{"id":6617,"date":"2024-02-15T09:51:42","date_gmt":"2024-02-15T14:51:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/?p=6617"},"modified":"2024-02-15T09:51:45","modified_gmt":"2024-02-15T14:51:45","slug":"diverse-dining-downtown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acutabove.mipamsu.org\/?p=6617","title":{"rendered":"Diverse Dining Downtown"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

1st Place, Informative Feature <\/strong>
2022-23, Division 2, News Writing<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Emily Colen, Paulina Gallagher & Madeline Kitchen<\/strong>
The Tower
Grosse Pointe South HS<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within the city of Detroit, a flourish of cultural restaurants shed light on the importance of ethnic expression through cuisine. Inspiration for these restaurants can range from cultural familial ties to significant travel explorations around the world. In restaurants such as Vicente\u2019s Cuban Cuisine and Yemen Cafe, owners express a part of their own Cuban and Middle Eastern heritage with the food they create, while Mediterranean inspired restaurant Supergeil derives its inspirations from travel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In creating Vicente\u2019s Cuban Cuisine, restaurant owner Vicente Vazquez used his Cuban background and mother\u2019s exceptional cooking skills to offer the Detroit community flavorful Cuban food. For almost 20 years, the restaurant has been in the heart of Detroit representing a small but meaningful percentage of Cuban individuals who put immense effort and heart into each dish they cook. One of these individuals is Vicente\u2019s chef and Cuban native, Willie Linares, who has been a part of the restaurant\u2019s success for five years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bringing a familial Cuban background to the forefront, Vicente\u2019s Cuban Cuisine offers a rare and flavorful experience that allows for the palate to venture off to the country of Cuba.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Linares said that while culture is important, it can also be difficult since Cuban flavors are consistent and require the staples to remain authentic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are some authentic traditions like the yuca– it\u2019s like potato, (but) a little starchier than a potato,\u201d Linares said. \u201c(There are) plantains, where there are two ways to eat it: sweet or when it\u2019s green. Things like that I can\u2019t avoid. I can\u2019t just give french fries to substitute yuca, so that\u2019s very important to keep those things authentic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Linares describes his favorite meal on the menu to cook as a warm, comforting dish called lechon asado, which is a roasted pork leg marinade with a zesty mojo de ajo, served with moros y cristianos (rice with black beans), yuca frita (fried yuca) and maduros (fried sweet plantains).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLechon asado takes hours to cook,\u201d Linares said. \u201cYou prepare this from the day before you start following ingredients. It\u2019s a lot of emotions in one dish.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In terms of changing up the menu, Linares says that the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in the reduction of their menu. However, their passion for creating authentic Cuban-style dishes remains consistent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCuba is one of the countries that has a lot of food,\u201d Linares said. \u201cWhen cooking, you can be a little more healthy or try to be more rich in flavor. We do a lot of specials. The pandemic affected business in different ways, so we reduced the menu, but we still provide different specials every weekend so that we don\u2019t lose what we are here for.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, as the restaurant begins to revitalize, Linares shares a humbling takeaway from the strife of working whilst in a global pandemic is going back to one\u2019s roots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhether you are into American dreams or still in the pandemic, we combine everything from back in the days when we were growing up, cooking meals with family,\u201d Lineras said. \u201cIt gives us a nice lesson to not forget about where you come from, and here at Vicente\u2019s, we offer you what\u2019s back home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most significantly, Linares discusses the cultural importance of having a Cuban restaurant within Detroit, as it allows for the public to experience the rich Cuban flavors and traditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t have to go to Miami, you don\u2019t have to go to Cuba to get something that what you are looking for; basically what you get over there you can over here in Detroit,\u201d Linares said. \u201c(At) this location we have off of Library Street, we still offer you what you will get from family traditions and family business. We keep it very true and very authentic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though Vicente\u2019s prefers to stick to tradition with their Cuban cuisine, Corktown\u2019s Supergeil weaves together influences from across the Mediterranean to create their \u201csuper cool\u201d experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Brendan McCall, executive chef and partner of Supergeil, the restaurant was largely inspired by his travels in the Kreuzberg district of Berlin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe community there and that neighborhood felt a lot like Corktown,\u201d McCall said. \u201cIt felt really young, with a lot of artistic and creative people. The crowd of new entrepreneurs felt like they were really pouring themselves into that part of the city.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was in Kreuzberg that McCall encountered the d\u00f6ner, a sandwich of spit-roasted meat and pita that bears a striking resemblance to both the Greek gyro and the Arabic shawarma. McCall said he was fascinated
by the entanglement of cultural influence around the dish and knew it was something he needed to explore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c(Supergeil) is kind of like this diaspora of East-meets-West- type food that touches me and my family personally but really came together when we were in Berlin,\u201d McCall said. \u201cThe d\u00f6ner became that sort of central focal, point and then we kind of went up from there. Because I mean, that community is really that \u201cEast meets West.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supergeil\u2019s mission is made all the more urgent to McCall due to the limited dialogue he\u2019s found about cuisine overlap in the States. \u201cMost Westerners don\u2019t really realize how much interaction there\u2019s always been,\u201d McCall said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s always been cross pollination happening. \u201cWe think of it as something novel or something forced, but it really isn\u2019t.\u201d
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aside from the menu, McCall aims to deliver a melting pot of styles in the restaurant\u2019s decor as well. He describes his vision as spontaneous yet remaining true to the space\u2019s roots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


\u201cThings that are just meaningful to us were added,\u201d McCall said. \u201cIt kind of has this eclectic bohemian-type feel as a result of us not having some sort of overall design vision, but just bringing parts of ourselves to it. And we\u2019ve done that with the food and drink menu. I think it just feels real.\u201d
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Above all else, when customers sit down at Supergeil with friends and d\u00f6ner, McCall hopes they find a sense of authenticity and comfort.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe spent a lot of time in Europe and in South America, and what we enjoyed about it was that food was super accessible,\u201d McCall said. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to go to a high- end place,\u201d \u201cYou don\u2019t have to feel like you have to get overdressed to have those experiences and connect with your friends. That\u2019s what we\u2019re trying to offer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For many cultural restaurants in Metro Detroit, creating a welcoming environment for a broad ethnic audience is a priority for the businesses. Similar to Supergeil, Yemen Cafe in Hamtramck aims to make the Yemeni culinary experience as familiar and comfortable as possible without sacrificing tradition or authenticity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before entering the restaurant, the buttery smell of fresh pitas and savory Middle Eastern spices welcomes customers with open arms. Long, embellished curtains drape to the floor around the hostess stand, and paintings of various middle eastern cities line the walls in the dining area. All of the little quirks adding to Yemen Cafe\u2019s charm and welcoming atmosphere also serve as slight nods to the Yemeni culture that actively breathes life into the restaurant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Owner Ibrahim Alhasbani has lived in the Detroit area since immigrating from Yemen in the 1970s. Since then, he has nurtured his small corner cafe into a beacon for other Middle Eastern individuals looking for reminders of their homeland. According to Alhasbani, all of the dishes made at Yemen Cafe are authentic, as to honor Yemeni culture as a major part of the large middle eastern demographic in Metro Detroit. Yemeni food is mostly defined by thick, meaty stews and roasted vegetables; similar to dishes signature to other middle eastern palates, like Lebanese. With both sit- down and takeout options, Yemen Cafe appeals to a broad audience within the Hamtramck community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMaking culturally authentic food has a positive impact on the community. We not only attract a lot of families but individuals who work late or live alone,\u201d Alhasbani said. \u201cThere are a lot of factory workers<\/p>\n\n\n\n

in the community who come
in regularly because they find comfort in our food.\u201d
One of the defining goals Alshasbani set for his business prior to opening was creating
an atmosphere that felt like a home away from home, for both him and his customers. The cafe strives to replicate authentic Yemeni dishes rather than draw inspiration from traditional culinary practices and Americanize them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is such a high Muslim and Middle Eastern population here in Hamtramck that we feel responsible to not only give those people an authenitc taste of home, but to put the best Yemeni foot forward to people that want to try it for the first time\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With an incredible assortment of ethnicities in and around the Metro Detroit area, it\u2019s important that the local palate reflects the diversity of the city. The sort of melting pot in the area serves as another reminder to the staff of Yemen Cafe of the importance of authenticity in ensuring that people from other cultures experience the best that Yemeni tradition has to offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe make sure everything is fresh and made daily. We make our own spices and seasonings and use traditional Yemeni cooking methods to ensure
that our food tastes and feels authentic.\u201d Alhasbani said. Some of the traditional culinary practices exclusive to the culture include charring a Yemeni version of pita bread to dip into Saltah, the country\u2019s national and most famous dish. Duplicating these intricate dishes using authentic ingredients proves a challenge in the midwest of America, but one that Alhasbani and his staff are happy to take on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think that America benefits from cultural dishes, every culture\u2019s food is so different
and special, and our staff puts their hearts into everything we make,\u201d Alhasbani said. \u201cI\u2019m very proud of the restaurant so far and look forward to meeting new customers every day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within these restaurants, three deeply rooted pasts are incorporated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

NW-12. Informative Feature <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The entry should be a single story, which should inform or instruct. Judges will not consider sidebars, infographics or other elements packaged with the story. Facts are obtained from research, interviews and observations. Submit a PDF of the print page(s) on which the story was published or the URL to the story on an online news site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

JUDGING CRITERIA<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  • Leads capture attention, arouses curiosity<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Topic relevant to interests and\/or welfare of school or students<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Thorough investigation through research and interviews<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Combines basics of good news and feature writing<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Organized with smooth transitions<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Sentences, paragraphs of varied length; written clearly, concisely and vividly<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Uses proper diction and grammar<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Balanced and fair presentation<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Story relies on information from primary sources gathered\/interviewed directly by the journalist(s); general Internet sources and secondary media reports are used sparingly<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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