October - 2018

Second poké location

Opening their second location in Birmingham was a no brainer for Kaku Sushi & Poké. “We’ve always been kind of drawn to Birmingham and the community,” said manager Maikue Vang. “When an opportunity came we definitely wanted to take advantage of it.” Owner and chef Kaku Usui – who is also Vang’s husband – has created a menu very similar to their Bloomfield Township spot at 869 W. Long Lake Road, at Telegraph, except there are a few more Japanese sushi rolls. Their signature Ha

Grand dining entry

The highly anticipated Gran Castor – run by the Curt Catallo and wife Ann Stevenson restaurant development company Union Joints – has opened for dinner with a unique flair, and in a unique location. Home to a former Hooters restaurant at 2950 Rochester Road in Troy, Stevenson, who also served as the restaurant’s designer, described their latest project as Latin street food set in “the funkiest rec room ever.” After already having success with their Clarkston restaurant Honcho

Bobcat Bonnie’s comes north

Originally planned for the former Eden Nightclub, 22061 Woodward Avenue, Bobcat Bonnie’s will now open its Ferndale location at 240 W. Nine Mile Road, formerly home to Zeke’s Rock and Roll BBQ. “It’s a better fit, to be honest,” said owner Matt Buskard. “Its crazy how one door closes and a better door opens.” With hopes for an end of fall opening Buskard said the Ferndale restaurant will be the same in regard to menu and concept as their Corktown and Wyandotte locations. They

Toma comes to Corktown

What does being this year’s winner of the $50,000 prize in the Comerica Hatch Detroit Contest mean to Toma Detroit? “Winning it gives us a foot in the door...it gives us a chance to really get this project off the ground,” said Jose Maldonado, one of the restaurants four partners. “It’s an unbelievable feeling.” The money will go towards securing their liquor license that comes with the building – once home to Casey’s Pub at 1830 Michigan Avenue, Detroit – and beginning to bu

Anchor away

Got a hankering for an original Buffalo wing? Head directly to the new Anchor Bar, which just located at 2945 S. Rochester Road in Rochester Hills. Anchor Bar was the spot, in Buffalo, New York, which created the delicacy known as wings – an unbreaded chicked wing which they deep-fried and then coated in a hot sauce. Anchor Bar serves more than 1 million pounds of chicken every year, and with the opening of the Rochester Hills location, this American classic is available lo

Detroit’s Frita Batidos

Next year the Cuban-inspired restaurant, Frita Batidos, will expand to downtown Detroit on Columbia Street, near the Fox Theatre and the new Little Caesars World Headquarters. For owner Eve Aronoff, this is a long time coming. Aronoff, who originally gained fame for her high-end gourmet restaurant Eve, in Ann Arbor’s Kerrytown, switched her focus to Frita Batidos, which is her interpretation of Cuban street food. Fritas are traditional Cuban burgers; batidos are tropical milk

Barter and arts

With bars opening all over metro Detroit, Cait Pluto, Jake Goodrich, and Jennifer Sandella wanted to make sure their bar would stand out. Enter Barter – located at 11601 Joseph Campau Avenue in Hamtramck – which will not only be a bar but a community arts space. “For us, it’s really about the arts and that’s kind of where this idea came from, and the bar sort of followed,” said Pluto, who is the marketing director of the unique combined space. “It just seemed like the perfect

Food truck expansion

Once a food truck, Norma G’s officially opened their brick-and-mortar spot August 17 according to the restaurant’s Facebook page. Named after his mom, Norma G’s owner and chef Lester Gouvia is bringing Caribbean comfort food to 14700 E. Jefferson Avenue in Detroit with a menu that has many items familiar to those who enjoyed the food truck, including jerk chicken sliders. He’s also bringing flavors from his Trinidadian upbringing, such as doubles – a mix of chickpeas and onio

Tomatoes Apizza

So far, since opening, things have been going well for Tomatoes Apizza’s newest addition, a Birmingham location at 34200 Woodward Ave. “I love Birmingham – it’s amazing,” said owner Mike Weinstein. “The people are so amazingly nice. I just feel like the community’s amazingly great.” The 1,400-square-foot spot, adjacent to Papa Joe’s, will offer carryout and delivery, but no sit-down service like their Farmington locations. The New Haven style pizza (which means that it’s thi

ALSO FOLLOW US HERE:

@downtownpublications.com

@downtownpublications

@downtownpubs

ARCHIVES:

RECENT POSTS: