A long-anticipated bar offering boozy shakes, reasonably priced beers, burgers, wings, and other “shenanigans” has opened just steps away from Wayne State University.
Dirty Shake — located inside the red brick building at Forest and Second Avenue — is the latest concept from James Beard-honored restauranteur Sandy Levine and executive chef Doug Hewitt. A straightforward bar is somewhat of a shift for the two, who are known for fine dining establishments like Freya (named Hour Detroit’s 2024 Restaurant of the Year) and Chartreuse Kitchen & Cocktails.
“We’re just happy to be here,” says Levine in a press release. “This part of Midtown is one of the few neighborhoods where people who lived here 15 or 20 years ago are still around. We want to honor that history while also welcoming students and newcomers. This is a place where all kinds of people can gather, have a good time, and make it their own.”
Kamalani Overall, who fans may know from The Oakland in Ferndale (Levine’s cocktail bar), heads the drinks program. Offerings include the Hummer (a Detroit invention) and a “fruit forward” take on the Green Tea cocktail. Or, if you’re really feeling like a college kid, there’s The Strong Island — limited to two per customer, it offers a mix of OFTD Overproof Rum, Navy Strength Gin, Suntory Whiskey, Barenjager Honey Liqueur, house sour, and a vanilla coke float.
The bar menu, co-created by Hewitt and Chartreuse’s Brian Christie, features a burger ($11); house sausage served with kraut and spicy pickles; as well as smoked wings.
“Between the brine, the cure, the smoke, and the fry, it’s a three-day process. But at the end of the day, it’s still chicken wings. It’s something that just goes great with a beer or cocktail,” says Hewitt in a press release. “We’re not reinventing bar food, just paying attention to the details.”
There are plenty of meatless options too, including the Feta “Burger” and a vegan/gluten-free cauliflower prepared with rice flour, pepper jam, cilantro, and scallion.
The menu’s previously mentioned “Shenanigans” section includes the option to have your “Shitty Polaroid” taken ($7), which you can keep or have displayed in the bar. There’s also a “Ring Toss” — guests can pay $5 to toss a ring, and if it lands on a bottle in the back of the bar, you win a shot of that liquor (sounds like a steal if they have any Louis XIII!).
Perhaps the most intriguing is the “Wine/Liquor Locker” (said to be coming soon) which simply reads: “We’ll duct tape a milk crate to the wall and keep your bottles in there for you to drink from whenever you come in. You still have to tip though.” We’re excited to see this in action.
The restaurant can seat 40 (50 with the patio during warm weather) and features three televisions — although, according to the press release “when there’s no game on, guests might find Twin Peaks or Detroiters on instead.”
Dirty Shake is open 11:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and from 11:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
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