Michigan eats

Peter W. wrote:
|> Can anyone recommend some good restaurants in the Detroit area?
|> I'll be staying at the airport Marriott, but I'll have a car
|> to drive a little if I have to.  Since I'm travelling on
|> business, money is not a huge concern.  Something interesting
|> would always be nice.
|>
|> I will also be spending a night in Novi, so if anyone can
|> recommend something there I would appreciate it also.

If you make it to downtown Detroit, I can recommend a couple of places.

* Stewarts
    On the corner of Woodward and Canfield right next to
    the Whitney (people know where the Whitney is).  I've
    seen people in suits sitting next to people in flannels.
    Fantastic pasta and seafood.  Very popular amongst the
    theatre goers.  Entree prices range from $10-24.
    One of my favorite chefs in the area.  Great stuff!

* The Courthouse Brasserie
    Located on Brush Street around the corner from the music hall.
    This one can be hard to find.  The exterior looks like an
    abandoned building and you have to ring a buzzer to get in.
    The interior is nice but I prefer the ambiance (sp?) of Stewarts.
    The food, however, is my favorite in the city!!  Prices are very
    similar to Stewarts.  Attire is casual to dressy but not as
    casual as Stewarts.  I wouldn't wear flannel or jeans.

* The Whitney
    On the corner of Woodward and Canfield right next to Stewarts.
    Very expensive.  Strictly suit and tie.  The food is excellent
    but I would personally rank it 3rd of these three.  The interior
    however, is astonishing!!  It is an old mansion built in the
    late 1800's by David Whitney (a lumber baron).  Three floors of
    amazing woodwork and decor.  This place is pricy but if you're
    looking for something very ritzy or something romantic, this is
    the place.  If nothing else, eat at Stewarts and then go to the
    Whitney for dessert or a drink just to see the inside.

* Union Street
    Extremely casual located at the corner of Woodward and Willis.
    American cuisine ranging from sandwiches/burgers to wonderful
    steaks to salmon tortellini.  Very interesting place.  The
    atmosphere is very much like a bar but they have an experienced
    seasoned chef who has worked for some of the more upscale
    places in Detroit and brought his talents to the rest of us.
    This place is very comfortable.  It's serves just as much as
    meeting place for people as it does a restaurant.  They also
    have one of the largest selections of bottled beer around.

Honorable mentions goes to:
* Xochimilco - Mexican
* Las Brisas - Mexican
* Hellas     - Greek

Peter W. wrote:
>Can anyone recommend some good restaurants in the Detroit area?
...
>I will also be spending a night in Novi, so if anyone can
>recommend something there I would appreciate it also.

I am very fond of a restaurant in Ann Arbor called the Gandy Dancer. It's in the old railway station. The food is nouvelle American (or was, it's been a while), and very good. The wait staff were very pleasant, knowledgable, and helpful. On Tuesdays there was bouillibaise.

Ahh!

Peter W. wrote:
>
>Can anyone recommend some good restaurants in the Detroit area?

I'm probably too late to respond for you, but I couldn't resist.

If in Detroit, Greektown is a must.  There are numerous restaurants in the area, most of them quite good.  I haven't been there since 1989, but I could recommend Hellas and the Parthenon, right next door to each other, depending on the line.  If you want a quick Gyro, I like Athena's.  (I once forgot my camera bag there, and the owners had it for me when I came back several hours later!).  For non-Greek, I have heard that the Blue Nile (Ethiopean) is good, but have never eaten there personally.  For desserts, try one of the bakeries, notably the Astoria.  In addition to the usual baklava, etc., they make a wonderful pistachio roll (actually a lebanese influence) that I used to buy by the 1/2 dozen (a dozen would have been too fattening).  I have never found this type of pastry outside of Detroit's Greektown, and usually beg friends or acquaintances going to Detroit to bring me back some of them.

If you are in the vicinity of the Alexander Bridge, there was an intersection where there were several Mexican restaurants.  There also was an eclectic S. American or Spanish restaurant with good food, a friendly owner, and lots of cute adornments, like a coconut head that beeped and growled at random times!  I think the owner said he was moving his location but I hope he's still in business.

There also was an excellent sushi bar north of the city called Nippon Kai (I forget which town, though I want to say Clark or Clarkson).  Also, there are very good fish and beef restaurants in Windsor, Ontario (which is SOUTH of Detroit!).

Also, the Detroit Art Museum on Woodward Avenue is a MUST-SEE for the Rivera murals, and the historical museum across the street also is interesting.

SWM

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