Thai food. Coconut milk curry is addictive, so I have to go anywhere that you can slurp this down. I feel like sushi is something I get far too often, unfortunately neglecting other tasty Asian culinary gifts to the world. Across the street corner that Noir Leather sits on, is a little Thai restaurant – Ahan Thai. I ignored it at first glance and proceeded down the street. But after looking at Lily’s Seafood & Pronto’s which I’ve been to about 4,000 times, I walked back. The entrance has a square countertop in the center of the place and stout booths around the walls.
I got the Pad Thai. I know, I know. But if the standard dish at an establishment isn’t any good, then why go? I was satisfied. It definitely had what I want in good Thai food – which is the perfect blends of polar opposite flavors. Lime and peanuts, coconut and tofu. I was too timid to get a spicier sauce grade. Gotta walk on the wild side next time. They have that on the front of the menu – mild/medium/spicy/very spicy – each with a corresponding chili pepper insignia.
The best thing about their food was that they have the best fried tofu I have ever had. Instead of getting chicken or beef, definitely opt for the tofu! It’s crispy delicious, but not overdone. And in the sauce. Yum. Tom Yum. That was the name of the soup I had…before the entrée.
Ahan Thai is tom yum, I’d say.
               After that I went to my personal tea leaf heaven. It was opened last February. Since then I’ve been hooked. This ain’t yo mama’s Townsend Tea Extravaganza. With the numerous stock of books (most of which are about tea), beautiful teapots resting on the shelves, and cozy corners, I can’t help but get my zen on. I ordered some Tie Guan Yin Oolong and my friend got some Lapsang Souchong. Probably the sweetest gesture was that after I got my tea, an employee there who knows I get aural woody for Van Morrison went to the back and put my jam on for me! How many places in public can I sip my Oolong and listen to Mr.Morrison? I was sitting between a priest and a kid w/ sweet dreads. Any place that draws these two demographics, I wanna be.

After reading Scotter’s post on opening of the Woodbridge Pub I decided to mosey on down and see what kind of sustenance I could devour. Actually, I had been planning to go there anyway to see a fall photography show put on by some fellow Exposure Detroit members. The pictures and ambiance were spectacular. It has a really homey feel, with rich wood tones and tin ceilings.

The food was decently priced, as were the drinks. I got the Detroit Hipster burger, which comes on a ciabbatta bun, with a whole portabella mushroom cap, and a pesto infused mayonnaise sauce (I copied that part from the menu, I don’t even know what it means). It was delicious, if a bit messy. I can’t wait to get back and sample some more of the wonderful food!

Midtowners now have the luxury of having sushi in the neighbourhood.  The base floor of the Park Shelton now boasts the presence of Wasabi restaurant.  The marble flooring of the Park Shelton is not an obvious paring for the minimalistic Japanese décor; however, the effect is decadent.  The service yesterday was unfortunately terribly slow as first day kinks were being worked out.  Despite the delay, the staff was quite courteous and apologetic and the food was well worth the wait.  The sushi was delicious – the Philadelphia and spicy California rolls.  The appetizers which came out after the sushi were also quite good.  I had the edamame as well as the shrimp shumai dim-sum type offering.  The deep fried cheesecake was a delicious sin and the green tea ice cream serving was quite generous with a cherry on top.  The sushi was well priced and the desserts very fairly priced which is a rare luxury. 

The internet bugs attacked me, and I haven’t been able to even sign on to Metro Blogging in, well, forever I think.

Lots has happened in the D since this world wide web failed me, but at least this weekend will give me a good opportunity to jump right back in. The Detroit International Festival is happening, on way more streets and way bigger area than I though. Just drive to Midtown and pull over when you see people milling around and white tents set up.

As usual, I’m pretty geeked for the food and drink, but there’s something that will keep everyone busy.

Even hair sculptures. Only in the D, folks…

The Wonder That Is Zaccaro’s!

I drove on over to the new Zaccaro’s Market on Friday – only to be super embarrassed when I learned that the store, on Watson and Woodward, is less than two blocks from my office, but oh well.

It was so worth the drive. While I still think it’s wacky that the addition of a mere grocery store can drive the Detroit blogosphere into a frenzy, we latch on to what we can get in this fair city.

I ordered my sandwich (very good), strolled around the store (very cute) and checked out some of the merchandise (very nice). This still isn’t the kind of place where I’ll be able to do my weekly (ok, monthly) grocery extravaganza but it’s going to be the place where I run in on the way home and grab something for dinner.

Zaccaro’s has staples like pasta, sauces, dairy, fruit and veggies and then some of the kitschy items that you’d want to find in an upscale grocery store. A coffee bar, some bistro tables, and what looks like it will become a wine room in the rear of the store. And the best part? It’s all pretty reasonable. My fear was that it was going to be a commodity in the area and charge $4 for a box of noodles or something, but I was pleasantly surprised. Of course my favorite item was little single use packets of spices, which will cut down on my buying a bathtub of cumin when I really need a teaspoon, but that’s just me.

I’m definitley going to be a regular at this place. I think I’ll even walk next time.

Zaccaro’s Market, a gourmet grocer of the Whole Food/Trader Joe type, opens today at its Midtown location at Woodward and Watson. Providing fresh and locally grown organic foods, fine wines and liquors, and an excellent variety of pre-prepared, healthy foods, the market is a welcome addition and is sure to be at capacity level from open to close for some time.

Happy gourmandizing, Detroit!

I am replacing my post earlier today on GP history thanks to Max, who pointed out that Rikkus just posted on it recently : > Thanks for the heads-up, Max.

In its place, I want to address something related to Mollika’s Entertaining in the City post about the lack of grocery stores in Detroit, and that there are few options if you work 9 – 5. I have heard this from a number of other Detroiters and wanted to offer a tip.

While I agree that we need more competition here, for some reason I feel like city-dwellers in the near east and near west area often overlook the Farmer Jack at 11250 East Jefferson.
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A former Detroit icon will be reopening back inside the city limits, this according to a story in the Detroit News, fom Wednesday, January 31st.

it is good to see a new pizza resturant in the city, as selection is somewhat limited, and of course new development is good period. I am happy to see that Shield’s will be located inside the Kales Building, as I always was disappointed to see nothing takeoff at the corner.

Hopefully this can spur development to the west of Grand Circus Park, and get Park Avenue hopping!

There’s this super website out there. It’s called Judysbook. It’s basically a site that allows you to review and rate local businesses – mostly restaurants but other things too. It’s got a pretty comprehensive list of restaurants and reviews of said restaurants. You can read my unqualified and biased reviews or you can see the whole Detroit page.

I realize that this entry was a shameless plug for another site but I’ve really gotten alot of use out of Judysbook and get a kick out of reviewing all the crazy places I go around town.