Detroit

[exit2lef]

I spent a few days in Detroit earlier this year for a conference. I actually go to the area often to visit family in the suburbs, but this was my first chance in a long time to spend substantial amounts of time in the city itself. These are my food highlights.

My first and best meal was at Baobab Fare (https://baobabfare.com/), an African restaurant in the New Center area of the city. More specifcally, the restaurant serves food from Burundi, the owners' country of origin, and the surrounding regions of east Africa. I wanted to try the Tuesday night special, ugali, a cornmeal ball in a stew of okra with fish or chicken. Unfortunately, they had sold out by the time I arrived. My server recommended nyumbani, stewed beef with spinach in peanut sauce, plantains, and two kinds of rice. Tender and flavorful on its own, it was even better with a bit of the house “pili” hot sauce. Dessert was an avocado passion fruit pudding with chia seeds. I liked the latter item more than I expected to. It was sweet enough to be a good follow-up to the hot sauce, but not excessively dense like a smoothie. Instead, it was a refreshing palate cleanser after an intensely flavorful meal.

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The next morning, I had breakfast at Farmer Frank's (https://www.thefarmerfranks.com/) in the Eastern Market (https://easternmarket.org/). This was standard American breakfast fare well executed. I was there early on a weekday, and the only other customers were people who appeared to work in the food wholesale businesses in the market. I imagine this place gets more crowded on weekends when there is a retail market going on outside. In fact, it would be a great place to start a morning of shopping at the Eastern Market.

Dinner and lunch were both convention center fare, but I made up for that by treating myself to dessert at Milk & Froth (https://www.milkandfroth.com/), a local ice cream shop. I enjoyed a waffle cone with roasted strawberry sorbet on top and honeycomb ice cream on the bottom. The combination provided a nice blend of sweet and tangy flavors.

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The next day, I had tamales for breakfast at Evie's in Mexicantown and later went to the Corktown neighborhood to enjoy Slows Bar BQ for lunch (https://slowsbarbq.com/locations/corktown/). I had one of their signature sandwiches called "The Reason" with pulled pork, slaw, and pickles. It reminded me of the barbecue I used to eat during my grad school days in North Carolina. As with most places in trendy Corktown, the vibe here is slightly upscale and hipsterish, but in a good way. It doesn't feel like a bare bones barbecue joint on the outskirts of town, but it's not pretentious either. I appreciated the selection of draft beer.

For dinner, i was determined to revisit Greektown and expand my horizons beyond the places I usually visit there. This time, I tried the Golden Fleece (https://goldenfleecedetroit.com/), which seemed a little less touristy than some of the other places in Greektown. For dinner, I enjoyed souvlaki with pita and rice and a side of horta, or boiled greens. Of course, no visit to Greektown is complete without a stop at the Astoria Bakery (https://astoriapastryshop.com/) a few doors down.

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As with most trips, I had to return home before I could scratch every itch. There are two places I wasn't able to visit this time but am determined to try on another visit:

Barcoa, an Argentinian restaurant in the Core City neighborhood: http://bardadetroit.com/

Detroit Institute of Bagels, next door to Barcoa: http://detroitinstituteofbagels.com/