Detroit Restaurants: Reviews & Recommendations

[C.J. Updike]

Hungarian Rhapsody in Southgate on Northline Rd. I have their chicken paprikas w/ flour dumplings every time I go. They also have good cabbage rolls.

There's also the Hungarian Kitchen in Wyandotte on Fort Street though I've never been there myself.

[daniellewiley]

Maybe it's the winter weather (that's setting in), but I have been craving some hearty European food - like goulashes and choucroute and the like... 

Does anyone in the Detroit metro area know of any good Austro-Hungarian type of restaurants?  The only one I've heard of is out in Ann Arbor - a Cafe Amadeus?  I think I've walked by it a couple of times when I've been to the town, but never looked at the menu nor gone it - anyone got any info?  Other suggestions?

U.E.

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I like Amadeus quite a bit - the dill pickle soup is excellent!

[ulterior epicure]

Maybe someone else in the Forum can correct me, but it seems like we're completely missing the artisan, local, and sustainable food trends.

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... a far cry from upscale dining (and certainly not one of my favorites) - but I believe that Zingerman's deserve's a mention.

U.E.

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I was just going to mention Zingerman's as well.

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Speaking of Zingerman's - for those dark chocolate lovers out there... ENJOY!!

Ulterior Epicure.

[tammylc]

Hey, u.e. - have you ever been to Zingerman's Bakehouse? It's the source of all the pastries you like so much - you can get them right at the source. They also have really reasonably priced soups and sandwiches and other items ($5.95 for sandwiches, $4.95 for a pint of soup and a hunk of bread) for lunch. My office is real close to the Bakehouse, and I love to go over there to get lunch a couple times a month. It's located in an industrial park off State St. Zingerman's Creamery recently moved into town and is located right next to the Bakehouse - I bet you'd find the gelato there even more to your liking (fresher).

[ulterior epicure]

Hey, u.e. - have you ever been to Zingerman's Bakehouse?  It's the source of all the pastries you like so much - you can get them right at the source.  They also have really reasonably priced soups and sandwiches and other items ($5.95 for sandwiches, $4.95 for a pint of soup and a hunk of bread) for lunch.  My office is real close to the Bakehouse, and I love to go over there to get lunch a couple times a month.  It's located in an industrial park off State St.  Zingerman's Creamery recently moved into town and is located right next to the Bakehouse - I bet you'd find the gelato there even more to your liking (fresher).

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no, i've not been to any of zingerman's outposts except their deli and the roadhouse. i know where there bakehouse is, but i just find the deli such a novel place - and i can usually get everything i want/need there - plus it's where the cheese is!

re: gelato - i think that's at the creamery, no? although i have no idea where that is - is it with the bakehouse?

ulterior epicure.

[tammylc]

Hey, u.e. - have you ever been to Zingerman's Bakehouse?  It's the source of all the pastries you like so much - you can get them right at the source.  They also have really reasonably priced soups and sandwiches and other items ($5.95 for sandwiches, $4.95 for a pint of soup and a hunk of bread) for lunch.  My office is real close to the Bakehouse, and I love to go over there to get lunch a couple times a month.  It's located in an industrial park off State St.  Zingerman's Creamery recently moved into town and is located right next to the Bakehouse - I bet you'd find the gelato there even more to your liking (fresher).

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no, i've not been to any of zingerman's outposts except their deli and the roadhouse. i know where there bakehouse is, but i just find the deli such a novel place - and i can usually get everything i want/need there - plus it's where the cheese is!

re: gelato - i think that's at the creamery, no? although i have no idea where that is - is it with the bakehouse?

ulterior epicure.

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Yep, gelato is made at the Creamery, which is right next door to the Bakehouse.

[Alex]

Hey, u.e. - have you ever been to Zingerman's Bakehouse?  It's the source of all the pastries you like so much - you can get them right at the source.  They also have really reasonably priced soups and sandwiches and other items ($5.95 for sandwiches, $4.95 for a pint of soup and a hunk of bread) for lunch.  My office is real close to the Bakehouse, and I love to go over there to get lunch a couple times a month.  It's located in an industrial park off State St.  Zingerman's Creamery recently moved into town and is located right next to the Bakehouse - I bet you'd find the gelato there even more to your liking (fresher).

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no, i've not been to any of zingerman's outposts except their deli and the roadhouse. i know where there bakehouse is, but i just find the deli such a novel place - and i can usually get everything i want/need there - plus it's where the cheese is!

re: gelato - i think that's at the creamery, no? although i have no idea where that is - is it with the bakehouse?

ulterior epicure.

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Ah, u.e., if only you had joined eG a few months earlier -- you could have been at our Heartland Gathering, with its tour of the the Bakehouse AND the Creamery. You still can tour the Bakehouse, though, any Saturday at 10 a.m.

[ulterior epicure]

Alas! Despite my intense travel schedule, it would have been feasible!! I was in nearby Chicago - and just a month before I left for a five month sejour in Europe...

Oh, well, I'll be sure to try to make it to the next one, if there is one! (hint, hint...) - although it my go against my anonymity clause...

U.E.

Edited February 4, 2006 by ulterior epicure (log)

[Leonard Kim]

Ate tonight at Fiddleheads in decidedly not-downtown Royal Oak. For what it is, I would recommend it. Especially since it's been open a couple of years now and I don't think I've seen it mentioned here.

The only review readily available online is listed below. For what it's worth, the daily papers also like it -- it's a "Molly Abraham fave" and Rector wrote of it, "I've never come home disappointed from this stylish little spot with the sophisticated but unpretentious menu on Thirteen Mile in Royal Oak. Even after founding chef Gavin McMillian left and sous chef James Gundy took over last summer, Fiddleheads' fresh, seasonal, creative American cuisine has continued to blossom.")

http://www.metrotimes.com/metropolis/resta...iew.asp?id=8623

The review gives an idea of the place though of the dishes cited, only the "pretty mainstream" spaghetti with veal meatballs is still on the menu. And the ice cream is still made off premises (it's Ray's though, so that's OK.)

Everything we tried was good enough to make it a pleasant evening and parts of it were even better. At 15-25$ an entree, I'll certainly take it.

The menu is more varied and interesting than what the following might indicate (we were unusually unadventurous tonight.)

We tried:

prosciutto cannelloni with vinaigrette appetizer -- not cannelloni in the pasta sense, since the prosciutto is the tube.

roasted carrot soup -- the dollop of goat cheese in the middle made those spoonfuls better than "good enough", and I wish it had been bigger.

ocean trout with leek risotto -- a bit underdone for my wife's taste

the rest, spaghetti and veal meatballs, chocolate moonpie dessert, bread and wine -- no complaints.

I would go back. Admittedly it is very convenient to where I live and work. Definitely the prices are attractive in the sense that many places you would pay that much to get something boring and/or bad.

[cbarre02]

I was fortunate enough to stop in to tribute last night and have one of the better meals that I’ve had in a while. It's seems that chef don & chef James are doing a wonderful job with the dishes that are coming out of the kitchen... I had a rabbit & sweetbread sausage that was quite remarkable. The front of the house has seen some changes recently. Charles Francis is no longer the GM... It seems his duties have been delegated to Chef Don and the new maitre d' Kevin (tributes long time bartender). If you haven't been recently I encourage everyone to get over there and see what is going on.

[tammylc]

I was fortunate enough to stop in to tribute last night and have one of the better meals that I’ve had in a while. It's seems that chef don & chef James are doing a wonderful job with the dishes that are coming out of the kitchen...  I had a rabbit & sweetbread sausage that was quite remarkable.  The front of the house has seen some changes recently.  Charles Francis is no longer the GM... It seems his duties have been delegated to Chef Don and the new maitre d' Kevin (tributes long time bartender).  If you haven't been recently I encourage everyone to get over there and see what is going on.

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Thanks muchly for the report.

[ulterior epicure]

I was fortunate enough to stop in to tribute last night and have one of the better meals that I’ve had in a while...

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Thanks muchly for the report.

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Ditto! I've been meaning to stop by for dinner sometime! I drove past it on the way to dinner last week and wondered what was going on inside.

U.E.

[mrs_devilkitty]

Maybe it's the winter weather (that's setting in), but I have been craving some hearty European food - like goulashes and choucroute and the like... 

Does anyone in the Detroit metro area know of any good Austro-Hungarian type of restaurants?  The only one I've heard of is out in Ann Arbor - a Cafe Amadeus?  I think I've walked by it a couple of times when I've been to the town, but never looked at the menu nor gone it - anyone got any info?  Other suggestions?

U.E.

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Not sure if it is still around, but there was a nice Polish restaurant in Hamtramck that had wonderful duck's blood soup and dill pickle soup (the most memorable items from my 18 years ago experience)

If you don't mind the drive, Tony Packo's in Toledo, OH has good Hungarian food and is fun. http://www.tonypackos.com/

Edited February 11, 2006 by mrs_devilkitty (log)

[ulterior epicure]

Not sure if it is still around, but there was a nice Polish restaurant in Hamtramck that had wonderful duck's blood soup and dill pickle soup (the most memorable items from my 18 years ago experience)

avoiding building a reputation as being vampirish, i LOVE blood products... but, i've always been uncertain as the the legalities of serving them in restaurants (u.s.). i've seen and bought pigs blood in asian markets, but to think of it... i've not seen any blood products served on any menu - not even at the most haute restaurants... perhaps i've forgotten (that very well maybe), or i've just not looked in the right places? duck's blood soup, huh? will have to look up hamtramck (not from this area - just here on a temporary assignment). 18 years ago, huh... don't remember the name?

If you don't mind the drive, Tony Packo's in Toledo, OH has good Hungarian food and is fun.   http://www.tonypackos.com/

... yes, i do mind, but for good food, why not?

Edited February 11, 2006 by ulterior epicure (log)

[Alex]

Ah, Hamtramck (pronounced Ham-tram'-ick, BTW) -- an independent city completely surrounded by Detroit (and a sliver of Highland Park). I lived there 30+ years ago, when I was going to graduate school. Homemade kielbasa at the corner grocery store. Air hockey and 25-cent shells of Stroh's at a favorite local bar. Neighbors sweeping not just the sidewalk, but the alley behind their houses. Ah, those were the days....

Anyhow, from what I gather there are two reputable Polish restaurants that remain from back then: Under the Eagle, on Joseph Campau, and Polonia (formerly the Workingmen's Cooperative), on Yemens. (I seem to remember that we'd just call the place "Yemens.") I suspect (and hope) that either or both still serve duck's blood soup (czarnina).

I also remember a long-departed restaurant, The Double Eagle (I think), in the former dining room of a 1940's Indian Village hotel, now an apartment building. It was wonderfully elegant and romantic , with beautiful antique furniture, linen and real silverware, and a pianist playing Chopin on a grand piano Friday and Saturday nights. The food was haute Polish (not an oxymoron). I've forgotten virtually all of the menu, but still remember a sizeable piece of boneless veal, wrapped around mushroom duxelles and a dill pickle, in a dill cream sauce.

Edited February 11, 2006 by Alex (log)

[Leonard Kim]

I had duck's blood soup in metro Detroit as recently as 6-7 years ago. For the life of me, I can't remember where. The experience as a whole wasn't all that memorable, obviously. But if anybody really wanted to know, I could find out where it was.

[daniellewiley]

Chiming in from Toledo...

Packo's is great, if not entirely authentic. Be prepared for a ton of kids. If this will bother you, try going on a Sunday afternoon, or a weeknight, and sitting at the old fashioned bar.

Best bets are stuffed cabbage and their famous Hungarian "hot dog".

For duck blood soup in Toledo, my Polish acquaintances swear by Busia's Narozny. The original Polish town location just closed, but they still have an outpost on Laskey, I belive.

If you are around in the summer, Toledo hosts both a Polish festival and a Hungarian festival, complete with authentic cuisine.

(There is also a very rowdy German American festival in August)

[ulterior epicure]

new question: i must meet an associate in ann arbor (compromise in distance) this weekend. our schedules have (after a long negotiation) agreed on brunch on sunday... while i love the brunch at eve (and really should go back). i've also brunched at cafe zola and zanzibar's (will never go back). any other suggestions? zingerman's roadhouse?

u.e.

Edited February 14, 2006 by ulterior epicure (log)

[tammylc]

new question:  i must meet an associate in ann arbor (compromise in distance) this weekend.  our schedules have (after a long negotiation) agreed on brunch on sunday... while i love the brunch at eve (and really should go back).  i've also brunched at cafe zola and zanzibar's (will never go back).  any other suggestions?  zingerman's roadhouse? 

u.e.

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I'm pretty sure Eve is no longer serving brunch. Zingerman's Roadhouse does a nice Sunday brunch that won't be nearly so crowded as Zola. I haven't been to Zanzibar in years.

[ulterior epicure]

I'm pretty sure Eve is no longer serving brunch.  Zingerman's Roadhouse does a nice Sunday brunch that won't be nearly so crowded as Zola.  I haven't been to Zanzibar in years.

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yeah, the two times i've been to zola for lunch, it's been insanely crowded.

re: zanzibar's - you're not missing much. actually, saving yourself some hard-earned money.

any other brunch spots recommendations?

ulterior epicure

[cbarre02]

angelo's is the best diner style breakfast in town... as for brunch the broken egg, prickly pear, seva, metzger's, Shalimar, Raja Rani. Some of these may be a streach but all have decent lunches

[Jamie Valvo]

If you go to Angelo's you have to get the deep fried raisin toast.

To die for.

[ulterior epicure]

oh right... forgot to mention, i have been to angelo's. although i didn't have their fried raisin toast (doesn't regular raisin toast come out to the table as a staple?), i did have a wonderful omelette on one trip and regular french toast on another... gee, i guess i have covered quite a bit of ann arbor brunches...

yet to confirm that eve is closed for brunch... sad if it's true.

u.e.

[tammylc]

yet to confirm that eve is closed for brunch... sad if it's true.

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There's no brunch menu listed on the website anymore:

http://www.evetherestaurant.com/apps.htm

It is sad. Their Cuban Reuban sandwich was one of the best things I've ever eaten.

[ulterior epicure]

yet to confirm that eve is closed for brunch... sad if it's true.

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There's no brunch menu listed on the website anymore:

http://www.evetherestaurant.com/apps.htm

It is sad. Their Cuban Reuban sandwich was one of the best things I've ever eaten.

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actually - there's a loop that get's you there - go to the wine bar menu - at the bottom, it give you the option of brunch menu!! that's why i thought they still offered it.

u.e.