This week I will conclude the last of the generic, main stream, Detroit destinations. We first took a look at Mexican Town, then the casinos, Windsor, and now Eastern Market. Next week the real adventures begin.
Saturday’s bring thousands of people to Eastern Market. This six-block public market has been a Detroit mainstay for the past 122 years. Open-air stalls line the streets and offer fresh produce, flowers, meat and many other things. This is the best place to get fresh, high quality goods.
What first brought me to Eastern Market (beside my Italian genes) is a company called Fairway Packing. Fairway offers the highest quality meats at a great price. Specifically, they are the only place I could find that sold Piedmontese beef. You are probably asking yourself what in the world is Piedmontese beef. This is a unique breed of cattle from Piedmont, in north-west Italy. Imagine eating a hamburger that has more flavor than traditional beef and fewer calories than chicken, well it’s possible with this breed of cattle. Per 3.5oz serving traditional beef has 287 calories, chicken has 119 calories, and Piedmontese comes in with 104 calories. In addition to a low calorie count it only has 1.9g of fat. Chicken typically has 3.08 and traditional beef has 23.56. Now I will admit, Piedmontese beef is not cheap, but it is also not outrageous either. You can purchase 2lbs from Fairway for right around $13.
Eastern Market isn’t just about the shops and stalls. If you want authentic Italian food, this is the place to go. I don’t want to hear any of this Olive Garden, Andiamo, or Papa Vino’s crap either. That is like saying that you can get great Mexican food at Chipotle or in the case of Olive Garden, Taco Bell. Don’t get me wrong, there are a few good Italian restaurants in the Metro Detroit area (Picano’s and Luciano’s) but the real stuff can be found in downtown. Giovanni’s Ristorante is hands down the best Italian restaurant in Detroit but this is a review of Eastern Market. Although they don’t boast the best restaurant, they have arguably the second best, Roma Café.
Roma Café is the oldest Italian restaurant in the city. It was established in 1890 and is still family owned. Roma has that old world feel and incredible food. Roma is a little pricey but if you want cheap, see the previous paragraph of Italian knock-offs. Dinner will cost you around $30 per person plus wine. Come on now it’s an Italian dinner, get the wine! When it comes to dinner I highly recommend going with one of the traditional dishes. My personal favorites are the Veal Parmigiana, Veal Scaloppine a la Tosca, or the Chicken Parmigiana with Eggplant. Eggplant might be a little too traditional for some of you but the first two are incredible.
So this concludes the culture series. Grab your family, grocery bags, and appetite and head down to Eastern Market. My advice is to make a day of it. Don’t sell yourself short but grabbing some things and leaving. Also, if you are going to eat…do that before you get the groceries, this is summer time in Detroit after all.
Stay tuned next for next week’s blog where we switch the focus for the summer. Are you all ready to get down and party with Adventure Detroit? I thought so.
