[HOT LIST] Pancakes

Red Velvet Pancakes from Hudson Cafe. Photo by Alyse Hinton.Today is National Pancake Day! So it seems only fitting for a Pancake Hot List. For most people pancakes might come out of a box with instructions reading "just add water," but these pancake places make everything from scratch using fresh butter, cream and fruit ... and they also get a bit creative in their toppings. From the griddle to your gullet, here are the places that treat pancakes...

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[EID Preview] John D

Adis Celic and Eddie Farah of John D Bistro. Photo by Nicole Rupersburg.If you thought last year was a big year for Ferndale, this year is ... well, it's also going to be big, anyway. Progress and development continues to barrel forward with the recently-opened One-Eyed Betty's, and will continue strong over the next few months with Woodward Imperial, Local Kitchen + Bar, and John D Bistro.First things first: let's escort the white elephant out of...

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[HOT LIST] Fish fry

Photo by Chris Jones (stopherjones) on Flickr."You buy we fry." You'll see this sign posted in big block lettering on white cardboard or all lit up in red and blue neon everywhere you go in the city outside of the trendy central MidCorkDown districts. I love coffeehouses, creperies and craft beer bars as much as the next hipster (hey, I'll cop to wearing skinny jeans), but these places still don't represent the majority of the businesses and consumers...

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[Metromix] Tallulah Wine Bar and Bistro

Photo by VATO for Metromix.Mindy VanHellemont opened Tallulah Wine Bar and Bistro in Birmingham in February 2010 – not exactly the most reassuring time in recent memory for a first-time restaurateur to be opening a brand-new business.“It was a rough time to open,” she agrees. “But I really wasn’t terrified because I really felt I had something that was unique enough and special enough that people would want to come.” Tallulah is finally the restaurant...

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[Oakland County Prosper] Nothing Small About Peteet's Famous Cheesecakes

Photo by Nicole Rupersburg.Peteet’s Famous Cheesecakes in Oak Park offers 30 different flavors of two-layer cheesecake daily (they make a total of 90 different varieties) whole or by the slice. But this isn’t just cheesecake: this is probably the best cheesecake you have ever had in your life – even the top chefs in metro Detroit think so.“I remember I met with a Master Chef before I ever knew what a Master Chef was or that such a thing even...

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[EID Preview] Clubhouse BFD: It's a BFD

All photos by Nicole Rupersburg.There are beer bars. And then there are beer shrines. Clubhouse BFD in Rochester is not just a beer bar; it is a juried gallery exhibit of the brewing arts.Owner Scott LePage grew up in the restaurant industry. His parents are long-time area restaurateurs, at one point operating over two dozen different restaurants. (Currently they own Big Rock Chophouse in Birmingham, and will be opening a brewpub called Griffin Claw...

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[HOT LIST] Paczki

At Elias Donuts. Covert cell phone photography by Nicole Rupersburg.Fat Tuesday is coming February 21, and that means one thing to metro Detroiters: PACZKI. Paczki are dense doughnuts filled with any number of fruit fillings (including the less-common but more traditional rose hip and hibiscus) then glazed or covered with powdered sugar, but for me, I don't even acknowledge paczki unless we're talking custard. (If I wanted a mouthful of jam I would...

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[Concentrate] Ypsilanti's in the Mix (or Vice Versa)

Recent developments over in Ann Arbor's country cousin are making Ypsilanti quite a destination for those looking to support local artisan movements. Café Ollie recently obtained a tavern license, so they now offer a selection of Michigan craft beer and wine along with their coffee and comfort food. Next door the same owners opened the MI General Store, a specialty food store that specifically caters to all things Michigan-made: craft beer, fine wine, candies, snacks, and condiments. After a little over a month of operation, many folks...

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[EID Feature] I Dream of GC with the Sharp Gruyere: Cheese Dream Gets Ready to Open

All photos courtesy of Cheese Dream.Are food trucks "over"? Not by a long shot. In fact, in greater metro Detroit they've only just begun. Detroit's El Guapo made headlines for its much-touted 60 trips to City Hall just to get the proper permits; recent food truck meet-ups in Eastern Market and the Royal Oak Farmers Market packed crowds to capacity with two-plus-hour wait times for tacos; and Mark's Carts in Ann Arbor was lauded for introducing a...

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[HOT LIST] Grilled cheese

A build-your-own grilled cheese (sourdough, cheddar, bacon) from Mae's in Pleasant Ridge. Covert phone photography by Nicole Rupersburg.Take some cheese, stick it between two slices of bread slathered in butter, grill it until the cheese is all melty-bubbly, then eat it. So simple a child can do it, which is probably why we all almost universally have fond memories of it from childhood - memories so fond that we seek to recreate them as adults, only...

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[EID Feature] Amore à Detroit

All photos by Nicole Rupersburg.Valentine's Day. It's meant to be a day for romance (and a nice little retail push after the six-week-long post-holiday slump), not a day for neurotic meltdowns. If you're a "we," here are some swoon-worthy date ideas (or at least not the stale old dinner-at-a-fancy-restaurant formula) to impress her, him or them (hey, who am I to judge?). Ditch the impossible-to-get reservations and try out one of these alternative...

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