It’s easy to find reviews for restaurants in towns that we are exploring, but it’s not always easy to find out what foods are unique to the area.  Below is my list of the top five foods that I think are either unique or ingrained into the culture of the Detroit metropolitan area.

#1 Shawarma (Lebanese food in general)

I’ve said it before, but of all the foods that I miss as we travel around the country, it’s Lebanese food that tops the list!  I’ve taken to preparing it myself regularly, but I never have on hand all the condiments required for a perfect plate, like garlicky pickles, pickled turnips, garlic sauce, etc.  I would have believed you if you told me that I wouldn’t find a shawarma stand on every corner, but I would never have thought that I wouldn’t find any shawarma stands at all!  If you are visiting the area, you owe it to yourself to at least try a chicken shawarma sandwich.  Many Detroit area foodies swear by Bucharest Grill.  And they do make fantastic shawarma, but you don’t need to go there to have a good one.

#2 Coney Dog

Yes, other states have coney dogs, but not all states have them, and you’re not likely to find Detroit-syle coney dogs anywhere else.  What makes a Detroit coney dog unique?  It’s the natural casing hotdog and the beanless, beef heart chili that is on top.  Add in the steamed white bun it’s served in and top it all off with chopped onions and yellow mustard.  All restaurants which refer to themselves as Coney Islands and many other diners offer coney dogs.  You can play a part in the local foodie judgment by eating coney dogs at the two famous places in downtown Detroit next to each other:  American and Lafayette Coney Islands.  Personally, I don’t really like coneys, but you can be the judge!

#3 Gyro Sandwich

If you aren’t into coney dogs, you can still go to the local Coney Island or diner and try another Detroit specialty, the Gyro sandwich.  These sandwiches combine flavorful Gyro meat, white onion, tomato, and tzatziki (a cucumber yogurt sauce), wrapped up in a Greek-style pita.   I think Gyro meat is best when it’s sliced from the spit on which it’s roasting.  Places with these rotating spits (like most of the Greek restaurants in Detroit’s own Greektown) offer Gyro meat with great flavor AND texture.

#4 Detroit-Style Pizza

Michigan takes pizza seriously!  With hometown headquarters for Little Caesar’s and Domino’s pizza, you can be sure that pizza is part of Detroit’s food culture.  But Detroit-style pizza isn’t fold-it-over triangular-shaped pizza where you eat the center and toss out half the crust.  It’s notably a focaccia type dough baked in a pan in which when the Wisconsin brick cheese on the crust caramelizes, it produces a delicious, crunchy edge.   Trust me!  You won’t have a pile of leftover crust after eating this pizza.  Instead, you’ll find yourself arm wrestling for the corner piece.  Layered from bottom to top, it’s typically dough, toppings, brick cheese, and a drizzle of tomato sauce.  Buddy’s (multiple locations) created the Detroit-style pizza, but others like Cloverleaf and Loui’s Pizza are also highly ranked.  And you can find Detroit-style in many other places in the area.                                                                            

#5 Lake Fish

With so much fresh-water in Michigan, lake fish finds its way on restaurant menus across the state. Whitefish reigns king in the Upper Peninsula and northern lower peninsula.  But in Detroit, it’s all about perch.  Specifically, it’s piles of pan-fried or deep-fried yellow perch, the smallest fish in the perch family.  These tiny fish filets are mild in flavor with a firm, flaky texture.  All it needs is a squeeze of fresh lemon and maybe a dab of tartar sauce to go with it.  Not one to usually order fish in a bar setting?  Don’t be afraid of this with perch!  You can find some of the freshest perch dinners at local bars.

Over the years, when salespeople or winemakers would come to work with me, many asked what they should order when we went out for lunch or dinner.   These are the things that I recommended to them as being uniquely Detroit.  Today, they are the things that one or both of us crave as we travel the country looking for other adventures in food.