[Metromode] Dino's: Feeding Fans and School Kids Alike

Festive lights at Dino's in Ferndale.Dino's Lounge is a Ferndale staple. Opened in September 2002, Dino's is the kind of place that has gained a loyal local following not for its gimmicky appeal or trendiness, but just for being a friendly neighborhood place offering good food and fun times, the kind of place that gained popularity not through vigorous advertising but by word of mouth. Owner Dean ("Dino") Bach is well-known as much for his involvement...

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[HOT LIST] College food (Midtown edition)

Honest?John's. Photo from Flickr.Editor's note: Your HBIC has been very busy lately and needs some help around the house. Please meet Stefanie Cobb, EID's new Co-Conspirator! She sent me a lovely email asking for my guidance and because flattery will get you everywhere I decided to adopt her. She is in college at WSU and thus an expert on this particular HL topic. Please do not call her an "intern;" she is getting paid and is not doing my dishes...

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[NEWS BITES] Valentine goes beyond vodka; let's all hit the hospital for dinner; major changes at Hour Detroit; more

The Valentine Distillery will be releasing their new Liberator Gin in just a few weeks and will also be releasing a whiskey in early 2013. The name "Liberator" is in keeping with the the company's all-Michigan, vintage branding: the Liberator B-24 bomber was made at the Willow Run plant in Ypsilanti during WWII, and owner Rifino Valentine even has an old Liberator propeller that will soon be going up in the tasting room to celebrate the new launch. The gin and whiskey are currently available in the tasting room only and join the label's signature...

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The Week We Ate (The EID Week in Review)

The Free Press is positioning Ye Olde Butcher Shoppe as a David v. Goliath grocery store war. Maybe we could just have two nice grocery stores instead? [Freep]Here is more on Dave Gilbert's new place called Marais in Grosse Pointe Park opening next spring (and apparently he and his wife were lured over there by the same developers who got Mindy Lopus interested). [Freep]Someone might do something at some point in the former Agave space?...

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[Real Detroit Weekly] Six Drink Slam: Imperial

Ring of Fire. Photo by Nicole Rupersburg.Imperial, the L.A. hipster crustpunk biker rockabilly whisky bar and taco shack in Ferndale, is pretty much one of our new favorite places ever. Tacos? Good. Beer? Good. Booze? GOOD. To prepare for this round of Six Drink Slam, we laid down a basecoat of their house-made biscuits and chorizo gravy during their recently-launched Sunday brunch. What's that you say about Sunday Funday? We bet ours was funner...

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[HOT LIST] Biscuits and gravy

The Hillbilly Bennie at Mae's.Somewhere inside of me there is a fat girl just dying to get out. (She's been making some progress too, but more on that perhaps another time.) Biscuits and gravy are a relatively new discovery to me. Years ago the whole concept of biscuits slathered in sausage gravy and served like slop on a plate just didn't appeal to me and I refused to eat them. Then one day I said WTF and tried some and it was love at first...

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[NEWS BITES] Great Lakes Coffee Roasting Co. expands into Lake Orion; more

All this news of expansions and growing empires in recent months ... it's like, what recession two years ago, you know?All snarking aside (it happens occasionally), it's really quite amazing when you step back and look at what a difference two years have made, not just to the city but to greater metro Detroit as a whole. From a seemingly endless stream of bankruptcies and closures to new restaurants opening on a weekly basis and restaurateurs both seasoned and new to the game building empires, and businesses increasing their hours just to keep...

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The Week We Ate (The EID Week in Review)

Gathering supplies for nuclear holocaust. It pays to be a high-quality, organic bakery and these places are raking in the dough. The carbohydrate empires of Zingerman's to the west and Avalon to the east are both embarking on multi-million-dollar expansions. [Crain's]Also expanding: Rub Pub BBQ, this time into Ann Arbor. And what most people won't know is that this is actually a third location for the company. The second is in Warren on...

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[HOT LIST] Wild game

Loon River Cafe.In the tradition of important Opening Days in Michigan, November 15 was opening day for gun season (bow season started October 1, and I for one think anyone who is badass enough to use a bow and arrow instead of a graceless, brutish gun which lacks a certain finesse when compared to bows, deserve that extra month and a half lead time). It seems like such a great time to run a wild game hot list, but ay, here's the rub: it is illegal...

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[NEWS BITES] The Root opening second location in Howell; Pizzeria Biga opening third location in Ann Arbor

Both these haps are pretty hush-hush, but I have confirmation that Pizzeria Biga has started build-out on what will be their third location, this one in Ann Arbor. Proprietor Luciano del Signore always intended for Biga to expand into multiple locations and with Royal Oak already a hit, that ball of dough certainly seems to be rolling.And in keeping with their tradition of choosing WTF locations in metro Detroit's BFE, the Root Restaurant will be opening a second location in Howell. An agreement has been reached but build-out has not yet start...

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The Week We Ate (The EID Week in Review)

UK vs USTomorrow night the Rattlesnake will be featured on the Detroit episode of Chef Race: UK vs US. Other stops on the BBC America's city your included Eastern Market and the Grosse Ile Yacht Club, but it was in the Snake's kitchen that the elimination challenge took place. Executive Chef Chris Franz even got to take part in the judging. The episode airs Tuesday, Nov. 13 at 10 p.m. on BBC America. [Rattlesnake Official]Some major kind of filming...

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