On September 10, the very highly anticipated Pernoi – 310 E. Maple Road, Birmingham – finally opened its doors. Once inside, guests found multiple dining experiences offered at the restaurant, owned by acclaimed chefs Luciano DelSignore and Takashi Yagihashi. There’s the Maple Room – named after its location – the most elegant space in the new establishment, with jackets required for men, and a la carte and prix fixe menu options, the latter which will be rolled out at the beginning of October. Going along with the aesthetic – made to feel like being on a motor yacht in days of yore – is the slightly more casual Port Room, as in port and starboard, which will have the same a la carte menu as

James Beard Award-winning chef Shawn McClain and his hospitality group, McClain Camarota Hospitality, know the views from the top of the GM Renaissance Center – in the former Coach Insignia location – are spectacular. It’s part of why they wanted to introduce four concepts there, all under the umbrella called Highlands. They hope that view will be the second or third thing guests mention when they tell their friends about them, though. “It is stunning but we really want to create an experience that is equal to the view and equals the level of excellence that we try to bring to our projects,” he said. Among the four concepts – looking to open in mid-November – are Highlands Steakhouse, where

Pizza aficionados have a new joint to look forward to as Green Lantern Pizza has plans to open up its seventh location this November in Berkley. Located at 4033 12 Mile Road, the pizzeria, which has been family-owned and operated since 1955, will have a similar decor and almost identical menu to their Clinton Township space. They may be bringing a few additions once they open the 5,200-square-foot space, though. “We have been toying around with adding a pasta dish...if we do it, it will be launched with Berkley,” said co-owner John Spreitzer. Menu items include their well-known pizza, and appetizers, like hand-rolled jalapeño popper with bacon and reuben egg rolls. In addition, there will be

With his restaurant looking to open by mid-November, how is Gary Mui feeling? “Very scared and very excited,” laughed Mui, co-owner of the upcoming Alma Kitchen with Alicia Sanchez. Filled with art deco elements the restaurant – “alma” means “soul” in the kitchen – will open at 14300 E. Jefferson Avenue, Detroit and have a menu full of Chinese, American, and Mexican flavors. Mui wants to make it extremely clear though, this is not a fusion restaurant, so don’t expect something like almond boneless chicken tacos. “It’s kind of like an homage to growing up in the metro Detroit area,” said Mui, who is a first-generation Chinese-American. “We decided that we wanted to be authentic in some ways b

Over the next six months big changes are coming to the Jim Brady’s Detroit menu, thanks to their new chef, Christian Borden. Being done in four stages – with five dishes being executed at a time – Borden said they plan to change the entire core menu at 1214 S. Main Street, Royal Oak along with their other location in Ann Arbor, making it a bit more modern and upscale. The interior of the Royal Oak location is also being renovated in the near future. The first initiative was rolled out at the beginning of September and the dishes are already proving popular. “Immediately, we started selling multiple orders on the same ticket, and it’s not uncommon to have three impossible burgers and a grille

The duo behind Chartreuse Kitchen & Cocktails – Sandy Levine, restaurateur, and Doug Hewitt, chef – are opening up a second restaurant at 2929 E. Grand Boulevard, Detroit. Hoping to push the envelope with the upcoming spot, Freya & Dragonfly, it will be treated as two spaces with two separate concepts, each getting their own kitchen, with the one at Freya in the middle of the space. Dragonfly will consist of hand-held bites with a vegetable focus, and will be paired with a cocktail and beverage program, focused on lower alcohol cocktails that use lots of fresh produce. Freya will have a tasting menu with options that will be highly dependent on local harvests. At Freya, named after the Norse

Owner Marizza Alego-Cariño has traveled all over the world and been to a lot of cafes, which is how she found herself wanting to open a cafe in Troy that felt homey and wasn’t just another chain. Enter Cafe Immortelle, which recently opened at 4979 Livernois Road, Troy. The cafe sells Eli Tea Bar, their signature Immortelle tea blend (which Alego-Cariño makes), bubble tea, and a variety of drinks made with Populace Coffee Co. Influenced by her own travels, the food menu doesn’t look like any other cafe, featuring croissant sandwiches, avocado toast – with toppings like chili, and tomato and basil – a Spanish sardine sandwich, spam musubi, and veggie nigiri.

Tarji Carter, chief development officer for the Original Hot Dog Factory, currently based in Atlanta, hopes the coney dog on their menu will get Michiganders in the door, and then have them try a few of their other options. With over 30 different toppings, and multiple proteins to select from – including chicken sausages, turkey sausages, and veggie sausages – the menu has a number of regional style offerings like the LA Dog and New Yorker. “We love the fact that we cater to pretty much everyone,” she said. “We like to say that hot dogs don’t discriminate and neither do we.” The company – whose CEO is Michigan native and University of Michigan alumnus, Dennis McKinley – is looking to open tw