Detroit Restaurant Weekend Promotes Fine Dining

Participants in the second Detroit Restaurant Week in late April say they hope success will match the debut event last September, when sales rose more than 50 percent.

The second go-round for 17 fine-dining establishments runs from Friday, April 16, through Sunday, April 25. Each will offer a cut-rate $27 price for patrons who choose a first course, entrée and dessert.

Proprietors are showing enthusiasm:

Chef Paul Grosz, Cuisine: "It's a chance to do something different and unique for our regular customers, while also drawing new customers. All of us can put our best hats on and put our A-games together in trying to show off what we can do to come back."

Amy Engelbert, catering manager at The Rattlesnake Club: "People will come downtown for an event at Fox Theatre or at the Opera House. Now, with Restaurant Week, the event is dinner."

Anthony Gooden, manager at 24 Grille: "Sometimes people feel that (they) can't afford the casual dining experience, but now they can come downtown and get a great deal with great service and ambiance at a great price."

Heather Hage-Kosalski, manager at Atlas Global Bistro: "Our Restaurant Week result in September was that we saw younger first-timers coming into our restaurant, the age 26 to 35 group. Since then, these new faces have become our return customers and guests, and then they tell other friends. The increase extends not only to the restaurants, but also to the related businesses, such as the shopping districts and the hotels."

Lower Prices, but Offsetting Gains

The 17 restaurants reported to the Downtown Detroit Partnership that they served a combined 27,000 during the 10 days of Restaurant Week last September, and that more than half were newcomers. This is the basis for the estimate of their total customer counts doubling, compared to a similar period in 2008. Grosz acknowledges that the profit margin on each individual meal is reduced with a discount price, but that the restaurants save money by purchasing larger quantities of fresh foods at lower prices. Beyond that, the establishments also gain when more drinks are purchased and larger amounts of gratuities are received.

Restaurant managers say many of the newcomers are new not only to their own establishments, but to fine dining as a whole. As a result of the Restaurant Week promotion, more members of this group are deciding that fine dining is worth a few extra dollars. Hage-Kosalski notes that some of the new patrons at Atlas Bistro now arrive in blue jeans, joining others in traditional formal attire.

"Independent restaurants have our own style of doing things," Grosz says. "We are not cookie-cutter restaurants. We have our own original menus and our unique style and charm in how we do things."

Regular Customer Sees a Change

Matt DiDio, 49, is a loyal Detroiter who graduated from Wayne State University in 1983. He joins his wife, Angela, as owners of the downtown Gyro Creative, a consulting and marketing company. They wind down a few times per week at Atlas Bistro, which is less than a mile from their offices. Then they head for their historic home in Detroit's Woodbridge Farm neighborhood.

"Restaurant Week brings the suburbanites back to Detroit to try out the restaurants," Matt DiDio says, as he nears the close of another dinner and early evening at the Atlas establishment.

"We regulars know what's going on, but the suburbanites from places such as Royal Oak and Grosse Pointe come back and say, 'We didn't know these kinds of restaurants were still down here.' They learn that downtown has some really unique places. A revival is happening, and Detroiters are excited that people are coming back to discover our little gems and enjoying some great food."

Many regular customers at fine-dining restaurants establish friendships with the men and women who prepare their meals, but the DiDio couple goes a step beyond. Atlas Bistro chef Christian Borden uses a room at Gyro Creative to house his culinary library and to map plans for his future masterpieces. There's even a back room where Borden's children can play foosball and otherwise occupy themselves. In turn, Borden prepares a feast when the DiDio couple opens their home to host a yearly shindig for 150 guests.

"There's always been a great creative culture in Detroit with the music and the arts," DiDio says. "The restaurants have that too."

Restaurants Work as a Team

Among Detroit's 17 participants in Restaurant Week, some are better established than ever. The Rattlesnake Club, for example, is operated by chef Jimmy Schmidt, often described as Detroit's equivalent to Wolfgang Puck. Meanwhile, 24 Grille is beginning its second year.

"There were several diners (last September) who came with checklists of all the downtown restaurants," Gooden says. "They would say, 'This time it's the 24 Grille. Next it will be the Roast, or the Coach.' We received great feedback in being a part of it, a lot of new faces. This was a jolt that really kept us going, and hopefully we will see even more new faces in April, another jolt for us in these difficult economic times."

When Amy Engelbert of The Rattlesnake received a night off last fall during Restaurant Week, she could have enjoyed a dinner at her workplace or gone home. Instead, she opted to join a group for the $27 special deal at Iridescence, which, like 24 Grille, is one of Detroit's smaller fine-dining restaurants.

"We had a great meal at Iridescence," Engelbert recalls. "All the restaurants had big crowds. For people to support the local economy and have a fun night, the value is incredible. It keeps all of us in business."

A Restaurant Week prelude party begins at 5 p.m. on Thursday, April 15, at Iridescence and Amnesia, located on the MotorCity Casino-Hotel's top floor. Donations of cash and/or nonperishable food items will go to the Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan. Reservations may be made by emailing rsvp2010@detroitrestaurantweek.com with "DRW Prelude" in the subject line.

Restaurant Week Establishments

Participants in Restaurant Week include:

- 24 Grille, Westin Book Cadillac Detroit.
- Andiamo Detroit Riverfront, GM Renaissance Center.
- Atlas Global Bistro, Midtown.
- Coach Insignia, GM Renaissance Center.
- Cuisine, New Center.
- Da Edoardo Foxtown Grille, Fox Theatre Building.
- Detroit Fish Market, Paradise Valley.
- Forty-Two Degrees North, Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center.
- Iridescence, MotorCity Casino-Hotel.
- Mosaic Restaurant, Greektown.
- Opus One, Downtown.
- The Rattlesnake Club, Stroh River Place.
- Roast, Westin Book Cadillac Detroit.
- Roma Café, Eastern Market.
- Saltwater, MGM Grand Detroit.
- The Whitney, Midtown.
- Wolfgang Puck Grille, MGM Grand Detroit.

Sample Menu for Restaurant Week

For just one example of Restaurant Week fare, here's the menu that chef Paul Grosz at Cuisine will offer:

First course (please choose one):

- Grilled pear and radicchio salad with candied walnuts.
- Cream of corn soup with crab salad.
- Charcuterie of duck salama, duck mousseline and country pate.

Entrée (please choose one):

- Baked salmon with citrus-braised endive and cucumber salad.
- Leg of lamb roasted with ratatouille and mint jelly.
- Duck confit cassoulet.
- Melange of vegetables, six different preparations.

Dessert (please choose one):

- Strawberry sorbet.
- Chocolate tart.