What’s Cooking: Metro Detroit’s Top Food and Beverage Headlines for June 2024

Taste-Tested

Oak & Reel hosts Culinary Collective chef series

In June and September, four tasting dinners by two renowned guest chefs are taking place at Oak & Reel as part of the restaurant’s Culinary Collective chef series. You can catch Chicago-based James Beard Award nominee Erik Anderson on June 6 and 7, or New York Michelin-starred chef Anita Lo on Sept. 26 and 27. Proceeds benefit a scholarship fund Oak & Reel founded with Detroit’s Downtown Boxing Gym .

At the first Culinary Collective dinner on April 11, Hour Detroit enjoyed a six-course meal by Hemant Mathur, the first U.S.-based Indian chef to receive a Michelin star. Standouts included perfectly seared sea scallops with a red bell pepper chutney; a generous portion of lamb chops with mustard potatoes; and shahi tukda with mango panna cotta.

For more information and tickets, visit oakandreel.com/culinary-collective .

Bombshell Treat Bar serves up unique ice cream flavors in Berkley

A new shop specializing in cold treats is sure to be one of the hottest destinations this summer. Bombshell Treat Bar opened April 19 at 2688 Coolidge Highway . The menu features signature and seasonal flavors, with the option to order a house-made ice cream bar (in addition to the standard soft-serve cup or cone).

Hour Detroit tried the Sweet and Salty, a dark chocolate-dipped ice cream bar with caramel drizzle, flaky salt, pretzel bits, and crushed potato chips. We also enjoyed a decadent carrot cake bar and were wowed by the margarita-flavored ice cream (it tastes just like a homemade margarita mixer!).

Hot and Fresh

Nuevo Seoul opens in downtown Detroit

On April 25, the owners of downtown Detroit’s Hanah steakhouse opened a brand-new concept right next door at 220 W. Congress St. called Nuevo Seoul . The menu combines Korean and Mexican influences — with fun and festive bites like chicken sandwiches, Korean fried chicken, birria, and Korean barbecue tacos. Signature drinks — hard and soft — are also a highlight.

Vecino brings modern Mexican eats to Midtown

A Mexican eatery in a historic building opened April 19 at 4100 Third St. , just south of Wayne State University. The restaurant boasts a modern menu inspired by the regional cuisines of Mexico City and Oaxaca, featuring wood-fired dishes like whole snapper, rib eye steak, pollo adobado, and fire-roasted cabbage.

It’s also billed as the site of Michigan’s first “kernel-to-masa” program for nixtamalization (a traditional preparation of corn that first originated in Mesoamerica). The menu is crafted by Executive Chef Ricardo Mojica (previously of Sava’s in Ann Arbor) and Head Chef Stephanie Duran.

This story originally appeared in the June 2024 issue of Hour Detroit magazine. To read more, pick up a copy of Hour Detroit at a local retail outlet. Our digital edition will be available on June 6.

The post What’s Cooking: Metro Detroit’s Top Food and Beverage Headlines for June 2024 appeared first on Hour Detroit Magazine .