The Best Dishes Eater Detroit Ate in September

With the Eater editors dining out several times a week, we come across lots of standout dishes, and we don’t want to keep any secrets. For this recurring feature, we highlight the best things that the Eater Detroit team ate. Check back monthly!

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Justin Tootla

Crispy chicken schnitzel at Gilchrist Farm Winery and Restaurant

417 N St Joseph St, Suttons Bay

Equal parts farm, winery, and restaurant, Gilchrist Farm opened its darling Suttons Bay tasting room in September 2023. But it wasn’t until this September that enthusiasm for the food reached a fever pitch as chefs Jennifer Jackson and Justin Tootla of the late Bunny Bunny in Detroit headed up north to join the Gilchrist team.

The crispy chicken schnitzel has me dreaming of seconds: Inspired by a schnitzel that Jackson made during her time as a line cook at Gabrielle Hamilton’s Prune in New York City, it’s topped with a mound of creamy Caesar salad by Tootla — a self-proclaimed “Caesar salad connoisseur.” The co-chefs pound the chicken, from Anavery Fine Foods in Traverse City, and then soak it overnight in grass-fed, small herd buttermilk from Cream Cup Dairy in Manistee County. Breaded and fried before serving, it is seasoned with a chile oil made with shishito peppers grown on Gilchrist’s nearby land. The salad, piled high with parmesan, generous cranks of crushed black pepper, and a squeeze of lemon, features crispy romaine from MI Farm Co-op. “We love being in the area and working with the amazing product our farm produces, as well as all the other farmers and artisans in the area,” Tootla says of the move to northern Michigan. If the crowds on the Gilchrist patio are any indication, locals and visitors seem thrilled they came north. — Stacey Brugeman, Fresh Coast correspondent

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Courtney Burk

Carrot pesto risotto at Alpino

1426 Bagley St, Detroit

I recently swung by Alpino and found myself fighting my husband for spoonfuls of the carrot pesto risotto. Made with Acquerello carnaroli rice, it’s slowly cooked in rich chicken broth (or mushroom stock for a vegan and vegetarian option); mascarpone adds a delightful creaminess that contrasts with the firm rice, while roasted Thumbelina carrots bring an earthiness to the herbaceous pesto. Alpino’s menu changes with the seasons, and when I asked chef Colin Campbell how much longer this dish would be available, he said only another week or so. Be on the lookout for how Alpino represents later fall flavors, with Tuscan kale pesto, pumpkin seeds, and black pumpkin seed oil. The restaurant is also donating 50 percent of its tap wine sales through the end of October to World Central Kitchen to help those affected by Hurricane Helene. — Courtney Burk, Detroit-based freelance contributor

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Danny Palumbo

Burnt honey cake at Vinyl Tasting pop-up

Locations vary

Amber Beckem and Jermond Booze took diners on an exploration of Beyonce’s electrifying album Renaissance on September 29 at the Detroit People’s Food Co-op. Fried catfish with creamy potatoes and caramelized onion tartar sauce was inspired by “Church Girl” and the quintessential Midwestern fish fry; Jamaican cherry chipotle barbecue chicken thighs transported us directly into the energetic, fiery tempo of Beyonce’s “Thique” — all with the steady buzz of of lively conversation, dancing, trivia, and impassioned commentary. Ultimately, though, my favorite bite was the final one. I don’t usually leave dinner talking about dessert, but Beckem’s burnt honey snack cake left me floored. Inspired by the bouncy, beautiful synth and bass tune of “Pure/Honey,” it appropriately conjured up childhood memories of Little Debbie Honey Buns with sugary vanilla cream, dried pineapple, and candied pecans surrounded a perfectly honeyed snack cake. Both stunning and simple, Beckem put both her culinary prowess and big heart on full display. — Danny Palumbo, Detroit-based freelance writer

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Serena Maria Daniels

Korean fried chicken at Noori Chicken/Noori Pocha

1 South Main Street, Clawson

My first memories of Korean fried chicken came while living in Orange County, where a short distance from my home in Garden Grove was a massive Asian supermarket, complete with a casual takeout joint toward the entrance that dealt in Korean fried chicken — an experience unlike any of the American versions I’d been accustomed to prior, featuring a crackling, crunchy outer layer, whose juicy meaty interior was punctuated by garlic and soy sauce.

Now here, in metro Detroit, I’m so thankful for Noori Pocha and its adjacent Noori Chicken for its take on the now iconic dish. I stopped by the boisterous gastropub recently when I read that the spot was included in the New York Times’s latest best restaurants list. The interior is covered in posters, colorful signage for soju, and writing all over the walls scrawled by fans in black marker. Order a Korean lager to help wash down a plate of wings — available bone-in or boneless — that can be prepared naked or with a variety of sauces or rubs. I opted for bone-in and was rewarded with eight generously sized wings, flats, and drumettes. Half were covered in the spot’s marvelous and popular Magic Sprinkle dry rub and the other in a wet Sweet and Mild sauce — both delicious. One of the keys to Korean fried chicken lies in the fact that each piece is twice-fried, creating a shattering crunch to each and every bite. Noori Chicken delivers in that category. Pair the chicken with a side of corn cheese, which my dining companion compared to elote, and you’ve got a meal that both satisfies the taste buds and, for me, tugs at long-ago memories of a beloved dish that has finally gotten its flowers around here. — Serena Maria Daniels, Eater Detroit editor