Executive Committee Meeting 10-15-24

President's Report

Page 91 of 95

DISHING UP DETROIT

Dishing Up Detroit As a multi-ethnic city, the world’s cuisines are ubiquitous in Detroit, regardless of whether or not they are in neighborhoods with strong cultural roots. Greek, Mexican, Polish,

chips in Detroit! Still in the hands of the same family, the company has diversified its production into tortillas and other appetizer snacks. The Bumpy Cake Son of a Chicago-based German confectioner, Fred Sanders successfully opened his first store on Woodward Avenue in 1875. In 1912, in homage to his gourmet father, he created the Bumpy Cake, a chocolate and buttercream cake , which had two accidental bumps on top, reminiscent of bumps on a road. A highly evocative metaphor for “Motor City”, and delicious to boot! The Sanders range now also includes candy and chocolate bars, stocked all over. The Boston Cooler Conceived in Massachusetts in the late 19th century, this rum-based cocktail has evolved in Detroit into a kind of milkshake... but without the milk. The preparation requires ginger ale, traditionally of the Detroit Vernors brand—today the oldest maker of this beverage in the country—, which is blended with vanilla ice cream. A refreshing drink for the hot and humid summers of Michigan, sold by all good ice cream vendors.

as the base for two local sandwich recipes. Served toasted and warm, the Dinty Moore Sandwich consists of corned beef between two slices of rye bread with Swiss cheese, coleslaw, and Russian dressing (a piquant creamy sauce), sometimes with lettuce and/ or sliced tomato. As for the corned beef egg roll , it was concocted in the 1970s, the brainchild of a Vietnamese immigrant who stuffed it inside a spring roll, with cheese and shredded cabbage. Fusion food before the term was even born! Paczki Or more precisely, pączki (singular: pączek ), pronounced “pohnschki”. These round donuts embody the Polish heritage of Detroit. They are traditionally filled with rose jam and sprinkled with icing sugar. Originally associated with Fat Thursday, a few days before Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent, they are now made all year round, in all kinds of variations: covered with glaze, filled with other flavorings, and others. Better Made Potato Chips The story began in the 1930s when Cross Moceri and Peter Cipriano, two Sicilian immigrants, bought a potato chip factory on Gratiot Avenue and launched their brand, Better Made . Competition was fierce. The city then had around thirty potato chip factories, but they would have had you believe that theirs were “better made!” Whether that’s the case or not, they are produced from potatoes grown in Michigan, and remain the most popular

to have been “invented” in 1946 by a certain Gus Guerra, who recycled a steel container from an auto dealer to make his pizza. For 80 years, the recipe has stuck to a thick, crispy crust featuring the winning trinity of pepperoni, cheese, and tomato sauce. The Coney Dog Another unmissable specialty, the Detroit hot dog is said to have arrived with Greek immigrants who passed via Coney Island (New York) in the early 20th century. It’s a beef hot dog , garnished with meaty, beanless chili, diced white onions, and yellow mustard, served in a long bun. In Detroit, there are two key addresses serving up this specialty ( T Addresses, p. 80) . Corned Beef No, corned beef was not invented in Detroit, but the city is the largest

and Middle Eastern food is widely available, as you’d expect in a major city. Yet this city also has its own culinary traditions, and several local specialties are worth exploring. They may be high in calories, but you can always compensate by crunching on some fresh carrots from Eastern Market! Pizza, Detroit Style You might be familiar with Chicago’s deep-dish pizza, with its spongy base of thick dough, or New York pizza, super-thin and crispy. Now it's time to try Detroit pizza, so closely linked to the city’s identity that the tourist office has created a Pizza Pass to discover the best the city has to offer! Recognizable by its rectangular shape and its sauce over the top, it was said

152

153

consumer in the country after Cleveland. Corned beef serves

In Detroit, Life is a Bowl of Sour Cherries! Detroit, Flint, Lansing, Grand Rapids: we think industry when we say Michigan, and yet the state owes a portion of its income to its agriculture , with 98% of production from family farms, placing it in the top national ranks for several sectors. This wealth of fine produce, which you will certainly see on display at Eastern Market , is the prerequisite for a dynamic culinary scene. Thus Michigan is by far the country's number-one producer of sour cherries (65%), cucumbers, dried beans, asparagus, and pumpkins; the second largest producer of celery; the third for apples and blueberries; the fourth for carrots, sugar beet, sweet cherries, and Concord grapes; and the fifth-largest producer of milk.