Restaurants & Food

Fadi Achour of Zazios & Jessica and Sean McCarthy of Mae’s

Cravings: Their stylish menus are enticing enough to attract a loyal clientele of discriminating diners, but no matter how expert they are, restaurant people like to take a break from their own kitchens for a taste of someone else’s cooking.

Molly Abraham

May 31, 2011

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> When FADI ACHOUR gets away from Zazios in Birmingham, where he’s the general manager, he often heads to Detroit. There, he has two favorite places with very different styles: Mexican Village and Iridescence. “The dish I love to order at Mexican Village is the chicken fajita,” he says. “And at Iridescence, it would be za’atar-spiced lamb medallions.” Za’atar, he explains, “is a very unique and flavorful herb, widely used in the Middle East,” that tames the strong, meaty flavor of the lamb.

> JESSICA and SEAN MCCARTHY, proprietors of Mae’s in Pleasant Ridge, have three favorite dining destinations.They go to Vicente’s Cuban Cuisine in Detroit “for tapas. We love the beef empanadas and cubita Bella,” Jessica says. “For entrees, I love the lobster tail (langosta criolla), and Sean loves the pollo Milanesa.” Happy hour might find the couple at Roast in the Westin Book Cadillac “for amazing cocktails, especially the No Name, and off the happy-hour menu, the burger and duck-fat French fries are the way to go. For an entrée, we both love the lamb shank.” Maria’s Comida, a little spot in Hamtramck, is another fave. “Such a lovely family that owns it,” Jessica says. “Their mango-habanero salsa is out-of-this-world good. We also love the garlic-chili shrimp with cilantro-ginger rice and their chorizo-chicken burrito.”