 Hour Detroiters: William Clay Ford Jr. (Jan. issue)

“No joke. Ford has hit a home run in the renovation of Michigan Central and surrounds.”

—@clshakarian, Instagram

YouthTank Detroit Entrepreneurship Program (Dec. issue)

“Holly [Arida, the creator of this nonprofit] is the best! So amazing she’s continued her awesome mentorship to even more folks in southeast Michigan!!!”

—@ninanners, Instagram

Modern Skate (Dec. issue)

“Such a great place!! Thanks George [Leichtweis, owner] for falling in love with skateboarding and making a place for us all to play in!!”

—@misscorycoffey, Instagram

WDIV’s Ty Steele (online)

“We did the same thing four years ago: [moved from the] West Coast back to the best coast, the Fresh Coast.”

—@1chriscouture, Instagram

Top 5

Stories of December

1. “Top Metro Detroit Holiday Events for 2024” (Dec. issue)

2. “Christmas-Themed Bars Pop Up in Metro Detroit” (online)

3. “An Exit Interview with Devin Scillian” (online)

4. “Ty Steele: From West Coast to the Great Lakes State” (online)

5. “2025 Hour Detroiters: William Clay Ford Jr.” (Jan. issue)

February is Black History Month, and metro Detroit is celebrating with a wide variety of educational events throughout the month. Find details on some of those events at hourdetroit.com/blackhistorymonth.

A monthly feature highlighting events, promotions, and opportunities of interest to Hour Detroit readers.

Maddin Hauser Open House

The Book Cadillac 100th Anniversary Celebration

Tapper’s Grand Reopening Ribbon Cutting

Rugiero Promise Foundation Fundraiser

Photographs by Kevin Bean

Photographs by Erin Marie Miller

Corey Silverstein, David Saperstein, Kate Klaus and Jesse Roth

Bryan Nesbitt, Rachel and Phil Dauchy and Alexandra Dymowska

Damon Kimbrough, Dusty Rhodes, Matt Hornbeck and Mark Riegler

Matthew Licavoli, Sherri Bono, David Deutsch and Michael Robbins

Colleen McMaster and Diane Puhl

Paul Rujan, Kate Millea and Robert Artelt

Davis Eisenberg and Jason Beale

Darrylin Horne, Sharlonda BuckemanDavis, Joi Mausi and Roshunda Price

Troy Mayor Ethan Baker, Tara TomcsikHusak, Susan Tapper and Howard Tapper

Haitham Sarsam, Jeff Mannor, David Vivio and Matt Mitchell

Ella Lori, Jon Rumley and Tracy Irwin

Raegen Luxford, Maya Dupuis and Michele Hohner

Photographs by Kevin Bean

Photographs by Patrick Gloria

Lilliana Rugiero, John Apostolovoski, Robert Rugiero, Lisa Wroblewski and Vinnie Wroblewski

Attilio Rugiero, Anthony Rugiero, Nino Ruggirello and Jerry Ruggirello

Jeff Disano, Tony Rubino, Anthony Rugiero and Alexandria Salvaggio

Anthony Roselli Dr. Arvan and Patrick Rugiero

Up Front

MADE IN MICHIGAN

COMIC TIMING

Meet the Emmy-winning editor who makes John Mulaney even funnier p. 20

Kelly Lyon

The Emmywinning editor and Farmington Hills native has a knack for comedy BY

ISABELLA AMADORI

ILLUSTRATION

BY RACHEL IDZERDA

WHEN IT COMES TO comedy, timing is everything — and for Kelly Lyon, timing isn’t just a skill; it’s an art form she’s mastered over years of editing, one frame at a time. Lyon’s journey from a child behind her dad’s VHS camcorder in Farmington Hills to a professional walking the Emmy stage in a gold gown is a story of both passion and precision.

Best known for her Emmy-winning work on John Mulaney’s Everybody’s in L.A. and her Emmy nomination for Tig Notaro’s Hello Again, the University of Michigan alumna displays a unique editing style that enhances the timing of stand-up specials like Mulaney’s Baby J and Amy Schumer’s Growing. She got her big break as an editor for Saturday Night Live from 2011 to 2016 and has also worked on shows like Portlandia. In November, we discussed her time in metro Detroit, her career, and her future plans.

What was it like growing up in Farmington Hills?

It was so beautiful. As a kid, my cousins and I would go around and create LEGO stop-motions. As a teenager, I liked to venture out to surrounding cities like Ann Arbor or downtown Detroit.

How did your passion for editing start?

I started editing at North Farmington High School my senior year [in 1999]. I remember Mr. Dean Cobb, the teacher that taught me to edit, and I having a conversation towards the end of my independent study, and I was like, “Oh, this is so fun. I really like editing, but it’s not a real job, right?” And he said, “No, it is a real job.” He also said not a lot of women do it, [and] that I should just go out there and give them hell.

How did you decide to specialize in comedy editing?

When I first started out, I was focused on music videos and thought I was heading toward a career at MTV. However, I ended up working on SNL while working for a woman named Debbie McMurtrey. I quickly realized that cutting comedy was far more fun than working on music videos.

You’ve done a lot with John Mulaney. How did your collaboration with him start?

I met John at SNL early in his career when he was just starting out as a writer and I had already been there for several seasons. What stood out about John was how his ideas and notes were always unexpected — unconventional and different from what I would have thought of. Editing John’s first Netflix stand-up [special], The Comeback Kid, was a pivotal moment in my career.

What did winning an Emmy mean to you, personally and professionally?

I still can’t believe it happened — I never even dared to dream it would. I’m so proud of the work I did on Everybody’s in L.A. with [co-editors] Sean and Ryan McIlraith. Winning an Emmy for something I worked on with John Mulaney, someone I deeply respect, was a dream come true.

What do you have planned next?

I would love to do more sitcom work, like 30-minute comedy shows. I love doing standup specials, and I have a lot more of those coming up. They’ve announced that Mulaney’s doing another live talk show. I’m looking forward to working on that with him.

MADE IN MICHIGAN



501 Essential Albums of the 90s: The Music Fan’s Definitive Guide by Gary Graff. Detroitbased music journalist Graff — who’s previously written books about Alice Cooper, Bob Seger, and Neil Young — edited this new collection of his (and his fellow journalists’) takes on the albums that defined the last decade of not just the 20th century but also social mediaand download-free artistic consumption.

Slouch by Christina Wyman. For the middle school-age reader on your gift list, Slouch focuses on Stevie, a seventh grader who’s 5 foot 10 and tired of talking about it. Though her parents nudge her to become an athlete (like her older brother), she’s not interested in doing something that draws even more attention to her body. She’s already dealing with unwanted comments and attention from men riding the subway, as well as the rigid social mores of preteen life. Wyman, based in Lansing, imbues this coming-of-age story with humor and heart.

BOOKS

Books from the Heart

These four books by local authors make the perfect Valentine’s Day gift for the bookworm in your life

BY JENN MCKEE

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Rust Belt Reporter: A Memoir by John Gallagher. Longtime Detroit Free Press journalist Gallagher chronicles his career — from his earliest jobs elsewhere to covering major Detroit stories, like former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s rise and fall; the newspaper strikes; the auto companies’ federal bailout; and the city’s bankruptcy. Of course, newsrooms underwent seismic changes during his tenure, too, so Gallagher additionally shares experiences and thoughts on the state of his own industry.

 Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman. This is the latest offering from Ferndale’s resident horror novelist, who gained an even bigger audience when the Netflix movie adaptation of his book Bird Box, starring Sandra Bullock, became a sensation in 2018. Incidents tells the tale of an 8-year-old girl haunted by an entity she calls “Other Mommy” who asks her daily, “Can I go inside your heart?” and wreaks havoc around the girl’s family home.



As part of his send-off, Devin Scillian received congratulatory messages from Eminem, Big Sean, Barry Sanders, Jared Goff, and numerous politicians.

Devin Scillian’s last day at WDIV Local 4 was Friday the 13th. But that didn’t scare him; he is looking forward to a new life packed with creativity.

BY MEGAN SWOYER

IT’S BEEN 30 years since Local 4’s Devin Scillian exited Oklahoma City, where he was a news anchor at an NBC affiliate, to come to Detroit’s WDIV-TV. Scillian made his retirement announcement during a 6 p.m. newscast on Oct. 15; his last newscast was the 6 p.m. news on Friday, Dec. 13.

“My friend [Tom Sorrells, who also was in the news arena] told me, ‘It’s later than you think,’” the Kansas native says regarding achieving life goals. “And that made me think.” Here, the now-62-year-old, who has four children living around the country, shares his favorite assignments, why he loves journalism, and more.

Being a journalist for 40 years, that really starts to define you, doesn’t it?

Well, yes and no. In America, we do tend to become defined by what we do. “What do you do?” shouldn’t really be the focus, and I hope I’m more than a job.

What are some of the most memorable news events that you covered?

There are so many. In 1995, three months after I got here, Yitzhak Rabin, prime minister of Israel, was assassinated, so I was on a flight to Israel immediately. I was lucky that I worked for a station that believed where the news was, we were. My favorite book is my passport, and it’s sure gotten a good workout. Memorable — well, I loved that I was here for the Detroit Red Wings’ Stanley Cup parade in 1997. For reasons not entirely clear to me, I was actually a Red Wings fan before ever moving to Detroit.

I covered Detroit’s bankruptcy in 2013, and also that year, I was standing on St. Peter’s Square in Rome watching Cardinal Bergoglio become Pope Francis. I’ve covered the Olympic Games 10 times. But all of that doesn’t compare to my favorite moments with my co-workers, including producers, reporters, photographers. I’m so lucky to call them family.

I know you’re a musician and have written quite a few children’s books. So what’s next?

I’ve got the freedom to do some things that I’ve promised myself for years. I may be involved with the station. My son and I may work on a documentary. I’m going to probably participate more with theater, which is what I started in school at the University of Kansas. … I’ll continue writing children’s books [he has 22 under his belt] and am now working on Raccoons in the Library

Any novels in the works? [Laughs] I have a number of ideas, but, you know, that requires discipline. Elmore Leonard gave me the best piece of advice about writing a novel. I told him once that I was intimidated by the idea of it because it’s so complex and structured. He said, “Remember that you can’t see LA from New York City, but you can drive there and, at night, only see the roadway to your destination as much as your headlights will provide.”

What would you have been if you hadn’t become a journalist?

I would have given acting a chance — and may get into that more now, including voice acting (animation, video games, audiobooks). Jeff Daniels wrote me into his play Office Christmas Party, Grinch in Fight with Rudolph, Police Called, which [was recently] at the Purple Rose Theatre [in Chelsea].

So, children’s book author, potential novelist, musician, actor … They’re all related to storytelling. At the heart of it, I’m a storyteller. And that will continue.

Now, you’ll have more time to do the things you love, right? I can’t say that I hate the idea of having a Thanksgiving morning off. Every Thanksgiving, I’ve had to wake up at the crack of dawn. But I loved every part of that parade and covering it. It’s filled with Detroit tradition.

From the West Coast to the

Great Lakes State

California anchor Ty Steele replaced the retiring Devin Scillian on WDIV in December. Here, he shares insights on his Detroit experience so far.

BY MEGAN SWOYER

After WDIV-TV’s Devin Scillian did his last newscast on Dec. 13, Ty Steele, who had been appearing on Local 4 since late October, took over as anchor of the evening news at 5, 6, and 11 p.m. Steele, who most recently worked in Sacramento, California, at KCRA-TV, started his job in the fall so Scillian could show him the ropes at the station and in Detroit. (Scillian took him to a Red Wings game and introduced him to a Coney dog.)

When we spoke in November, he had already garnered quite a following not only on his first news programs here (“In Your Neighborhood” segments and earlyevening newscasts) but also on social media, where you’ll find him and his family — his wife, Stephanie Steele, who has a doctoral degree in marriage and family therapy, and four daughters — enjoying area parks, reveling in school activities, and mixing up tasty smoothies at home.

Here, he shares even more.

You have zero family living in Michigan, and yet you were big on moving here from California. Why? Detroit is the comeback city, and I want to be a part of it! Plus, when you receive a great career opportunity at a powerhouse like Local 4, it’s hard to turn down. Also, I’ve always been intrigued by the Midwest. Moving here was appealing to me, especially as we have a family with young kids [ages 4 through 10] and it seems a big focus here is on family values and community engagement.

When did you know you wanted to become a newscaster?

I was young. I remember riding around in my parents’ Chevy van in the 1990s with my three brothers where we grew up [Lacey, Washington]. I’d pretend that the cars going by were



Ty Steele (with his wife, Stephanie, and their four daughters, below) is finding metro Detroit to be a very welcoming place.

my audience, and I’d broadcast to them as if they were my viewers. In third grade, I was a paperboy with one of my brothers. I knew that I was delivering something important, and I felt like I had a big job. I was a weird kid who watched the news. And I loved communications in school, debating, things like that.

The newscaster’s job has changed over the past several years or so. What are your responsibilities? We aren’t just broadcasting news but also writing it for online and for social media. We make public appearances, too. Did you know that journalists are competing with influencers now? I find that Detroit’s a little different than most news markets, though. People are engaged in the news. There’s a lot of Detroit pride. I’ve noticed that since day one.

The beloved Devin Scillian is a big act to follow. How’s that going so far? He sure is. He’s a great guy in front of the camera and behind it, and that takes a lot of energy. He’s a consummate professional and cares deeply about storytelling and sharing accurate and timely information that impacts the daily lives of people in the metro Detroit area. I will work extremely hard to follow in his footsteps. I have learned a lot from him so far and even enjoyed a steak dinner with him at Parc, which was my first fine-dining experience in Detroit. Devin’s been super welcoming and kind.

Any surprises so far about Michigan that you weren’t expecting? No surprises, just confirmations. I had heard that people in the Midwest were super welcoming. That’s exactly what I’ve seen.

Explore our culinary programs and prepare to make an impact on the world through food.

Learn from seasoned chefs, pastry chefs, and food and beverage management specialists as you hone your skills through our European-style, open-kitchen approach to culinary training. Take advantage of our transparent tuition structure and generous scholarship opportunities that set you up for success. •

Sustainability Is the New Black

The Industrial Sewing and Innovation Center is bringing access to emerging technologies and custom training to the Detroit designers of today and tomorrow

BY JULIANA LUMAJ | PHOTOS BY JOSH SCOTT

IF THERE’S ONE thing Detroiters know how to do best, it’s leading the nation — and even the world — in developing innovative strategies that elevate different industries.

In the early 1900s, Detroit’s Ford Motor Co. transformed the world of auto manufacturing by doing two things: implementing new technology and introducing ways to improve the lives of its employees. The company did this by creating the first moving assembly line able to mass-produce an entire vehicle, cutting the time to build a car by about 11 hours, and by increasing its workers’ wages to $5 a day while also decreasing their work hours. These tactics improved production, ensured employees were able purchase a Ford vehicle, and improved employee retention. Other companies across the country quickly followed suit.

Now, over a century later, it seems another manufacturing industry is benefiting from Detroit’s influence: fashion.

Not only is the fashion manufacturing industry — primarily fast fashion — responsible for about 10% of global carbon dioxide emissions and 20% of the world’s water pollution, but millions of employees around the world are working in unsafe conditions, resulting in the deaths of thousands in just the past decade — all while they live below the poverty line.

In 2022, the Southern California offices of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division investigated several local contractors in the garment industry, finding one that paid its garment employees $1.58 per hour.

However, like the auto industry, the Industrial Sewing and Innovation Center’s CEO and president, Jennifer Guarino, says, fashion manufacturing can be reshaped into a more sustainable and safer industry by doing two things: investing in new manufacturing technologies and training people to use them.

“We really have to invest in technology and doing things different so that we can assign the low-skill, low-wage jobs to automation or robotics and reserve highwage, high-human-skill jobs in our industry for people,” Guarino says.

ISAIC, a nonprofit organization that opened its headquarters above Carhartt’s Midtown Detroit flagship store in 2020, is a national resource dedicated to helping those who want to produce garments responsibly. It offers the Fundamentals of Industrial Sewing and Production course, the United States’ only nationally recognized standardized sewing program. The course was created by Deborah Vandermar, who is “one of our industry’s leading experts in academia and training,” Guarino says, and the co-author of Beyond Design, a step-bystep guide on apparel product development.

ISAIC’s CEO, Jennifer Guarino, previously helped form Shinola’s leather manufacturing unit.

FASHION

The seven-week program comprises approximately 200 hours of learning the fundamentals of different types of textiles, how to operate three types of industrial sewing machines, how to interpret technical documents and illustrations, and the basics of manufacturing principles. Since the program is nationally recognized, it serves as the prerequisite to the Department of Labor apprenticeship program, which participants can also complete at ISAIC. Over the course of 12 months, the paid apprenticeship at ISAIC offers on-the-job training and experience operating emerging and sustainable technology that is at the forefront of promoting the return of domestic manufacturing.

Some of that technology includes a pin felting machine that’s able to transform textile waste into marketable products (ISAIC’s goal is to repurpose 1,500 pounds of scrap material by midsummer) and a 3D knitting machine capable of producing ready-to-wear items like hats and bags.

Once an apprentice is done with their training, there is a wide array of career options available for the taking. Some are hired on as full-time sewing operators at ISAIC; others use their training to create their own design brand; and some go on to work for other companies, including in the auto industry, where they’re hired to upholster the interior of vehicles, and for wellknown fashion designers, like Tracy Reese. Wages are $15-$22 per hour for sewing operators, and the average wage postapprenticeship is $15-$16 hourly.

Guarino sees ISAIC as a trailblazer like Ford Motor Co. in its respective manufacturing industry, but she says the main difference between how the two operate is that ISAIC relies on partnerships.

“This is why I left the for-profit world of fashion, because I wanted to work somewhere that had broad impact that wasn’t constrained by working for one brand,” Guarino says. “And that requires creating really strong partnerships and alliances.”

Guarino’s background makes her the perfect fit for this role. In 2013, the Minnesota resident was recruited by Shinola to join the brand as its vice

president of leather and help create a system where it could design and manufacture goods in Detroit. She had already done so 10 years prior as co-owner of J.W. Hulme Co., a struggling nearly 100-year-old St. Paul, Minnesota-based leather goods retailer she helped restructure into a direct-to-consumer brand that designed, manufactured, and distributed everything locally.

Based in Midtown Detroit, ISAIC has the only nationally recognized standardized sewing program in the U.S.

“It was during that time that I really became committed to reenvisioning what these industries could be in the U.S. and started really looking at the people that work in it and how undervalued those skills are,” Guarino says.

ISAIC has partnered with organizations like Fashion Revolution, which has a shared goal of creating a sustainable fashion manufacturing industry that’s safe for the environment and employees, and the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing Institute, whose mission is to educate those who want to work alongside advanced manufacturing technologies.

Since 2020, ISAIC has graduated over 115 Fundamentals of Industrial Sewing and

Production students at its Detroit headquarters and 316 students in the eight other states where the program is licensed.

Detroit native Emery Jones, who owns his own designer brand called EMLE, finished his apprenticeship last December and is appreciative of the environment ISAIC has created that allowed him to harness his skills. “Being able to work and learn at the same time, and then finishing a shift and being able to test out my ideas, … just having the opportunity — I’m super grateful for that,” says Jones, who showed me during the interview the pants he’d created with the felting machine.

There are hundreds of designers living in metro Detroit, and this nonprofit serves not only as a resource to nurture their talents but also as a beacon to people across the country who want access to emerging technologies and custom training, and Guarino can’t wait to see what they will do.

“Some of it we can’t even conceive of yet,” she says with hopeful eyes, “but just the fact that they can see [what’s available at ISAIC], know it’s here, and do what they will do with it is pretty cool to imagine.”

DESIGN

Farmhouse Find

A historic home in Lake Orion checks off all the boxes for a design-loving homeowner

BY MEGAN SWOYER

WHEN ROYAL OAK residents Sarah Barry and her husband, Timothy, were looking for a new home for their family in 2019, they had two things on their list: expansive property and water.

“The minute we pulled up to an old farmhouse on Lake Orion, we got the chills,” Sarah Barry recalls. The house had been on the market for a while because it wasn’t in the best of shape, “but when we stepped foot on the property and took in an old red barn and the water, we went crazy. We knew it’d be perfect for the boys (ages 8, 11, and 13) for running around and playing.”

The landscaping and the barn were the two most prominent selling features for the family. When the couple entered the home, which was built sometime in the 1920s or ’30s, they could see that the current homeowners had been in the throes of renovating many spaces and had taken areas down to the studs. “The work they did was beautiful. I think they were ready to just move on.

Set on stone: “I really wanted to have some sort of stone or brick in the kitchen.” The Barrys ended up selecting real stone (Stonecraft Heritage). “It’s super heavy, so we had to add extra support in the basement.” The dark natural-wood flooring with wide planks was there when they moved in.

Showstopper: Handmade zellige tile (made in Morocco and

purchased from ziatile. com) covers the entire sink and open-shelving wall. “I splurged on that,” Sarah says of the textural, shimmery addition that features creams and grays ¬— along with natural imperfections — but seems to “change in color depending on the light.”

Open to change: “We had so much cabinetry in the kitchen — because it’s so big — that I thought, ‘Let’s create open shelving

“I could envision what the home could be,” says Sarah, an interior designer who launched Inspired Spaces by Sarah in 2019. Once moved in, she and Timothy started work on the kitchen, primary bath, and laundry room simultaneously.

The couple contracted out the work themselves. “That was scary,” Sarah says, but Timothy, who is the CEO of Troy-based LitFinancial, told her, “You’re an interior decorator, and you can do this!” The couple hired a neighbor/carpenter to assist with the renovation.

Today, the Barry family (and, often, friends) enjoys meals in a beautifully renovated kitchen and dining space. An inviting laundry room brightens wash days, and an updated master bath adds calm to the parents’ busy days. Meanwhile, Timothy has created a makeshift hangout space in the three-story barn. There’s still lots of work to be done, Sarah says, but she’s taking it one step at a time.

Here, the designer shares her perspectives on the renovations done thus far. “I wanted our home to be earthy and to bring the outside in, creating comfort and warmth. This was the first time my sons could see firsthand what I do, besides be a mom,” she adds. “Their reaction was like, ‘Wow, Mom, you did this?’”

to eliminate some of that cabinetry.’” Atop those shelves, which are made from old barnwood Sarah discovered at Reclaimed Michigan in Waterford, are the family’s everyday dishes.

Life cycle: Sarah’s been told the laundry room was once the home’s front porch. It was halfremodeled when her family moved in, and Sarah had the washer and dryer moved to a different wall to maximize space for a counter/folding area and large sink and to allow room for a bench. Brick flooring creates a vintage feel. (Sarah found the bricks online.) Pine shiplap adorns all the walls, while the cabinetry’s

blue-green shade provides an updated farmhouse look and adds a hint of color to offset the space’s neutral tones.

Barn yarn: The items in the barn, like old lanterns and sleds, were left behind by previous owners over time and add to the story of the historical property.

Fired up: The Barrys wanted to retain the brick from the now-gone original fireplace, so it’s still evident in the kitchen and reaches up through the home into one of the sons’ rooms.

History lesson: The Barrys had the opportunity to meet a

woman (Patsy Ewald Langdon) who was born and grew up in the home. “She shared beautiful stories, including how her husband proposed to her [there],” Sarah says. “It was once part of a farm spanning several acres, and keeping that history alive has been an important part of my design process.”

Pining for beauty: The former attic space and now bedroom of the oldest son was complete upon move-in. It has pine walls from floor to ceiling while the old fireplace’s exterior brick runs from the floor to the ceiling. “We kept the brick exposed

to add more rustic charm,” Sarah says. The adjoining bathroom echoes a plaid motif found in the bedroom.

The bathroom mirror features a porthole look.

Flooring finery: The primary bath’s tile floors and a distressed wood vanity “give it that farmhouse/rustic feel,” Sarah says. The porcelain tile, from the Pacific Tile Collection, makes the space feel more expansive. For the shower floor, Sarah opted for round pebble stones to introduce a natural element.

CATWALK in the LIONS’ DEN



Football fans will often catch Detroit Lions team reporter Dannie Rogers in a comfy yet chic suit, whether it be plum-colored with a leather trench coat, a sparkly suit jacket and matching skirt with cowboy boots, or, as seen here, a sequined Kobi Halperin suit with shoes from Anthropologie and jewelry from Lewis Jewelers.

FATE? LUCK? Coincidence? Whatever you want to call it, Dannie Rogers becoming the Detroit Lions’ team reporter the same year Dan Campbell was signed on as head coach “changed everything in my entire career,” Rogers says.

“I didn’t think that the Lions winning would do much for me, because it’s about the team,” Rogers says. “But it 100% has. We’re on bigger stages; people are watching more of our content — the more we win, the more I get to interview players.”

The Monroe County native, who grew up watching Lions games with her dad every Sunday, wanted a career that revolved around sports, and becoming a sports reporter seemed like the most feasible way to do that after an injury ended her high school basketball career.

She went on to graduate from the University of Michigan and moved to Tucson, Arizona, in 2021 for a teamreporting job at the University of Arizona. She had only been there for six months when a team reporter job opened for the Lions for the first time in about seven years. She applied, and within a week, she was hired — and soon after moved back to Michigan. There, she met a football team composed of “the best group of humans” and a coach that “is the coolest human you will ever meet in your life.”

My personal style: I feel like going to Catholic school [and wearing a uniform] for 15 years of my life influenced it: It’s definitely a classy casual.

Someone who helps put my outfits together is … Merna Makdisi from Somerset Collection’s Personal Stylist suite. She’s always sending me great ideas, and we have the same taste — a lot of stuff is timeless but also trendy. I will text Merna whenever I need a belt or a pair of shoes, and she’ll have it ordered and shipped to my house immediately.

My favorite outfit of all time … Is the white sequined Kobi Halperin suit I wore at the NFL Draft. It’s the suit I’ll pass down to my kids one day.

I get my hair game day ready by … [Going to] Figo in Birmingham. Ashna Jeberaeel styles my hair, and Leah Colorito does my color.

My favorite makeup brands: I’ve been using Maybelline foundation and concealer. I swear by the Givenchy setting powder and the OneSize setting spray. And I’m a big RMS Beauty girl, too, which is vegan, cruelty-free, and good for your skin.

My favorite boutique in Detroit is … Faircloth.

All eyes are on you when you’re reporting on a winning team like the Detroit Lions. Here’s how this

Now, as Rogers’ reporting is broadcast on millions of screens across the country — via the Lions’ website, 97.1, Fox 2 Detroit, and social media platforms — we want to know: How does she decide what to wear?

reporter makes sure she’s game day ready.

BY JULIANA LUMAJ | PHOTO BY SAL RODRIGUEZ

Someone who influences my style is … My mom. It’s funny, because the more that I would be on TV, she’s like, “Can you just wear a nice dress or a nice skirt?” and I’m like, “Mom, I’m just comfortable in pants.” And now I’m wearing more dresses and skirts.

Jesse Speelman

Nicole Morisco

RESTAURANT YEAR OF 2025 THE

By DANNY PALUMBO

Photos by EE BERGER

From top left, clockwise: linguine and clams; Honeycrisp apple kimchi; Island Creek oysters; hamachi (made with daikon radish, grapefruit, gochugaru, cucumber yuzu kosho broth, and olive oil).

MABEL GRAY

AFTER A DECADE, CHEF JAMES RIGATO AND HIS SWASHBUCKLING CREW CONTINUE TO BRING THE WORLD TO MICHIGAN ONE PLATE AT A TIME

Cozy and intimate, a seat at the bar remains one of the best ways to experience Mabel Gray.

IT’S A RARITY

for a restaurant to storm onto the scene and remain exciting almost 10 years later. But Mabel Gray, which opened in September of 2015, continues to exceed our expectations by pushing boundaries with globally inspired seasonal menus, keeping its staff creative, happy, and fulfilled — and not getting stale. How do they do it?

They keep their feet moving.

Chef James Rigato leaves the country often. Sommelier and general manager Paulina Schemanski goes to Champagne, France, every year. Max Schikora, the bartender, who had previously never traveled out of the States, just hit Mexico City and Tokyo. The pastry chef? Ireland and Alaska. Rigato is buying back-of-house staff member Jordan Reynolds a ticket to Japan, and another, Kenny Goodwin, is set to spend a month in Italy.

“Perspective,” Rigato says about the benefits of travel. “It’s why you send your kids to school. I view my staff like I’m responsible for them. I want their time with me to be rich, stimulating, and positive.”

When Rigato, who grew up in a trailer park in Howell, found cooking, he discovered his calling, and with it, he inherited a golden ticket to see the world. Soon he left the U.S. for Italy, Vietnam, and France. Each time, he returned to Michigan with thicker skin. He came back a little calmer. A little more curious, more aware. As he puts it, traveling makes Americans “less afraid.”

It raises the question — why, exactly? Why would you want a whole staff of employees to be traveling, effectively leaving the Hazel Park

The Rings of Saturn is a refreshing blend of pineapple rum and cashew orgeat.

The Beverage Program

BY MICKEY LYONS

You can tell a lot about a restaurant from its house wine and cocktail list. In the case of Mabel Gray, everything you need to know is right there in the house Champagne, Champagne Drappier’s Carte D’Or. It’s a classic from a long-established family, complex and nuanced

without being showy. And that’s exactly what you get from Mabel Gray. Led by sommelier Paulina Schemanski, the bar team at Mabel Gray pares down the drinking experience to its sensuous essentials, maximizing the impact of the bar footprint by zeroing in on indispensable and adaptable ingredients.

It takes skill, knowledge, and a confidence born of years of practice to construct a winning beverage pairing. Schemanski does this week after week with her tasting menu pairings, mixing Old and New World wines and adding the occasional serendipitous find to surprise and delight guests. She’s a Champagne whiz and uses her platform to advocate for small growers and low-intensity winemakers. Her Mabel Gray Champagne Society (and its newsletter) is essential for French oenophiles.

Lovers of Italian, Spanish, and California wines can also rejoice in finding new favorites from Mabel Gray’s well-considered cellar. Schemanski’s wine pairings are all about balance. The wine “cave,” opened in June 2024, expands the experience with an inviting and moody space evocative of wine country cellars and exclusive chateaux tastings.

The rest of Mabel Gray’s bar team is equally adept. Longtime employee and head bartender Max Schikora loves to riff on classic cocktails with seasonal ingredients. Take the Rings of Saturn, a rumbased take on the classic tiki drink with pineapple rum and cashew orgeat. It’s simultaneously refreshing and cozy, a beautiful complement to the food menu’s warming winter items. The cocktails are

“With Mabel Gray, I wanted to do something that was welcoming to small concepts and I could do on a small scale,” chef-owner James Rigato (above) told Hour Detroit’s then-critic Christopher Cook in late 2015, months after opening in Hazel Park.

bright, focused, and Instagram-worthy.

On a recent visit, my companion — a regular at Mabel Gray — asked Schikora to surprise him. This is not a move universally advised, since the bartenders need to know a guest’s preferences and peccadillos, plus be intimately versed in the bar’s current ingredient list. Schikora whipped up one of his recent off-menu experiments, a savory blend of bourbon, amaro, and cranberry plus a couple of finishing touches. It was the perfect drink for my companion on a brisk winter night.

Mabel Gray’s bar team creates magic night after night by leaning into what they love. Each bottle of wine, each spirit, each ingredient, from the herbs and juices brought straight from the garden to the green Chartreuse, is chosen with care. The bar’s dedication to refined but never fussy drinks is a reflection of the ethos behind chef James Rigato’s restaurant.

Bartender Max Schikora was inspired to travel internationally after he began working at Mabel Gray.

RESTAURANT YEAR OF THE

Food Events

Mabel Gray has never expanded to a second space, and it’s never needed to, either. The restaurant remains a creatively fulfilling entity for the staff and does so through food events like Vegan Month and Burger Week. Some dinners happen only a few times a year. Chief among them is Sunday at Nonna’s, a collaboration with John Vermiglio of Grey Ghost (which sometimes

hosts). Sunday at Nonna’s is a wonderful dinner full of foods you’d, according to Rigato, “eat in your grandma’s basement” — big, beautiful meatballs; cheesy garlic bread; chicken cutlets with salsa verde passed around on large platters; summery sweet corn cavatelli; and red sauce weighted with olive oil. Friends, there’s nothing

else like Sunday at Nonna’s around here. Rigato and Vermiglio have the unique ability to tap into exactly what makes Italian American comfort food worth celebrating and then turn up the dial. There’s not a doubt in my mind that, if the pair chose, they could open the best damn Italian American restaurant in metro Detroit.

Mabel continues to be a creative incubator, a place for fresh ideas, and a space to collaborate with outside chefs. Everyone is welcome there. The restaurant itself is an island, but its people aren’t marooned on a desolate archipelago. Staff, guest chefs, customers — they’re all traveling back and forth on the same road.

This Colorado lamb chop is topped with a sweet, nutty muhammara (the traditional Middle Eastern roasted red pepper spread).

restaurant? Why is travel so important to the restaurant’s identity? What does it mean for its evolution?

In short, everything. The secret sauce to Mabel Gray’s long-standing success isn’t so much a secret — it’s travel and the empathy it induces. It’s baked into everything they do.

Yes, getting out of the country has imbued Rigato and his team with culinary inspiration, but it’s also instilled compassion, perspective, and chemistry. This is a staff that’s growing and learning together, not just as peers but as human beings. The food reflects that, too — it’s a maelstrom of well-traveled flavors, textures, and experiences, sucking you into its global vortex. Mabel continues to be a celebration of seasonality, but it’s much more than that; it’s a look into the creative minds of people who’ve seen the world.

The Mabel team has experienced vibrant, intoxicating evenings in Mexico City; eaten local fish in Alaska; picked wine grapes with Romanian women living in vans; spent long, alcohol-soaked nights in Ireland; traversed the French countryside; and faded into the bustling day traffic of Tokyo.

To put it succinctly, the team at Mabel travels the world, they grow, and then they come back to Michigan eager to share their newfound perspective.

FLAVORFUL AND FLEETING

It’s December 2024, and I’m at Mabel Gray to experience Rigato and company’s current iteration of their transient menu. As you read this, the food is already in the past. They’ve left this collection of well-rounded dishes in the dust, and the team is more than

happy to do so. The food at Mabel is as elusive as it is dynamic, changing every few weeks. This particular menu, though, is a jazz record full of Mabel Gray hits.

The mushroom carpaccio is a beautiful, layered, pancake-looking disc full of fat and robust flavor. Thinly shaved white mushrooms are topped with a rich maitake conserva, then drizzled with a bright lemon vinaigrette, dotted with a pesto pungent with pecorino Romano, and then finished with a sheet of

This Salad Verte is dressed with a vinaigrette made from dried sherry and Dijon mustard. The fresh lettuce is topped with herbs, garlic breadcrumbs, feta, sunflower seeds, cucumber, and radishes.

pine nut crumble on top for crunch. Lemon, olive oil, pine nuts, and pesto — the mushroom carpaccio sings of sacred Italian simplicity. It’s also an adequate representation of what Mabel does best: Each ingredient is treated simply, and yet each ingredient gets its proper praise.

Then there’s the Honeycrisp apple kimchi, which I would happily submit to the Pure Michigan tourism campaign. Sweet, crisp apple slices are tossed in a vigorous kimchi paste that pops with ginger and garlic. Short strips of crispy Nueske’s bacon, which hails from Wisconsin and is among the most delicious bacon you’ll encounter, rest neatly atop the apple slices. Celery adds freshness, and spiced candied cashews add more crunch (Mabel loves crunch). Bacon and apples — simple, and yet presented with such artfulness. This is what the restaurant is all about. Mabel, at its best, presents ingredients that make sense in a way you’ve likely never experienced before.

Take the linguine and clams — Rigato’s traditional vongole receives influence from Japanese ramen in Tokyo. Fresh, eggy pasta is buried underneath a layer of Manila clams, but, like ramen, this classic pasta dish contains more broth than most, and so customers find themselves happily slurping warm, buttery, aromatic liquid in between bites of chewy noodles and clams. Rigato’s linguine and clams stays true to the classic preparation — fresh clams, garlic, parsley, white wine, and butter — but there’s this extra oomph provided by the use of fish sauce. It’s a heightened pasta dish that’s well traveled. It’s linguine and clams that got curious, got on a plane, and went east.

On other visits, I experienced the spiedini — mortadella ribbons grilled on a skewer (which I can only describe as “deli meat yakitori”), flaky hamachi collar with a properly spiced Jamaican jerk sauce, and a Colorado lamb chop spread with a sweet,

Dubbed “the fairy godmother of Mabel Gray,” sommelier and general manager Paulina Schemanski joined the team in 2019. She writes the Mabel Gray Champagne Society newsletter.

nutty muhammara that felt utterly Dearborn. Recollecting Mabel is often a laser show of concepts and cultures, intersecting through Michigan, the Midwest, and the globe.

Pastry chef Ali Sensovich has been a marvel over her tenure at Mabel and continues to deliver straightforward desserts that still somehow subvert and excite. Her peppermint chocolate cheesecake is sublime. Her pear tart is crispy, dense, sticky, and packed with subtle sweet flavor. On a separate occasion, while on dessert reconnaissance, I was completely smitten with Sensovich’s rich and moist sticky toffee pudding, which beams with the flavor of brown butter, fried sage, and crystal cranberries dipped in hot simple syrup for a nice sugary pop. Sensovich’s desserts are understated, not too sweet, and always a textural wonder.

Schemanski, there are now typically over 100 varieties in Mabel Gray’s charming Champagne dungeon at any given moment. There’s nothing else like it in metro Detroit.

To hear Rigato and Schemanski tell it, Champagne never goes out of style. What’s more, Champagne pairs beautifully with Mabel Gray’s culinary sensibilities — fatty, funky, acidic, and crunchy. It’s the ultimate beverage complement to Mabel’s already-stellar food. A reminder that the industry is food and beverage. The pair saw an opportunity to heighten one half of the experience, and they jumped on it.

Champagne Never Goes out

of Style

Mabel’s latest evolution comes with its brand spanking new Champagne Society — a recently constructed wine room dedicated solely to sparkling wine. The space looks Gothic, both moody and romantic, like the type of place fancy vampires go to hang out and drink blood from a chalice after a long night of work. Its purpose? To celebrate Champagne.

“Paulina is the fairy godmother of Mabel Gray. She’s the future of beverage in southeast Michigan for sure as far as Champagne goes,” Rigato gushes about Wine Director Schemanski. While past sommeliers at Mabel have always featured sparkling wine by the glass, with the help of

Champagne has long been an industry favorite. Both Rigato and Schemanski say that most sommeliers who come into Mabel for dinner drink Champagne. “All wine roads lead to Champagne,” Rigato says. “Your finest chefs around the world, your baddest sommeliers, [that’s] the common thread. I just went to an omakase in Tokyo — they pour Champagne.”

No other restaurant in southeast Michigan pushes Champagne like Mabel Gray, and its loyal customers are getting wise to the drink, too.

“It’s like being at a burger bar and being like, ‘What’s good here?’” Schemanski says. “Oh, it’s the burger?” Champagne is now part of Mabel’s identity, just one of the many ways the restaurant has evolved over the years. Make a choice to go all in on something you’re passionate about — that’s the Mabel way.

This Michigan Honeycrisp apple kimchi features apple slices tossed in a gingery, garlicky kimchi paste and topped with celery, lemon yogurt, spiced candied cashews, scallion, and bacon from Nueske’s, an artisan meat supplier in Wisconsin.

RESTAURANT YEAR OF THE

Creatively, Sensovich is also drawn to Mabel’s fluid nature, and the push to travel has influenced her cooking as well. Recently, on a trip to Alaska with another co-worker, she was taken with the state’s inherently insular food sourcing. Because Alaska is so isolated, imported food just costs so much more. “They depend on their own sourcing, what they can use. If you [someone living in or visiting Alaska] don’t have fish every meal, then you’re doing it wrong.”

Mabel is similar, featuring ingredients as fleeting as the seasons themselves. “We’re always talking to farmers and suppliers,” Sensovich says. “What do you got? What’s new? What’s fresh? What’s in season?”

But just as quickly, she says, it’s “Goodbye. Next thing.” A short memory. That’s what Rigato and company ask their diners to expect.

“Everything good in your life is fleeting,” Rigato says. “A great bottle of Champagne. The perfect wine. It’s already over, man. Christmas morning — it’s already over.”

RELIABLY SUBLIME

Yes, Mabel’s calling card is a seasonal, ephemeral menu, one that morphs with product availability and takes full advantage of the Midwest’s bountiful produce. But while the restaurant comes and goes as it pleases, the food remains consistently excellent. Mabel Gray is a stalwart in metro Detroit and a marker of restaurant excellence not just in Michigan but across America. That’s why it’s Hour Detroit’s 2025 Restaurant of the Year. The award is a celebration of Mabel pulling off the impossible feat of being truly

outstanding for an entire decade. Mabel Gray continues to be rebellious, refined, worldly, and yet still so consistently approachable. The shotgun-style space remains, at its core, an old Coney shop in Hazel Park turned upside down. A relaxing, glowing orange light envelops the room, which features plenty of vintage tiling and coloring. Along the side wall rests a long leather bench, complete with rows of wooden tables and chairs. The open kitchen protrudes into the dining space in such a way that it makes you feel as if you’re part of the team. And, as in all great restaurants, the bar remains the best seat in the house — snug but still roomy and an excellent way to strike up a conversation with a stranger or one of the bustling staff members. Though Mabel is traditional, it is also the absence of tradition — with handwritten, chef’s choice tasting menus featuring loud flavors. It boasts an attentive, knowledgeable, natural staff. If you go to Mabel, you’re going to be pushed out of your comfort zone. That’s because the staff has been pushed out of their comfort zone.

Rigato himself doesn’t shy away from sentimentality or a lived-in idea; he knows that Mabel Gray has always been the sum of its staff. They’re travelers. Swashbucklers. Picaroons.

To him, all the well-trodden and romantic expressions of restaurant culture are true.

“We’re an old pirate ship,” he says about Mabel’s 10th year in Hazel Park. “It’s broken in. It’s well seasoned. Everyone on board shares the same idea — we love sailing. We love new menus. We love guest chefs. We love seeing a new land. We are f---ing pirates that want new adventure. We’re the vampires that want new blood.”

Rigato continues to steer his staff toward new experiences, new lands. Mabel’s the ship, but it’s the treasure map, too.

The seasonally available prickly pear margarita is prepared with juice from fresh cactus pears, which the team makes in-house.

Getaways Grecian

BY DAPHNE NIKOLOPOULOS

Two of Greece’s most sublime islands delight with natural beauty, cultural treasures, and views for days

PHOTO ISTOCK

Troulos Beach in Skiathos is known for its crystalclear, calm water.

Most visitors to Greece make a beeline for the Cyclades islands, charmed by the whitewashed buildings silhouetted against the sapphire sea and the buzzy, cosmopolitan beaches.

Fair enough. But as summer tourism swells in the charismatic island chain, there are good reasons to look elsewhere for that authentic Greek experience — quaint harbors and Byzantine monasteries included.

The cognoscenti already know about the Sporades. This island archipelago north of Athens offers the best attributes of the Aegean without the crowds or commoditized Hellenism. When approaching from the sea, you notice the difference right away: The landscape is mountainous and lush, with pine trees tumbling down hillsides to the water’s edge. Beaches range from large sandy swathes to windswept coves defined by rock formations that recall ancient tales from The Odyssey

The jewel of the Sporades is Skiathos, which strikes the perfect balance between tranquility and excitement. The best way to experience

so guests have total privacy.

A downhill path leads to Azalea’s private beach appointed with loungers, a stocked cooler, kayaks, and paddleboards. The water is refreshing, even at the peak of summer, and so clear you can see the veining on the pebbles beneath the surface. With a picnic lunch and some music, it’s easy to lose all track of time.

Outside of the villa is an island worth exploring. On the west coast, a hike in the woods of Mandraki, toward Elias Cove, leads to a forgotten beach and a thatch-roofed shack that serves some of the best seafood in Skiathos. Out east, near the windy beaches of Xanemo, there’s always a crowd to watch airplanes descend for landing. The seaside airport has a short runway, so landings are a bit of a spectacle as planes approach directly above beachgoers.

it is by renting a hilltop villa with wraparound views of the Aegean. London-based The Thinking Traveller (thethinkingtraveller.com) offers several villas in the Sporades, including the exquisite Azalea on Skiathos. Located in Troulos on the island’s southwest coast, the six-bedroom villa is designed in traditional Mediterranean style with stone-paved terraces and shaded verandas surrounded by mature olive and fig trees, bougainvilleas, and oleanders. The symphony of blues, greens, and earth tones gives a spectacular first impression, but the true spirit of the villa unfolds quietly over time.

Mornings start with a swim in the pool, followed by a traditional Greek breakfast of fruit, breads, cheeses, and honey — all sourced or produced locally and prepared by the villa’s cook, Eleni. Eleni and the rest of the staff provide flawless service but are also mindful of retreating after mealtimes

Further inland is the monastery of Panagia Evangelistria (Annunciation of the Virgin), one of the most historically significant monasteries in Greece. Here, in 1807, the occupied nation’s freedom fighters wove the flag of the independent state and swore an oath to free Greece from Ottoman rule. Today, it is still a working monastery with beautiful chapels, a hilltop café, a museum, vineyards, and an olive press. Locally produced products (some by the monks themselves) are for sale in a small shop.

Evenings are best spent in Skiathos Town, on the island of Skiathos, near the docks, where shops, restaurants, and nightlife abound. (Mamma Mia fans may recognize this port.) For elevated Greek cuisine in a charming courtyard space, Marmita (marmitaskiathos.com) is a can’tmiss. From grilled Mastelo cheese with marinated peaches to roasted rabbit in Samos sweet wine, the offerings are creative and the experience world-class.

Mind you, a homemade dinner on the terrace of Azalea is no slouch, especially if Eleni’s famous pies are on the menu. With a star-strewn sky above and a summer breeze wafting up from the sea, there’s no better way to conclude a perfect day in Skiathos.

Skiathos Harbor is known for its shops and nightlife and served as a location for Mamma Mia

Bespoke Santorini

Santorini’s volcanic topography and bluedomed whitewashed churches perched atop plunging cliffs have become symbolic of an idyllic Greek vacation. Yet most travelers to this Cycladic icon bounce only between the crowded streets of Fira (the capital city) and Oia, renowned for its sunsets, forgoing some of the island’s more esoteric but no less wondrous attributes.

To really get to know Santorini, it helps to have a local curate the experience. Nous Santorini, a Yes! Hotel, has stepped brilliantly into this role, crafting original and personalized activities for its guests. The hotel is centrally positioned in Mesaria, a village within 10 minutes of the capital, and offers dramatic views of the Aegean from the caldera’s edge. A compound of geometric structures that look both contemporary and ancient, the design-forward Nous is in itself a destination. The hotel’s art collection, viewable throughout the common areas and accommodations, centers on Greek artists and tells a heritage story through a contemporary lens. Materials take a cue from the island’s volcanic landscape and arid surroundings, and bespoke furnishings

— the work of some of the nation’s top designers — express a connection to land and sea.

But what truly sets Nous apart is its focus on experiences that don’t appear in the guidebooks. These can be anything from a customized wine trail tour discovering Santorini’s little-known (but superb) vintages to a visit to an art gallery inside a historic winery. One of the most fascinating opportunities is an expert-led excursion to Akrotiri, an ancient Minoan city that

was destroyed during the circa-1600 BCE eruption that famously sank half of Santorini (then Thera) into the sea. At this living archeological dig, multistory buildings, incredibly well-preserved frescoes, and intricate infrastructure have risen from ash and stone to reveal an advanced civilization.

The best way to cap days of discovery is with the sexy nightlife of Fira, which can range from intimate bars to the lively scene at Koo Club and Enigma. It’s all about balance.

Nous Santorini offers experiences like private tours of the capital, Fira (right), or vineyards growing the famous Assyrtiko grapes of Santorini (above right). Elio’s Italian American Chophouse (above) serves classic cuts and cocktails.

TRUSTED ADVISORS

Q: What is the philosophy behind Art of

Dermatology?

A: At Art of Dermatology, we believe in providing a personalized, multimodality approach to skin care. Whether we’re treating a complex skin condition or o ering an aesthetic procedure, we take the time to fully understand each patient’s unique needs and goals. My team and I combine the latest medical and cosmetic treatments to deliver the best possible outcomes, helping patients not only achieve healthier skin but also feel more confident.

We treat a wide range of conditions, from acne and eczema to more complex issues like skin cancers and autoimmune skin disorders. Skin cancer screenings are a key part of our practice, especially for patients with a history of sun exposure. We also treat conditions like rosacea, psoriasis, and abnormal moles. Our goal is to help patients manage their conditions and improve their quality of life through early diagnosis and treatment.

Q: What is an appropriate pressure level during a massage; does it matter?

A: Pressure levels during a massage are personalized and vary greatly based on clients’ expectations/feedback. Beginners may want to start with a light-to-medium-pressure massage to get an idea of sensitive, painful areas. Excess pressure may lead to increased bruising, recovery time, and soreness and possibly tissue damage. The therapist’s goal is to meet their client’s expectations, adjusting their pressure according to both verbal and physical feedback.

For pain relief and improved functional mobility, the pressure may reach your pain tolerance, but not past. Clients sometimes may not get the relief they are looking for from a deep-tissue or sports massage. Rio Palace Spa o ers a service that bridges the gap between physical therapy benefits and the spa experience, called the Rio Infused Massage. Rio Infused Massages utilize intuitive healing combined with physical therapy knowledge and advanced medical massage therapy techniques to improve functional mobility and relieve pain. This approach facilitates healing and well-being in a spa atmosphere.

Art of Dermatology

Chethena Gottam, M.D.

Founder and Chief Medical O icer 28905 Woodward Ave. Berkley, MI 48072 248-581-0333 info@theartofderm.com

Rio Palace Spa

Dr. Aaron Duca, PT, DPT, LMT Co-Founder 665 S. Adams Road Birmingham, MI 48009 248-863-0101 contact@riopalace-spa.com

Q: How did you decide to introduce hormone replacement therapy to Rêve Medical Spa, and who can benefit?

A: My own experience with severe perimenopause symptoms and di iculty finding a health care provider who would listen, understand, and know how to help was the catalyst for bringing bioidentical hormone replacement therapy to Rêve Medical Spa. Both men and women can experience symptoms as early as their late 30s and into their 50s. These can include sleep disturbances, decreased energy, increased fatigue, “brain fog,” hot flashes/night sweats, decreased libido or interest in sex, and weight gain and struggling to lose it, among other concerns. HRT is ongoing to maintain optimal results, and the results can be life altering. These can include improved sleep, energy levels, and motivation; clearer thinking; less irritability; and reduction or resolution of hot flashes and night sweats, among other benefits. The advanced practitioners at Rêve Med Spa are available to discuss symptoms and will collaborate closely with the client’s primary care provider to ensure comprehensive care.

Rêve Medical Spa

Aubrey Dewey, APRN, MSN, FNP-BC 1890 Crooks Road Troy, MI 48084 248-817-6704

aubreyd@revemedicalspa.com

Celebrate Twyla Tharp Dance’s 60th anniversary with Detroit Opera p. 51 ARTS, CULTURE, AND OTHER THINGS

PHOTO

THIS ISN’T a happy Valentine’s Day column. It’s not really for the heartbroken, either.

It’s for those with an appetite. Because Valentine’s Day rarely has me looking into the future. This year, it has me looking down at my plate as a bachelor writer about to turn 36.

It’s an age and time when I’m watching my friends become partners, become parents, and become increasingly hard-to-see fragments of their former selves off doing their own thing and building their own lives.

The rest is window-shopping. I’m looking at what they’ve got through glass. I’m welcome to come in and shop sometimes, but it will be on their terms with very boutique hours.

This holiday has made me think about other types of relationships in my life I value: Friendships. Family. A robust menu with rotating specials and coffee to go.

My longest romantic relationship with a human lasted five years. There were glorious moments. There were heartbreaking moments. We didn’t even move in together.

My longest relationship with a restaurant is closing in on 20. Those years have been spent sitting at the counter of The Fly Trap, a quirky diner on Woodward Avenue in Ferndale that serves up top-notch elevated diner fare. There have never been

MY LONGEST RELATIONSHIP IS WITH A RESTAURANT

any heartbreaking moments here — just delicious ones. I truly love this place and the staff that makes it hum.

There are so many places that are too much or too little. Only for special occasions or too expensive to be a regular thing. But The Fly Trap is truly a ride-ordie daily cruiser.

I need a partner like that. Who refills the cup when it’s empty. Speaks to me in my love language of food. Picks up after me.

Our emerald anniversary, as restaurant and patron, is this year. In lieu of a gift, I think I’ll just order the biscuits with the jalapeño mushroom gravy, thanks.

As much as I can romanticize the feeling of bellying up to the counter by myself, there have been times when it’s been lonely. And I’m someone who does not mind eating alone or going out by myself.

Valentine’s Day has made me realize that

it really isn’t the physical space itself that makes The Fly Trap a ride-or-die partner for me. It’s not the hot sauce, the scrambles, the specials, or anything else on the menu.

It’s the people who bring it to life, on both sides of the counter. I’ve felt great pride sharing this sacred space with someone — including some incredible partners. It’s like watching your favorite movie for the 75th time with someone who has never seen it. You get completely fresh eyes because you’re excited to watch it with them and introduce them to one of your favorite things.

It seems simple, but it’s something I’m just starting to sink my fork into. Now, if a partner comes along who doesn’t share the same palate for breakfast at any time of the day?

Table for one, please.

Ryan Patrick Hooper is the host of In the Groove on 101.9 WDET, Detroit’s NPR station (weekdays from noon to 3 p.m.).

Valentine’s Day isn’t just about sharing your love for someone special

BY RYAN PATRICK HOOPER

CULTURE CONVO

ARTS & CULTURE

DON’T-MISS EVENTS

Save the dates for comedy shows, film screenings, performances, and more COMPILED BY LAUREN WETHINGTON

film starring Eileen Brennan, Tim Curry, and Christopher Lloyd, this hilarious stage production dares audience members to try to solve its central mystery as the characters navigate blackmail, murder, and a host of high jinks at Boddy Manor. $50+. Fisher Theatre, Detroit; broadwayindetroit.com

FEB. 11-16

THEATER

JAN. 31-FEB. 2

RECREATION

Winter Blast: The annual weekend event dedicated to frosty fun returns to downtown Royal Oak’s Centennial Commons this month, offering live music, ice skating, ice sculptures, a zip line, food trucks, kids’ activities, and even a medieval village. No cost. Centennial Commons, Royal Oak; winterblast.com

FEB. 1

MUSIC

Rod Wave: The singer, songwriter, and rapper first gained widespread fame when his 2019 rap-soul single “Heart on Ice” went viral on TikTok. Wave has gone on to release a new album every year since then, racking up more than 21 billion streams and going toe to toe with Taylor Swift on the Billboard charts in the process.

He’ll promote his latest album, 2024’s Last Lap when he makes a stop at Little Caesars Arena this month. $64.50+. Little Caesars Arena, Detroit; 313presents.com

FEB. 1-2

DANCE

Twyla Tharp Dance: Diamond Jubilee: Emmy Award-winning dancer, choreographer, and author Twyla Tharp celebrates the 60th anniversary of her eponymous dance company with a tour featuring her critically acclaimed work Diabelli, which is set to Beethoven’s notoriously complex Diabelli Variations. The show also features Slacktide, a collaboration between Tharp, composer Philip Glass, and Grammy Award-winning Chicago-based quartet Third Coast Percussion. $30. Detroit Opera House, Detroit; detroitopera.org

FEB. 4

MUSIC

Kelsea Ballerini: Best known for her charttopping 2015 single “Love Me Like You Mean It,” the five-time Grammy Award nominee will celebrate the release of her newest album, Patterns, when she embarks on a national tour with fellow country artists MaRynn Taylor and Maisie Peters. $45.50+. Little Caesars Arena, Detroit; 313presents.com

FEB. 4-9

THEATER

Clue: Inspired by both the enduring board game and the 1985

FEB. 18

MUSIC

Father John Misty: Maryland songwriter and vocalist Joshua Tillman dabbles in folk, indie rock, and pop music styles as Father John Misty, a stage persona known for eccentric live performances and satirical, tongue-in-cheek lyricism. He received widespread acclaim with his 2015 concept album I Love You, Honeybear, which explored his relationship with his wife. $59+. The Fillmore, Detroit; livenation.com

FEB. 22-MARCH 2

THEATER

Rinaldo: Handel’s classic baroque opera about a knight’s quest gets a modern-day spin in this riveting production directed by Louisa Proske. While recovering from surgery in a hospital room, a boy finds himself swept away in a fairy tale world of sorcerers, monsters, and magic. As he battles mythical beasts in his mind as the brave knight Rinaldo, the young girl in the bed next to his fights for her life in the real world. $30+.

Come from Away: Based on a true story, this Tony Award-winning musical follows events in the small town of Gander, Newfoundland, after more than 7,000 airplane passengers and crew members were forced to land there on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. The passengers find themselves embraced as honorary Newfoundlanders by the town’s welcoming residents, forming enduring friendships as they prepare to return home and face the reality of the terrorist attacks. $45+. Fisher Theatre, Detroit; broadwayindetroit.com

FEB. 14-MARCH 16

THEATER

Kairos: Ann Arbor’s Theatre Nova will host the world premiere of this new play by Lisa Sanaye Dring. Gina and David find their newly official union tested when a revolutionary medical procedure offers to extend life indefinitely for a small group of patients, leaving the newlyweds to grapple with the weight of love and commitment in a postmortality world. $30. Theatre Nova, Ann Arbor; theatrenova.org

FEB. 20

MUSIC

Justin Timberlake:

The singer, songwriter, actor, and former ’NSync member will promote his newest album, Everything I Thought It Was on his Forget Tomorrow World Tour The release marked Timberlake’s sixth consecutive Billboard Top 5 album in the U.S., with lead singles “Selfish” and “No Angels” marking a return to dancehall form for the artist. $99+. Little Caesars Arena, Detroit; 313presents.com

FEB. 22

COMEDY

Jessica Kirson: A fixture of New York City’s hottest comedy clubs, this veteran comedian has appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, The View, and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Kirson is also a regular contributor on The Howard Stern Show, where she produces and stars in hilarious prank phone calls. $34.50+.

Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak; royaloak musictheatre.com

Detroit Opera House, Detroit; detroitopera.org

Border Crossing

Cirque du Soleil, the legendary Montrealbased entertainment company, will return to Windsor, Ontario’s WFCU Centre Feb. 27-March 2 for five performances of its insect-inspired production Ovo. Crickets, ladybugs, spiders, flies, and butterflies engage in acrobatic feats as they dance, flit, play, and fight amid a vibrant, natureinspired set that aims to evoke the magical world hidden beneath our feet. Performers don stunningly detailed costumes — some of which reportedly took more than 75 hours each to craft — as they move to a unique, funk-laden score performed by a live seven-piece band.

Audiences can also expect incredible props, including a 30-foot mechanical flower that blooms and changes as the performance progresses. $44+ for children; $54+ for adults. WFCU Centre, Windsor, Ontario; wfcucentre. evenue.net

See Rinaldo at the Detroit Opera House Feb. 22-March 2.

FOLLOWING IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS

An Hour contributor takes an eye-opening Underground Railroad tour with visiting educators from California

BY PARIS GILES

CONVERSATIONS ABOUND on how to foster empathy among people in positions of power. Real empathy, not the performative kind or the fleeting kind that ebbs with the headlines. Educators play some of the most impactful roles in nurturing the next generations, and Underground Railroad tour group Footsteps to Freedom has found a way to immerse them in history and deliver an experience meant to educate and endure. Throughout the summer, Footsteps to Freedom takes teachers and school administrators, most from Southern California school districts, on eight-day tours from Kentucky to Canada, retracing the steps taken by enslaved people seeking freedom. They don’t always hit the same cities, but Detroit, rich in abolitionist history and a settling point during the Great Migration, is always on the list. I joined them for much of their day here in late July.

The Detroit leg aptly began at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. In matching T-shirts, 50 or so participants

lined up in a circle in The Wright’s Ford Freedom Rotunda, and then one of the guides — or “conductors” — led the group in a powerful rendition of “Amazing Grace” that echoed throughout the empty space. Historian, retired professor, and author Daniel E. Walker then led us through The Wright’s And Still We

“The biggest thing they say is they feel like they were robbed and cheated with their education.”

—DANIEL WALKER

Rise exhibition, a permanent centerpiece that starts in ancient Africa and ends with the Civil Rights Movement. Walker taught at El Camino College and was a researcher at the Center for Religion and Civic Culture at the University of Southern California.



Hart Plaza’s Gateway to Freedom International Memorial was sculpted by Ed Dwight, America’s first Black astronaut candidate. Controversially he was never selected for a space mission. Last year, his dream finally came true at age 90 aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket.

“This trip is using lessons from the Underground Railroad to teach humanity,” says Walker, who has been leading tours for Footsteps to Freedom since it was founded 28 years ago by Cheryl and Hardy Brown Sr. He says the impact on participants of all races and backgrounds has been profound. “The biggest thing they say is they feel like they were robbed and cheated with their education. They’re like, ‘I went to school, I have a master’s degree, and I never learned this.’” Thorough and engaging, Walker led the group through the exhibit, illustrating how the settling of early modern societies, the cultivation of sugar, relationships between nations, and the forging of Abrahamic religions all worked congruently to birth the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

By far the most moving part of the Wright tour happened when we, armed with a trigger warning from Walker, entered the belly of a slave ship. Hyperrealistic replicas of human beings lay flat, packed in and chained together, on shelves made of wooden planks. Walker explained that when the person above

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

“vomited, urinated, defecated, and menstruated,” that all fell onto the enslaved person below them. He told us that when ships would arrive at port, they were often made to anchor not at the dock but farther out and unload their “cargo” little by little on smaller boats because the stench was so overwhelming.

Walking through the hold, several people started to cry; I clocked this while trying to manage the lump in my own throat. A couple more from the group had to take seats, and one woman had to be taken aside and comforted. Later on, in the brighter light and breezier atmosphere of the Detroit Riverwalk, I caught up with that woman, Brianna Mosely, a Black social worker for the Los Angeles Unified School District. As to why she’d become so emotional, she says, “It was just really rough, just knowing that people had to endure that and knowing that’s my history. When I see that, it gives me more courage and more empowerment. My ancestors did all of this just so I could be here today. I’m excited to go home and do something different.”



The Wright’s And Still We Rise is one of the U.S.’s longestrunning Black history exhibitions.

Kenneth B. Morris Jr. knows better than most the power of history and ancestry. He’s a Footsteps to Freedom guide and the great-great-greatgrandson of Frederick Douglass and the greatgreat-grandson of Booker T. Washington. The co-founder of the Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives nonprofit, he has been involved with Footsteps since 2005. He wasn’t always enthusiastic about carrying on the familial legacy in this way, but the first tour he joined changed his mind. “I knew the Underground Railroad. I knew generally what Frederick Douglass did; I knew generally what Booker T. Washington did, but I took a lot of it for granted because it was always around me. What this trip did for me was it really immersed me into the true history, and having an opportunity to go from the pages of the history books … to falling into the footsteps of these freedom seekers, it was natural for me to become part of the tour.”

The city of Detroit’s official historian, Jamon Jordan, picked up where Walker left off and led the group on a walking and driving tour, pointing out the streets named for the prominent French families who settled here — like Chene, Dubois, and Dequindre — and stopping by the former home of abolitionist and Underground Railroad conductor George DeBaptiste. We ended the tour at Hart Plaza at the Gateway to Freedom International Memorial, which sits just feet away from the river those escaping slavery would traverse under the cover of darkness to reach the shores of Canada. On this day, sunlight sparkled atop the water as music played and Jet Skis zipped by.

Where to Visit

Detroit (code name “Midnight”) and Windsor, Ontario, are rich in Underground Railroad history. Some of the most notable sites include:

Tower of Freedom

The counterpart to Hart Plaza’s Gateway to Freedom sits across the Detroit River in Windsor. This sister monument depicts the arrival of freedom seekers into Canada and features four life-size bronze figures, including a young girl holding a rag doll. citywindsor.ca/residents/ culture/monuments/ tower-of-freedom

Second Baptist Church

Croghan Street Station, in the basement of this Greektown church, was a hiding spot for more than 5,000 Freedom Seekers from 1836 to 1865. It is the only documented Detroit Underground site that is preserved and remains in its original location. Prominent conductors including Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth worked with Second Baptist. Tours

are currently offered by appointment only. ugrrbookstore.com/tour

Finney Hotel and Barn Seymour Finney was a staunch supporter of the abolitionist movement. He owned a hotel at the corner of State and Griswold streets, and his nearby barn (since razed) was a hiding spot for freedom seekers. A historical marker pays tribute.

First

Congregational Church

Now in Midtown at 33 E. Forest Ave. (on the corner of Woodward), this historic church once had two older buildings that sat near the riverfront, one of which served as one of the final stops on the Underground Railroad between 1840 and 1863. The lower level of the church has since been transformed into a living museum. Visitors can experience a

90-minute tour designed to reenact the original Underground Railroad pathway; tours are available by reservation Tuesday through Saturday at 11 a.m. friendsoffirst. com/undergroundrailroad-tours

Tommy’s Detroit Bar & Grill

The tunnel that runs underneath this sports bar at 624 Third Ave. (near Huntington Place) is said to have been used as a getaway route for those escaping slavery (and, later, Prohibition laws).

George DeBaptiste’s Home Site

The abolitionist’s home once stood at the corner of East Larned and Beaubien. DeBaptiste bought a steamship, the T. Whitney, and used it to usher those escaping enslavement across the Detroit River to Canada.

Tours are available at the Friends of First Living Museum at First Congregational Church.

RECREATION

Living It U.P.

Across the Mackinac Bridge lies a truly one-of-a-kind winter destination

BY ISABELLA AMADORI

WHEN WINTER SETTLES over Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, it reveals a side of the state that often goes unnoticed: quiet lakeshores dusted with snow, small towns twinkling with holiday cheer, and expansive forests blanketed in white (not to mention the northern lights, which are most visible in the U.P. between August and April).

But now the secret’s out. The U.P. has been named one of Condé Nast Traveler’s “11 Underrated Places to Travel This Winter.” What makes the region so extraordinary? Here are four U.P. winter experiences that you can’t find anywhere else.

 Watch a World-Class Ski Jumping Competition

Not only is the U.P. a gem for winter sports enthusiasts — it’s long been a destination for ski jumping, brought to the region by Nordic immigrants in the late 19th century. Currently, the region is a training ground for hundreds of ski jumping athletes every year, including at least a dozen Winter Olympic athletes. Two iconic ski jumps are the Suicide Hill Ski Jump in Negaunee and the Pine Mountain Ski Jump in Iron Mountain. A third, Copper Peak in Ironwood, is on the verge of becoming the largest human-made FIS-certified ski jump in the world, with Phase 1 of construction starting this year.

This winter, catch the 2025 FIS Continental Cup (presented by Kiwanis Ski Club, which was founded in 1939) at Pine Mountain Feb. 21-23. pinemountainresort.com, ishskiclub.com, copperpeak.net

Tour the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame and Museum

Ishpeming, about 15 miles west of Marquette, is recognized as the birthplace of organized skiing in America. It’s also home to the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame and Museum, a unique destination for ski lovers and history buffs alike. Visitors can explore an impressive collection of exhibits and displays honoring the achievements of legendary athletes.

From March 26 to 29, the association will hold its annual induction ceremony in Lake Placid, New York, the location of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics. There, athletes and enthusiasts can enjoy a weekend of snow tours, trivia, and live music. skihall.com

 Discover the Eben Ice Caves

Also near Marquette lie the ice caves of Eben Junction. Typically in December, the caves develop from melted snow runoff that transforms into towering ice walls, icicles, and frozen waterfalls, creating a surreal, otherworldly atmosphere. While the hike to the caves can be challenging (particularly after a fresh snowfall), the reward is a unique opportunity. facebook.com/ EbenIceCaves

Visit Tahquamenon Falls

Tahquamenon Falls is a breathtaking destination — even in the winter. The falls, some of the largest in the Midwest, consist of two main sections: the Upper Falls, which plunge 50 feet, and the Lower Falls. Besides scenic views, visitors can enjoy hitting the surrounding winter hiking trails, crosscountry skiing, or snowmobiling the Tahquamenon Scenic Byway. tahquamenoncountry.com

LEADERSHIP AND IMPACT CELEBRATING

Welcome to Women Who Move Detroit, a celebration of the dynamic, driven, and inspiring women shaping metro Detroit’s future. This special section shines a spotlight on trailblazers who are redefining success across industries — from small business and health care to law, real estate, and beyond. These women are more than leaders; they are changemakers, community builders, and visionaries who embody the resilience and spirit of Detroit.

In these pages, you’ll meet entrepreneurs, executives, real estate professionals, health care providers, and more, all of whom are leading the way in their respective fields. Each story underscores a shared commitment to innovation, collaboration, and making a difference.

Women Who Move Detroit is a tribute to the power of ambition and a reminder of the incredible impact women have when they lead with purpose. Read on to learn more about these movers and shakers and their contributions to metro Detroit.

Atlas Cut Stone Inc., established in 1935, has been supplying limestone to metro Detroit for 90 years. Carol Potrykus, one of the current owners, is part of the third generation to fabricate and manufacture stone products for Atlas Cut Stone.

Working directly with architects, builders, contractors, landscapers, and homeowners, Atlas Cut Stone fabricates custom-cut and handcarved limestone designs, including balustrades, architectural accents, interior/exterior fireplaces, columns and capitals, profiled coping, signage, chimney reducers, window/door sills, and window/door surrounds for residential or commercial properties.

The company’s owners — together with their artistic, dedicated, and skilled crew — have been called on to restore some of Detroit’s most historic buildings.

Atlas Cut Stone’s business philosophy is simple: The team puts its energy, experience, and networking into helping you reach your goal.

Carol Potrykus Owner

Atlas Cut Stone Inc. 12920 Northend Ave. Oak Park, MI 48237 248-545-5100 atlascutstone.com

Cindy Kahn boasts an extensive and noteworthy résumé marked by consistent success. Since 2011, she has repeatedly earned recognition as one of the Top 100 Agents by Hour Media. Nationally, she ranks in the top 1% of Realtors, a testament to her exceptional standing in the industry. For the past eight years, she has been the top-producing agent at The Agency Birmingham.

What truly sets Cindy apart is her distinctive personal approach, exceptional negotiation skills, enduring professional relationships, and wealth of experience. Her success is built on a commitment to authenticity, high standards, and delivering a boutique experience across all price points.

In 2024, Cindy celebrated 20 years in the real estate industry. As she reflects on her career, she can say that one of her greatest joys was welcoming her daughter, Emily, to the team four years ago. Emily’s background in business and sales, honed during her seven years in New York City’s fast-paced fashion industry, has brought a fresh energy and perspective to the business.

A Bloomfield native and graduate of Indiana University Bloomington, Emily earned her Bachelor of Science in apparel merchandising with a minor in business at the Kelley School of Business. Returning to Michigan during the pandemic, Emily quickly discovered her passion for real estate, building her own client base while learning from Cindy’s expertise. Together, they provide discreet, personalized service and a dynamic blend of innovation and experience.

Cindy and Emily Kahn continue to raise the bar, helping clients achieve their real estate dreams.

Jessica Dadas-Schulze is a partner at DUGGAN BERTSCH, PLLC, in the Trust & Estate Planning Group and works closely with the Corporate and Healthcare teams to serve client matters. She advises on a wide range of trust and estate administration, taxes, succession planning, and asset protection. She works with individuals and their families, as well as business owners, to provide personalized legal advice designed to address the specific needs and objectives of clients and their families.

Prior to joining DUGGAN BERTSCH, PLLC, DadasSchulze was the owner and principal attorney of Schulze Law & Consulting PLLC, founded in 2013. Over the past decade, she expanded her practice to provide outside general counsel services to businesses spanning diverse industries, including health care, manufacturing, and construction. She has an extensive background advising and negotiating complex estate

planning matters and is actively involved in managing probate court matters, including guardianships, conservatorships, probate, and trust litigation.

She started her legal career with Plante & Moran’s Tax Office; her experience there has proved valuable when she is advising and balancing the legal and business needs of individual and corporate clients. Her extensive business and in-house public accounting experience allows her to advise clients on entity formation, operating agreements, unique regulatory matters and compliance, audits, and dispute resolution.

Dadas-Schulze received DBusiness magazine’s Top Corporate Counsel award in 2024, 2023, and 2022 for her work with CAVU International and CAVU Consulting. She has extensive knowledge of federal procurement and government business set-asides, specializing in complex entity certifications, proposals, protests, contract administration, and compliance.

Jessica Dadas-Schulze, J.D. Partner

DUGGAN BERTSCH, PLLC 41000 Woodward Ave. Suite 350 East

248-206-8636

DUGGANBERTSCH. com

Globe Midwest Adjusters International is the largest, oldest, and most successful public adjusting firm in the Midwest. Now in its 100th year, the company has a team of over 60 employees who routinely handle hundreds of millions of dollars of property insurance claims throughout the U.S. each year. This is no small task.

Success in the world of public adjusting requires technical excellence, leadership, and empathy. These qualities are exemplified by a group of dynamic female executives who constitute the majority of the firm’s senior leadership. These executives include:

Danielle Levin-Gabbard: As managing partner, in addition to handling large losses, Levin-Gabbard supervises and directs the daily operations. She is also instrumental in developing and implementing strategies for growth and improved efficiencies.

Laura Chavis: As vice president of operations, Chavis has a myriad of operational responsibilities. Additionally, she heads up the HR department and oversees the firm’s licensure activities and is an integral voice in the firm’s technology adoptions.

Holly Wisti: As vice president of administration and logistics, Wisti oversees and directs the firm’s administrative operations, ensuring efficiency, compliance, and alignment with strategic goals. This role also includes managing the administrative staff and developing and overseeing operational policies and procedures.

Eden Gross-Glasser: As the residential contents manager, Gross-Glasser is responsible for training and managing the residential contents team. Each year, she oversees residential content claims worth tens of millions of dollars.

Donna Chambers: As controller, Chambers is responsible for all aspects of the firm’s financial operations, including AP, AR, controlling expenses, and budgeting. She also provides critical fiscal advice in the development of strategic growth plans.

Janet Weinberg: As executive assistant to the chairman, Weinberg provides critical support on large, complex claims; oversees file management; and plays a vital role in general operations.

If you need help with a property insurance claim, please call 248-352-2100 or email info@globemwai.com.

Left to Right:

Donna Chambers, Controller

Holly Wisti, Vice President of Administration and Logistics

Eden Gross-Glasser, Residential Contents Manager

Janet Weinberg, Executive Assistant to the Chairman

Danielle Levin-Gabbard, Managing Partner

Laura Chavis, Vice President of Operations

Globe Midwest Adjusters International 400 Galleria Officentre, Suite 101 Southfield, MI 48034

248-352-2100

info@globemwai.com globemwai.com

Betty and Elouis Harp founded Harp’s Lingerie in 1947, never dreaming that 78 years later it would be co-owned by their great-granddaughter, Jacqueline Hamill, just 26 years old.

“My mother-in-law was way ahead of her time,” says co-owner Pat Hardy. “She was a fearless visionary and the most impressive woman I have ever known. To know that Jacqueline, trained in the business by my daughter, Lisa Hardy Hamill, will be guiding the store for generations to come would please Betty beyond words.”

What a lasting tribute to a fascinating woman who was kind and generous but never a pushover. Always straight to the point, Betty was steadfast in helping women look their best. “Our goal remains the same,” Jacqueline says. “Times haven’t changed

that much, because nine out of 10 women still wear the wrong size bra. We can change that! Our expertly trained sales staff is committed to fitting women, sizes 30A to 54N, determined to help them feel comfortable and confident they look their best when they leave the store.”

Family members agree: It was always Betty’s desire that Harp’s remain a “family operation.”

“This is just the beginning of furthering her legacy,” Jacqueline predicts. “I have cousins who might have the bug as much I do. The sky’s the limit!”

A collaborative team of skilled female surgeons is core to Trinity Health Michigan’s advanced robotic surgery program. Since the health system has deployed state-of-the-art robotic systems across all five of its metro Detroit hospitals, these Women Who Move Detroit are performing increasingly complex procedures with unparalleled precision and dexterity. This advanced technology is translating to smaller incisions, less pain, faster recovery times, and improved overall outcomes for their patients.

Trinity Health is committed to providing patient-centered care and expanded access. By equipping multiple locations with advanced robotic systems, the health system is increasing access to the most innovative treatments available. This means patients are receiving

world-class care closer to home, reducing the need for long-distance travel and associated inconveniences, including time away from work and family.

Whether it’s general surgery, bariatric surgery, heart surgery, or complex gynecologic and cancer care, the health system’s experienced surgeons offer a comprehensive range of robotic surgical services. By choosing Trinity Health, patients not only are receiving a superior patient experience but can also trust it is the safest, highest-quality care, delivered by the most talented surgeons in metro Detroit.

To learn more about the benefits of robotic surgery or find a skilled robotic surgeon, visit trinityhealthmichigan.org/roboticsurgery.

Front row (L-R):

Melanie Edwards, M.D., FACS, Thoracic Surgeon

Erika Mowers, M.D., Gynecologic Surgeon

Middle row (L-R):

Alicia Kieninger, M.D., General & Trauma Surgeon

Amy Braddock, M.D., General & Trauma Surgeon

Amanda McClure, M.D., FASCRS, FACS, Colon & Rectal Surgeon

Back row (L-R):

J. Rebecca Liu, M.D., Gynecologic Oncology Surgeon Marybeth Hall, M.D., Urological Surgeon

Victoria Sharp, D.O., FACS, FACOS, Trauma & Acute Care Surgeon

Trinity Health Michigan

844-237-3627

trinityhealthmichigan.org

Christina Kalfaian is the founder and CEO of Papa’s Kitchen LLC, a women-owned, Michiganmade brand bringing bold, fresh flavors to tables across the Midwest. Inspired by cherished family recipes, she has created a premium lineup of dressings and marinades, including Pink Greek, Creamy Dill, and Fresh Herb Vinaigrette.

Papa’s Kitchen has become a trusted regional name, with products featured in specialty stores and large Midwest retailers. Christina’s mission is to inspire healthy, delicious meals and build meaningful connections through food.

Christina Kalfaian Founder and CEO

Papa’s Kitchen LLC

248-266-1409

papas-kitchen.com

Dynamic, inspiring, and unstoppable — Sara and Megan Faircloth are transforming Detroit with their passion and positivity. Sara, the visionary behind FAIRCLOTH Boutique, lights up the city with her vibrant shop that celebrates bold colors and individuality, inviting everyone to embrace their unique style. Megan, a compassionate dentist and owner of Harbortown Dental Care, brightens smiles and lives, ensuring her patients feel confident and cared for. Together, this sister duo represents the perfect blend of creativity and community care. From fashionable finds to flawless smiles, the Faircloth sisters are redefining what it means to empower a city. With hearts full of determination and a commitment to making Detroit shine, Sara and Megan prove that together, women can truly move mountains — and a city.

Sara Faircloth

Owner of FAIRCLOTH Boutique

Megan Faircloth, DDS

Owner of Harbortown Dental Care

FAIRCLOTH Boutique

8001 Kercheval Ave., Suite 101, Detroit, MI 48214 faircloth.boutique

Harbortown Dental Care

3374 E. Jefferson Ave., Detroit, MI 48207 harbortowndentalcare.com

Sherry Scott, a licensed master social worker and graduate of Wayne State University, is the CEO and founder of Time Together Adult Day Center. Established in 2020 in St. Clair Shores, the center offers therapeutic care for mentally challenged adults and veterans. Scott’s commitment to enhancing lives led her to expand; her new facility is set to open in Ferndale in early 2025. Through her leadership, Time Together Adult Day Center continues to provide vital support to its community.

LMSW

timestogetherdaycenter.com

Saba Katto is a top-producing real estate broker with 25 years of experience in the industry. Since the beginning of her career, she has been passionate about selling new-construction homes. Katto is also the sales director for Sapphire Luxury Homes. She has expertise in finding vacant lot and teardown properties. In her work, she implements innovative sales strategies, such as leveraging targeted marketing campaigns for new-construction properties and cultivating strong relationships with the builder and team, and her focus has always been client driven.

Kim Gorman is Wells Fargo’s commercial banking managing director and market executive for the state of Michigan, where she oversees the team of bankers responsible for serving clients with $50 million to $5 billion in annual revenue. A lifelong Michiganian, Gorman is deeply connected to the Detroit business community, where she has spent the last 35 years, first at NBD Bank (Chase), then National City Bank (PNC), and then Wells Fargo starting in 2007. As a strong and dedicated leader, Gorman rose to regional vice president in 2012, Michigan market executive in 2019, and her current role in 2022.

Gorman serves her local community as a member of the Financial Executives International and the Detroit Economic Club, and she is a board and finance committee member for Leader Dogs for the Blind.

Kim Gorman Michigan Managing Director and Market Executive Commercial Banking

Wells Fargo & Company 255 E. Brown St., Suite 250 Birmingham, MI 48009 248-723-3151 kim.r.gorman@wellsfargo.com wellsfargo.com

EPICUREAN’S GUIDE TO THE REGION’S

DINING SCENE

Food & Drink

DRINKS

STRONG POUR

A conversation about Black History Month inspired three local bartenders to create this acclaimed pop-up bar p. 64

DRINKS

SPIRITS and SOLIDARITY

Three acclaimed bartenders host a weekly pop-up to showcase ‘Black opulence’

BY MICKEY LYONS | PHOTOS BY JACOB LEWKOW

Lisa

WATCHING TALENTED bartenders who’ve worked together for a long time is like watching an intricate dance: They know the steps, and they know exactly where their partner will be at any given instant. They’re in complete command of their space. For Lisa Carielle, John Neely, and Andre Sykes, it’s a dance they’ve done regularly for years in their joint bar pop-up, Black on Both Sides, or BOBS for short.

The three bartenders are each longtime hospitality veterans in Detroit, helming award-winning bar programs over the years, including those at Shelby and Alpino. During that time, they’ve racked up international acclaim and brand partnerships.

The co-founders started BOBS in 2022 as a one-off February pop-up at Willis Show Bar. When nearly 500 guests showed up, they realized that they’d tapped into something magical. Since then, BOBS has appeared at bars all over Detroit and in cities like Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and San Diego. It currently has a weekly Monday night residency at the IO Godfrey Rooftop

Lounge in Corktown.

The residency features the three bartenders mixing up a fresh menu every week, with a guest DJ spinning tunes and an occasional guest bartender. It’s a joyful celebration of Detroit’s best and brightest Black bartenders, artists, musicians, and entrepreneurs.

A conversation about Black History Month among the three bar professionals a few years ago prompted the idea for the events. The pop-up was born from a “lack of representation in the city as a whole” of Black talent behind the bar, Neely says. “Detroit being a very Black city, now you see more people of color in positions of power” than in the past, he says. The events, Carielle says, “give shine to the people that already exist in the space” who have built Detroit’s rich cocktail culture.

In early iterations, the trio held BOBS events all over Detroit at a different high-end cocktail bar each month. Sykes explains, “The whole reason that we do this is to reclaim part of those spaces” for underrepresented groups “and have Black folks, POC, and

LGBTQ people feel safe enough to come into those spaces” that aren’t traditionally Blackcentric. “All three of us combined, we’ve been doing this for a very long time, and we want to be able to showcase the people that are putting in the work.”

On a recent Monday night at The Godfrey, that talent is on full display. Carielle, Neely, and Sykes chat with one another and their guests, breaking into brief bouts of dance to ’90s R&B and cracking jokes while they stir, mix, and shake with dazzling speed and precision. This week’s guest DJ gauges the crowd and adjusts the music to meet the tone, including tracks from Mos Def’s 1999 album Black on Both Sides, which inspired the collective’s name. The three founders, plus bar staff, wear black T-shirts emblazoned with the BOBS logo on the front and the phrase “Black Opulence” on the back.

Black opulence is the cornerstone, the inspiration for the trio. “‘Black opulence’ means a certain level of success and contentment with being a person of color,” Carielle says. “It’s about being a wellrounded, successful person.” That couldn’t be more evident, watching the three masters of their craft celebrate the joy of hospitality.



Co-founder John Neely says a “lack of representation” of Black talent behind the bar in Detroit inspired Black on Both Sides.

Co-founders

Carielle and Andre Sykes host a popup at the Godfrey Hotel.

ALEKSANDAR ACOVSKI is excited.

That’s putting it mildly, by the way. The founder of Old World Truffles has an infectious, permanent smile plastered on his face, as if he’s just won the lottery and is keeping it a secret. When it comes to sharing food and conversation, he can barely contain his enthusiasm.

Such is life when you’re a champion of truffles.

Acovski’s Troy-based company specializes in purveying the coveted subterranean fungus to restaurants in Michigan and beyond. If you’ve ever enjoyed truffles at Detroit’s best restaurants, there’s a good chance they moved through his warehouse.

Acovski hails from Macedonia, where truffles are abundant, though not quite plentiful enough that the region is a destination for them. Still, he grew up with truffles in his own backyard. His uncle is also a hunter, foraging and selling the fungi to local restaurants and clients back home.

Before he started Old World Truffles, Acovski noticed that many of the truffles being sold to restaurants in Detroit were, sadly, low quality — mushy, moldy, dull, and lifeless. He was horrified — offended, even. He flew home to grab some truffles from

FOOD FOCUS

Champion of Truffles

By way of Macedonia, he brought world-class truffles to metro Detroit’s dining scene

BY DANNY PALUMBO | PHOTOS BY JACOB LEWKOW

his backyard in Macedonia and brought them to Michigan, where chefs became enamored with the perfectly ripe and powerfully aromatic summer truffles from his homeland.

It’s these very Macedonian truffles that got chef James Rigato of Mabel Gray hooked. Back in 2018, Rigato posted a photo on Instagram of Acovski holding a tray of gorgeous black truffles.

Mount Vesuvius. His line of truffle-infused products includes salt, oil, Parmesan cream, balsamic glaze, and, perhaps most notably, truffle honey.

Occasionally, Acovski’s warehouse turns into an industry hangout, where local chefs smoke cigars and sometimes bust out a giant Parmesan wheel to make pasta alla ruota.

 Aleksandar Acovski founded Old World Truffles.

 Shaved black truffles add earthy richness to fresh pasta.

“Same day, I have at least 100 phone calls,” Acovski recalls. From there, Old World Truffles found its footing, and with each new enthusiastic customer, each new restaurant, his business, and his smile, grew.

Just about all of Acovski’s truffles now come from Italy, where his network of truffle hunters diligently scours the forests with their trained dogs. Périgord truffles, Burgundy truffles, black summer truffles, and luxurious white truffles grace his warehouse during the course of a year, each with a specific flavor, terroir, and potency.

Acovski’s wife, Marina, sings the praises of Périgord truffles, her personal favorite, which pack a chocolaty, deeply nutty taste. Their season starts in mid-November.

White truffles are another winter truffle with an even shorter, frenzied season, and their suitors are many. “The aroma is crazy. One small truffle, the whole room here will smell like truffle,” Acovski delightedly explains.

Acovski’s ebullience extends past truffles, however. He’s excited about damn near everything — wine, cheese, Italian tomatoes, seasonings, pasta, and the like. He sells opulent Italian olive oil, natural wine, and crushed tomatoes imported from

During a recent lunch near his desk, Acovski opens two bottles of wine and serves pasta he prepares with bacon, Parmesan, and freshly shaved black truffles. A wooden board filled with truffle-studded cheese and flaky burek is enjoyed with gentle globs of his honey. When I look around the warehouse, I see we’re surrounded by some of the best food products on Earth, and suddenly his smile makes all the sense in the world.

IN CONVERSATION WITH

JP Makes and Bakes’ Jonathan Peregrino

BY MICHELLE KOBERNICK | PHOTO BY GERARD AND BELEVENDER

FOR AS LONG as he can remember, Jonathan Peregrino wanted to do something culinary, but he wasn’t always sure what. Finally, in 2018, after 15 years in corporate America (plus a degree from Indiana University), he left to pursue his dream.

Peregrino, a first-generation Filipino American, moved to Detroit after attending the Academy of Pastry and Bakery Arts in the Philippines. He gained national visibility in 2020 competing on Food Network’s Holiday Baking Championship. Last November, after working in notable local kitchens like those of Warda Patisserie,

Tapped Coffee, Oak & Reel, and Le Suprême, he made his dreams come true with the opening of his Filipino-inspired bakery in Detroit’s New Center area.

JP Makes and Bakes features breads, pastries, and Filipino treats. You’ll find brownies and cookies made with ube (the bright-purple Filipino yam), or a coconut and brown sugar filling inside a slightly sweet pan de sal dinner roll. Peregrino explains how his use of nontraditional ingredients in these traditional Filipino sweets is introducing new flavors to and winning over the taste buds of metro Detroiters.

 Food Network star Jonathan Peregrino’s pastry shop serves Filipino pastries in New Center.

Did you always want a pastry shop?

I always thought I would open something savory, but baking and pastry always came naturally to me. My business side knows that bakery financials are much better. During the pandemic, I made things I missed growing up, and it made more sense when the interest picked up after doing my own thing at pop-ups.

Why this location — in New Center?

I live in Detroit and want to be a part of revitalizing this community. It’s busy here with three banks, office buildings, the Secretary of State, the Fisher Theatre, three hospitals, a university, and a lot of people passing by. There was nothing open before 11 a.m., so we are filling that early gap.

Do you offer only Filipino baked goods?

I include my heritage but say “bread, pastries, and Filipino treats — my way.” Not everything looks exactly as people may know them, but as a first-generation Filipino American, they’re traditional to me. We have six core items, all with my twist, and a savory bowl feature — something Filipino, flavorful, and simple, whatever I feel like making.

Were there any surprises?

It’s humbling to know I’m resonating with others. Filipinos nearby come here and thank me, because our bread is reminiscent of what they used to have or can’t find. I didn’t expect that. They’re even OK with my putting nontraditional berries, chocolate, or cream cheese inside the bibingkas. Those are fun tweaks to do, and I’m getting people to try something new.

Planning anything this year?

I’m sourcing a soft-serve machine to make ice cream with an ube feature daily. We’re testing a hybrid of pan de sal with a croissant by laminating the dough, and siopao, the Filipino version of a Chinese bao bun. I love working with chocolates, so I’m doing assorted boxes that say “Will ube mine?” for Valentine’s Day.

6529 Woodward Ave., Suite B, Detroit; 313338-8595; jpmakesandbakes.com. Wed.-Fri. 7:45 a.m.-3 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

Restaurant Guide

Wayne

Adelina

$$$$

ITALIAN • Brought downtown by celebrity chef Fabio Viviani, Adelina features traditional Italian eats in a modern atmosphere, with made-in-house pasta and starters like focaccia, seared tuna crudo, sausage and peppers, and a roasted Wagyu meatball. Entrées include lamb chops with house made Tzatziki, veal milanese, and salmon with romesco sauce. Stick around for desserts like the zeppole Italian ricotta doughnuts. 1040 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-246-8811. D Tue.-Sun.

Al Ameer $$

LEBANESE • This halal restaurant is a recipient of the prestigious James Beard America’s Classics Award. The Al Ameer platter is perfect for sharing: chicken shawarma, meat shawarma, tawook kabob, and two kafta served with hummus and salad. 12710 W. Warren Ave., Dearborn; 313-582-8185. 27346 Ford Road, Dearborn Heights; 313-565-9600. 6505 N. Canton Center Road, Canton; 734-627-7707. L,D daily.

Amore da Roma $$

ITALIAN • Guy Pelino, Roma Café’s chef, took over the ownership reins of this restaurant on the edge of the Eastern Market. He retained the menu, adding a charcuterie board and updating the wine list, while keeping the character of the old-school restaurant, known for its steaks and pastas. 3401 Riopelle St., Detroit; 313831-5940. L,D Tue.-Sat.

Alpino $$$

ALPINE •This Alps-inspired Corktown eatery quickly became beloved after opening in 2023. The cozy interior evokes cabins and farmhouses from the European countryside. Order beers and wines from all over Europe, plus Alps-inspired cocktails, fondue, wiener schnitzel, raclette, and pastas. 1426 Bagley St., Detroit; 313-524-0888. D daily, BR Sun.

Andiamo $$

ITALIAN • Over the past three decades, Joe Vicari has established several Andiamo restaurants in metro Detroit, all inspired by the late master chef Aldo Ottaviani’s philosophy of seasonal, from-scratch cooking. The menus differ slightly at the different locations, but the constant is the fresh, housemade pastas — handcrafted by the trinity of “pasta ladies,” Anna, Tanya, and Angelina, who have carried on the tradition. The downtown Detroit location offers a breathtaking view of the Detroit River, while the Livonia location offers a comfortable and casual vibe. 400 Renaissance Center, Detroit; 313-5676700. D Mon.-Fri., L,D Sat.-Sun. 38703 Seven Mile Road, Livonia; 734-953-3200. D daily.

Antonio’s Cucina Italiana

$$

ITALIAN • The Rugieros have impressed restaurant guests for decades with authentic cuisine. Signature dishes include Gnocchi Rita and Chicken Antonio. There’s a full bar and a very extensive wine list. 2220 N. Canton Center Road, Canton; 734-981-9800. 26356 Ford Road, Dearborn Heights; 313-278-6000. 37646 W. 12 Mile Road, Farmington Hills; 248-994-4000. L,D daily. (Farmington Hills location temporarily closed Mondays)

Atwater in the Park

$ GERMAN • At this casual spot, traditional German-style beer is the beverage of choice. Chef Chris Franz’ noteworthy menu is compatible with such additions as the Atwater Brat and other sausages teamed with sauerkraut, plus Bavarian soft pretzels. 1175 Lakepointe St., Grosse Pointe Park; 313-344-5104. L,D daily.

Apparatus Room

$$$$

NEW AMERICAN • The Foundation Hotel’s restaurant, the Apparatus Room, once housed the Detroit Fire Department headquarters. Chef Rece Hogerheide’s cooking is refined and highly skilled — he was executive chef of the Daxton Hotel’s restaurant Madam, named 2023 Restaurant of the Year by Hour Detroit. 250 W. Larned St., Detroit; 313-8005600. B,L,D Mon.-Fri., BR,D Sat.-Sun.

Ash—Bar

$$$ EUROPEAN • Located on The Siren Hotel’s second floor, this eatery is meant to capture the “spirit of the quintessential European cafe seen through an Americana lens,” along with serving specialty cocktails and good coffee. Chef Scott Martinelli’s menu changes seasonally and features a bread of the day and entrées like pasta, moules (the national dish of Belgium), and seafood. Or try the pork belly rillons, made with sweet-and-sour blackberry sauce, fennel, cipollini, and cilantro. 1509 Broadway St., Detroit; 313-277-4736. B,L,D daily.

Avalon Café and Bakery

$$

ORGANIC BAKERY • The bakery’s mini-empire includes a café on Woodward Avenue in Detroit. Its bread is also the basis for dishes such as avocado toast with tahini, thinly curled cucumbers, lime, and chili flakes. Vegetarian fare includes a grilled veggie sandwich with portobello mushrooms, zucchini, and goat cheese. Meatier highlights include a turkey and gouda sandwich, and BLTA with cider house bacon. 1049 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-285-8006. B,L daily.

Babo $

NEW AMERICAN • This café settled into the Midtown Park Shelton building in July 2019, serving elevated comfort food made from local, small-batch producers. The self-described gourmet diner offers espresso drinks and such dishes as avocado toast, kimchi patatas bravas, and

the Babo Burger. 15 E. Kirby St., Ste. 115, Detroit; 313-3121493. B,L,D Tue.-Sat. B,L Sun.

Baker’s Keyboard Lounge

$$

SOUL FOOD • This iconic lounge features live music, along with beef short ribs with gravy, creamy mac and cheese, collard greens, and sweet cornbread muffins. 20510 Livernois Ave., Detroit; 313-345-6300. D Mon.-Fri.

Baobab Fare

$$

EAST AFRICAN • With their New Center restaurant, Hamissi Mamba and Nadia Nijimbere urge diners to venture into culinary territories they’d otherwise miss, like the Mbuzi starring a goat shank that is slow-roasted until the meat is so tender that it slides off the bone. 6568 Woodward Ave., Ste. 100, Detroit; 313-265-3093. L,D Tue.-Sun.

Barda

$$$$

ARGENTINIAN • Barda brings a new cuisine to metro Detroit. True to Argentinian culture, the restaurant celebrates traditional meat dishes. For starters, Carne y Hueso, meaning Flesh and Bone, features a mold of finely chopped beef tartare topped with spicy horseradish alongside a dense bone filled to the brim with buttery marrow. Tira de Asado, a classic Argentinian short rib dish, arrives on a plate in a coriander-pepper crust. And inch-thick slices of rare Bife, or strip loin steak, lie on a bed of melted butter infused with chimichurri. 4842 Grand River Ave., Detroit; 313- 9525182; barda-detroit.com. D Thu.-Sun.

Bar Pigalle

$$$ FRENCH • Nestled inside The Carlton Lofts in Brush Park, this restaurant beautifully complements the neighborhood’s former nickname, the Little Paris of the Midwest, by serving French-inspired cuisine, such as the duck confit with agrodolce, grapes, and frisée. 2915 John R Road, Detroit; 313-497-9200. D daily BR Sat.-Sun.

Basan

$$$$ ASIAN-INSPIRED • Named for the Japanese folkloric bird, Basan features a fluid rotation of zestful, bold, and edgy dishes that are novel and creative, with a nightly tasting menu and optional wine pairing. Standouts from the menu include the assortment of buns (such as Brussels sprouts, firecracker shrimp, and twice-fried chicken), beef dandan, and octopus skewers. 2703 Park Ave., Detroit; 313-481-2703. D daily.

Besa

$$$ EUROPEAN-INSPIRED • This modern fine-dining eatery takes its name from Albania — where the owners trace their heritage — and means “pledge of honor.” Choose from starters such as roasted olives, fried calamari, and double-cut lamb chops. 600 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-315-3000. D Mon.-Sat.

Bobcat Bonnie’s $ GASTROPUB • The menu is eclectic, featuring fried goat cheese, fish tacos, Buddha bowls, and a barbecue bacon meatloaf — plus, plenty of vegetarian and vegan options. The weekend brunch, complete with a Bloody Mary bar and all the classics, is a big hit. See bobcatbonnies.com for locations and hours.

Bohemia $$$

NEW AMERICAN • The former member’s-only lounge in this restored Romanesque Revival in downtown Detroit is now a posh restaurant open to the public (the downstairs bar is also open to the public). The stunning dining room reflects the club’s history while staying fresh and modern with local art on the walls and an Instagrammable seating area in the middle of the dining room with plush couches and trees lined with lights. The food is upscale but approachable such as the Nashville Fried Chicken and the lobster fettucini, which is worth every indulgent bite. 712 Cass Ave., Detroit, 313-338-3222. D Wed.-Sat..

Brome Modern Eatery

$$ BURGERS • This healthy spin on a classic serves never-frozen, grass-fed, antibiotic-free, organic burgers. There’s beef, chicken, haddock, and vegetarian dishes — but no pork, as the restaurant is halal. There’s also a cold-pressed juice bar. 22062 Michigan Ave., Dearborn; 313-996-5050. L,D daily.

Bronze Door $$$$

NEW AMERICAN • One of the newest restaurants under the Joe Vicari Restaurant Group brand (in partnership with Tony Soave of Soave Enterprises) revives the wellknown name of a Grosse Pointe staple from the mid1900s. In the 1960s and 1970s, 123 Kercheval Ave. was home to the Bronze Door, which closed to make way for The Hill Seafood and Chop House. In 2021, it was born again as the Bronze Door, offering classic bistro fare like steak frites and house specialties such as Short Rib Alla Bolognese (braised beef short ribs, pancetta, roasted battuto, imported Mafaldine pasta, ricotta salata, and black truffle). 123 Kercheval Ave., Grosse Pointe Farms; 313-886-8101. BR Sun. L Tue.-Fri. D daily.

Bucharest Grill $

MEDITERRANEAN-AMERICAN • This bustling casual sandwich shop, now with six locations, is a cult favorite with its fresh Mediterranean fare, notably the best chicken shawarma wrap sandwiches in town. We’re serious. See bucharestgrill.com for locations and hours.

Cadieux Café $$

BELGIAN • This institution was like a slice of home for early Belgian immigrants. The former speakeasy serves up four varieties of mussels, and a wide range of hearty dishes such as Belgian Rabbit, but there also are classic sandwiches. 4300 Cadieux Road, Detroit; 313-882-8560. D daily.

Café Nini

$$$

ITALIAN • This intimate spot offers well-prepared food that includes eight appetizers, more than a dozen pasta dishes, and 16 main plates, notable among which are Involtini di Pollo “Da Edoardo,” prosciutto, spinach, and Parmigiano Reggiano-filled chicken breast, sautéed in a

sherry wine sauce, topped with fresh mushrooms. The wine list is impressive as well. 98 Kercheval Ave., Grosse Pointe Farms; 313-308-3120. D Tue.-Sun.

Cantoro Italian Market and Trattoria $$ ITALIAN • A restaurant inside the market serves great traditional Italian food. Do not miss the Tagliatelle alla Bolognese: wide pasta with a meat sauce featuring ground veal, beef, sausage, and pancetta. It makes for a delicious Italian feast you can conveniently pick up on your way home. 15550 N. Haggerty Road, Plymouth; 734-420-1100. L,D Tues.-Sat., L Sun.

Capers

$$ STEAKHOUSE • This is the type of place longtime Detroit natives describe like an old friend. On Gratiot Avenue between Seven and Eight Mile roads, this place has been packing them in for nearly 40 years. There’s a massive a la carte menu, with items such as barbecue babyback ribs and potato skins, but the main draw is steak by the ounce, at market price. 14726 Gratiot Ave., Detroit; 313-527-2100. L,D Wed.-Sun.

Caucus Club

$$$ TRADITIONAL AMERICAN • The reborn spot emphasizes service and a traditional steak and seafood theme, with such tasty signature dishes as wood-grilled ribs, seared scallops, and steaks. 150 W. Congress, Detroit; 313-965-4970. D daily.

Central Kitchen & Bar

$$ CREATIVE COMFORT • The space facing Campus Martius is done up in gray and white under industrial light fixtures. Crowd-pleasers include buttermilk fried chicken, filet and frites, burgers, and salads. 660 Woodward Ave., Ste. 4A, Detroit; 313-963-9000. D Thu.-Sat., BR Sat.-Sun.

Chartreuse Kitchen & Cocktails

$$$ NEW AMERICAN • While the menu rotates based on the season, its offerings always highlight the freshest local ingredients. Creatively prepared dishes range from cold starters to hearty entrees. But the Twice Cooked Egg is not to be missed. 15 E. Kirby St., Detroit; 313-818-3915. D Tue.-Sat.

Cibo

$$$

MEDITERRANEAN FUSION • This palm-lined fine-dining destination offers everything from shareable pizzas, salads, lamb, and steaks to dishes like the pancetta Bolognese rotolo. It’s located inside the Cambria Detroit Downtown hotel, an Albert Kahn-designed building that used to house the original WWJ radio station. 600 W. Lafayette Blvd., Detroit; 313-338-3529. D daily, BR Sat.-Sun.

Cliff Bell’s $$ EUROPEAN-INSPIRED • This restored Art Deco hotspot offers small plates such as oysters with cava granita and potato croquettes. Entrees range from savory seared diver scallops to their 16-ounce grilled pork chop. Jazz prevails on the bandstand. 2030 Park Ave., Detroit; 313-961-2543. D Wed.-Sun.

Common Pub $

GASTROPUB • Fans of Atlas Global Bistro, which shuttered in 2013, should be happy to learn that some of the principals may be found at this spot in the Belcrest Apartments. The well-edited menu includes

duck fat-fried chicken and a burger. 5440 Cass Ave, Detroit; 313-285-8849. L, D Tue.-Fri. D Sat. BR Sun.

Coriander Kitchen and Farm

$$

GASTROPUB • At this Jefferson Chalmers eatery, guests can rent firepits and roast house-made marshmallows to make s’mores, or sip mugs of hot buttered rum. By day, grab a picnic table and enjoy creamy smoked lake trout whitefish dip, seasoned with herbs and paired with pickles and crackers. 14601 Riverside Blvd, Detroit; 313 338-9466. D Tue.-Fri. D Sat. BR Sun.

Cork & Gabel

$$$

EUROPEAN-INSPIRED • This Corktown eatery takes the form of a 4,450-square-foot renovated beer hall and is an ode to filling European staples. Try the chicken marsala, featuring a pan-seared 7-ounce chicken breast, sauteed wild mushroom blend, wild rice, and seasonal grilled vegetables, cooked in a Lombardo Ambra Sweet Marsala wine sauce. Simply delicious! 2415 Michigan Ave., Detroit; 313-638-2261. D Wed.-Sat. BR Sat. B,L Sun.

Cuisine

$$$

EUROPEAN-INSPIRED • Cuisine offers a romantic, white-linen experience with the level of food, service, and ambience one might describe as timeless rather than trendy. Examples of the expertly prepared fare include the Alaskan halibut, as well as the sea scallops, featuring lemon risotto, corn, almonds, citrus butter, and beet dust. 670 Lothrop Rd., Detroit; 313-872-5110. D Wed.-Sat. (Note: Not wheelchair accessible).

Dakota Inn Rathskeller

$

EUROPEAN-INSPIRED • The sausages are the kind that snap when you cut them. The combo plate features one bratwurst and one knackwurst, served with hot German potato salad and sauerkraut. And yes, sing along with the schnitzelbank song. 17324 John R St., Detroit; 313-867-9722. D Thu.-Sat.

Detroit Shipping Company

VARIOUS • This bi-level destination created out of shipping containers offers a variety of food options ranging from the Caribbean-fusion dishes at Coop to Thai fare from Bangkok 96 and more. 474 Peterboro St., Detroit; 313-462-4973. L Sat.-Sun., D Tue.-Sun.

Detroit Soul

$

$

SOUL FOOD • A hidden gem on the city’s East Side. Detroit Soul serves its namesake with a healthy twist. Owners Sam Van Buren and Jerome Brown draw from the recipes of their grandparents, who relocated to Detroit from Alabama in the 1940s. The turkey and collard greens are savory standouts and yams are a sweet treat. This is the kind of place that every soul-food lover must visit. 2900 E. Eight Mile Road, Detroit; 313-366-5600. 14300 E Jefferson Ave., Detroit; 313-926-6305. L,D Tue.-Sun.

Detroit Vegan Soul

$

VEGAN • The popular spot offers your classic soul food favorites but with plant-based twists — mac and cheese, collard greens, and interpretations of catfish and pepper steak. 19614 Grand River Ave., Detroit; 313-727-1973. L Mon.-Fri. (Carry-out focused)

BUMBLEBEE

PHOTO BY REBECCA SIMONOV

Ingredients

8 ounces ricotta

Two figs, quartered

8 slices of cranberry focaccia bread

1 2-by-2-inch slice of honeycomb

Bee pollen, for garnish

Chopped parsley, for garnish

Directions

1. Toast the slices of cranberry focaccia in the oven until golden brown.

2. On a large plate, pipe ricotta in waves down the center of the plate. Place the honeycomb in the center of the ricotta and arrange the fig slices on both sides.

3. Place four toast points on each side of the ricotta, representing the wings of a bumblebee. Garnish with bee pollen and parsley

Dime Store $

BREAKFAST/BRUNCH • This popular breakfast and lunch spot adds just the right retro touch to a contemporary American menu typified by fresh, hearty omelets and Benedicts early in the day. 719 Griswold St., Ste. 180, Detroit; 313-962-9106. B,L Thu.-Tue.

RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR  2010

Dirty Dog Jazz Cafe

$$$

GASTROPUB • A jazz club with top guest musicians and an American bistro menu in a traditional interior. Starters include oysters by the half- or full-dozen, and lump crab cakes. Main entries include a beef short rib. 97 Kercheval Ave., Grosse Pointe Farms; 313-882-5299. L Tue.-Fri., D Tue.-Sat.

Eatori Market $$ SPECIALTY GROCERY • This stylish spot overlooks downtown’s Capitol Park. The menu has steamed mussels with leeks, garlic, and toasted crostini. International flourishes abound with truffle aioli for the burger. 1215 Griswold St., Detroit; 313-395-3030. L,D daily.

El Asador Steakhouse $$

MEXICAN • A concentrated cuisine with little modern flairs that also stays faithful to traditional Mexican cooking. Don’t miss the Camarones en Salsa de Langosta: breaded shrimp stuffed with cheese, fried to a golden dark brown, and topped with a lobster cream sauce. It’s a delicious dinner spot you don’t want to miss and an unassuming Latin-American find in Detroit’s Springwells Village. 1312 Springwells St., Detroit; 313-297-2360. L,D Tue.-Sun.

El Barzon $$$

MEXICAN-ITALIAN • Norberto Garita prepares Italian and Mexican cuisines alongside his wife, Silvia Rosario Garita. Authentic Mexican entrees include enchiladas with a homemade green sauce made with tomatillo, jalapeños, and roasted poblano pepper, while the Italian influence takes the form of spaghetti carbonara and zuppa di pesce (seafood soup). 3710 Junction Ave., Detroit; 313-894-2070. D Tue.-Sun.

Evie’s Tamales $$ MEXICAN • This Mexicantown restaurant makes some of the best tamales around. Pork or chicken is jacketed with sturdy masa, a dough of ground corn, and then wrapped in a corn husk and steamed. Eat in or order a dozen for later. 3454 Bagley St., Detroit; 313-843-5056. B,L Mon.-Sat.

Fishbone’s Rhythm Kitchen Café $$ NEW ORLEANIAN • Enjoy classic New Orleans dishes, such as jambalaya and fried catfish beignets. Come for lunch, dinner, happy hour, or carry-out. 400 Monroe St., Detroit; 313-965-4600. fishbonesusa.com for more locations.

Flowers of Vietnam $$ VIETNAMESE • Chef and owner George Azar transformed a former Coney Island into an industrial-cool destination, but the neighborhood joint vibe remains. The menu is shaped around Azar’s appreciation of Vietnamese food, with a very personal twist. 4440 Vernor Hwy., Detroit; 313-554-2085. D Thu.-Sun.

Folk $

NEW AMERICAN • A charming Corktown storefront dishing up an all-day brunch menu. It’s an offshoot of the Farmer’s Hand grocery and farmers market. The menu focuses on globally inspired dishes like salads, quiche, and sandwiches — all beautifully plated and nutritious. Infused milks and frothy lattes are well sought after, too. 1701 Trumbull Ave., Detroit; 313-742-2672. B,L daily.

Ford’s Garage $$

BURGERS • Henry Ford’s legacy is celebrated on Dearborn’s main thoroughfare. There are at least 12 variations on the classic American burger here. Try the Ford’s Signature, featuring a half-pound of grilled black angus beef, aged sharp cheddar, applewood-smoked bacon, and bourbon barbecue sauce. Other appealing dishes include shrimp mac and cheese, and chicken wings. 21367 Michigan Ave., Dearborn; 313-752-3673. L,D daily.

RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR  2024

Freya

$$$$

NEW AMERICAN • Freya provides elegant, elevated dining served inside a warm and inviting space in Detroit’s Milwaukee Junction district. Chef de Cuisine Phoebe Zimmerman’s fixed-price dinners — which change daily and are available in five or nine courses — invite guests to tap into a world of flavors and sensations. There are also cocktail pairings as well as dishes that accommodate vegetarian, vegan, and pescatarian diets. Co-run by 2023 James Beard semifinalist Sandy Levine, it made The New York Times’s list of the 50 best restaurants in 2022. 2929 E. Grand Blvd., Detroit; 313-351-5544. D Tue.-Sat.

Fusion Flare Kitchen & Cocktails

$

NEW AMERICAN/SOUL • Burgers and wings share the menu with classic Southern staples like catfish, yams, and greens on Detroit’s west side. Try the delectable shrimp plate starter — it can be ordered deep-fried, New Orleans-style (with Cajun seasoning), or sautéed in a scampi sauce with garlic butter and wine. 16801 Plymouth Road, Detroit; 313-653-3700. L,D Wed.-Sun.

Giovanni’s Ristorante

$$$

ITALIAN • This old-school Italian restaurant offers housemade pastas, including an outstanding lasagna. Elaborate veal and seafood dishes and desserts like key lime cheesecake tira misu round out the delicious menu. 330 Oakwood Blvd., Detroit; 313-841-0122. L,D Tue.-Fri., D Sat.

Golden Fleece

$$

GREEK • Spend a night dining in Greektown’s longest-standing restaurant, starting with a flaming saganaki and a joyous “Opa!” Then, peruse the menu containing various Balkan comfort foods like chicken gyros, spinach pie, and french fries sprinkled with feta and oregano. 525 Monroe St., Detroit; 313-962-7093. L,D daily.

Grandma Bob’s

$ PIZZA • If you’re wondering what that psychedelic building on Corktown’s Michigan Avenue is, it’s a pizzeria

known as Grandma Bob’s. Chef Dan De Wall, previously of Wright and Co., offers a small, delicious menu of pies, including sausage and pistachio with ricotta cheese and thyme. Or try the Big Mack — the vegan pizza version of the popular burger. 2135 Michigan Ave., Detroit; 313-3153177. L,D daily.

Grand Trunk Pub

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NEW AMERICAN • Meats from Eastern Market and delicious breads anchor the hearty fare, which pairs well with a selection of Michigan beers. Staples include a reuben with Poet Stout Kraut and the Ghettoblaster beer-battered fish and chips. 612 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-961-3043.; L, D, Tue.-Sun. BR Sat.-Sun.

The Greek

$ GREEK • Plaka Café was a presence on Monroe Avenue for years, and now its space is in the hands of the founders’ children. Notable dishes include spinach pie, lamb chops, and New York strip steak. 535 Monroe Ave., Detroit; 313-209-6667. L,D daily.

Green Dot Stables

$

NEW AMERICAN • The menu of sliders — with 20-plus eclectic bun toppings, including Cuban, Korean, and “mystery meat” — packs in fans. Local beers are spotlighted alongside Chicken Paprikas soup, a nod to the neighborhood’s Hungarian origins. 2200 W. Lafayette Blvd., Detroit; 313-962-5588. L,D daily.

Grey Ghost $$

NEW AMERICAN • The cuisine at this Brush Park hotspot isn’t easily defined, but the results are original and well-prepared — for example, pork tenderloin with romanesco, peri peri, and wild rice or yellowfin tuna with kimchi, edamame, and sweet soy. 47 Watson St., Detroit; 313-262-6534. D daily.

Highlands

$$$$

STEAKHOUSE/NEW AMERICAN • On the top two floors of the Renaissance Center, Highlands is the concept of chef-owner Shawn McClain, a James Beard awardee and Iron Chef winner. Besides boasting one of the city’s most breathtaking views the steakhouse’s offerings include three-course dinners with optional sommelier wine pairings. Its High Bar features an impressive selection of beers and spirits, plus elevated bar bites like the Hearth Burger. 400 Renaissance Center, Floors 71 and 72, Detroit; 313-877-9090; D Mon.-Sat.

Hiroki-San

$$$$ JAPANESE • Venture to the basement of the historic Book Tower building to enter Hiroki-San’s shoji-lined, mood-lit dining room. The menu includes an optional sake pairing and cocktails like the Genmaicha-Hai, a green tea-infused highball with lemon juice, honey, apricot, and seltzer. On the food side, enjoy small plates like the sweet and savory tako-age (deep-fried octopus), robatayaki and yakitori offerings, Wagyu steaks, and noodles. Sushi and sashimi can be ordered à la carte or as a “chef’s choice” platter. The wasabi is real. 1265 Washington Blvd., Detroit; 313- 597-8344. D Tue.-Sat.

The Hudson Cafe $ BREAKFAST/BRUNCH • The fresh, well-prepared fare from the kitchen of this breakfast/lunch spot has creative takes on the eggs Benedict theme, red velvet pancakes, and apple-walnut stuffed French toast, as well as lunchtime sandwiches and salads. 1241 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-237-1000. 17101 Haggerty Rd, Northville 248-308-3793. B,L daily.

Hungarian Rhapsody $$ HUNGARIAN • This Downriver restaurant offers authentic Hungarian dishes, such as chicken and veal paprikas, beef goulash, and palacsinta (crêpes). 14315 Northline Road, Southgate; 734-283-9622. L,D Tue.-Sun.

Iggy’s Eggies $ AMERICAN • Jammy-yolk egg sandwiches, breakfast burritos, and more are on the menu at Iggy’s Eggies’ walk-up window. You can also get smashburgers and fresh-cut fries at Iggy’s. Take your breakfast or lunch to a table at nearby Capitol Park for a true downtown experience. 34 West Grand River Ave., Detroit; 313-986-1174. B,L daily.

Ima $

JAPANESE-INSPIRED • This ramen hotspot has three locations and a Midwest emphasis. Ima tacos trade the traditional shell for a slice of jicama, stuffed with spicy shrimp, roasted tofu, or garlic chicken. Appetizers include edamame, dumplings, and clams. 4870 Cass Ave., Detroit; 313-883-9788. 32203 John R Road, Madison Heights; 248781-0131. L,D daily.

Ima Izakaya

$$

JAPANESE-INSPIRED • Chef Michael Ransom has slowly and steadily built up his local chain of noodle shops over the past few years, and his latest one takes it up a notch with the izakaya concept, the Japanese equivalent to a pub. In addition to the staple noodles and soups that put Ransom on the map, the menu also includes grilled skewers from the robata grill such as Kawahagi Trigger Fish Jerky and Mini Kurobuta Pork Sausages. There’s also a tantalizing selection of cocktails and mocktails, sake, beer, and wine to make it a true izakaya experience. 2100 Michigan Ave., Detroit, 313-306-9485. L, D daily.

Ivy Kitchen and Cocktails $$$ NEW AMERICAN • This Black-owned restaurant was founded by Nya Marshall to bring fine dining to the East Jefferson Corridor where she grew up. The spot serves New American fare with international influences in a modern, elevated space bathed in neutral tones. The Mezcal Wings with pickled jalapeño and cilantro bring a Mexican kick, while dishes like the Creamy Cajun Pasta contribute New Orleans flavors. 9215 E. Jefferson Ave., Detroit; 313332-0607; L Fri.-Sun., D daily.

RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR  2012

Joe Muer Seafood

$$$$

SEAFOOD • This reborn Detroit legend is stellar for a romantic evening or a quiet business lunch or dinner. Located on the main floor of the GMRenCen, it has sweeping views of the Detroit River and a menu that walks the line between old-time favorites and hipper Asian-influenced seafood, sushi, and raw bar. (There’s

also a Bloomfield Hills location.) There are reminders of the past as well: smoked fish spread, creamed spinach, and stewed tomatoes. A true Detroit classic. 400 Renaissance Center, Ste. 1404, Detroit; 313-567-6837. 39475 Woodward Ave., Bloomfield Hills; 248-792-9609. L,D daily.

Johnny Noodle King $ JAPANESE-INSPIRED • This noodle shop offers bowls topped with pork belly, confit chicken, and tofu, as well as seaweed salad and gyoza. There are also several fusion bowls like the Southwest Verde, a green chili chicken broth topped with chicken thigh confit, cilantro, corn, and hot peppers. 2601 W. Fort St., Detroit; 313-309-7946. L,D daily.

Jolly Pumpkin $$ BREWERY • Jolly Pumpkin’s brews rule the offerings, along with other Northern United Brewing Co. beverages, such as North Peak and Jolly Pumpkin artisan ales. Pizzas with creative toppings abound. 441 W. Canfield St., Detroit; 313-262-6115. 419 S. Main St., Royal Oak; 248544-6250. 311 S Main St., Ann Arbor; 734-913-2730. L,D daily (Detroit, Ann Arbor); L Fri.-Mon, D daily (Royal Oak).

Karl’s Cabin $$ AMERICAN • Dishes from their currently rotating drivethrough menu such as pan-seared walleye and pierogi & sausage surpass typical roadhouse food. 6005 Gotfredson Road, Plymouth; 734-455-8450. L,D daily.

The Kitchen by Cooking with Que

$$ VEGAN • This eatery created by Detroit-based cooking blogger Quiana Broden serves lunches of smoothies, salads, and sandwiches. Broden also often offers live cooking demonstrations. 6529 Woodward Ave., Ste. A, Detroit; 313462-4184. L, D Fri.-Sun. Private events only Mon.-Thur.

Kuzzo’s Chicken and Waffles

$ SOUTHERN COMFORT • Several recipes, including a signature thin waffle, are family-owned at ex-NFL player Ron Bartell’s spot. Think comfort food kicked up a notch: fried catfish, salmon croquettes, shrimp and grits, and biscuits. Drink the Kool-Aid, too. 19345 Livernois Ave., Detroit; 313-861-0229. B,L,D Tue.- Sun.

Ladder 4 Wine Bar

$$$ WINE BAR • This southwest Detroit wine bar occupies a former 1910 firehouse, offering a daily wine list and seasonal European-inspired bites made with local ingredients — some grown in its backyard garden. Though its owners prefer not to call it a restaurant, it made Bon Appétit’s “24 Best New Restaurants” and The New York Times’s “50 Places in the United States That We’re Most Excited About Right Now” — both in 2023. 3396 Vinewood St., Detroit; 313-638-1601. D Wed.-Sun.

Lady of the House

$$$$ NEW AMERICAN • Chef Kate Williams’s nationally renowned restaurant known for its modern take on Irish, French, and Midwestern influences reopened in 2024 after closing amid the pandemic. The new location features many of the same staple dishes, prepared with local, seasonal ingredients in Williams’s no-waste kitchen: steak tartare with Dijonnaise, crispy potato, caviar, and charred leek top gremolata, and

whole roasted chicken with challah migas and roasted shiitake and maitake mushrooms, topped with a frisée salad and a lemon-rosemary gravy. Standout desserts include the potato donut, made with sugared thyme and chamomile cream sauce. The restaurant even has its own Detroit City Distillery gin — mixed into cocktails like the Lady Martini and Lady Gin and Tonic. 4884 Grand River Ave., Unit 1C; 313-230-4678. D Wed.-Sun.

La Dolce Vita

$$$ ITALIAN • Traditional Italian cuisine is key at this Palmer Park hideaway. Recommended is the bronzino in lemon caper cream sauce, the veal scaloppine with artichokes, and the lasagna. 17546 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-865-0331. D Tue.-Sun., BR Sun.

La Lanterna

$$ ITALIAN • The founder of Da Edoardo, the first Edoardo Barbieri, started it all in 1956 with a restaurant called La Lanterna. Now his grandchildren have revived it. Although the white and red pizzas — like Margherita, Liguria, and Da Edorado — dominate, there’s more, including a number of elegant pastas like the Lasagna Alla Bolognese. 1224 Griswold St., Detroit; 313-962-8821. L,D Tue.-Sun.

London Chop House $$

STEAKHOUSE • The kitchen turns out classics like oysters Rockefeller, French onion soup, and sauteed loup de mer with scallops. This is the place to come when you need to satisfy a craving for steak in elegant surroundings with hospitable service. 155 W. Congress St., Detroit; 313-962-0277. D Mon.-Sat.

The Ledger

$$$$

NEW AMERICAN • Located in the former United Savings Bank building, this fine-dining restaurant features a seasonal, from-scratch menu and festive cocktails. For starters, try roasted Brussels sprout chips tossed in katsu or, for a real spectacle, the focaccia served with a candle made from tallow. Lobster rolls, Wagyu steaks, and Alaskan halibut round out the menu — plus photogenic desserts like The Ledger Cake with hazelnut mousse, salted caramel, and honey peanut praline. 306 S. Main St., Plymouth; 734-984-0020. D Tue.-Sun. BR Sat.-Sun.

Leila

$$$ LEBANESE • The restaurant from the proprietors of Birmingham’s Phoenicia is named after the owner’s mother — just one facet of the establishment that pays homage to family traditions and heritage. The menu includes various Lebanese dishes, from falafel to Leila’s Mixed Grill that offers a little bit of everything with shish kebab, tawook, and kafta. Other menu items include Kibbeh Niyee — fresh lamb, cracked wheat, and spice — and tabbouleh made of parsley, cracked wheat, and spices. The beer and wine lists offer plenty of options to accompany any meal. 1245 Griswold St., Detroit; 313-816-8100. D daily.

Leña

$$$$

SPANISH-INSPIRED • At this restaurant located in Brush Park, just about every dish on the menu touches the kitchen’s central hearth at some point during its preparation. Mike Conrad’s menu ranges from succulent skewers of octopus or swordfish to saffron rice in an aromatic sofrito. You’ll find riffs on Basque pinchos and Catalan tapas, plus a fine selection of Spanish wines and gin and tonics. James

Beard-honored pastry chef Lena Sareini’s desserts are divine. 2720 Brush St., Detroit; 313-262-6082. D Wed.-Mon.

Le Suprême $$$

FRENCH • This Paris-inspired brasserie pays homage to the City of Light with its 1920s-inspired décor on the historic Book Tower’s ground floor. There is pastis, absinthe, France-themed cocktails, and over 300 wines. Standout dishes include the escargots, honey-roasted duck breast, and trout amandine. 1265 Washington Blvd., Detroit; 313597-7734. D daily, BR Sat.-Sun.

Lucy & the Wolf $$ SPANISH • This Anglo-sounding restaurant offers very good Spanish-inspired tapas dining. Standouts include spicy beer cheese dip, harissa rubbed half-chicken, and roasted sablefish. 102 E. Main St., Northville; 248-308-3057. D Tue.-Sat.

Lumen Detroit $$

NEW AMERICAN • A contemporary American menu and a Victor Saroki setting make the restaurant overlooking downtown’s Beacon Park one of the best of recent entrants onto the scene. Appetizers such as freshly made pretzels prelude main courses like the maple dijon salmon. 1903 Grand River Ave., Detroit; 313-626-5005. L Fri.-Sun., D. Wed.-Sun.

Mario’s $$$ ITALIAN • This Midtown Detroit classic dates to 1948. Linen-covered tables, framed paintings on wood-paneled walls, expert waiters clad in black tie, and tableside preparation survive here. Italian dinners always begin with an antipasto tray and continue through soup, salad, pasta, and entree. 4222 Second Ave., Detroit; 313-832-1616. L,D daily.

Marrow $$$$

NEW AMERICAN • This West Village restaurant and butcher shop hybrid is an ode to meat, especially unusual cuts. Diners must walk through the butcher shop, bypassing cases of pastrami and sausage, before entering the restaurant. Offerings from a sample tasting menu include Roasted Bone Marrow and Local Lamb ragu. 8044 Kercheval Ave., Detroit; 313-513-0361. L,D Thu.-Sun. marrowdetroit.com for more locations.

Maty’s African Cuisine $$ WEST AFRICAN • A small storefront in the Detroit Old Redford neighborhood is decidedly Senegalese. Fataya, deep-fried pastries with savory fillings, are reminiscent of an empanada. The star of the show is the whole chicken with yassa. 21611 Grand River Ave., Detroit; 313-472-5885. L,D Tue.-Sun.

M Cantina

$

MEXICAN • Nuevo Latino street food is the premise at this surprising spot where everything from the tortilla chips to the salsas are made in-house in the open kitchen. Juices are freshly squeezed, and the menu of tortas,

Mercury Burger & Bar

$

BURGERS • This Corktown joint seats 70 around the zinc-covered bar set with Mercury (Liberty) dimes. The burger is available in a variety of iterations, such as Southwest Detroit with a chorizo slider, jalapeno, Müenster cheese, tortilla strips, and avocado. 2163 Michigan

Ave., Detroit; 313-964-5000. L,D daily. tacos, tapas, and salads from the kitchen of Heidi and Junior Merino, from Hawaii and Mexico, is distinctive. 13214 Michigan Ave., Dearborn; 313-399-9117. L,D daily.

Metropolitan Bar and Kitchen

$$ LATIN • The business brings a bodega-style market along with a neighborhood restaurant and bar to West Village. The menu highlights local and seasonal ingredients in dishes like beet salad or the Metro “Mac” Burger. 8047 Agnes St., Detroit; 313-447-5418. B Sat.-Sun. D Tue.-Sat.

Michigan & Trumbull

$$

ITALIAN-AMERICAN • After a successful four-month run at Fort Street Galley, Michigan and Trumbull became one of the latest in a long line of Detroit-style pizza joints to open in the area. Not your traditional carryout joint, Michigan and Trumbull is housed in a sleek, refurbished car-repair garage. The menu features square, deep-dish pies with Detroit-inspired names, such as Packard Pepperoni and Woodward White. 1331 Holden St., Detroit; 313637-4992; L,D Wed-Sun.

Mi Lindo San Blas

$$$ MEXICAN • Heaping platters of seafood such as shrimp, octopus, and scallops, tell the story at this spot that brings a corner of Mexico’s seaside Nayarit region to southwest Detroit. On weekends, when live music is added, the tables are often pushed back to create a dance floor. 1807 Livernois Ave., Detroit; 313-789-5100. L,D daily.

Mink

$$$$

SEAFOOD • This raw bar with sustainably sourced seafood like oysters and caviar offers an immersive dining experience. The five-course chef’s tasting menu changes once a month and offers several appetizers and main meals with optional beverage parings. While indoor high-top bar seating is reserved for the chef’s tasting menu, Mink also offers first come, first served patio seating for walk-in diners. 1701 Trumbull, Detroit; 313-351-0771; D Thu.-Sun.

The Monarch Club

$$$ NEW AMERICAN • At the 14th floor of the revamped Element Detroit Hotel located at the Metropolitan is The Monarch Club. It’s one of the most recent rooftop bars to open in metro Detroit and serves a variety of delicious small plates along with classic cocktails. 33 John R St., Detroit; 313-306-2380. L Sun. D daily.

Mootz Pizzeria & Bar

$$ ITALIAN-AMERICAN • Bruno DiFabio, a six-time World Pizza Games champ, rejects the label New York-style for his fare. “It’s authentic New York pizza,” he says. In a hurry? Grab a slice from Side Hustle, Mootz’s by-the-slice counter next door. 1230 Library St., Detroit; 313-243-1230. L Fri.-Sun., L, D daily.

Motor City Brewing Works $ BREWERY • Just 15 mostly nontraditional pizzas on excellent, chewy crust, and the option to build your own pie with various toppings. Plus, salads from locally grown greens to accompany the house-brewed beers. 470 W. Canfield St., Detroit; 19350 Livernois Ave., Detroit; 313-832-2700. L,D daily

Mudgie’s Deli

$

DELI • Sandwich-lovers fill the seats for the House Smoked Pastrami Reuben or the Brooklyn (beef brisket, bacon, and beer cheese). The dinner menu features meat and cheese boards, as well as build-yourown sandwich options. It’s a delicious place for a meal any time. 1413 Brooklyn St., Detroit; 313-961-2000. B Tue.-Sat. L Tue.-Wed., L,D Thu.-Sat.

Nico & Vali

$$

ITALIAN • This eatery offers favorites with unexpected twists. The artichokes and chilies appetizer boasts battered and fried artichokes with Fresno and jalapeno peppers, tossed with fresh basil in white wine. Popular choices include the Whitefish Filet. It’s a classic Italian spot with an update that’s worth a visit. 744 Wing St., Plymouth; 734-207-7880. L Thu.-Sat., D Tue.-Sun.

RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR 

Oak & Reel

2022

$$

SEAFOOD • Despite a global pandemic threatening to derail his longtime dream, chef Jared Gadbaw brought his vision of a seafood-focused Italian restaurant to life in Detroit’s Milwaukee Junction neighborhood in fall 2020. Oak & Reel’s resilience in the face of extreme adversity and its commitment to the vision of bringing diners impeccable dishes showcasing the freshest seafood, all presented with welcoming and knowledgeable service, is the reason we named Oak & Reel Hour Detroit’s Restaurant of the Year. The menu is seasonal and changes frequently. But in general, the crudos are pristine, the pastas are impeccable, and the seafood dishes are all well balanced and expertly prepared to accentuate the freshness and quality of the fish and shellfish. 2921 E. Grand Blvd., Detroit; 313-270-9600. D Thu.-Mon.

Olin

$$$

MEDITERRANEAN • Starters like the potatoes and artichokes “bravas” with harissa and black garlic aioli and paellas are inspired by Spain, but showcase Olin’s unique spin on these iconic dishes. 25 E. Grand River Ave., Detroit; 313-774-1190. D Tues.-Sat. BR Sun.

Ottava Via $$

ITALIAN • Chef Ariel Millan sends out great thin-crusted pizzas, as well as interesting small plates typified by bruschetta, calamari, roasted garlic, and whipped goat cheese to be spread on paper-thin crostini. 1400 Michigan Ave., Detroit; 313-962-5500. L,D daily.

Pao Detroit

$$$

FUSION • Visit this upscale Pan-Asian fusion restaurant for Asian-themed cocktails and dishes, such as creamy rock shrimp, charred octopus, and filet mignon. Based in the former Michigan Oriental Theater, the interior combines new and old. 114 W. Adams Ave., Ste. 200, Detroit; 313-816-0000. L Sun., D Tue.-Sun.

RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR 

NEW AMERICAN • Excellent food, exceptional service, and a crisp and formal but distinctly unstuffy atmosphere set this Campus Martius gem apart. Appetizer highlights include a bright and fresh tuna tartar and

charred burrata. Main courses include an interesting blend of Italian food, wood-grilled steaks, and a red chile short rib. There’s also a large selection of dryaged gourmet steaks. 800 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313922-7272. L,D daily. BR Sat.-Sun.

Park Grill $$

MEDITERRANEAN • Mediterranean fare gets a Balkan spin. The menu offers tasting plates, pita-wrapped sandwiches, and salads, as well as entrees including chicken and beef shawarma, beef and pork kafta, lemon-pepper pork tenderloin, and lamb chops. Service is friendly and informal. 15102 Kercheval Ave., Grosse Pointe Park; 313264-1997. L,D daily.

Pegasus Taverna $$ GREEK • The cry of “opa!” resounds in St. Clair Shores at the second edition of the longstanding Greektown restaurant. It boasts an extensive menu, from moussaka and spinach pie to gyros and roast lamb. 24935 Jefferson Ave., St. Clair Shores; 586-772-3200. 558 Monroe St., Detroit; 313-964-6800. L,D Tue-Sun (Detroit); L Sun., D Tue.-Sun. (St. Clair Shores)

The Peterboro $$ ASIAN-FUSION • A contemporary take on American-Chinese fare gives new life to the cuisine with robustly spiced dishes, including an “absurdly delicious” cheeseburger spring roll and a take on almond boneless chicken. 420 Peterboro St., Detroit; 313-833-1111. D Mon.-Sat.

Pho Lucky $

VIETNAMESE • This charming Midtown Vietnamese spot serves authentic fare emphasizing pho. Bowls of spicy broth with noodles, round steak, and meatballs come in several variations. Other noteworthy dishes here include summer rolls and crisp spring rolls. Look for Asian beers and robust Vietnamese coffee. 3111 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-338-3895. L,D Wed.-Mon.

Puma $$

SOUTH AMERICAN • Walk on in to the casual cousin of chef Javier Bardauil’s Barda. Puma features traditional, approachable Argentine and South American eats prepared on the open-fire grill. Standouts include the hearty choripán (chorizo and chimichurri on a baguette), a selection of ceviches, and the empanadas, plus refreshing cocktails. Live DJs are a regular source of entertainment. 4725 16th St., Detroit; 313-819-6804. D Thu.-Sun.

Polish Village Café $ POLISH • The “Polish plate” includes stuffed cabbage, pierogi, kielbasa, sauerkraut, and mashed potatoes and gravy. The dill pickle soup and city chicken are standouts, too. A Detroit staple, where this cuisine getting harder to find. 2990 Yemans St., Hamtramck; 313-874-5726. L,D daily. Not wheelchair accessible.

RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR  2019

Prime + Proper

ribeye to Wagyu strip, is the focus — and yes, there’s a burger made with a dry-aged butcher’s blend — oysters, king crab, and caviar aren’t far behind. An elegant white and gold setting backgrounds it all. 1145 Griswold St., Detroit; 313-636-3100. D daily, BR Sat.-Sun.

Prism

$$$

NEW AMERICAN • Greektown Casino-Hotel’s renamed eatery is located off the main casino. The menu features local ingredients, steaks, and fresh seafood. 555 E. Lafayette St., Detroit; 313-309-2499. D Wed.-Sun.

Rocky’s of Northville

$$

NEW AMERICAN • Menu includes shrimp cocktail, smoked whitefish pate, and broiled Great Lakes whitefish. Also try chipotle honey-glazed salmon. 41122 W. Seven Mile Road, Northville; 248-349-4434. L Tue.-Fri. D Tue.-Sun.

Red Smoke Barbeque

$$

BARBEQUE • At Red Smoke, hickory and applewood-smoked ribs, pulled pork, all-natural chicken, and an array of classic sides are served out of one of the most attractive two-story buildings that are still standing on Monroe Street. 573 Monroe St., Detroit; 313-962-2100. L,D daily.

Roman Village

$$

ITALIAN • The Rugiero family has been serving authentic Italian cuisine since 1964. They’ve launched three additional Antonio’s Cucina Italiana locations. Roman Village is the original and features their signature Gnocchi Rita. 9924 Dix Ave., Dearborn; 313-842-2100. L,D daily.

San Morello

$$$

ITALIAN • This gem in the Shinola Hotel serves pizzas, pastas, and wood-fired dishes that draw inspiration from the coastal towns of Southern Italy and Sicily. The menu is handcrafted by James Beard Award-winning chef Andrew Carmellini. 1400 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-209-4700. B,L,D daily.

The Sardine Room

$$$

SEAFOOD • A seafood restaurant and raw bar, The Sardine Room is fresh, fun, and energetic, with clean-line décor and a menu full of surprises. Worthwhile is a grouper sandwich that’s available seared or blackened. 340 S. Main St., Plymouth; 734-416-0261. D daily, BR Sat-Sun.

Savannah Blue

$$

SOUL FOOD • Dine on upscale soul food like the red snapper and the shrimp and grits. Shareables include catfish fritters, and a Georgian Hummus that substitutes black-eyed peas for chickpeas. There’s also a great bar. 1431 Times Square, Detroit; 313-926-0783. D Tue.-Sat.

Scotty Simpson’s Fish & Chips

$

spin in Brush Park. The lighter menu includes a fried green tomato BLT and fried chicken sandwiches that accompany drinks that were popular more than a few years back. 42 Watson St., Detroit; 313-315-3077. L Sat.-Sun., D daily.

Sexy Steak

$$$$

ITALIAN STEAKHOUSE • This extravagantly decorated eatery occupies downtown Detroit’s castlelike Grand Army of the Republic Building. Its steaks, which you can choose from the Himalayan salt-lined display case, are cooked to order and finished with clarified butter, Zip-style sauce, rosemary, and a garlic bulb. Other offerings include sausage, house-made pastas, and dishes with a spicy kick like the shrimp diavolo. Start with a premium Italian wine or a playful cocktail like the refreshingly minty Margarita Italia, which substitutes orangecello for the typical Cointreau. Reservations are required. 1942 Grand River Ave., Detroit; 313-403-1000. D daily.

RESTAURANT OF

Selden Standard

THE YEAR

 2016

$$$

NEW AMERICAN • What sets Selden Standard apart is that it is moving Detroit into a new era in which upperend dining with starched linen and tuxedoed waiters doesn’t hold much interest anymore. Chef Andy Hollyday, a multiple James Beard semifinalist, does farm-to-table scratch cooking with ideas borrowed from around the world. A key to his cooking is the wood-fired grill. This spot has garnered national attention. 3921 Second Ave., Detroit; 313-438-5055. D daily.

Seva Detroit $$ VEGETARIAN • Seva offers such dishes as black bean and sweet potato quesadillas, gluten-free options, and colorful stir-fries — some vegan as well as vegetarian. There’s also a full bar and a juice bar. 2541 Jackson Ave., Ann Arbor; 734-662-1111. 66 E. Forest Ave., Detroit; 313974-6661. L,D Mon.-Sat.

RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR  2020

SheWolf Pastificio & Bar

$$$

ITALIAN • Chef Anthony Lombardo takes fresh and housemade to a new level with this Midtown restaurant that serves only dinner from a menu inspired by Italian cooking specific to Rome. Milling all of his own flour for his pastas, breads, and polenta in house, Lombardo, well known as the former executive chef at Bacco, serves a selection of simple but elegant regional Italian dishes. 438 Selden St., Detroit; 313-315-3992. D Tue.-Sun

$$$$

STEAKHOUSE • Downtown Detroit dining gets a major shot of glamour with this over-the-top steak and seafood emporium on the corner of Griswold and State streets. Although red meat, from prime dry-aged Tomahawk

SEAFOOD • Head to this Brightmoor spot for perfectly prepared fish and chips. The key to Scotty’s longevity is the batter that coats the cod, perch, shrimp, chicken, onion rings, and frog legs. Cash only. 22200 Fenkell St., Detroit; 313-533-0950. L,D Tue.-Sat.

Second Best

$

RETRO AMERICAN • The talents behind nearby Grey Ghost have unveiled a second, more casual spot with a retro

Sindbad’s Restaurant and Marina $$ SEAFOOD • Sitting by the Detroit River, this long-lasting establishment prides itself on serving some of the best perch, pickerel, shrimp, and scallops in Detroit, along with its signature clam chowder. 100 St. Clair St., Detroit; 313-822-8000. L,D Tue.-Sun.

Slows Bar BQ

$$

BARBEQUE • The brick-and-wood original in Corktown gained a following for its pulled pork, ribs, and chicken. They expanded with a “to go” spot in Midtown. This is a true Detroit classic in every sense of the term. Corktown location: 2138 Michigan Ave., Detroit; 313-962-9828. L,D

daily. Slows To Go in Midtown: 4107 Cass Ave., Detroit; 313-309-7560. L,D Tue.-Sun.

Standby $$

NEW AMERICAN • In a place where cocktails are king, there’s no shortage of food options. The fare — overseen by celebrity chef partner Matty Matheson — ranges from small plates of marinated olives and fried deviled eggs to entrees such as Thai pork skewers and the house cheeseburger. 225 Gratiot Ave., Detroit; 313241-5719. D Wed.-Sun. Not wheelchair accessible.

The Statler $$$$ FRENCH • A taste of Paris in downtown Detroit. This French-American bistro from the Joe Vicari Restaurant Group takes its name from the former historic Statler Hotel, which is now home to not only the bistro, but also City Club Apartments. Classic French fare (with some modern twists) such as seared foie gras mousse; Henri Maire escargots (wild Burgundy snails, garlic butter fondue, parsley, Pernod, and profiteroles); and bouillabaisse provence (seafood stew with shrimp, scallops, lobster, mussels, saffron broth, croustade, and rouille) typify the menu. The large, yearround open-air outdoor patio offers stunning panoramic views of the Detroit skyline and Grand Circus Park. There’s also a neighborhood market where customers can grab groceries and gourmet packaged meals on the go. 313 Park Ave., Detroit; 313-463-7111. D daily, BR Sun.

Supino Pizzeria

$$

ITALIAN • Relax with one of the town’s best thin-crust pizzas — they come in more than a dozen variations, with or without red sauce. A few dishes from La Rondinella (the previous longtime tenant at its Russell Street location) made the list as well — small plates such as polpette, and three delicious salads. Beer, wine, and cocktails add to the appeal. 2457 Russell St., Detroit; 313-567-7879 L, D Wed.-Sun. 6519 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-314-7400. L,D Mon.-Sat.

Sweet Soul Bistro $

SOUL FOOD

• The large menu includes homages to Detroit musicians, from Stevie Wonder Wonderful Wings to Aretha Franklin Catfish Bites. Also notable are the crab cakes. In the evening, the bistro transforms into a club. 13741 W. McNichols Road, Detroit; 313- 862-7685. L,D daily.

Takoi

$$

THAI • Thai-Laotian fare might seem out of place in Corktown, but virtually everything on the menu has distinction. There’s a depth, concentration, and balance between heat and coolness, the range of spices, the delight of moving from one superb bite to the next. 2520 Michigan Ave., Detroit; 313-855-2864. D Tue.-Sat.

Tap at MGM Grand

SPORTS BAR

$

• More than 40 HD flatscreen TVs for sports fans, plus sports memorabilia. The menu features comfort food and pub classics: burgers, wings, and house nachos. Pizza and more upscale entrees are also available, as are more than 50 beers. Bring your family and friends for a very entertaining night on the town. 1777 Third St., Detroit; 313-465-1234. B,L,D daily.

Townhouse $$$

NEW AMERICAN • The downtown hotspot in 2021 underwent an aesthetic overhaul of the space and menu designed to elevate the spot’s signature comfort food fare. Staples, like the burger and fries, remain on the menu, but there are also fine-dining-inspired additions, like the caviar-topped crispy potato dish and the A5 wagyu served with brioche, nori, capers, and truffle. 500 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-723-1000. L, D daily.

Vecino $$$$

MEXICAN • The Midtown eatery offers a luxurious way to experience the regional foods served in Oaxaca and Mexico City. It is the first restaurant in the state to feature in-house nixtamalization — a 3,000-yearold process used to turn corn into workable masa, which is used to create tortillas. Its unique offerings include mezcal cocktails, the tuna tostada, the half red snapper, and broccolini in green mole. 4100 Third Ave., Detroit; 313-500-1615. D Tue.-Sun.

Vertical Detroit $$$

NEW AMERICAN • This wine-centric restaurant puts the focus on pairing chef Matt Barnes’ innovative cuisine with owners James and Rémy Lutfy’s nationally recognized wine program. The menu emphasizes locally sourced protein, seafood, and produce. A must-try for any wine enthusiast. 1538 Centre St., Detroit; 313-7329463. D Tue.-Sat. Not wheelchair accessible.

Vicente’s Cuban Cuisine $$ CUBAN • An evening at this lively spot is more than just Cuban and Spanish dining. Appetizers and tapas include the outstanding Tapa de la Casa, pork leg marinated in mojo; a Spanish chorizo and fresh mushrooms concoction with garlic lemon sauce; and empanadas, a Cuban turnover filled with ground beef or chicken. 1250 Library St., Detroit; 313-962-8800. L,D daily.

Vivio’s Food & Spirits $

SANDWICH/DELI • This Eastern Market classic has been run by the Vivio family for more than 40 years. Sandwiches and burgers are mainstays, but diners also appreciate the steamed mussels. 3601 Twelve Mile Road, Warren; 586-576-0495. L,D daily.

Whatcha Wanna Eat Food Hall $ FOOD COURT • Whatcha Wanna Eat is said to be the first Black-owned food hall in Detroit and aims to provide a platform to first-time restaurateurs in the city (producing tasty results for diners). Its seven restaurants feature a range of cuisines, including burgers, wings, tacos, hibachi bowls, and pit-style barbecue. 10635 W. McNichols Road, Detroit. L,D Tue.-Sun.

The Whitney $$$$ NEW AMERICAN • The historic 1890s mansion is still going strong. The menu is typified by classic beef Wellington, wrapped in spinach, prosciutto, and pastry; and a seared Verlasso salmon fillet. Tableside cooking, by reservation only, is an optional feature. Don’t forget The Katherine McGregor Dessert Parlor for a sweet treat.4421 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-832-5700. D Tue.-Sun. and high tea Sat.

Wright & Co.

$$$

NEW AMERICAN • The collaboration between Marc Djozlija and executive chef Kyle Schutte gives life to the second-floor space in the Wright Kay building. Small plates such as wild caught walu, Michigan mushroom pate, and grilled sea scallops are the focus. The menu highlights seasonal dishes around a composed shared plates concept. 1500 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-9627711. D Tue.-Sat.

Yemen Café

$

YEMENI • A nearly all-hours destination and a Hamtramck essential, Yemen Café offers traditional Yemeni dishes like saltah, a comforting soup with ground beef, rice, eggs, and vegetables. Popular items include the fahsah (lamb stew) and a range of ghallaba entrées, plus Middle Eastern/Mediterranean staples like shawarma, kebab, fattoush, and tabbouleh. 8740 Joseph Campau Ave., Hamtramck. B,L,D daily.

Yum Village $

AFRO-CARIBBEAN • The former food truck opened a full-service restaurant in the North End in 2019. The space is bright and fun with wooden tables, mismatched chairs, and a colorful, geometric paint job. And the food is just as bold. The restaurant serves up piquant dishes like Lemon Pepper Jerk Chicken. 6500 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-334-6099. L,D Mon.-Sat.

Oakland

168 Crab & Karaoke $$ PAN-ASIAN • Don’t judge by 168 Crab & Karaoke’s unassuming strip mall location. It’s a unique experience that meshes food, karaoke, and pop party culture into a one-stop destination. As the name suggests, seafood is the main attraction here, specifically the seafood boils, which come with your choice of seafood (crab, clams, lobster, etc.), with sauce, corn and potatoes. 32415 John R Road, Madison Heights; 248-616-0168. D daily.

220 Merrill

$$$

NEW AMERICAN • The menu includes apps and small plates as well as pan roasted salmon, tuna tartar, and oysters on the half shell. There are heartier entrees as well, like the braised beef short ribs. 220 Merrill St., Birmingham; 248-646-2220. L, D daily.

Adachi

$$$ JAPANESE-INSPIRED • Heading the kitchen is Lloyd Roberts, who has trained in the kitchens of celebrity chefs such as Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Nobu Matsuhisa. Here, short rib bao buns are served with pickled cucumber and fresh scallions and miniature tacos are filled with lobster. 325 S. Old Woodward Ave., Birmingham; 248-540-5900. L,D daily.

Andiamo

$$

ITALIAN • Over the past three decades, Joe Vicari has established several Andiamo restaurants in metro Detroit, all inspired by the late master chef Aldo Ottaviani’s philosophy of seasonal, from-scratch cooking. The menus differ slightly at the different

locations, but the constant is the fresh, housemade pastas — handcrafted by the trinity of “pasta ladies,” Anna, Tanya, and Angelina, who have carried on the tradition. 6676 Telegraph Road, Bloomfield; 248-8659300. D daily.

Anita’s Kitchen

LEBANESE • With pita pizzas and lamb chops, the Lebanese food here is some of the best around. And there’s vegetarian and gluten-free fare, too. Healthy, nutritious, and delicious. See website for locations; anitaskitchen.com

Aurora Italiana

$

$$$$

ITALIAN • This restaurant offers a sophisticated and modern take on Italian dining. Fresh pasta lays the groundwork for the rigatoni al bosco: tenderloin tips, wild mushroom, truffle demi-glace tossed in cream sauce. Other delectables include and peppers, steak, and seafood. Watch out for Al Capone in the men’s room. 6199 Orchard Lake Rd, West Bloomfield Township; 248-782-3000; D daily.

Aurora on the Lake $$$$

ITALIAN • Located along Union Lake, this spin-off of West Bloomfield’s Aurora Italiana serves Italian fine dining in the space once occupied by It’s A Matter of Taste. 2323 Union Lake Rd, Commerce Township; 248360-6650; D daily.

Bella Piatti $$

ITALIAN • The location right across from the Townsend Hotel has inspired a number of visiting celebrities, professional athletes, and film crews who stay there to check out the Italian fare at this restaurant. The menu of such dishes as Gemelli pasta with fresh tomato sauce; salmon baked with spinach, kalamata olives, white wine, and tomatoes; and tagliatelle Bolognese stands on its own. It’s one of our true favorites in the area in terms of Italian restaurants. 167 Townsend St., Birmingham; 248494-7110. D Tue.-Sat.

Beppé

$$$

NEW AMERICAN/ITALIAN • This neighborhood eatery has a little something for everyone — from bar staples like burgers to refined dishes like lamb belly; steak tartare; or the caponata made with roasted eggplant, olives, trumpet mushrooms, Calabrian chiles, thyme vinaigrette, Manchego cheese, and bread. The drinks program features refreshing spritzes and a rotating selection of über-drinkable Italian wines. 703 N. Main St., Royal Oak; 248-607-7030. L,D Sat.-Sun, D Tue.-Fri.

Beverly Hills Grill

$$$

NEW AMERICAN • This Beverly Hills institution has built a loyal following over the years with its California vibe and dawn-to-dark schedule. They’re still serving crowd favorites like their BHG Burger and classic eggs benedict. 31471 Southfield Road, Beverly Hills; 248642-2355. B, L, D Tue.-Sat. B, L Sun.

Bigalora: Wood Fired Cucina $$ ITALIAN • The pizza concept from chef Luciano Del Signore, a four-time James Beard Award nominee, features small plates, fresh pastas, wood-roasted meats,

and a range of distinctive Neopolitan pizzas. See website for locations; bigalora.com

Birmingham Pub

$$$

GASTROPUB • This stylish yet casual gastropub from the Joe Vicari Restaurant Group took over the former Triple Nickel space. True to its name, the restaurant’s bill of fare features pub classics taken up a notch, such as fish and chips served with jalapeno hush-puppies and filet mignon with Parmesan truffle fries and zip sauce. There are also TVs at the bar so you won’t miss a minute of the game. 555 S. Old Woodward Ave., Birmingham; 248-885-8108. L Tue. - Fri., BR Sat. - Sun.

Bistro Joe’s

$$$

GLOBAL • Part of Papa Joe’s Gourmet Market, Bistro Joe’s is in a mezzanine overlooking the open kitchen and market. There is an eclectic list of dishes like spicy tuna “tacushi,” P.E.I. Pesto Mussels, and tasty flatbread pizzas. 34244 Woodward Ave., Birmingham; 248-5940984. D Tue.-Sun., BR Sat.-Sun.

RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR  2003

Café Cortina

$$$

ITALIAN • Selections include prosciutto di Parma stuffed with greens and mozzarella; and gnocchi with wild oyster mushrooms. For dessert, try the crepes. 30715 W. 10 Mile Road, Farmington Hills; 248-474-3033. L Sun., D Tue.-Sun.

Café ML

$$

NEW AMERICAN • Café ML is contemporary in décor and its “globally inspired food.” Such dishes as short rib steamed buns, Chinese chicken salad, Singapore street noodles, and Korean fried chicken share the menu with burgers, steak frites, and fresh seafood. Garage door-style windows open onto the patio on warm days. 3607 W. Maple Road, Bloomfield Township; 248-642-4000. D daily.

Capital Grille

$$$

STEAKHOUSE • Hand-cut, dry-aged steaks and fresh seafood dishes are the stars at Capital Grille. The restaurant’s outstanding wine list features over 350 labels. The setting is appropriate for both business lunches and social events and includes well-appointed private dining rooms. 2800 W. Big Beaver Road, Troy; 248-649-5300. L,D daily.

Casa Pernoi

$$$$

ITALIAN • Three months after its grand opening, what once was a multi-hyphenate concept, blending French, Asian, and Italian cuisine, soon defaulted simply to a cuisine most familiar to chef Luciano DelSignore: Italian. Housemade pastas rolled by hand, and a meaty branzino typify the menu. 310 E. Maple Road, Birmingham; 248-940-0000. D Tue.-Sat.

Churchill’s Bistro & Cigar Bar

$$$

TRADITIONAL • You can buy your cigar and smoke it too. Plus, enjoy dry-aged steaks, pan-roasted sea bass, and lamb chops, among other options. A full bar boasts a large selection of whiskey, scotch, and bourbon — and plenty of wine. 116 S. Old Woodward, Birmingham; 248-647-4555. L,D daily.

Clarkston Union

NEW AMERICAN • Perhaps known best for its iconic Union Mac and Cheese (Vermont sharp cheddar and

$

mild Pinconning cheeses with layers of penne rigate and a crispy breadcrumb crust), the downtown Clarkston staple lauded by Guy Fieri has been a longtime purveyor of American comfort foods such as pot pie and meat loaf, plus burgers and handhelds like the Union Reuben and Cubano sandwiches. Located in an 1840s-era church, the restaurant provides much of the seating on pews. 54 S. Main St., Clarkston; 248-620-6100. L,D daily, B Sun.

Coeur

$$$$

NEW AMERICAN • With a world-class wine program and delectable desserts, Coeur offers seasonal plates like squash tempura, potato and Comté croquettes, and grilled hamachi collar glossed with a sticky sweet kumquat glaze. Larger entrées include chicken roulade and short ribs. Order à la carte or leave it up to the chef with the five-course tasting menu and optional wine pairing. 330 W. Nine Mile Road, Ferndale; 248-466-3020. D Wed.-Sun.

Como’s

$$

NEW AMERICAN • This Ferndale favorite reopened in May 2019 under the ownership of Peas & Carrots Hospitality with a trendier, fresher look. The warm, homey feel is still intact, but it’s ditched the old menu for — among other things — chef Zack Sklar’s square, deep-dish, Detroitstyle pizza that’s leavened from a sourdough starter as opposed to commercial yeast. 22812 Woodward Ave., Unit 100., Ferndale; 248-677-4439. L,D daily.

Cornbread Restaurant & Bar

$$

SOUL • In 1997, Patrick Coleman melded his experience in fine dining with his grandma’s southern roots to create Beans & Cornbread Soulful Bistro. It racked up accolades and fans over the years, including Stevie Wonder and Thomas (Hitman) Hearns. Cornbread is the sequel to Beans and Cornbread, continuing the tradition of soul food with an upscale twist. Classics like catfish and a gravy-smothered pork chop endure. 29852 Northwestern Hwy., Southfield; 248-208-1680. L,D Thu.-Tue.

Crispelli’s Bakery Pizzeria

$ ITALIAN-INSPIRED • This hybrid offers artisanal pizzas from a brick oven, salads, paninis, and soups. A bakery offers crusty breads, desserts, and meals to go. The Berkley location’s patio adds to the appeal. See website for locations; crispellis.com

Culantro

$$ PERUVIAN • Native Peruvian Betty Shuell brings a taste of her home to Ferndale. The casual, homey, seat-yourself establishment is named after an herb that is often used in traditional Peruvian cooking. An especially notable dish is the Pollo a la Brasa, marinated chicken served with French fries, rice, and a variety of dipping sauces. 22939 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; 248-632-1055. L,D daily

Diamond’s Steak & Seafood $$$ STEAKHOUSE • This Howell restaurant is the perfect location for ribeye, fresh gulf shrimp, or a classic cheeseburger. Plus, weekends boast a buffet-style brunch. 101 W. Grand River Ave., Howell; 517-548-5500. L,D Tue.-Sat.

D’Marcos Italian Restaurant and Wine Bar $$$ ITALIAN • Located in the heart of downtown Rochester, this family-owned establishment is known for its extensive

wine list, wood-fired Neapolitan pizzas and house-made pasta dishes like the beef tenderloin linguine with beef tenderloin tips, spinach, mushroom cream sauce, and parmesan. It’s also connected to The Backdoor, a speakeasy-style taco and tequila bar. 401 S Main St, Rochester; 248-759-4951. L,D Tue.-Sat

Eddie’s Gourmet $$ NEW AMERICAN • Chef Eddie Hanna’s gourmet diner is a simple concept that works to perfection. The menu offers a standard selection of breakfast items, burgers, sandwiches, and lunch specials, but the real draw is the counter-side gourmet and pasta specials. Offerings include Veal Marsala and Chicken Milano. 25920 Greenfield Road, Oak Park; 248-968-4060. L,D Tue.-Sat.

Elie’s Mediterranean Grill/Bar $$ LEBANESE • The lamb and chicken shawarma, shish kafta, kibbee nyeh, and other Lebanese dishes are emphasized by the décor, including photomurals of old Beirut and strings of blue beads cascading from the ceiling. A fun place to frequent for a quick lunch or a night out with friends. 263 Pierce St., Birmingham; 248-647-2420. L,D Mon.-Sat.

The Fed $$

GASTROPUB • An attractive restaurant with great food and a delightfully refreshing atmosphere. The menu crosses boundaries, from shareables, like Spanish Octopus and Wild Mushroom Flatbread. Plus, the bright and airy bohemian-chic interior is highly Instagrammable. 15 S. Main St., Clarkston; 248-297-5833. D Tue.-Sat., B,L,D Sun.

RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR  2009 Forest $$$ EUROPEAN-INSPIRED • The menu is brief but designed to let the kitchen assemble sharp flavors from various farm and market ingredients. Try the delightful pastas, like the Bolognese and the agnolotti, as well as the understated Farm Egg. 735 Forest Ave., Birmingham; 248-258-9400. D Tue.-Sat.

The Fly Trap $

ECLECTIC AMERICAN • This “finer diner” typifies trendy Ferndale with its tin ceiling, red-topped tables, and counter with swivel stools. It offers sandwiches, salads, pastas, and omelets. 22950 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; 248-399-5150. B,L Tue.-Sat.

Garage Grill & Fuel Bar

$$

NEW AMERICAN • The car-themed rooms of a former 1940s gas station are as fresh and appealing as the dishes themselves. The kitchen serves up a variety of seafood starters and “full-size sedan” entrees, as well as pizzas. 202 W. Main St., Northville; 248-924-3367. D Wed.-Sun., BR Sat.-Sun.

Gran Castor

$$

LATIN STREET • From the duo behind hit spots like Vinsetta Garage and Union Woodshop comes this vibrant Latin-American café and restaurant.Diners can choose to sit behind one of the two bars, a cozy café, or in the 245-seat dining room all decked in

colorful textiles. At Gran Castor, the dining room is equally as decadent as the food and drinks served. Grab a $5 margarita between 4 p.m.-6 p.m. daily. 2950 Rochester Road, Troy; 248-278-7777. D daily.

Hazel’s $$

SEAFOOD • What was once multiple concepts under one roof named after the three neighborhoods that converged right where the restaurant stands (Hazel, Ravine and Downtown) is now simply Hazel’s. The casual and comfortable restaurant specializes in authentic dishes, drinks, and vibes from some of the country’s top seafood destinations. Here you’ll find dishes like Maine-caught lobster, Maryland Blue Crab, and more. 1 Peabody St., Birmingham; 248-671-1714. D Tue.-Sun., B,L Sat.-Sun.

Honcho $ LATIN FUSION • From the owners of Vinsetta Garage and Union Woodshop, this restaurant can be described as “Latin food that speaks with an Asian accent.” Menu items include a chicken burrito fried and tossed in a soy fish sauce and Korean pork tacos, featuring Woodshop pulled pork tossed in Korean BBQ sauce and topped with toasted sesame seeds and Malay radish slaw. 3 E. Church St., Clarkston; 248-707-3793. L,D daily.

RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR  2002

Hong Hua $

CHINESE • One of the best area restaurants dedicated to Asian food offers some rare delicacies as well as more customary items. One signature dish is King of the Sea: lobster chunks, scallops, and grouper with greens in a garlic sauce. 27925 Orchard Lake Road, Farmington Hills; 248-489-2280. L,D Tue.-Sun.

Hyde Park Prime Steakhouse

$$$$ STEAKHOUSE • This plush modern steakhouse offers dry-aged prime and Kobe-style wagyu beef in a fun, clubby setting. An extensive wine list accompanies the restaurant menu that also features platters of chilled fresh seafood. 201 S. Old Woodward Ave., Birmingham; 248-594-4369. D daily. 17107 Haggerty Road, Northville Twp.; 248-679-0007. D Tue.-Sun.

Imperial $

MEXICAN-INSPIRED • The menu offers California-style tacos on soft tortillas, including lime-grilled chicken, carnitas, and marinated pork, as well as slow-roasted pork tortas, and guacamole. 22828 Woodward Ave., Ferndale, 248-850-8060. L,D daily.

J-Bird Smoked Meats $$

BARBEQUE • Wood-smoked meats served with the traditional sides of cornbread, buttermilk slaw, and mac and cheese, are what’s on the menu at this meat-lovers mecca. Other popular dishes include the Three Meat Sampler and JBird Gumbo, as well as St. Louis Ribs and old-fashioned JBurgers. 1978 Cass Lake Road, Keego Harbor; 248-681-2124. L,D Mon.-Sun.

Joe Muer

$$$$ SEAFOOD • The Bloomfield Hills location of the iconic restaurant continues the tradition of excellent food,

service, and ambiance. The menu emphasizes classic fresh fish and “Muer Traditions” such as Dover sole and Great Lakes Yellow Belly Perch. There’s also a raw and sushi bar as well as premium steaks. And make sure to save room for dessert, because the coconut cake is not to be missed. A piano bar adds to the vibe. 39475 Woodward Ave., Bloomfield Hills; 248-792-9609. D daily.

KouZina Greek Street Food

$

GREEK • The Greek “street food” at this Royal Oak spot comes in lamb and beef, and chicken. Try the lentil soup for a delicious lunch or go for something more filling like the gyro bowl. Either way, you can’t go wrong with this excellent eatery. 121 N Main Street, Royal Oak; 248-629-6500. L,D daily Mon.-Sun.

Lao Pot

$$$ CHINESE • In 2019, the owners of Madison Heights’ international market 168 Asian Mart opened Lao Pot, which specializes in Chinese Hot Pot cuisine. Hot Pot is a traditional method of cooking, using a pot of simmering broth, which sits in the center of the dining table. Lao Pot allows diners to customize and cook their meals right at their tables, combining great food and a memorable experience. 32707 John R. Road, Madison Heights; 248-689-9888. L,D daily.

La Strada Italian Kitchen & Bar $$$

ITALIAN • A slice of European elegance offers an impeccable menu of Italian dishes and wines. Delicious fresh pastas, pizzas, antipastis and more are proudly served and very tasty. 243 E. Merrill St., Birmingham; 248-480-0492. D Tue.-Sat..

Lellis Inn

$$

ITALIAN • Dinners begin with an antipasto tray, creamy minestrone, salad, side dish of spaghetti, and then — nine times out of 10 — a filet mignon with zip sauce. 885 N. Opdyke Road, Auburn Hills; 248-373-4440. L,D daily.

Lincoln Yard/Little Yard

$$

NEW AMERICAN • From Union Joints, the oven-centric restaurant features a rotisserie, a smoker, and a woodfired oven used to bake pizzas. The menu’s centerpiece is the Main Builds option, which includes your choice of protein (rotisserie chicken, rotisserie cauliflower, smoked beef short ribs, or smoked pork tenderloin) with a sauce and two sides, such as roasted carrots, smashed potatoes, or mac and cheese. There are also salads and handhelds — and, of course, the classic Union Mac. 2159 E. Lincoln St., Birmingham; 248-653-5353. B,L,D daily.

Loccino Italian Grill $$ ITALIAN • Loccino is a “family-friendly” yet upscale Italian restaurant. Choose from fresh seafood, steak, and chicken dishes, plus traditional pastas, pizzas, salads, and more. They also offer happy hour specials from 3-7 p.m. weekdays. A great special occasion place or delicious workday lunch spot for whenever you need a break from the office. 5600 Crooks Road, Troy; 248-813-0700. L Mon.-Fri., D daily.

Lockhart’s BBQ

$$ BARBEQUE • The heart of this joint’s authentic barbecue is the dry-rubbed meat smoker, which can smoke

Marketplace

up to 800 pounds of meat at a time. Choices such as pork ribs, pulled pork, beef brisket, burnt ends, and chicken are served atop butcher paper on metal trays for the true experience. 202 E. Third St., Royal Oak; 248-584-4227. L,D daily. BR Sun.

Loui’s Pizza $

ITALIAN • Sure, you can now get a Michigan craft beer, but not much else has changed. And that’s a good thing. Parties dine on square pizzas with crisp crust, faintly charred around the edges. Hailed by food critics and Detroiters alike as one of the city’s most classic Detroit style pizzas, it’s well worth a trip. 23141 Dequindre Road, Hazel Park; 248-547-1711. L,D Thu.-Sun.

Luisa’s Artisanal Street Food $ ITALIAN STREET FOOD • The small restaurant offers a unique mishmash of influences — all with the grab-and-go convenience of “street food.” Its sandwiches are stuffed in piadina, a rustic Italian flatbread. Standouts include the smoky mole chili, made with roasted chile peppers, green bell peppers, black beans, braised steak, and mozzarella. Plus, the slushies are to die for. 22851 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; 248-677-3331. L Tue., L,D Wed.-Sun.

Luxe Bar & Grill

$$

NEW AMERICAN • The simple menu at this Grosse Pointe Farms joint offers burgers on brioche buns and interesting salads and sides, as well as entrees typified by wild-caught salmon, prime filet, and Greek-style lamb chops. 525 N. Old Woodward Ave., Birmingham; 248-792-6051. 115 Kercheval Ave., Grosse Pointe Farms; 313-924-5459. L,D daily.

Mabel Gray

$$$

NEW AMERICAN • Chef James Rigato produces some masterful dishes on this tiny menu, which does not miss a beat. The menu includes a multi-course tasting option, as well as a daily listing of changing items that never disappoint. It’s a fine dining experience that is certainly worth a visit. 23825 John R Road, Hazel Park; 248-398-4300. D Tue.-Sat.

RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR  2023

Madam

$$$

NEW AMERICAN • Since opening in 2021, Madam has carved its niche with its global take on farm-to-table cuisine, taking diners on a tour from Michigan to Asia to Europe. Staples from chef de cuisine Clifton Booth include mushroom dumplings, Spanish octopus, steak frites, and pasta dishes. 298 S. Old Woodward Ave., Birmingham; 248-283-4200. B,D daily, L Mon.-Fri., BR Sat.-Sun.

Market North End $$

AMERICAN • Joe and Kristin Bongiovanni opened this eatery just across the street from the family’s existing restaurants, Salvatore Scallopini and Luxe Bar & Grill. It represents a younger, more casual alternative to the cult-favorite classics, with a serious kitchen that offers traditional American dishes as well as hints of global influences. 474 N. Old Woodward Ave., Birmingham; 248-712-4953. L,D daily.

The Meeting House $$ ECLECTIC AMERICAN • This eclectic American menu includes steak frites remarkably close to those at Paris bistros, and a house made soft pretzel with roasted jalapeno-goat cheese dip. Or, try the sesame miso beef short rib, served with rice. 301 S. Main St., Rochester; 248-759-4825. D daily, BR Sat.-Sun.

Mesa Tacos And Tequila

$

MEXICAN-AMERICAN • The two-story setting includes balcony seating in a big, open room where the bar gets equal time with the kitchen. The pop-Mexican menu — which includes guacamole, nachos, and the titular tacos — is backed up with an array of tequilas. 312 S. Main St., Royal Oak; 248-545-1940. L & D daily.

RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR  2008

Mon Jin Lau

$$

ASIAN-FUSION • Explore such dishes as Singapore noodles, combining chicken, shrimp, chilies, and curry with angel-hair pasta; Mongolian beef; or seared scallops with lemongrass-basil Thai curry sauce. The patio opens up and the dining room transforms into a dance floor for weekly events. 1515 E. Maple Road, Troy; 248689-2332. L Mon.-Fri., D daily.

The Morrie

$$

NEW AMERICAN • Music and munchies can be a great combination when served in the right proportions. Such offerings as the smoked chicken wings and Detroit style pizza appeal to a wide demographic. The rock ’n’ roll-themed eatery also brought its muchloved American dishes and cocktails to Birmingham in 2019. 511 S. Main St., Royal Oak; 248-216-1112. D daily, BR Sat.-Sun. 260 N. Old Woodward Ave., Birmingham; 248-940-3260. D Fri.-Sat.

Noble Fish

$

JAPANESE • For over 40 years, this laid-back sushi spot has been serving traditional rolls, nigiri, and entrées like the chirashi bowl inside a downtown Clawson Japanese market. Grab a tray and enjoy reasonably priced bites like its signature Noble Roll, made with grilled salmon skin, smelt roe, oshinko, egg, cucumber, and mayo. 45 E. 14 Mile Road, Clawson; 248-585-2314. B,L,D daily

Noori Pocha

$

KOREAN • This retro Korean gastropub in Clawson will transport you to ’80s Seoul with its unmatchable aesthetic. The meal begins with complimentary tteokbokki, a rice cake cooked in a spicy red broth. From there, you can choose from a fine selection of import beers and bang-foryour-buck entrées like the shareable buldak: spicy chicken and cheese served with jumeok-bap (rice balls with seaweed). 1 S. Main St., Clawson; 248-850-7512. D Tue.-Sun.

Oak City Grille $ NEW AMERICAN • This downtown Royal Oak spot bridges the gap between bar food and upscale dining. Order a dressed-up sandwich or burger, or elevate your dining experience with an 8-ounce filet mignon or lamb chops. The friendly price range makes anything possible. 212 W. Sixth St., Royal Oak; 248-556-0947. D Tue.-Sun.

Oak Parker

$$

NEW AMERICAN • This lively neighborhood bar features thoughtful cocktails with a forward-looking food menu to match. Simplicity and a great bun (potato, brioche, or onion roll) make its smash burgers the perfect answer to a cold pint. You can also kick it up a notch with Hungarian sausage, schnitzels, or pastrami — the latter stuffed in deli-style sandwiches and deepfried chimichangas, or mixed in pastrami hash for weekend brunch. 13621 W. 11 Mile Road; oakparkerbar. com; B Sat.-Sun, L,D daily.

Ocean Prime

$$$$

SEAFOOD • An upper-end steak-and-fish place and a popular business lunch site. The menu features naturally harvested fresh fish and prime aged beef. Don’t miss the chocolate peanut butter pie or the carrot cake. A triedand-true metro Detroit spot. 2915 Coolidge Hwy., Troy; 248-458-0500. L Mon.-Fri., D daily.

One-Eyed Betty’s

$$

ECLECTIC AMERICAN • Picnic-style tables and blackboards lettered with scores of brew choices add a beerhall sensibility to this popular spot. The kitchen delivers New Orleans-themed dishes such as Chicken Tchoupitoulas with tasso ham and bearnaise sauce, as well as a mouth-watering bacon burger. Weekend brunch features delicious housemade doughnuts. 175 W. Troy St., Ferndale; 248-808-6633. D daily, BR Sat.-Sun.

O.W.L.

$

MEXICAN-AMERICAN • This Royal Oak spot offers sustenance for the early birds to the night owls. Step up to the counter and order from the letterboard menu before grabbing a stool at the counter or along the window ledge. Dishes here include such diner musts as eggs, sausage and potato hash, burgers, and chicken wings as well as tacos and nachos served from the open kitchen. 27302 Woodward Ave., Royal Oak; 248808-6244. B, L,D daily.

Phoenicia

$$$

LEBANESE • This long-standing upscale eatery has clean, contemporary lines that complement the French door-style windows. Don’t miss the portabella mushrooms or roasted garlic cloves with tomato and basil as an appetizer. The menu expands to unexpected items such as baby back ribs and single-serving-sized local whitefish. 588 S. Old Woodward Ave., Birmingham; 248644-3122. L Mon.-Fri., D daily.

Pinky’s Rooftop

$$ ECLECTIC AMERICAN • With its second-floor view of downtown Royal Oak, Pinky’s Rooftop is a go-to spot for a night on the town. The name hearkens back to a Detroit restaurant and speakeasy on the east side that was called Pinky’s Boulevard Club (and the fact that everything is pink). The playful and eclectic menu offers a taste of a little bit of everything, from Kasseri Saganaki to Red Chile Beef Taco. It’s part of the Adam Merkel Restaurants group, which includes Howell hot spots The Silver Pig, Cello Italian, and Diamond’s Steak & Seafood. 100 S. Main St. Rear, Royal Oak, 248-268-2885. D Tues.-Sun. Br. Sat.-Sun.

Pop’s For Italian $$

ITALIAN • It doesn’t sound fancy, but this Ferndale restaurant serves well-prepared, Italian dishes paired with an ambitious wine program. The fairly brief menu starts with a list of Neapolitan pizzas, then moves to pastas, but has all the classics. 280 W. Nine Mile Road, Ferndale; 248-268-4806. D Tue.-Sun. BR Sat.-Sun.

Prime29 Steakhouse

$$$$

STEAKHOUSE • The 29-day aged prime beef, including the 24-ounce tomahawk bone-in rib-eye, still stars here. There’s also Chilean sea bass and black pearl salmon. The service is notable, as is the Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator. 6545 Orchard Lake Road, West Bloomfield; 248- 737-7463. D Tue.-Sun.

Public House $$ NEW AMERICAN/VEGAN • This Ferndale spot reopened under new ownership and with a refreshed look in late 2021. Standout selections include its burgers, shareable plates, plus craft cocktails and mocktails. It also features a special vegan menu and carries plenty of gluten-free options. 241 W. Nine Mile Road, Ferndale; (248) 654-6355. L,D Tue.-Sun. BR Sat.-Sun.

Quán Ngon Vietnamese Bistro

$

VIETNAMESE • This gem of a bistro in a handsome space adds to the local Vietnamese offerings. Dishes such as cha gio (elegant little eggrolls), bun bo noug cha gio (grilled beef with eggroll, vermicelli, mixed greens, plus sweet and sour sauce), and banh mi made with fresh ingredients. 30701 Dequindre Road, Madison Heights; 248-268-4310. L,D daily

Redcoat Tavern

$

BURGERS • The half-pound choice beef hamburger is always atop the list of local favorites. But a low-fat, high-flavor Piedmontese beef one is tastier than the original. This is the place for your burger craving. 31542 Woodward Ave., Royal Oak; 248-549-0300. 6745 Orchard Lake Road, West Bloomfield Township; 248865-0500. L,D Mon.-Sat.

The Rind

$$$ WINE BAR • Attached to Mongers’ Provisions in Berkley, The Rind serves signature cocktails from its full bar and offers wines by the glass and a selection of more than 150 bottles to choose from. In addition to snacks that pair well with wine, like marcona almonds, tinned razor clams, and (naturally) cheese and charcuterie, there’s heartier fare like a flat-iron steak and littleneck clams. 3125 12 Mile Road, Berkley; 248-468-4487. L,D Tue.-Sun.

Rochester Chop House $$

NEW AMERICAN • Two restaurants in one; Kabin Kruser’s and the Chop House. There’s a throwback roadhouse-style feeling about the Chop House, which has a menu divided between red meat and fresh fish and seafood. Signature dishes include calamari, Maryland jumbo lump crabcakes, and a large selection of aged steaks, rack of lamb, and steak/seafood combinations. 306 S. Main St., Rochester; 248-651-2266. L Mon.-Fri., D daily

Ronin

$$

JAPANESE • The sushi menu, ranging from spicy tuna rolls to yellowtail and salmon eggs and well beyond, is augmented by a concise menu of cooked fare. Front windows open onto the sidewalk, making the cocktail lounge open-air during the warm months. 326 W. Fourth St., Royal Oak; 248-546-0888. D daily.

Sambong

$

KOREAN • Known for its signature naengmyeon (a Korean cold noodle dish), Sambong is a fully self-service restaurant with unique offerings like complementary broth. Besides the naengmyeon (which features house-made noodles), additional standouts include japchae, bulgogi, bibimbap, and donkatsu. 5389 Crooks Road, Troy; 248-731-7859. L,D Wed.-Mon.

Silver Spoon

$$

ITALIAN • This quintessential slice of Italy features excellent food, knowledgeable staff, and friendly service. Try the bucatini made with pancetta, onion, red wine, and fresh tomato sauce. Also worth trying: saltimbocca alla Romana, or veal scaloppini sautéed in white wine. A truly delicious place for any kind of outing. 543 N. Main St., Rochester; 248-652-4500. D Mon.-Sat.

Social Kitchen & Bar

$$$

NEW AMERICAN • The energetic Birmingham spot allows guests a view of the kitchen action. It has a creative and varied menu typified by fried chicken sandwiches, crispy Brussels sprouts, and salmon with braised lentils, crispy kale, and a mustard vinaigrette. 225 E. Maple Road, Birmingham; 248-594-4200. L Mon.-Fri., D daily, BR Sat.-Sun.

Sozai

$$

JAPANESE • To truly experience Sozai, you have to reserve a seat at the custom-built sushi bar where chef Hajime Sato will curate a unique sustainable sushi dining experience called omakase. There’s also a menu offering crowd pleasers like chicken karaage and rolls featuring familiar ingredients with tuna, jalapeno and avocado. 449 W. 14 Mile Road, Clawson; 248-677-3232. D Tue.-Sat.

Streetside Seafood $$

SEAFOOD • Small and cozy yet sophisticated, the restaurant has a pared-down seasonal menu of fresh fish and seafood. There are always two soups: a bisque and a chowder. Favorites include the oysters and bouillabaisse. A delicious restaurant for all palates to enjoy and feel comfortable in. 273 Pierce St.Birmingham; 248-645-9123. L Thu.-Fri., D daily.

Sylvan Table

$$$

NEW AMERICAN • With a working farm on the 5-acre property, Sylvan Table isn’t just talking the farm-to-table talk. The restored 300-year-old barn feels grand and vast when you step into the stunning space, but it is homey, welcoming, and inviting. The menu changes often to reflect what’s growing but some of the staples include the trout — seasoned with herb oil, salt, and pepper, cooked over a wood-fired grill, and served whole — and Chicken Under a Brick, which is cooked to charred perfection. 1819 Inverness St., Sylvan Lake, 248-369-3360. D Mon.-Sun.

Take Sushi $$ JAPANESE • Crisp salads, sashimi, sushi, oversize bowls of soba or udon noodles, and all the familiar — and some not-so-familiar — entrees combine to make this spot special. The exceptionally warm service is unforgettable. 1366 Walton Blvd., Rochester Hills; 248652-7800. L,D Tue.-Sat., D Sun.

Tallulah Wine Bar & Bistro

$$ WINE BAR • Understated décor and a pared-down menu of seasonal dishes make this spot a Birmingham classic. The kitchen turns out dishes like Lamb Belly Ragu with housemade pasta; and whole branzino with charred zucchini and romesco. Wine is served by the glass, the pitcher, or bottle. 155 S. Bates St., Birmingham; 248-731-7066. D Mon.-Sat.

Three Cats Restaurant

$ BREAKFAST/BRUNCH • Formerly a small café serving customers of the boutique Leon & Lulu, Three Cats is now a full-fledged restaurant and bar. Located in the former Clawson movie theater next door to the shop, the spot serves small, simple plates, including vegetarian and vegan options for brunch, lunch, and dinner. The beverage menu features local selections, such as vodka from Ferndale’s Valentine’s Distilling Co. and wines from grapes grown on the Leelanau Peninsula. Patrons can even take home the colorful, quirky chairs or tables, as most of the furniture at Three Cats Restaurant is available for purchase. 116 W. 14 Mile Road, Clawson; 248-288-4858. L,D Tue.-Fri., B,L,D Sat.-Sun.

TigerLily

$$

JAPANESE • With an eclectic ambiance and extensive Japanese menu, TigerLily satisfies taste buds with sushi, sashimi, nigiri, and hot dishes like the Yaki Udon or Japanese Street Corn. 231 W. Nine Mile Road, Ste. A, Ferndale; 248-733-4905. D daily.

Toast, A Breakfast & Lunch Joint

$ BREAKFAST/BRUNCH • It’s fun, it’s breezy, and the food at Toast, A Breakfast & Lunch Joint is very, very good. Try the huevos rancheros: fried eggs upon corn tortillas, pintos, and cheese. Toast, a Neighborhood Joint, the spinoff of the Ferndale original has a more elaborate setting pairing ’50s retro with sleek contemporary in a pair of rooms. The new menu features twists to comfort food. 23144 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; 248-398-0444. 203 Pierce St., Birmingham; 248-258-6278. B,L daily.

Toasted Oak

$$$

BRASSERIE • The menu revolves around the charcuterie sold in the market next door and a list of hot grill items. In 2019, the restaurant earned a Wine Spectator magazine award for its outstanding wine program. Plus, just across the lot is Twelve Oaks Mall, should you fancy an evening of shopping and dinner. 27790 Novi Road, Novi; 248-2776000. B Mon.-Fri., L,D Tue.-Sat. BR Sat.-Sun.

Townhouse

$$$

NEW AMERICAN • This popular Birmingham spot for comforting New American dishes has several exceptional offerings on its menu, such as the specialty 10 ounces of 28-day dry-aged beef hamburger on brioche. 180 Pierce St., Birmingham; 248-792-5241. L,D daily, BR Sat.-Sun. 500 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-723-1000. L,D daily.

Union Woodshop $$

BARBEQUE • Part of the ever-growing Union Joints restaurant group, this is a self-described wood-fired joint, where pulled pork, ribs, chicken, and beef brisket come from the smoker, and Neapolitan-style crisp-crusted pizzas from the wood-burning oven. And definitely check out the mac and cheese. There’s also a delicious kid’s menu for any youngsters in your party. 18 S. Main St., Clarkston; 248-625-5660. D Mon.-Sun.

Vinsetta Garage $$

NEW AMERICAN • This restaurant, which is housed in a vintage car-repair shop, offers well-prepared comfort food classics such as burgers, macaroni and cheese, pizzas, and brown sugar-glazed salmon. A restaurant that pays true homage to the city of Detroit. 27799 Woodward Ave., Berkley; 248-548-7711. L,D daily

Voyager $$

SEAFOOD • Fresh seafood with emphasis on oysters is the premise in this hard-to-find location. The space entails convivially close quarters for such dishes as peel-n’-eat shrimp, yellowfin tuna tartare, and halibut fish and chips. The premium bar offers short but notable lists of beer and wine as well as craft cocktails. 600 Vester St., Ferndale; 248-658-4999. D Tue.-Sat.

Waves $$

SEAFOOD • Seafood covers most of the menu at this Nautical Mile favorite. It’s a tough task choosing between such popular appetizers as coconut shrimp, crispy grouper nuggets, and plump steamed mussels. Entrees include al dente pastas and several choices from “over the wave,” such as lamb chops and New York strip steak, plus lump crab cakes, and beer-battered cod. 24223 Jefferson Ave., St. Clair Shores; 586773-3279. L,D daily.

Macomb

Andiamo $$

ITALIAN • Over the past three decades, Joe Vicari has established several Andiamo restaurants in metro Detroit, all inspired by the late master chef Aldo Ottaviani’s philosophy of seasonal, from-scratch cooking. Menus differ slightly between locations, but the constant is fresh, housemade pastas — handcrafted by the trinity of “pasta ladies,” Anna, Tanya, and Angelina, who have carried on the tradition. The Warren location is the flagship that started it all. 7096 14 Mile Road, Warren; 586-268-3200. L,D Mon.-Fri., D Sat.-Sun.

Bar Verona $$

ITALIAN • Modernized, made-from-scratch Italian favorites curated by Chef Salvatore Borgia as well as fresh craft cocktails fill the menu at this stylish eatery. Homemade pastas, such as Giuseppe’s, as well as a selection of steaks and seafood dishes typify the contemporary approach to fresh and uncomplicated Italian cuisine. 59145 Van Dyke Ave., Washington; 586473-0700. D daily.

Blake’s Tasting Room

$$ NEW AMERICAN • Enjoy a variety of house-made hard ciders to sip on from one of the U.S.’s top-producing hard cider brands. The menu offers bar-food staples with a twist, like the eye-catching Apple Burger, stacked with melted Swiss, onions, apple, and apple cider ketchup on a brioche bun. Plus, it’s steps away from family-friendly seasonal activities at Blake’s Orchard & Cider Mill. 17985 Armada Center Road, Armada; 586-784-5343. L,D daily.

Butter Run Saloon $ GASTROPUB • Solid American fare that’s beyond bar food (although their burgers are certainly noteworthy). There’s escargot, perch, steaks, and a huge whiskey selection — over a thousand at last count. 27626 Harper Ave., St. Clair Shores; 586-675-2115. B, L,D daily.

Da Francesco’s Ristorante & Bar $$ ITALIAN • Da Francesco’s has been around for more than 15 years, but its massive new facility is packing in the crowds by offering traditional Italian dining with an upbeat modern twist. 49521 Van Dyke Ave., Shelby Township; 586-731-7544. L,D Tue.-Fri., D Sat., L,D Sun.

Detroit Fish House

$$

SEAFOOD • This restaurant feels like a true coastal eatery, thanks to an extensive menu of fresh fish and seafood that ranges from salmon to Lake Superior whitefish — all served in a well-designed setting. 51195 Schoenherr Road, Shelby Charter Township; 586-739-5400. L Mon.Fri., D daily.

Gaudino’s

$$ ITALIAN • The trending market-restaurant combo has a good example at this spot. It offers imported pastas and sauces, plus a butcher counter with sausages and a wine assortment. The menu offers pasta and pizza, salads, and entrees, including Bistecca di Gancio, a sliced hanger steak with crispy Brussels sprouts and house bistro sauce. 27919 Harper Ave., St. Clair Shores; 586-879-6764. L,D Tue.-Sat

Host Utica $$

VARIOUS • With a rotating cast of chefs that shifts about once every few months, Host Utica is a great place to constantly try something new — and to get a first taste of concepts from up-and-coming chefs. The Instagram-friendly dining room has a full-service cocktail bar as well as brunch and dinner service, plus coffee and pastries. The building regularly holds culinary events and is home to a coworking office space. 7759 Auburn Road, Utica; 586-488-0134. D Tue.-Sat., BR daily.

Isla $$

FILIPINO • Dishes at this Filipino restaurant, formerly sheltered at Fort Street Galley, are reflective of the culinary traditions of the founders’ Iloilo City hometown. Annatto is used to punch up the color of Chicken Adobo, the unofficial dish of the Philippines, and juicy mangoes complement sweet and savory dishes. 2496 Metro Pkwy, Sterling Heights; 586-8837526. L,D Tue.-Sat., BR Sun.

J. Baldwin’s Restaurant $$$

NEW AMERICAN • The menu showcases chef Jeff Baldwin’s contemporary American food: award-winning stone fired pizza, Boom-Boom Shrimp, burgers, and salads. The desserts include chocolate bumpy cake and spiced carrot cake. 16981 18 Mile Road, Clinton Township; 586-416-3500. L,D Tue.-Sun., BR Sun.

Khom Fai

THAI • At this Macomb staple, owners and brothers chef Isaiah and Chris Sonjeow serve a modernized take on Thai food, seasoned with what they call “a dash of good ol’ Southern hospitality.” Sip a specialty cocktail and start with small plates like satay skewers, Rangoon, or sesame yellowfin tuna and enjoy entrées like drunken noodles, red curry, or Khom Fai’s signature fried chicken. 48856 Romeo Plank Road, Macomb; 586-247-7773. L Tues., Sun., D Tues.-Sat.

Luigi’s: The Original $$ ITALIAN • This cozy Italian eatery opened its doors in 1953. The sizeable menu offers prime rib, pasta, pizza, and well-prepared seafood. 36691 Jefferson Ave., Harrison Township; 586-468-7711; D Wed.-Sun.

Mr. Paul’s Chophouse

$$$

STEAKHOUSE • This bastion of red meat as well as classic dishes is still going strong. Try old-school tableside presentations such as Chateaubriand and Caesar salad. There’s a solid selection of fresh seafood and pasta, too. The founding family still runs the place and emphasizes great hospitality and a heckuva good time. 29850 Groesbeck Hwy., Roseville; 586-777-7770. L,D Mon.-Fri., D Sat.

Sherwood Brewing Co.

$

GASTROPUB • Quality local ingredients raise Sherwood’s fare to well above “elevated pub grub.” Some notable choices include the hand-stretched pizzas, burgers, sandwiches and spicy Buffalo Mac. 45689 Hayes Road, Shelby Township; 586-532-9669. L,D Tue.-Sat.

Steakhouse 22

$$

STEAKHOUSE • The late Nick Andreopoulos once spent time as a “broiler man” at London Chop House. His family stays true to those roots at this American steakhouse with a casual, neighborhood feel. They offer an array of well-prepared angus steaks, plus seafood and pasta dishes. With the sizable lunch and portions offered at Steakhouse 22, good luck saving room for dessert! 48900 Van Dyke Ave., Shelby Township; 586731-3900. L,D Tue.-Sun.

Testa Barra

ITALIAN • Owned and run by chefs Mike and Gabriella Baldwin (of Food Network fame), Testa Barra is notable for its freshly made pasta dishes and favorites like Connie’s Lamb Shank, a fall-off-the-bone chop topped with red wine braise, stewed vegetables, polenta, and Asiago cheese. Its wine program is renowned, and the restaurant features 14 on-staff sommeliers to guide you through the list 48824 Romeo Plank Road, Macomb; 586-434-0100. D Tue.-Sun., BR Sun.

Twisted Rooster $$

SPORTS BAR • This “Michigan-centric” chain (Chesterfield Township and Belleville) has takes on classics, with mac & cheese variations, steaks, and chicken with zip sauce. 45225 Marketplace Blvd., Chesterfield; 586949-1470. L,D daily.

Washtenaw

Bellflower $$

NEW AMERICAN • A restaurant housed in a former exchange of the Michigan Bell Telephone Company, Bellflower answers Ypsilanti’s call for fine dining with an adventurous flair. Boudin sausage with roasted okra, baked oysters, and ginger ale or Coca-Cola-roasted beets showed up on early menus as chef Dan Klenotic’s way of straddling the line of creole tradition and an imaginative style that is entirely his own. He was recognized as a James Beard semifinalist in 2024. 209 Pearl St., Ypsilanti. D Mon. L, D Tue-Sat. L Sun.

Black Pearl $$

SEAFOOD • This seafood and martini bar is especially popular during patio season. But step inside for a host of craft cocktails, then stay for dinner. A seafood-dominated menu includes a notable Misoyaki Salmon dish. Non-seafood options include the eponymous burger and filet mignon. And make sure to order dessert. 302 S. Main St., Ann Arbor; 734-222-0400. D daily.

Blue LLama Jazz Club $$

CREATIVE AMERICAN • Come to this swanky jazz club for the music, featuring headliners such as the Grammy-nominated Ravi Coltrane Quartet, but stay for chef Louis Goral’s delicious food — steaks, seafood, and upscale Southern-style fare. 314 S. Main St., Ann Arbor; 734-372-3200. D Wed.-Sat.

The Blue Nile $$ ETHIOPIAN • The real treat at this quaint restaurant is injera, a spongy bread used to scoop the meal, eaten with your hands in traditional style. The lentil dishes, often seasoned with an Ethiopian spice mixture called berbere, and the vegetables are equally delicious. 221 E. Washington St., Ann Arbor; 734-998-4746. D Tue.-Sun. 545 W. Nine Mile Road, Ferndale; 248-547-6699. D Thu.-Sun.

Cardamom $$ INDIAN • Check out the Hyderabadi Biryani —chicken, goat, and vegetable dishes, in which the rice is first cooked, then baked. All the Indian favorites are available at Cardamom, such as Chicken Tikka Masala, Lamb Rogan Josh, and warm, fluffy, made-fresh garlic naan. It’s the ideal spot for when you’re craving the classics. 1739 Plymouth Road, Ann Arbor; 734-662-2877. D Wed.-Sun.

The Common Grill $$ SEAFOOD • Founded by Chef Craig Common, whose skilled work drew the attention of the now shuttered Gourmet magazine and the James Beard House, this mainstay was acquired in 2022 by Peas & Carrots Hospitality. Chefs Zack Sklar and Josh Humphrey kept most of the beloved restaurant’s menu, such as the

expertly prepared oysters and seafood dishes, as well as the coconut cream pie. 112 S. Main St., Chelsea; 734475-0470. L,D Tue.-Sun., BR Sat-Sun.

Dixboro House

$$$$ NEW AMERICAN • Much like the restaurant’s ambience, the cuisine at Dixboro House is both refined and relaxed. Chef Garret Lipar’s menu hosts rotating seasonal from-scratch dishes that highlight local ingredients—pizzas, salads, seafood, and steaks served in a rustic barn that once housed The Lord Fox, an iconic restaurant in Ann Arbor’s historic Dixboro neighborhood. 5400 Plymouth Road, Ann Arbor; 734-669-3310. L,D daily. BR Sat.-Sun.

Ma Lou’s $ CHICKEN • This is Ypsi’s destination for all things fried chicken — try it as a plate, in the form of wings, or in the chicken and waffles, with classic Southern sides like collard greens, potato salad, and coleslaw. But Ma Lou’s shines especially in its ability to craft the perfect sandwich (made with your choice of chicken or tofu and spice levels from “Classic Southern” to “Spicy AF,” which may bring tears to your eyes). For instance, try The Hot Chick, stacked with a combination of the ultra-spicy Nashville hot baste, bacon, lettuce, tomato, pepper jack cheese, and jalapeño ranch. 15 W. Michigan Ave., Ypsilanti; 734905-7994. L,D Tue.-Sat.

Mani Osteria & Bar

$$ ITALIAN • This popular casual restaurant infuses freshness with lower prices than most osterias in the area. It’s a well-rounded blend of modern, eclectic Italian with classic standbys. The pizzas are hot, fresh and perfectly executed to suit your tastes. 341 E. Liberty St., Ann Arbor; 734-769-6700. L,D Tue.-Sun.

Miss Kim

$$

KOREAN • This spinoff from the Zingerman’s mini empire comes courtesy of chef Ji Hye Kim, a James Beard semifinalist. Kim meticulously researches Korean culinary traditions and recipes to create her unique blend of modern Korean food highlighting Michigan vegetables, from housemade kimchi to the tteokbokki (rice cakes). Some of the restaurant’s standouts include a craveable Korean fried chicken and its plant-based counterpart the Korean fried tofu. 415 N. Fifth Ave., Ann Arbor, 734-2750099. L and D Wed.-Mon.

Peridot

$$$$

VIETNAMESE-INSPIRED • Located two doors down from Executive Chef Duc Tang’s other acclaimed restaurant, Pacific Rim by Kana, this downtown Ann Arbor eatery offers both small plates and a drinks program inspired by Tang’s Vietnamese roots. The cocktails incorporate ingredients like tamarind, Thai basil, Vietnamese cinnamon, and cilantro — with delightfully refreshing results. On the ever-changing menu, standout small plates have included ketchup fried rice and the savory kampachi and prosciutto (a twist on bacon and scallops): a combination of Italian dry-cured ham and amberjack sashimi. 118 W. Liberty St., Ann Arbor; 734-773-3097. D Mon.-Sat.

Seva Ann Arbor

$$

VEGAN • Seva offers such dishes as black bean and sweet potato quesadillas, gluten-free options, and colorful stir-fries — some vegan as well as vegetarian. There’s also a full bar as well as a juice bar serving creamy smoothies and dense shakes, fresh-squeezed juices, and craft mocktails. Choose from one of the most extensive vegetarian menus in the Detroit area. 2541 Jackson Ave., Ann Arbor; 734-662-1111. L,D Mon.-Sat.

Shalimar

$$ INDIAN • Offering North Indian, Tandoori, and Mughlai dishes, Shalimar is suitable for carnivores and herbivores alike. Standouts include the Lamb Tikka Masala, best eaten with the restaurant’s flavorful, chewy garlic naan served fresh and hot. 307 S. Main St., Ann Arbor; 734-663-1500. L, D daily.

Slurping Turtle

$

JAPANESE • This fun, casual Ann Arbor restaurant, owned by celebrity chef Takashi Yagihashi, offers plenty of shareable dishes, such as hamachi nachos and duckfat fried chicken. But the star at Slurping Turtle is the noodle (Yagihashi’s “soul food”), which is made in-house daily on a machine imported from Japan. 608 E. Liberty St., Ann Arbor; 734-887-6868. L,D daily.

Tomukun

$

KOREAN • Featuring a Korean noodle bar and Korean barbecue side by side, the downtown Ann Arbor eatery is a destination for ramen, udon, and pho, plus traditional rice dishes like bibimbap. On the barbecue side of things, order shareable grill-it-yourself meals like short ribs, pork belly, and marinated chicken — plus stir-fries, hot pots, and more. 505 E. Liberty St., Suites 100-200, Ann Arbor; 734-995-8668 (Tomukun Noodle Bar); 734-369-2602 (Tomukun Korean BBQ). L,D daily.

Venue by 4M

$$$

High-quality coffee; a diverse selection of alcoholic beverages, including cocktails and sustainably sourced wine; and a wide variety of elevated cuisine, such as goat cheese ravioli can be found in this high-end mixeduse food hall. 1919 S. Industrial Highway, Ann Arbor; 734-800-0128; experience4m.com

Yotsuba Japanese Restaurant & Bar $$ JAPANESE • The semi-circular sushi bar is the center of this restaurant. Sushi chef Bobby Suzuki has a loyal following for his precise nigiri rolls. There are also tatami rooms and conventional seating. 7365 Orchard Lake Road, West Bloomfield Township; 248-737-8282. 2222 Hogback Road, Ann Arbor; 734-971-5168. L,D Tue.-Sun.

Zingerman’s Roadhouse

$$$

CLASSIC COMFORT • This eatery celebrates food from around the U.S., from the New Mexico black bean and hominy burger to the delicacies of New Orleans. The buttermilk biscuits are out of this world. 2501 Jackson Ave., Ann Arbor; 734-663-3663. B,L,D daily.

Consultants in Ophthalmic & Facial Plastic Surgery

In the world of ophthalmic and facial plastic surgery, the physicians at Consultants in Ophthalmic & Facial Plastic Surgery are consistently recognized for their excellence. is past year, Dr. Evan Black and Dr. Geoff rey J. Gladstone were once again honored in the Top Docs issue of Hour Detroit in the specialties of plastic and reconstructive surgery and ophthalmology. eir consistent recognition reflects their skill, their dedication, and the trust they’ve built with their patients over the years.

At Consultants in Ophthalmic & Facial Plastic Surgery, patient care begins with listening, understanding individual needs, and then determining the most effective and affordable path forward. e goal is not only to deliver exceptional results but also to ensure a comfortable, supportive experience from start to finish. A patient from Livonia shared, “Not only did I know that I was in the very best medical hands, but I felt well cared for from beginning to end, and that makes all the difference.”

e commitment to clinical care and customer service is a hallmark of the practice. Consultants in Ophthalmic & Facial Plastic Surgery is home to an esteemed team of physicians, including Dr. Geoff rey J. Gladstone, Dr. Evan H. Black, Dr. Francesca Nesi-Eloff, Dr. Dianne M. Schlachter, Dr. Robert A. Beaulieu, and

as well as physician assistant Lindsay El-Awadi. Serving communities across southeast Michigan and Flint, these doctors maintain affiliations with top accredited hospitals, ensuring their patients receive the highest standard of care. e expert physicians at Consultants in Ophthalmic & Facial Plastic Surgery set the bar with their extensive training, professional affiliations, certifications, leadership positions, and teaching roles. Each physician has received accolades for their contributions to advancing ophthalmic plastic and reconstructive surgery.

Procedures and Services Offered:

Cosmetic Procedures: With age comes the natural onset of wrinkles and sagging skin. e practice offers a range of cosmetic procedures designed to rejuvenate the face, including eyelid and forehead surgeries that lift drooping eyelids, smooth wrinkles, and remove under-eye bags.

Reconstructive Surgery: e practice offers reconstructive surgery to restore both function and appearance. Services include ptosis repair, eyelid reconstruction, lower eyelid malposition surgery, eyelid skin cancer treatment, tear duct surgery, thyroid eye disease treatment, orbital tumor surgery, and fracture repair.

Nonsurgical Rejuvenation: For those seeking a less invasive approach, the practice provides options like fractional CO2 laser treatments, Botox, and dermal fillers to smooth deep wrinkles and rejuvenate the skin.

With locations in Southfield, Troy, Livonia, Novi, St. Clair Shores, Southgate, and Flint, Consultants in Ophthalmic & Facial Plastic Surgery is easily accessible for patients across metro Detroit and beyond. No matter which doctor a patient sees, they can expect top-tier expertise and personalized care that have made this practice a trusted name in the community. ■

Consultants in Ophthalmic & Facial Plastic Surgery, PC 29201 Telegraph Road, Suite 324 Southfield, MI 48034 800-245-8075 | EyelidPros.com

Dr. Shravani Mikkilineni,

Dr. David S. Balle and Dr. Meredith Price

Dr. David S. Balle and Dr. Meredith Price, board-certified dermatologists at Grosse Pointe Dermatology and Cosmetic Center and on staff at Corewell Health Grosse Pointe, ensure that every patient is seen by a physician at every visit.

Specializing in medical, surgical, and aesthetic dermatology, Drs. Balle and Price care for patients of all ages and have an experienced team of familiar faces who support their exceptional level of care. Grosse Pointe Dermatology has provided excellent service to the metro Detroit community for over 65 years!

Dr. Balle built his career here in private practice. He completed his undergraduate studies and graduated with honors from the School of Medicine at Wayne State University. He served as chief resident at the Henry Ford Hospital Department of Dermatology.

“My core principle for the patient in-office experience has always been that the entire team serves to leave you with positive interactions and outcomes,” he says.

Well-respected in medical dermatology, he has earned Hour Detroit ’s peer-awarded distinction of Top Doc 11 times. Dr. Balle also specializes in advanced facial aesthetics. His knowledge and skill as an expert dermal filler injector has garnered him national recognition as a highly sought-after physician trainer for the industry’s top brands worldwide.

Dr. Price completed undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan and attended Wayne State University School of Medicine, later serving as chief resident in the Department of Dermatology.

She utilizes her years of education and experience to help patients with complex skin conditions. She has a special interest in regenerative aesthetic medicine, with a holistic view on treatments customized for the individual.

Dr. Price sits on the advisory board for skin care brands and medical institutes and has been tapped for her expertise, being quoted in multiple media outlets.

She loves using her voice to build community, both in person and online.

Grosse Pointe Dermatology and Cosmetic Center

16815 E. Je erson Ave., Suite 260 Grosse Pointe, MI 48230

313-886-2600

grossepointedermatology.com

Dr. Ellen A. Janetzke

Dr. EllEn JanEtzkE, founder of Dr. Ellen Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery in Bloomfield Hills, has been shaping confidence and changing lives for over two decades and has committed herself to patient education, safety, and service. Dr. Ellen’s ability to understand, anticipate, and fulfill patient expectations, honestly and realistically, has gained her a reputation as both a gifted surgeon and a caring doctor. She graduated with a medical degree from Wayne State University and completed her plastic surgery residency at Temple University. Dr. Ellen operates out of UnaSource Surgical Center, LaBelle Surgery Center, and Corewell Health Beaumont Hospital Troy. Her practice offers a wide range of services, including tummy tucks, breast reduction, breast enhancements, gynecomastia, liposuction, and full-body contouring in addition to face procedures and med-spa services such as lasers and injectables. ■

Dr. Ellen Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery 60 West Big Beaver Road, Suite 100 Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304 248-220-6760 • drellen.com

Charity Calendar

KIDSGALA ANNUAL CHARITY EVENT

Feb. 1, 6 p.m. to midnight kidsgala.org

KIDSgala, founded in 2013 by David C. McKnight of Emerald City Designs, celebrates children who have life-altering illnesses. Inspired by a friend’s daughter’s leukemia diagnosis, it raises funds through events. The 10th annual Charity Event on Feb. 1 features dinner, live music, auctions, and more to honor these brave children.

VARIETY COCKTAILS & CUISINE

Feb. 6, 6 to 9 p.m. variety-detroit.com

Variety Cocktails & Cuisine returns Thursday, Feb. 6, at The Townsend Hotel in Birmingham. Supporting Variety’s programs for children with disabilities, the evening features culinary creations from top metro Detroit chefs, cocktails, live entertainment by The Jared Sykes Experience, and raffles. Guests will enjoy a sophisticated ambiance while helping provide vital services, support, and opportunities for children.

OARSMEN’S BALL

Feb. 1, 6 to 10 p.m. detroitboatclubcrew.org/

Since 1839, the Detroit Boat Club Crew has championed rowing in Detroit. This year’s Oarsmen’s Ball at the Dossin Great Lakes Museum benefits Friends of Detroit Rowing’s campaign to build a new shellhouse. The evening features exhibits, jazz, a silent auction, and mingling with Olympians, supporting public river access and rowing’s future.

ALTERNATIVES FOR GIRLS 2025

ROLE MODEL CELEBRATION

March 6, 6 to 9 p.m. alternativesforgirls.org

Since 1987, AFG has supported girls and young women in Detroit facing homelessness and other serious risks, helping them stay safe, grow strong, and make positive choices. The 2025 Role Model Celebration, AFG’s largest fundraiser, takes place March 6, honoring inspiring women and showcasing accomplishments of those served. The event features auctions, testimonials, and Role Model recognitions, supporting shelter, outreach, and housing stability programs.

The Bates Street Society Dinner

PHOTOS BY PATRICK GLORIA

THE COMMUNITY HOUSE in Birmingham hosted the 2024 Bates Street Society Dinner in early November to help raise money in support of its mission to house “those seeking continuity between personal, professional, philanthropic, and recreational pursuits.” The event included a three-course seated meal, wine and cocktails, entertainment by a contemporary-style string quartet, and more. Learn more at communityhouse.com.

1. Denise Ilitch 2. Debra and Max Ernst 3. Stan and Shari Finsilver, Michelle and Steve Elliott 4. Amy Peterson, Kristin Meekhof, Nancy Hodari 5. Claus Weimann, Shelly Carpenter 6. Huel Perkins 7. Diane Steward-Jones, Roz Lullove Cooperman, Bill Moore, Emily Schreiber-Moore 8. Doug Czajkowski, Nicole Schmitt 9. Jason Taylor, Lisa Daniels-Goldman, Dr. Kenneth Goldman 10. Melanie Goldman, Laurie Fischgrund, Marlee and Andrew Goldman

Grace Centers of Hope Night of Hope Gala

PHOTOS BY ERIN MARIE MILLER

GRACE CENTERS of Hope, a Christian nonprofit dedicated to supporting those who are homeless or struggling with addiction through “the Gospel of Jesus Christ, personal accountability, life skills education, and work-related programs,” hosted its 11th annual Night of Hope Gala at the Royal Park Hotel in Rochester. Guests enjoyed a cocktail hour, dinner, raffles, auctions, live entertainment, dancing, and special guest appearances from kids in Grace Centers of Hope programming. Proceeds from the event went directly to children’s programming. Learn more at gracecentersofhope.org.

1. Steve Skrzycki, Joy Skrzycki 2. Meg Gordy, Sheri Pawlik 3. Larry Wehner, Bill Quinlan, Gary Weyer 4. Darin Weiss, Amber Weiss 5. Erica Caincross-Kives, Emilie Fitch

6. Chris McFarland, Amie Mommersteeg, Sydnee and Ben Mommersteeg 7. Brenda Maxwell, Margrette Bates 8. Jamie Tenbusch, Terry McLelland

9. Jessica Croteau, Steven Stocker 10. Eric Klug, Jenni Stein, David Pirozzo

The Dennis W. Archer Public Service Award Gala

PHOTOS BY ERIN MARIE MILLER

THE 20TH annual Dennis W. Archer Public Service Award Gala, which took place at the Detroit Yacht Club, was held to honor lawyers, judges, and other public service workers who “exemplify the ideal of the law as public service.” The event was emceed by Charlie Langton, a broadcast anchor at WJBK Fox 2, and included food, drinks, and a special program for this year’s honorees. Proceeds from the event went to support free legal clinics and community outreach programs. Learn more at detroitlawyer.org.

1. Lynn Rehman-Barton, Paul Millenbach 2. Kaitlin Gant, Ray Littleton, Kim Seibert 3. Jared Goldman, Mary Ann Ferguson, Brian Boehne, Leslie Horton 4. Shantinique Brooks, William Winters, Darius Dynkowski 5. Jim Rosenfeld, Ray Carey 6. Chelsea Saferian, Cloie Chidiac, Regan Glenn, Briana Combs, Shantinique Brooks 7. Hon. Adrienne Scruggs, Hon. Yvonna Abraham, Hon. Lawrence Elassal 8. Suzanne Stanczyk, Marcy Tayler, Jonathan Marko 9. Roger Meyers, Donn Fresard 10. Hon. Leslie Kim Smith, Hon. Craig Strong, Michael Sant’Ambrogio 11. Sheena Law-Killinger, Darlene Trudell, Tracey Cooley 12. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, Hon. Patricia Perez Fresard

The Way It Was

FOR 55 YEARS, from 1934 to 1989, Little Harry’s restaurant at 2681 E. Jefferson Ave., known for its classic American cuisine and piano bar, provided a popular fine-dining experience for loyal patrons including visiting celebrities and corporate titans.

Built in 1850 as the home of Alexander Chene, the rare Federal-style brick residence was renovated in 1902 before it became a University of Detroit fraternity house. After restaurateur Harry Bianchini opened Little Harry’s in 1934, it soon became the place to be seen. “Anybody who was about anything in Detroit had to be seen in Little Harry’s,” a former busboy turned manager told the Detroit Free Press in January 1990. That article was about the building’s new owners: singer Anita Baker and her then-husband, Walter Bridgforth Jr., who bought it promising an unspecified “exciting” development with rumors that it might become a recording studio. The Grammy Award-winning vocalist soon created another legacy.

When the couple petitioned to demolish the building listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Detroit’s Historic District Commission denied the request and told them to sell the building. Just months after Baker and Bridgforth purchased the property for $575,000, they listed it for $950,000 — and found no buyers. They pleaded “economic hardship,” and without any public notice, the commission granted a demolition permit in April of 1991. Enraged preservationists immediately obtained a temporary restraining order, but the next day, despite notices posted on-site, two-thirds of the structure was demolished. It was then completely leveled when a judge lifted the order.

“I’m sure a lot of historians will be disappointed to see a structure so intimately tied to our beginnings so cavalierly destroyed,” former Michigan Gov. John Swainson, who was president of the Michigan Historical Commission, told a reporter at the time. In 1994, an International House of Pancakes restaurant (now Detroit House of Pancakes) opened on the site. —Bill Dow

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