good eats in motor city
Something I love about visiting the Detroit area is all the food choices! It also helps to have an amazing hostess who knows lots of different places...such as a world-famous pizzeria known for its square pizzas in a variety of unique flavors.
We decided to order our pizzas to share, sushi-style. My choice was the tangy "Detroit Institute of the Arts" pizza, with spinach, artichoke and capers (which are not, as a certain blonde thought, fish eggs - that would be caviar). Yum, yum!
Shannon's choice was the Detroiter, a classic pepperoni pizza.
Then there was Wildcat Guy's choice of BBQ chicken pizza, which didn't really surprise me, since that's one of his favorites. But what did surprise me was how it may be the best BBQ chicken pizza I've ever tasted.
Then, Thursday, while Wildcat Guy and I were playing tourist, we enjoyed a cafeteria-style lunch that included huge servings of macaroni and cheese, and a locally-inspired beef pasty (pronounced PASS-tee).
Luckily for Wildcat Guy, I liked both my pasty and his pulled pork. Because he decided, after having a bite of the pasty, that he liked it better. Soooo...we did a quick switcheroo.
After our day at the museum, we really wanted a snack. When we came across a Dunkin Donuts, Wildcat Guy quickly pulled into the parking lot, so we could fill yet another gap in his doughtnut experiences. Granted, it felt weird to me that his first Dunkin Donut was eaten in Michigan, not the Northeast - but as he said, we at least were in the north.
Because the area we were in has such a large Middle Eastern population, it was decided that dinner Thursday night should be Middle Eastern. (Never mind that our friends' Lebanese brother-in-law later informed us that the place we chose was essentially the McDonald's of Middle Eastern restaurants around there.)
I'm a big fan of hummus (based on chick peas), but had never tried baba ghannouge (based on egg plant) until then. It's actually very yummy!
After much discussion about what each of us wanted to order, our server recommended the shawarma combo and the kabob combo for the four of us to share. Okay! I liked the kabobs more than the shawarma, but both were good. Including the veal, which - just in case there is any doubt - is baby cow, not baby lamb. Right, Wildcat Guy?
The two combos together, though, were just way too much food - even for the four of us. So we had some tasty Middle Eastern leftovers (served in Polish pottery) for lunch the next day. (And even then, there were leftovers. Crazy.)
After our Middle Eastern dinner, we'd also stopped at a well-known bakery that specializes in Middle Eastern and French pastries. Wildcat Guy chose this beautiful French pastry with a coconut-flavored mousse sandwiched between a chocolate glaze on top and a chocolate cake on bottom.
I, on the other hand, enjoyed some desserts from one of my favorite bakeries ever - where we stopped during a drive-around in downtown Detroit on Wednesday night. The cream-cheese brownies are melt-in-your-mouth divine. Love them!
Before we left on Saturday, there was a quick trip to another of my favorite spots. There was less to see, being winter and all, but I was so happy to show Wildcat Guy this amazing market. We even picked up some zucchini bread and chocolate chip cookies from the Amish stand for the drive home.
Okay, so this isn't the most local of meals - but Saturday afternoon, Wildcat Guy and I inadvertently turned last year's New Year's Day brunch at IHOP into a new "last meal in Michigan" tradition when we stopped at an IHOP just south of the metro for lunch. And you know those "interpretive" foods that claim they'll taste like something, but don't? Yeah, these Cinnastack pancakes do not fall into that category. They really, truly do taste like cinnamon rolls. Mmm, mmm.
And yes - I really did buy snacks in Michigan to import to Kentucky. Shannon had given me some of these snacks in a gift basket back in October; and we liked them so much that I wanted to get some to bring home. (Although I looked at Wildcat Guy yesterday and lamented the fact that I only bought one bag of each.) Because if we can't bring all the fun of the Detroit area home with us, at least we can bring a bit of the flavor.
Where I am: home
What I'm reading: The Serpent Handlers
We decided to order our pizzas to share, sushi-style. My choice was the tangy "Detroit Institute of the Arts" pizza, with spinach, artichoke and capers (which are not, as a certain blonde thought, fish eggs - that would be caviar). Yum, yum!
Shannon's choice was the Detroiter, a classic pepperoni pizza.
Then there was Wildcat Guy's choice of BBQ chicken pizza, which didn't really surprise me, since that's one of his favorites. But what did surprise me was how it may be the best BBQ chicken pizza I've ever tasted.
Then, Thursday, while Wildcat Guy and I were playing tourist, we enjoyed a cafeteria-style lunch that included huge servings of macaroni and cheese, and a locally-inspired beef pasty (pronounced PASS-tee).
Luckily for Wildcat Guy, I liked both my pasty and his pulled pork. Because he decided, after having a bite of the pasty, that he liked it better. Soooo...we did a quick switcheroo.
After our day at the museum, we really wanted a snack. When we came across a Dunkin Donuts, Wildcat Guy quickly pulled into the parking lot, so we could fill yet another gap in his doughtnut experiences. Granted, it felt weird to me that his first Dunkin Donut was eaten in Michigan, not the Northeast - but as he said, we at least were in the north.
Because the area we were in has such a large Middle Eastern population, it was decided that dinner Thursday night should be Middle Eastern. (Never mind that our friends' Lebanese brother-in-law later informed us that the place we chose was essentially the McDonald's of Middle Eastern restaurants around there.)
I'm a big fan of hummus (based on chick peas), but had never tried baba ghannouge (based on egg plant) until then. It's actually very yummy!
After much discussion about what each of us wanted to order, our server recommended the shawarma combo and the kabob combo for the four of us to share. Okay! I liked the kabobs more than the shawarma, but both were good. Including the veal, which - just in case there is any doubt - is baby cow, not baby lamb. Right, Wildcat Guy?
The two combos together, though, were just way too much food - even for the four of us. So we had some tasty Middle Eastern leftovers (served in Polish pottery) for lunch the next day. (And even then, there were leftovers. Crazy.)
After our Middle Eastern dinner, we'd also stopped at a well-known bakery that specializes in Middle Eastern and French pastries. Wildcat Guy chose this beautiful French pastry with a coconut-flavored mousse sandwiched between a chocolate glaze on top and a chocolate cake on bottom.
I, on the other hand, enjoyed some desserts from one of my favorite bakeries ever - where we stopped during a drive-around in downtown Detroit on Wednesday night. The cream-cheese brownies are melt-in-your-mouth divine. Love them!
Before we left on Saturday, there was a quick trip to another of my favorite spots. There was less to see, being winter and all, but I was so happy to show Wildcat Guy this amazing market. We even picked up some zucchini bread and chocolate chip cookies from the Amish stand for the drive home.
Okay, so this isn't the most local of meals - but Saturday afternoon, Wildcat Guy and I inadvertently turned last year's New Year's Day brunch at IHOP into a new "last meal in Michigan" tradition when we stopped at an IHOP just south of the metro for lunch. And you know those "interpretive" foods that claim they'll taste like something, but don't? Yeah, these Cinnastack pancakes do not fall into that category. They really, truly do taste like cinnamon rolls. Mmm, mmm.
And yes - I really did buy snacks in Michigan to import to Kentucky. Shannon had given me some of these snacks in a gift basket back in October; and we liked them so much that I wanted to get some to bring home. (Although I looked at Wildcat Guy yesterday and lamented the fact that I only bought one bag of each.) Because if we can't bring all the fun of the Detroit area home with us, at least we can bring a bit of the flavor.Where I am: home
What I'm reading: The Serpent Handlers
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