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Posted by  John, on November 13th, 2009 
Put together a meat lover like myself and a vegan like Stephanie, and it gets a little interesting when we want to go out to eat. This past Saturday, we decided to head to Detroit to see Dan Auerbach at the Majestic Theater and required dinner and drinks before the show. Going to concerts on an empty stomach just isn’t an option for me. In fact, doing anything with an empty stomach isn’t for me. Normally in Detroit the obvious choice is either Mexican Town or Greek Town. Not an option anymore for this couple. Gotta find a place that has respectable veggie dishes. In our search for a joint with good food and beer we came across the Woodbridge Pub, which promises vegan friendly eats and quality beer. This place came through, for sure.
On the way, the neighborhood looked a little sketchy after we got off the freeway. The thing about Detroit is you can be in a very nice area, make a wrong turn, and you’ll find yourself right in the middle of the ‘hood. Turns out this place is in a pretty good area right on Trumbull av. across from Wayne State University. The Pub looks great from the outside. Huge windows on the front of the building make this place look very inviting, which is what Detroit really needs more of. Walking in, you notice the decor right away. It’s obvious the owner has really put a lot of time getting the place looking completely unique. The bar is all recycled hard wood from an old church, while the rest of the place is a collision of new materials and salvaged goods from other buildings throughout the Detroit area. It has all of the prerequisite amenities: the recycled materials, the awesome bar, good food, affordable beer, art showcase on the walls, and a TV. It’s only been open since September, but it has the comfortable feel of a place that I have been going to for years.
The menu had a nice range of items for both meat eaters like me and for Stephanie who only eats the green stuff. It focuses on salads, sandwiches, pizza, pasta, and burgers, and offers a good variety of flavors to choose from. Before dinner, I had to grab a pint of locally brewed Ghettoblaster. From there we moved onto a bottle of house wine, which is only $10 after 5:00 PM on Fridays. Not bad stuff.
For starters I decided to go with the queso fundido dip which was pretty basic blend of cheese and chorizo, which happen to be two of my favorite things in the world. It turned out to be a very rich and delicious dip which came with tortilla chips from Mexican Town. A bit much for one person, but I’m not your average eater.
Stephanie had been looking forward to trying one of their vegan soups, so she was excited to see the harvest grain and portabella soup. From what we could tell, this a potato and vegetable broth based soup with lentils, corn, carrots, and chunks of portabella. Beyond that, it was a mystery to us. Honestly, this was some of the best soup I’ve ever had. They’ve really succeeded in creating a hearty soup using all vegan ingredients. It’s become our mission to try and re-create it. We’re currently plotting to break in and steal the recipe. Maybe writing that on a public forum isn’t a good idea.
For dinner I had to go with one of the pizzas which come on a 10″ extra thin crust. I said before that I was looking for meat but the artichoke, spinach, and brie just looked too good to pass up. There’s just something about creative uses of brie cheese that gets me every time. This pizza was solid, but not great. Definitely a good amount of food for one person, but it was missing something(chicken). The crust is good, the brie tastes fresh, the spinach was a little light, and the artichoke hearts were tasty. They drizzle a garlic infused olive oil over top which adds a little extra taste, but I think a little fresh garlic on top would’ve worked well.
Stephanie went with the “Stevers McFever” black bean burger, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite non-meat dishes. This was by far the most interesting black bean burger I have ever seen. The huge patty is surrounded by two giant pieces ciabatta bread, and topped with avocado, marinated tomato, caramelized onion, and a balsamic glaze. The combination of the bread, the vegetables, the spice of the patty, and the sweetness of the glaze really created an incredible flavor. I’ve only been eating black bean burgers for a few months now, but I will say that this is the best I have had. There may be a credibility issue here, but you’re just going to have to take my word for it.
It’s nice to find a gem like this in Detroit, especially one this accessible. I’ve written before about all of the great food in the city before, and this is a perfect example of it. Not only can you find great bars, authentic eats, and entertainment, but also a friendly neighborhood pub or two. Woodbridge Pub definitely gets a recommendation from me.
Posted by John, on August 31st, 2009 You’ve probably heard me say this many times, but Detroit is currently offering some of the best food in the country. I don’t think the city gets enough credit for the high quality cuisine that is available. I’m fortunate enough to be a 45 minute drive on I-94 away from a culinary goldmine.
I had the privilege of visiting Vicente Cuban Cuisine in Detroit this past weekend. It’s not the easiest thing in the world to find a good Cuban joint, but when Cuban cuisine is done right, it is easily among my favorite foods. The combination of Spanish, Caribbean and even some African influences make for some incredible flavors that usually come in plentiful, sometimes even epic, portions. I have eaten at Cuban restaurants in Key West, FL, which boasts of having some of the best Cuban food outside of the island itself, and I have to say that Vicente tops those easily.
Vicente was opened up by a family who immigrated to the U.S. from Cuba in 1967. The decor and atmosphere is simple but perfect – not too overdone, like many bullshit ethnic restaurants, but not too simple, like many modern upscale restaurants. Vicente’s menu ranges from classic pressed Cuban sandwiches and home-style Cuban entrees to authentic Spanish entrees and tapas. Dine inexpensively or go all out and have Cuban or Valencian paellas. Unfortunately the paellas take 45 mins or I would have chosen that as my dinner.
We started out the meal with a pitcher of white Sangria. The waiter recommended the white over the red and I couldn’t thank him more. The white Sangria is the most delicious Sangria I have ever had. It is a sweet taste with peaches and apples with a cinnamon aftertaste that you can taste on your lips minutes after your drink. I honestly have never had anything like this, alcoholic or not. This stuff is legit. After two glasses we were both, as I like to call it, fuzzy faced.
For my starter, I couldn’t pass up on the lobster bisque. I can’t say more than this was rich and creamy with that great, subtle lobster flavor. No big chunks of lobster here, just brothy goodness.
It was rough actually choosing something for my main course. Everything on the menu was tempting. I ended up going with the Pato a la Naranja, which is a semi-boneless half duck which was roasted until golden brown. It was topped with a Grand Marnier orange sauce which was incredible. I could drink that sauce for breakfast every morning. The outside of the duck was crispy, and the inside was nice and juicy which is a change from a lot of tough duck I’ve had in the past.
Stephanie went with the Gratinado del Chef. This dish was by far the most interesting of the night. It contains shrimp, scallops, and mushrooms sauteed with shallots. It’s then Flambeed with Spanish brandy in a creamy tomato sauce and served in a puff pastry shell with sauteed vegetables and sweet plantains. When I saw it on the menu, the puff pastry scared me off, but it soaked up the sauce and went great with the fillings.
Rob went with the tapas menu, which turned out to be a good choice. On the left is the Tamal Cubano, which is a homemade Cuban corn tamale with bits of pork meat and topped with onions and garlic mojo, and I honestly can’t remember what the dish on the right is. Sorry to drop the ball on that one, but when you’re having a meal as good as this one you mess up a note every now and then. The Sangria could have played a part in that as well.
Lisa went with Comarones Crillos, which is Jumbo shrimp sauteed in olive oil, minced garlic, white wine, lemon juice, red pepper flakes, and parsley flakes and served with white rice, sweet plantain, and avocado salad. I have a thing with shrimp, and it involves crying. Thankfully, Lisa took this picture because I was feeling a little emotional.
Posted by John, on August 28th, 2009 Detroit is full of great food, and it’s nice to hear some recognition that isn’t talking about Kwame Kilpatrick macking some beotches, or people laundering money from the public school system. GQ magazine recently rated Detroit the number 3 best pizza city in the U.S., only behind New York and San Francisco.
3. Detroit. No city has more consistently satisfying pies than Detroit. No city executes its particular style, in this case the square Sicilian, as flawlessly as Detroit. Hard to go wrong wherever you eat, although a hopeless local peculiarity is burying the pepperoni under the sauce.
To follow that up, The Detroit Free Press compiled a list of the 25 best pizza joints in Detroit. Tops was Supino Pizzeria, which isn’t much of a surprise at all. This place makes lovingly crafted, dare i say artisanal, pizzas that can stand up with some of the best in the country. The Dough is perfect, paper thin (5mm, i kid you not), crisp with a bit of chew, and a few char marks on the bottom. The sauce is a perfect balance of flavors and just melds all the other ingredients together. Toppings are all first class and fresh. You can just taste the love and care.
 Supino Pizzeria's Bismarck pizza with fresh mozzarella, prosciutto, tomato sauce and a sunnyside egg Also included is Buddy’s Pizza, which is a Detroit institution. The pizza here is on my short list of last meal requests, should I ever happen to end up on death row – no joke. If Detroit had a “style” of pizza, than Buddy’s would likely be its poster child. The unique blend of cheeses, spicy/sweet sauce and it’s thick, crunchy Sicilian style crust make Buddy’s a must visit for anyone who likes pizza and is in the Detroit area.
 Buddy's incredible cheesy, crunchy crust A choice that was shocking to me was Aubree’s Pizza, which is literally 3 minutes away from my front door in Depot Town(Ypsilanti). They are for sure serving up some delicious pizza, calzones, and other menu items but I would be hesitant to say that they have some of the best pizza in Metro Detroit. They are located directly across the street from Sidetrack Bar & Grill, which makes it difficult to chose pizza over some of the most delicious food and beer in the area. I will say that they have a huge amount of topping options for your pizza which always makes for an interesting visit.
 Aubree's sausage, mushroom and pepperoni pizza Unfortunately, no where around here sells a Tandori Chicken Pizza, so I’m going to need Bear Silber to freeze one and mail it to me right away.
Posted by John, on August 24th, 2009 
I previously wrote about Sweetwater Tavern in May, but felt that I did not do it justice. The documented visit concluded a long night of cheap drinks at Greektown Casino, which caused the pictures to be blurry and the memory to be cloudy. With Todd in town this past weekend, we both felt it was the obvious choice for dinner before a Tigers game. Sweetwater Tavern has the best wings I have ever eaten in my life. They’re nothing like any wing I have ever tasted. This isn’t some place where you have 857 sauces to choose from. They have one sauce. And it’s incredible. The outside of the wing is blackened, making it crunchy and flavorful. They’re spun in sauce, but they’re not saucy. Little to no sauce will be stuck to your hand afterward, yet you can smell the delicious Cajun style seasoning for hours. The only thing they will tell you is that the wings are delivered daily from Eastern Market and marinated for 24 hours. How they cook the wings is a complete mystery to me. We pestered our waiter during the previous visit and accused him of broiling the wings, but he promised they never touched an oven or boiler.
During previous visits, these wings were the only thing ordered. It just seemed illogical to fill valuable potential stomach space with anything else. This time we brought our appetites, manned up, and ordered something else as well as two orders of wings. Two Reuben sandwiches to be exact. While these were not the biggest sandwiches I’ve ever seen, the flavor more than made up for it. I can honestly say that if this wasn’t the best Reuben I’ve ever had, it’s top three. Todd is commonly referred to as “Mr. Reuben” and he declared this his number two Reuben of all time. Unlike many places that go heavy on the sauerkraut and light on the rest of the fixings, this sandwich is perfectly portioned. Not one ingredient dominates, allowing them all to fuse together into one delicious sandwich. To make it even better, they serve you the dressing on the side to allow for dunking.
If you are ever in Detroit, I beg you to eat at Sweetwater Tavern. It’s right next to Greektown, which is a great area to visit if you are unfamiliar with the area. If you’re like me and get watery eyes during a great meal(Stephanie finds this incredibly weird), you’ll find yourself getting emotional here.
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