The Week We Ate (The EID Week in Review)

There are European cities that are smaller.

I've spent the last few weeks being Grand Social Media Master Bloggery Empress Extraordinaire for GR Beer Week and it all culminated in Winter Beer Fest this weekend. While I have no plans to recap the whole excursion, this guy's pretty much sums it up. #11 x1000. [GR Beer Week / MLive]

Dan Gearig of El Guapo - Fresh Mexican Grill and The Mac Shack is showing metro Detroit how to build a better food truck with his new food truck fabrication business Red Beard Customs. The first of the fleet will hit the strEATs this spring and will be headed up by the fine folks at Corridor Sausage Co.  [Metromode]

So I posed this question: "Question: will Biggby Coffee be accused of being an evil corporate empire a la Starbucks once they go national, or will people still consider them a 'local' company that we should support since they're headquartered in MI? It's those fine lines, you know?" The answers were predictably polarized. [Crain's / EID FB]

The same thing happened here: "All of metro Detroit's dreams are coming true! The Cheesecake Factory will open its first-ever (and LONG discussed) metro Detroit location later this year. Where? Novi. Where else?" [Detroit News]

Looks like Oak Park might have caught on that Prohibition ended. [Detroit News]

Luciano del Signore once again makes it to the James Beard Foundation Awards semifinals for "Best Chef Great Lakes." After just getting "Restaurant of the Year" for Bacco Ristorante, it would seem Lucky Luciano is having a pretty good year so far! [JBF]

Happy 100th Happy's Pizza! Their pizza is just okay but their stuffed cheese bread is hot buttered crack. [Model D]

LOLZ. Steve from Mallie's Grill N Bar is a great guy and these dudes look like total twunts. I hope someone IDs them and I enjoy this opportunity to shame them publicly. [MyFoxDetroit]

Cafe Habana in Royal Oak has closed and will be replaced by Monk this spring, which will be an even MORE Belgian of their sister Belgian concept Bastone. [EID FB]

Awrey Bakeries, LLC: SAVED! One hell of a frosted hail mary here. [Detroit News]

So, tentacles are big right now. [Freep]

Jess Daniel of FoodLab Detroit wrote this extremely thoughtful piece on network weaving and building a good food network in Detroit for Urban Innovation Exchange. [UIX]

This woman is changing the meaning of the term "foodie." Read more about the founder and mission of Restaurant Opportunities Center and COLORS-Detroit. [In These Times]

Sylvia Rector loves Pizzeria Biga's new brunch. [Freep]

Butter Run Saloon in St. Clair Shores sounds like a fun spot! [Detroit News]

Another metro Detroit cupcakery will be featured on Cupcake Wars: this time it is Rockin' Cupcakes in Rochester Hills. [Rochester Patch]

Ann Arbor

Chelsea now has a smokehouse, Smokehouse 52 BBQ, in addition to the recently-opened Chelsea Alehouse. Chelsea may now proceed with being a city. [AnnArbor.com]

I'm kind of in love/obsessed with the whole concept of Selma Cafe. While I've yet to make it out to A2 at 7am on a Friday (awful early plus a whole of a driving for breakfast on a workday), one of these days I'd love to AirBnB it for a little weekday staycation (to clarify: they rent out rooms in their home where these events are also held through AirBnB). [Concentrate]

Luciano del Signore is all OVER the news this week! Here's more on the new Pizzeria Biga opening in Ann Arbor (*cough*FIRST*cough*). [AnnArbor.com]

Café Zola owners will open a new restaurant in the Arbor Hills Crossing development late this summer.  [Concentrate]

What Crêpe in Ann Arbor opened quietly. [AnnArbor.com]


Beerie
A proposed bill would make some significant changes to the current liquor laws in Michigan, particularly as they apply to craft breweries and beer distribution, which of course the president of the Michigan Beer and Wine Wholesalers Association has a problem with. [MLive]

Beer reps from Powers do the Harlem Shake. [You Tube]

Drink beer after your workout! [Washington Post]


Miscellaneous 
~Calling it: on February 18, 2013 at 8:35am (CST), poutine jumped the shark. Also, for those of you who didn't know, Chicago invented America. [Sun Times]

~Guy Fieri failed to buy the full domain name for Guy's American Kitchen + Bar. So this guy did instead. And put up an "alternate" menu with items like "Superbowl Bash Bro'det ($37.95): a bidet jammed to the brim with bubbling, overflowing Velveeta over a hidden layer of hamburger-fisted pig skins and a generous sprinkling of Dirty South Couch Crumbs. The bidet is an mp3 player that plays Smash Mouth while you eat. Serves one." [Business Insider]