October 9, 2008

REVIEW | 4 STARS

Hard-core foodies will love how new Forest Grill stirs things up

With its chef-driven bistro menu, engaging and food-friendly wine program and an owner and chef known for their unbridled culinary passions, serious food lovers shouldn't miss Forest Grill.

• Forest Grill in Birmingham

SYLVIA RECTOR | WORD OF MOUTH

Ernie's heads for the Mediterranean

The Backos family has renovated the restaurant part of Ernie's -- the huge dining room, bar and banquet hall at 19 Mile and Garfield in Clinton Township -- to create the Mediterranean Room, which is serving wines and dishes drawn from Greece, Italy, France, Spain and North Africa.

Fiddleheads in Royal Oak

Since opening five years ago, Fiddleheads has built a substantial customer base who all share the common interest to be challenged by food and learn something new every time they eat.

October 7, 2008

Customers flock to restaurant and bar at historic Book Cadillac

Less than an hour after the historic Westin Book Cadillac Detroit opened its doors Monday, nearly every table in the handsome Boulevard Room restaurant was filled with downtowners, out-of-towners and former guests and employees who had come to be part of history by dining there on the hotel's first...

• Book Cadillac Opens

October 6, 2008

Book Cadillac restaurant packed on opening day

Less than an hour after the historic Westin Book Cadillac Detroit opened its doors today, nearly every table in the handsome Boulevard Room restaurant was filled with downtowners, out-of-towners and former guests and employees.

• Westin Book Cadillac
• Book Cadillac: Historical Look

Book Cadillac restaurants bring back those with memories

Less than an hour after the historic Westin Book Cadillac Detroit opened its doors Monday, nearly every table in the handsome Boulevard Room restaurant was filled with downtowners, out-of-towners and former guests and employees who had come to be part of history by dining there on the hotel’s first...

October 2, 2008

Woodbridge district has a shiny new star

You shouldn't have much trouble spotting Woodbridge Pub as you drive down Detroit's Trumbull Street. It's across from the Wayne State University athletic fields, and it's the only business for blocks and blocks with a wall of shiny new windows and a fresh paint job.

SYLVIA RECTOR | WORD OF MOUTH

Five Guys Burgers and Fries coming to Michigan

A popular East Coast hamburger chain, Five Guys Burgers and Fries, is coming to Michigan early next year.

October 1, 2008

Book Cadillac set to offer 4 new eateries -- from fast to fancy

Want to check out the new Westin Book Cadillac Detroit hotel without checking in? Go and eat. The renovated hotel -- scheduled to open Monday, barring last-minute delays -- will add four restaurants and a breathtakingly beautiful bar to the city's downtown dining scene.

• Westin Book Cadillac
• Renovating the Book Cadillac
• Inside the Book Cadillac
• Book Cadillac: Historical Look

September 30, 2008

Piadini with your venti? Starbucks debuts breakfast fare

Starbucks debuts its long-awaited new line of savory breakfast items today, adding a wrap and two folded flatbread sandwiches called Piadini to the hot oatmeal and bakery items it introduced earlier this month.

September 25, 2008

REVIEW

Stylish Due Venti serves up-north Italian

If you've ever dreamed of opening a restaurant, you might well be imagining one like Due Venti -- an intimate little place with a personal touch, very good cooking and guests who seem delighted to have discovered you.

September 18, 2008

REVIEW

Forté opts for a simpler life

It would be tough to trace all the changes at Forté since its opening in downtown Birmingham in 1996. The stylish spot on Old Woodward has certainly had its share of personalities and approaches. But in the past few years, it has been especially hard to define.

• Birmingham's Forte'

SYLVIA RECTOR | WORD OF MOUTH

Kalamata Greek Café's owners have hopes of building a chain

Almost every week, you read about someone else opening a restaurant with dreams of launching a chain. It's usually a concept you've seen before: barbecue, burgers, sandwiches, pizza, Mexican, Asian, Italian, salads or whatever.

September 17, 2008

Gordon Ramsay stirs the pot at struggling Macomb trattoria

Why, you wonder when you watch Fox TV's "Kitchen Nightmares," would sane people ever invite critical, confrontational chef Gordon Ramsay and his prying reality show TV cameras into their restaurant for a makeover?

• Kitchen Nightmares comes to Macomb Twp.