Detroit’s EAT DETROIT 2024

Eat Detroit 2024 is now just a memory, but we wanted to take a minute to highlight some of our favorite restaurants, and the food that we enjoyed, as we ate our way through the city.

If you are not familiar with Eat Detroit it is THE foodie event of the year. It features numerous restaurants throughout the city, all offering a selection of small plates and signature cocktail. Some were created specifically for the event. It is a great opportunity to get in and feel the vibe of the new places that have recently opened, or maybe reacquaint yourself with a place that has been open for a while.

This year’s event featured 27 restaurants and with some careful planning we were able to get to 14 of them. There was something for everyone’s taste from the Penny Red fried chicken biscuit sliders at the Brakeman to the black pepper crusted beef tenderloin at Le Supreme and everything in between.

The way the event works is you pick a starting location when buying your tickets. This year we chose to start at Wright & Company. You show up at your starting location to get your wristbands, enjoy what they have, and move on to your next location. You have 4 hours to get to as many places as you can.

The restaurants are grouped together to where you can easily walk from one to another and get to 4 or so before moving on to a different area. They have a great shuttle service to get you around town without a lot of waiting which makes the experience even better.

Like previously mentioned, we started at Wright & Company in the heart of Downtown at Woodward and John R. This is where Chef Kyle Shutte is the chef. We are big fans of Chef Kyle, who was the chef that was in charge of BESA when they opened their doors in 2018. Our son Dylan worked under him for 9 months in 2019 . . . right out of culinary school.

Here is what we experienced in the order of how we experienced it.

Wright & Company:

House Made Potato Chips - cheddar cheese sauce, tomato relish and chives
Pork Belly Slider - Tomato Jam, Siracha aioli, arugula on a toasted brioche
Grilled & Chilled Carrot Salad – Heirloom carrots, celery root puree, scorched vinegar, grapefruit and toasted shrimp panko
Butterscotch pudding
Pink Elephant Cocktail – See The Elephant Amaro, Aperol, passionfruit, lime, orgeat and hibiscus

This was a great place for us to start. We have always been big fans of Wright & Company since Chef Kyle took over. The loaded house made potato chips are on their everyday menu and are one of my favorites. The pork belly slider was tender and juicy and how many restaurants feature homemade butterscotch pudding?

Wright & Company is located in the Wright-Kay building, on the second floor. There is no sign, or if there is we have never seen it. You enter from the door off John R and take the elevator.

The Brakeman:

Penny Red’s Chicken & Biscuit Slider – with pickle and spicy aioli
Mister Dips’ Single Dip Grill Burger – aged cheddar, lettuce, tomato and fine n’ dandy sauce
Mister Dips’ Impossible Dip Griddle Burger – Impossible patty, alpine Swiss, beefsteak tomato and sprouted alfalfa
Frozen Sangria cocktail – Red wine, blackberry, cranberry, spiced rum and mango
Dipsy Doosy Choco-pudding Pop – A thick aaazz shake with malted brownie batter, black & white sweet cream

Since the Brakeman does not serve food, they had neighboring restaurants Penny Reds and Mister Dips’ as the featured food here. We have had Penny Reds before and love their chicken. They have gravy dunked biscuits on their menu that are delicious. Mister Dips’ burger was simple and delicious but the Dipsy Doosy Choco-pudding Pop was delightful. I could have had 10 of them, but we needed to leave room for what was to come.

The Whitney:

Prime Rib Slider – Shaved prime Rib on a pretzel slider bun, caramelized onions & Swiss cheese.
Miniature Smoked Salmon Crostini – with Boursin cheese, red onion and capers.
Miniature Mousse Cup – Chocolate cup fill with raspberry puree, topped with chocolate mousse.

If you have never been to the Whitney, it needs to be on your list. This 52 room, 22,000 sq ft mansion with 20 fireplaces, was built by David Whitney Jr, a lumber baron, in 1890-1894 as a residence for he and his wife Sara. It’s just a stunning place to be inside. We won’t go on and on. That will be for another post. In 1986 it was converted to the fine upscale dining spot in the city. The food, while old school, is consistently good. The Prime rib slider was one of my favorite things we had. It was simple, yet so juicy and full of flavor.

Mad Nice:

Rigatoni Ragout – Pork shoulder, tomato, parm and chili
Casarecce Cacio e Pepe – Pecorino Ramino, toasted peppercorn
Margherita Pizza – Tomato, basil, mozzarella, wild oregano, chili flake
Afternoon Seaside Lunch in Capri Cocktail – Blackberry Aperol, vodka, grapefruit, lime, Prosecco, soda

Mad Nice has been open a little over a year and they are doing well. Outside it is nothing flashy or special, but inside it is very nice with décor you might expect to find in California’s Napa Valley. The Rigatoni Ragout and Casarecce Cacio e Pepe were sooo rich and delicious. The cocktail here was also one of the ones that stood out to me as a favorite. It was a hot humid day and it was very refreshing and it paired well with the food.

She Wolf Pastificio & Bar:

Zucca alla San Danielle – Fresh pasta, prosciutto and poppy seed sauce, peas
Crostini Di Funghi – Focaccia, mushroom ragu, creamy cheese
Brassicas – Shaved broccoli, cauliflower and brussels sprouts salad, honey, citrus vinaigrette
Aperol These Years – Seasonal strawberry Aperol spritz

While you can’t go wrong with She Wolf’s pastas, which are all milled and made in house, my favorite here was the mushroom crostini. The mushroom combination with the creamy cheese on the focaccia was something I could have eaten the whole tray of.

Lumen Detroit:

Crispy Pork Belly – Pineapple and roasted pepper relish, pickled red onion, scallions, Lumen hot honey
Everything Bagel Wings – Dill ranch, everything bagel seasoning, blue cheese and celery salad
Wagyu Meatballs – Wagyu beef, pork, garlic, basil, pesto, spicy arrabbiata sauce, banana pepper
Hibiscus Margarita – Corazon Tequila, Pama liqueur, Cointreau, hibiscus, agave

Lumen is off the beaten track at Cass and Grand River, but definitely a cool place to go and grab a cocktail and bite to eat. We enjoyed everything here, but specifically the everything bagel wings are one of my favorites.

Sexy Steak:

Pasta Carbone – Calabria peppers, creamy tomato sauce
Burrata Bruschetta – Oranges, toasted walnuts, salsa verde, honey crostini
Meatball Sliders – Meatballs, marinara, mozzarella cheese, slider roll
Stoli Doli – Stolichnaya vodka infused with Dole pineapple, strained and served over ice

Sexy Steak is new, having just opened in February of this year, in the GAR building on Grand River at Cass, which formerly housed Republic and Parks and Rec. Being new, they received a lot of attention and were quite busy, so we ventured in and out pretty quickly.

Pao:

Beef Dumpling – Fish dipping sauce, chives, sesame
Pao Pao Shrimp – Bang Bang sauce, chives, togarashi
Miso Caesar’s Salad – Baby gem lettuce, parmesan, panko, pickled relishes, miso dressing
Pomegranate Rivers – Kettle One orange, pomegranate juice and seeds, agave syrup, lime juice, ginger beer, rosemary stem

We became fans of Pao last year during this event. We had heard of them, but were not sure what to expect . . . and WOW!. The food was so creative and good. This year was no different. Pao is a Pan-Asian restaurant located in the former Michigan Oriental Theatre on Adams Rd just west of Woodward. The standout was the Miso Caesar Salad. Don’t get me wrong, the dumpling and shrimp were good but the salad stole the show. (Teresa disagrees - That shrimp was amazing!)

The Statler:

Fried Calamari - Saffron beurre blanc, confit tomatoes, scallions, sweetie drop peppers, orange-caper aioli
Salmon Rillettes - Smoked salmon, pernod, lemon, chives, créme fraiche, toasted baguette
Lobster Gratin Di Macaroni - Lobster, three cheese, mascarpone cream, toasted breadcrumbs
Smoked Old Fashioned - Bourbon, orange liqueur, cherry, and smoked cherry wood

So, yes, by now we were getting full and slowing down . . . but we must keep going. The Statler is a very nice French-American Bistro at Washington and Park in the former Statler Hotel. This was on our list, since they were serving a Smoked Old Fashioned. Like we needed another cocktail. It was good but made with whiskey not bourbon. We also had some lobster mac n cheese and calamari, which were really good, but also really heavy this late in the game.

Leila:

Hummus & Crudité - Chickpea puree with tahini, raw vegetables
Beetroot & Feta - Za'atar, olive oil, lemon, black pepper
Araynes - Seasoned lamb between grilled pita bread, with tahini
Lebanita - Blanco tequila, spiced pear, honey, almond, lemon juice

If you aren’t familiar with Leila, it is an upscale Mediterranean restaurant on Griswold in the Capital Park Neighborhood. We had been here a few times before and worked it into our rotation. Also, one of the bartenders, John, was the buyer on one of our listings last year so it was good to stop in to see him and say hi. We had some Hummus and a cocktail and moved on but everything here is really good as well.

Parc:

Summer Crunch Salad - Baby greens, shredded carrots + kohlrabi + kale, cucumber, sunflower seeds, feta, herb vinaigrette
Falafel Bites with Tzatziki Dip - Crispy served with a cucumber and yogurt-based dip
Sweet Chili Wings - Roasted and crispy fried wings, Korean sweet chili sauce, sesame nori ranch
PARC Rum Punch - Rum, pineapple rum, spiced pineapple shrub, bitters

It was getting late, and time was running out, but there were 3 more to go. PARC had their set up at the Brisabar, an outdoor beach bar in Campus Martius. It is a pretty cool setup if you are looking to get a cocktail and pretend you are at the beach in the city. Here we had the Sweet chili wings and falafel bite with Tzatziki, which were good but not great. Also, they were out of their rum punch so we just has water. Probably best at this point.

Hamilton’s:

Short Rib - Boneless braised short rib over creamy polenta
Tuna Tartare - Tuna, spicy mayo, sesame, jalapeño, crispy rice
Mushroom Slider - Crispy wild mushroom, special sauce, potato slider
Garden of Daisies - Valentines White Blossom Vodka, papaya juice, lemon and hibiscus

We caught a shuttle down to Corktown and were able to squeeze 2 more in. Hamilton’s is a new restaurant in the Godfrey Hotel, right on Michigan Ave across the street for Nemos. Here we had the mushroom slider and Tuna Tartare, which were good but probably would have enjoyed them more if we were hungrier. It is a very nice new place which we will need to try out in the future.

Ottava Via:

Garlic and Goat Cheese - Roasted Colossal garlic with whipped herb spread and crostinis
Village Salad - Mixed lettuce, basil, red onion, cucumber, celery, garbanzo beans, aged provolone, house made creamy Italian vinaigrette
Ragout Ala Bolognese - Tomato braised veal and pork served over penne noodles, topped with ricotta

Even though we weren’t hungry, we had to finish here. This is one of our favorite restaurants for some delicious Italian food PLUS it’s just so cool inside! The Ragout Ala Bolognese and Garlic and Goat Cheese were outstanding.