Monday, October 29, 2012

The Week We Ate (The EID Week in Review)

There's no crying in baseball.

This is a day of affirmations. Yes Detroit, you're good enough, you're smart enough, and gosh-darnit people like you. Seemingly all of my Facebook friends have manically flip-flopped between angry accusatory statements berating the Detroit Tigers for "sucking" and "ruining" their evening/weekend/Halloween, unrealistic optimism in the face of certain defeat, acute vicarious depression, threats to move to San Francisco, and finally reluctant acceptance with some after-the-fact congratulatory positive thinking and acknowledgement that "we" still made it pretty darn far and there's always next year. I guess now we'll just all go back to being political analysts. Here's what happened this week in restaurants.

Ye Olde Butcher Shoppe announces an official opening date, and then officially opens! On that date! No, it is not God's gift to grocery stores, but it is on the level of a good food co-op with a small but decent selection of both staple and specialty items. No, Whole Foods is not going to bury them immediately upon opening the doors to their organic produce palace. A neighborhood that is at 95+% rental occupancy CAN have two nice grocery stores. [Curbed / EID FB]

The East Jefferson Corridor is on the rise! [Det News Hub]

But that's NOTHING compared to what's going on in the Villages. As predicted and promised, the Villages of Detroit are being A Thing. Michael Geiger and Hugh Yaro are opening Craft Work (ah, but will they play a lot of 1970s German electronica??), The Red Hook is opening a second location, Detroit Vegan Soul (D.V.S) is opening their restaurant, and Tarot + Tea (what it sounds like) is also opening soon, all in West Village. Talk about going from 0 to 60. [Freep]

And here is more on the Supino Pizzeria expansion from MLive Detroit. Which was initially reported in Crain's as not so much an expansion as a totally new restaurant that will be located next door, but now sounds like no in fact it's an expansion. Either way it will have booze. [MLive]

Restaurateur Mindy Lopus is blowing UP. With two restaurants already in Birmingham (and more planned), she is now expanding her empire where a fresh face in fine dining is needed most: Grosse Pointe Park. Tallulah Wine Bar and Bistro will have a sister location, Bona Fide Baking Co. is a great way to show off award-winning pastry chef Tanya Fallon, and consider Red Crown to be Vinsetta Garage East. [GP Patch]

Detroit's Buffalo Wild Wings is on track to open in November in time for the Thanksgiving Day Parade and owners promise this location will be unlike any other. The $4 million renovation of the almost 140-year-old building maintains the integrity of the space with a first-floor restaurant, second-floor banquet room, and covered rooftop patio and bar. [Crain's]

Pontiac, your The Renaissance is next. [Prosper]

The Free Press discovers craft beer. [Freep]

Here are Famous People who ate and drank things in Detroit. [Examiner / Esquire]

Don't know if you know this, but pop-ups are kind of, like, a thing around here. [DetNews]

The physical storefront might not be open yet but the online storefront is. [Detroit Institute of Bagels]

And now, the "Detroit Rises" story en Español. Basically Detroit was dying, Obama helped save the auto industry, now Detroit is on the path to recovery, rah rah Dan Gilbert our White Knight, only except for our government is still fuct, but that isn't stopping young entrepreneurs from coming in or citizens from impacting positive change, hooray Midtown and Sue Mosey and Whole Foods, and also hooray Jordi Carbonell of Cafe Con Leche. [Internacional en EL PAÍS]

You know, with a name like Jolly Pumpkin they damn well SHOULD be making these "best pumpkin beer" lists. Here is some love for La Parcela, La Parcela again, and also Ichabod and Jaw Jacker. [WSJ / Serious Eats: Drinks / DRAFT]

Krazy Jim's in A2 is featured on yet another food/travel TV show. Cuz they're so dang CRAZY! And not because television researchers are lazy. [AnnArbor.com]

Speaking of research, Buddy's is on another "best pizzas in the country" list. [Relish]

I wish I had been keeping track of the latest rash of "we lift Detroit in baseball" stories, but I haven't been. Regardless, here is the latest entrant into the genre from the San Francisco Chronicle. [SFC]

Eat It Elsewhere
~Grand Rapids' infamous beer bar HopCat is expanding: a second location will open in Lansing with 100 taps (making it the largest draft selection in the state) and owners Mark and Michele Sellers of BarFly Ventures (which owns several other GR bars) will also be opening the Lansing Brewing Co. [MLive]

~And in more Mark Sellers news, he has announced the official opening date of the much-anticipated (re)opening of the Grand Rapids Brewing Co.: December 5. [MLive]

~And Grand Rapids finally gets its very own authentic Polish eatery with Polka Pops Cafe. This might make the transition to a clean and functional city a bit easier on Detroiters. Familiarity and all. [GR Now]