The Best Dishes Eater Detroit Ate in March #DetroitFood

The steak and frites from Coeur | Courtney Burk

Mini banh mi in Warren, a Secret Bakery sandwich, chicharrón de pollo, and more

Here at Eater Detroit, we dine out several times a week, which means we come across a lot of standout dishes, and we don’t want to keep any secrets. Introducing a new monthly feature, highlighting the best things that the Eater Detroit team ate. Check back monthly!

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Mini steak banh mi at 88 Banh Mi and Bowl

29200 Dequindre Road, Suite 6, Warren

There are few things better than the feeling of biting into a banh mi. The outside of the baguette crackles with a satisfying crispness, and the pillowy interior is enhanced by the richness of chicken liver pate — and the egg, as an add-on — combined with the flavor texture and of marinated meat or tofu, if you’d rather. Add on peppery pickled daikon and fresh cilantro for just the right balance of textures and flavors. At 88 Banh Mi and Bowl, baguettes are baked in-house each morning and features a wide variety of options ranging from vegetarian, marinated meats, and more traditional Vietnamese style meats. I love that the restaurant features halal steak and chicken, as well as shrimp and mackerel pike — making for a more inclusive menu for those with halal diets. My favorite banh mi from here has to be the Bánh Mì Bò Bít Tết — steak — which comes grilled, and is loaded with pickled veggies and the spot’s homemade butter. Vietnamese places aren’t hard to come by in metro Detroit, but this place really stands out by focusing specifically on the finer details of banh mi. I also love that they have two different sizes ($9.99 large, $4.99 mini) because I always opt for two minis because the only thing better than one banh mi is two of them! — Fatima Syed, freelance photographer

Fatima Syed

A spread of banh mi and other treats from 88 Banh Mi and Bowl

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Kanafeh from Turkish Village

21931 Michigan Ave., #100, Dearborn

My family moved to Detroit when I was very young, coming from Texas and, before that, Oklahoma. My experience with food at the time was not expansive — I only knew my mom’s cooking, which is Mexican dishes and Hot Pockets. But still, I had my aunt, who had an adventurous palate. She took me to a lot of places over the years, but one of the most memorable was Masri Sweets in Dearborn. It was love at first bite when I tried the kanafeh. Kanafeh is a traditional Arab dessert that consists of a spun pastry layered with cheese or clotted cream and maybe pistachio, that’s soaked in attar (a sweet simple syrup). I recently visited Turkish Village and ordered Turkish coffee an order of the kanafeh. A variety of different options are available, but I decided to keep it simple and ordered the original style. It was spectacular. Here, the kanafeh comes with the bottom layer of cheese, spun pastry, and topped with pistachio and simple syrup. The spot is available in small, medium and large. Personally I am happy with a medium just for myself but it typically feeds three to four people . It transported me back to the first time I tried the dish with my aunt and fell in love. — Rosa Maria Zamarrón, freelance photographer

Rosa Maria Zamarrón

The kanafeh from Turkish Village

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Marinated citrus salad at Ladder 4 Wine Bar

3396 Vinewood Street

When I made a reservation at Ladder 4 Wine Bar I assumed, as the name implies, I was going to a wine bar with a killer beverage program. Like many, I was as impressed with the food. Chef John Yelinek’s marinated citrus salad is one dish I keep coming back to in my mind. Trimmed rounds of spring citrus are dressed in lemon juice, white wine vinegar, shallots and Palestinian olive oil. Slices of avocado and shaved baby fennel from Maple Creek Farm in St. Clair County blankets the fruit. Mounds of trout roe pearls dot the salad, for a generous pop of salinity. My favorite part? Yelinek tops the dish ($15) with toasted manoomin (wild rice) to add crunch, nuttiness, and a welcome nod to our Great Lakes waterways. — Stacey Brugeman, Fresh Coast correspondent

Stacey Brugeman

The citrus salad at Ladder 4 Wine Bar

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Michael Finsilver’s Sandwich Pop-Up At The Secret Bakery

821 Livernois St, Ferndale

Like many in the area’s bustling restaurant scene, Mike Finsilver effortlessly juggles numerous gigs at any given time: running Hell Yeah Dog, shifts on the line at Mudgie’s Deli, behind the bar at The Skip, and pop-ups at The Secret Bakery in Ferndale, where he dishes out sandwiches that are simply unmatched (but shh, it’s a secret). Take, for instance, the spicy mortadella sandwich, which I had the pleasure of trying recently. Thin-sliced mortadella, a fiery Calabrian chili spread, chopped iceberg lettuce dressed in a creamy preserved lemon buttermilk dressing, and fresh dill — all served on Maxwell Leonard’s sesame semolina batards, providing the perfect nutty crunch. The rich flavor in the Calabrian chili spread — also known as bomba calabrese — comes from a harmonious blend of sautéed mushrooms, eggplants, onions, fennel seed, dried oregano, garlic, Calabrian chilis, and copious amounts of olive oil. If you happened to miss it, there’s good news: with the summer garden season approaching, Finsilver has exciting plans for more pop-ups and perhaps even something on a larger scale. — Courtney Burk, Detroit-based freelance contributor

Courtney Burk

The spicy mortadella sandwich, which recently popped up at the Secret Bakery in Ferndale

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Steak frites at Coeur

330 W Nine Mile Rd, Ferndale

Chef Jordan Smith and his team at Coeur in Ferndale are doing wonderful things. After catching word about the spot’s steak and frites ($38), I wasted no time heading straight there. It’s garnered a cult following for good reason. Coeur uses a wagyu bavette cut — famous for its intense marbling, which helps to improve a steak’s juiciness and flavor — and comes out with a nice char to the exterior. When adorned with a house-made butter whipped with fresh herbs, you get a rich texture complemented with a punch of umami flavor. The fresh-cut fries add a satisfying crunch and saltiness and are served in an American diner style, with house-made ketchup and hot sauce. According to the team, this particular dish will be revamped with spring delights of ramps, and the cut itself will change with the season. — Courtney Burk

Courtney Burk

Steak and frites from Coeur

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Chicharrón de pollo at Asty Time

7340 McGraw Ave

I’ve been traveling out of state a bit lately, far removed from Detroit’s food scene, so this month, I decided to dip into my dining memories and show my appreciation for the chicharón de pollo from Asty Time on McGraw. Fried chicken isn’t hard to find in Detroit. What’s trickier to get a hold of is legit Dominican food. Luckily for us, we’ve got access to Asty Time, founded at the height of the Great Recession of the aughts by proprietor Astiage “Asty” Acosta. Asty’s feels like the living room of your typical Latin American household, complete with ceramic tile floors, curtains in the colors of the Dominican flag, and paintings depicting island beaches, women in bikinis, and one life-sized portrait of Acosta himself in a chef’s hat — all painted by an artist friend of the family. On weekends, you can order the fried chicken, available in two ways. While you can’t really go wrong with the traditional style fried chicken, the chicharrón de pollo provides that cracklins’ crunch on the skin, rendering the exterior so incredibly crispy, while helping to lock in the juices of the tender meat, it just might be the most intense style of fried chicken that Detroit has to offer. A sign to the right of the cash register says plainly, in both English and Spanish: “Please be patient. We are not a fast food restaurant. Your food is made fresh every order.” Trust me, it’s worth the wait. — Serena Maria Daniels, Eater Detroit editor

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