Southwest Detroit Restaurant Week Returns After Hiatus #DetroitFood

The mole verde, a special dish prepared for Southwest Detroit Restaurant Week, from El Palenque at 5426 Vernor Highway. | Featherstone

Plus, a candid conversation with women in Detroit’s restaurant industry and a pizza tour of Naples with PizzaPlex

Following a two-year pandemic hiatus, Southwest Detroit Restaurant Week returns Friday, Sept. 30 through Sunday, Oct. 9., featuring 21 restaurants whose cuisine spans the Americas. This year, organizers are dedicating their efforts to the memory of Monica Casarez, co-founder of the dining event and a healthcare worker who died from COVID-19 in the early months of the pandemic.

New this year, a food truck rally is planned from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., Oct. 3 at Batch Brewing Company at 1400 Porter St, giving mobile food entrepreneurs an opportunity to get in on the festivities. On tap, 13 different food trucks, beers by Batch, non-alcoholic drinks by the Cafecito Alvarez pop-up, and DJ Coco spinning music for the night. Also on hand, the Wayne Health Mobile Unit, sponsored by the National Kidney Foundation of Michigan’s REACH Program, will provide free health screenings, and flu and booster shots, between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Each participating restaurant will prepare a special restaurant week entree, introducing diners to a variety of heirloom recipes typical of several regions of Mexico, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and beyond. Guests can expect dishes like pozole verde from La Posada, empenadas with plátano from La Cuscatleca, mole verde from Palenque Restaurant, chicken and waffles from El Rey de las Arepas, and more.

Ladies of Detroit

James Beard-nominated chef Kate Williams at Karl’s at The Siren Hotel at 1509 Broadway St. will host Food & Wine’s former editor-in-chief Dana Cowin, founder of the “Speaking Broadly” zine and podcast at 7 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 29 for an intimate discussion on the many issues facing women in the restaurant industry. Leading women in Detroit’s local food world will be on hand to prepare a six-course meal, including Williams, Kiki Louya of Core City Development, Jenn Jackson of the recently-shuttered Bunny Bunny, Ederique Goudia from Make Food Not Waste, and chefs Chi Walker and Nik Cole of Fried Chicken and Caviar. Tickets are available for $100 and include a copy of the zine, along with food.

PizzaPlex to Naples

PizzaPlex, the city’s bonafide Neapolitan-Style Pizzeria, is inviting fans to join in on a guided culinary tour of Naples taking place Dec. 2 through 7. Travelers will get to take pizza-making classes at Scuola di Pizzaiolo — the same school that prompted the PizzaPlex founders in 2015 to open the southwest Detroit pizzeria two years later — wine tasting at Sorrentino Vini and Cantine Astroni, avisit to the Amalfi coast, guided tours of different aspects of Naples, including Underground Naples and the historic shopping destination San Gregorio Armeno. Six spots for this travel experience are available, but the deadline to sign up is Friday, Sept. 30.

from Eater Detroit - All