Best of Detroit 2015
Once upon a time, Hour Detroit readers picked their legendary favorites...
(page 4 of 9)
No poisoned apples in this bunch. Perhaps a gingerbread man or some magic beans, though.
Restaurant For General Excellence (Tie)
The Mulefoot Gastropub, Imlay City; themulefoot.com
The Root Restaurant & Bar, White Lake; therootrestaurant.com
Restaurant Ambience
City
Wright & Co., Downtown Detroit; wrightdetroit.com
Suburb
Tre Monti Ristorante, Troy; tremontitroy.com
Place to Have Dinner Before a Show (Tie)
Mario’s, Detroit; mariosdetroit.com
Roast, Downtown Detroit; roastdetroit.com
Place for Nightcaps After the Show (Tie)
The Sugar House, Corktown Detroit; sugarhousedetroit.com
The Whitney, Midtown Detroit; thewhitney.com
View From a Restaurant
Coach Insignia, Downtown Detroit; theepicureangroup.com
Sunday Brunch
City
The Whitney, Midtown Detroit; thewhitney.com
Suburb (Tie)
Social Kitchen and Bar, Birmingham; socialkitchenandbar.com
Toast, Birmingham; toastbirmingham.com, and Ferndale; eatattoast.com
Appetizers
City (Tie)
Selden Standard, Midtown Detroit; seldenstandard.com
Wright & Co., Downtown Detroit; wrightdetroit.com
Suburb (Tie)
Bistro 82, Royal Oak; bistro82.com
The Root Restaurant & Bar, White Lake; therootrestaurant.com
Attentive Service
Bistro 82, Royal Oak; bistro82.com
Beer Selection
City
Hopcat Detroit, Midtown Detroit; hopcat.com/detroit
Suburb
One-Eyed Betty’s, Ferndale; oneeyedbettys.com
Late-Night Dining
City
Bucharest Grill, bucharestgrill.com
Suburb (Tie)
Imperial, Ferndale; facebook.com/imperialonwoodward
Redcoat Tavern, Royal Oak, 248-549-0300; and West Bloomfield Township, 248-865-0500
Street-Level Window Seat
City (Tie)
Andiamo Riverfront, Downtown Detroit; andiamoitalia.com
Roast, Downtown Detroit; roastdetroit.com
Suburb
Bistro 82, Royal Oak; bistro82.com
Independent Coffeehouse
City
Great Lakes Coffee, Detroit; greatlakescoffee.com
Suburb
Commonwealth, Birmingham; gocommonwealth.com
Romantic Restaurant (Tie)
The Lark, West Bloomfield Township; thelark.com
Tre Monti Ristorante, Troy; tremontitroy.com
Fish Market
Multiple Locations
Vince & Joe’s, Clinton Township and Shelby Township; vinceandjoes.com
Single Location
Superior Fish Company, Royal Oak; superiorfish.com
Locally Produced Food Brand
Imerman Cake Company, imermancake.com
Ice Cream Parlor
Ray’s Ice Cream, Royal Oak; raysicecream.com
Chinese
Hong Hua, Farmington Hills; honghuafinedining.com
Place for a Business Lunch
City (Tie)
Detroit Athletic Club, thedac.com
The Dime Store, Detroit; eatdimestore.com
Suburb (Tie)
Beverly Hills Grill, Beverly Hills; beverlyhillsgrill.com
The Capital Grille, Troy; thecapitalgrille.com
Julie James as 'The Witch': Here's a mis-casting for the ages. James— one of five siblings behind Drought ("Best raw juice or smoothie")— is much nicer in person. She might get mad if you suggest they start adding preservatives to their products.
French (Tie)
Bistro 82, Royal Oak; bistro82.com
Marais, Grosse Pointe; maraisrestaurant.com
Restaurant Dessert
The Root Restaurant & Bar, White Lake; therootrestaurant.com
Wine List
City
Roast, Downtown Detroit; roastdetroit.com
Suburb
The Lark, West Bloomfield Township; thelark.com
Place to Take Out-Of-Towners
City (Tie)
Selden Standard, Midtown Detroit; seldenstandard.com
Slows Bar BQ, Corktown Detroit; slowsbarbq.com
Suburb
Vinsetta Garage, Berkley; vinsettagarage.com
Business Breakfast
Toast, Birmingham; toastbirmingham.com, and Ferndale; eatattoast.com
Greek
Pegasus Taverna, Greektown Detroit and St. Clair Shores; pegasustavernas.com
Indian (Tie)
Priya, Troy; priyarestaurant.com
Rangoli, Auburn Hills and Sterling Heights; detroitrangoli.com
Korean
Korea Palace, Sterling Heights; koreapalace.virb.com
Mexican
City
Mexican Village, Mexicantown/Southwest Detroit; mexicanvillagefood.com
Suburb
El Charro, Fraser; elcharrousa.com
Eastern Market as 'Little Red Riding Hood's Basket and Contents.' Yes, you can get all these items, and Much more, at Eastern Market, voted "Best Farmers Market" in the city
Italian
City (Tie)
Giovanni’s, Southwest Detroit; giovannisristorante.com
Roma Café, Detroit; romacafe.com
Suburb
Tre Monti Ristorante, Troy; tremontitroy.com
Middle Eastern
Anita’s Kitchen, Ferndale; anitaskitchenonline.com
Japanese (Tie)
Noble Fish, Clawson; noblefish.com
Ronin Sushi, Royal Oak; roninsushi.com
Thai
Multiple Locations
Sy Thai, sythairestaurant.com
Single Location
Khom Fai, Shelby Township; 586-247-7773
Vietnamese
Da Nang, Clawson; danangrestaurant.com
Gourmet Market
Multiple Locations — East Side
Vince & Joe’s, Clinton Township and Shelby Township; vinceandjoes.com
Multiple Locations — West Side
Papa Joe’s Gourmet Market, Birmingham and Rochester; papajoesmarket.com
Single Location
Holiday Market, Royal Oak; holiday-market.com
24-Hour Restaurant
National Coney Island, nationalconeyisland.com
Michigan Winery (Tie)
Black Star Farms, Traverse City; blackstarfarms.com
Chateau Chantal, Traverse City; chateauchantal.com
Steakhouse
City
Prism, Detroit; greektowncasino.com
Suburb
Clawson Steak House, Clawson; clawsonsteakhouse.com
Burger
Macomb County
Shamrock Pub, Utica; shamrockutica.com
Oakland County
Redcoat Tavern, Royal Oak, 248-549-0300; and West Bloomfield Township, 248-865-0500
Wayne County
Miller’s, Dearborn; millersbar.com
Vegan
City
Detroit Vegan Soul, West Village Detroit; detroitvegansoul.com
Suburb
Inn Season Café, Royal Oak; theinnseasoncafe.com
Creative Breakfast
Multiple Locations
Toast, Birmingham; toastbirmingham.com, and Ferndale; eatattoast.com
Single Location
Mae’s, Pleasant Ridge; maesdetroit.com
Vegetarian
City
Seva, Midtown Detroit; sevarestaurant.com
Suburb
Inn Season Café, Royal Oak; theinnseasoncafe.com
Gluten-Free Menu
Wild Red Wings & Sandwiches, St. Clair Shores; wildredwings.com
Cheap Eats
Green Dot Stables, Detroit; greendotstables.com
Sandwich
Mudgie’s, Corktown Detroit; mudgiesdeli.com
Ribs
Slows Bar BQ, Corktown Detroit; slowsbarbq.com
Coney Island
Lafayette Coney Island, Downtown Detroit; 313-964-8198
Sushi (Tie)
Noble Fish, Clawson; noblefish.com
Ronin, Royal Oak; roninsushi.com
Seafood
City
Joe Muer Seafood, Downtown Detroit; joemuer.com
Suburb
Streetside Seafood, Birmingham; streetsideseafood.com
Locally Owned Bakery
City
Avalon International Breads, Midtown Detroit; avalonbreads.net
Suburb
Love and Buttercream, Royal Oak; loveandbuttercream.com
Fish 'N' Chips
City
Scotty Simpson’s, scottysfishandchips.com
Suburb
The Lodge Grill and Bar, Keego Harbor; lodgegrillandbar.com
Pancakes
The Original Pancake House, multiple locations; originalpancakehouse.com
Soul Food
Beans & Cornbread, Southfield; beanscornbread.com
Soup
Independent
Russell Street Deli, Eastern Market, Detroit; russellstreetdeli.com
Chain
Zoup!, zoup.com
Pizza
Multiple Locations
Buddy’s Pizza, buddyspizza.com
Single Location
Supino Pizzeria, Eastern Market, Detroit; supinopizzeria.com
Deli
Steve’s Deli, Bloomfield Township; stevesdeli.com
Barbecue
Multiple Locations
Bad Brads BBQ, badbradsbbq.net
City
Slows Bar BQ, Corktown Detroit; slowsbarbq.com
French Fries
Independent — City (Tie)
Green Dot Stables, Detroit; greendotstables.com
Hopcat Detroit, hopcat.com/detroit
Independent — Suburb
Townhouse Bistro, Birmingham; eatattownhouse.com
Chain
McDonald’s, mcdonalds.com
Bagels
Multiple Locations
New York Bagel, newyorkbagel-detroit.com
Single Location
Detroit Institute of Bagels, Detroit; detroitinstituteofbagels.com
Cupcakes
Taste Love Cupcakes, Royal Oak; tastelovecupcakes.com
Cookies
Love & Buttercream, Royal Oak; loveandbuttercream.com
Doughnuts
City
Dutch Girl Donuts, 313-368-3020
Suburb
Donut Cutter, Berkley; 248-542-4653
Classic Artisan Cocktails
City
The Sugar House, Corktown Detroit; sugarhousedetroit.com
Suburb
The Oakland Art Novelty Co., Ferndale; theoaklandferndale.com
Dave Kwiatkowski as 'The Woodsman': Kwiatkowski sharpened his skills to kill the Big Bad Wolf by slicing garnishes at The Sugar House ("Best Classic Artisan Cocktails" and "Place for NIghtcaps After the Show"). He's also a partner in Wright & Co. and Café 78.
Bloody Mary
Vivio’s, Eastern Market, Detroit; viviosbloodymary.com
Locally Made Beer
City
Atwater Brewery, atwaterbeer.com
Suburb
Griffin Claw, Birmingham; griffinclawbrewingcompany.com
State
Bell’s Brewery, Kalamazoo; bellsbeer.com
Michigan-Made Wine
Chateau Grand Traverse Late Harvest Riesling, cgtwines.com
Chicken Wings
Independent
Sweetwater Tavern, Detroit; sweetwatertavern.net
Chain
Buffalo Wild Wings, buffalowildwings.com
Deck/Outdoor Seating
City
La Dolce Vita, ldvrestaurant.net
Suburb
Townhouse Bistro, Birmingham; eatattownhouse.com
Carryout
City
Bucharest Grill, Downtown Detroit, bucharestgrill.com
Suburb
Motor City Meatballs, Warren; mymeatballkitchen.com
Food Truck (Tie)
El Guapo, elguapogrill.com
Mac Shack, macshackmichigan.com
New Categories
Pop-Up Dining Experience
Single Location
Revolver, Hamtramck; revolverhamtramck.com
Moving Target (Tie)
Dinner Club (Matt Baldridge), dinnerclubpopup.com
Guns + Butter, (Craig Lieckfelt) gunsandbutter.com
Raw Juice or Smoothie (Tie)
Beyond Juice, beyondjuicedetroit.com
Drought, droughtjuice.com
Locally Made Spirits (Tie)
Two James Spirits, Corktown Detroit; twojames.com
Valentine Distilling, Ferndale; valentinedistilling.com