I'm Done Ordering Steak
Marrow in Detroit serves great steak, but better everything-else. Plus, awesome Michigan cheese curls and why Sheetz sucks.
Heyo!
I just wrapped up a fun weekend in Detroit where I ate at many awesome restaurants. Detroit rips, man. I love how diverse the city is, and the food is certainly reflective of its unique culture. Some notes on that:
Jet’s Pizza is a perfectly fine pizza chain. The pizza itself is doughy and mostly bread, but the ranch really shines. Do not order pizza at Jet’s without ranch. It’s garlicky, herby, tangy, thick and gloppy. It perfectly adheres to each corner slice without drippage. I know this because, ugh, I dipped a square in ranch while driving.
Everything at Sister Pie is good. Everything.
But especially the salted maple pie. I’m always astonished when food elicits a strong sensory memory of another food, and the salted maple pie conjures pure pancakes. Every bite is a forkful of flapjacks—the warm, wheat-ish flavor, the cascading waterfall of syrup, even that giant pad of salted butter that slides off the top. Lisa Ludwinksi’s salted maple pie turns me into a food crazed Marmaduke dog. One of the best things I’ve eaten all year.
The salted maple pie is Sister Pie’s iconic offering, and it’s served year round. That makes it an easy, official recommendation. Get it no matter when you’re visiting Detroit.
Sister Pie is special, man. It bursts with lovely, communal energy. Lisa is there herself taking your order with a big ol’ smile, asking if you want a swipe of dijon mustard with your chick pea and egg galette. If I lived in Detroit (I just might), I’d be here twice a week.
What a damn treasure Balkan House is. Their döner kebab is lauded, and for good reason.
I love that the lepinja flatbread looks like a giant clam shell. It’s stuffed generously with juicy, tender, seasoned slivers of lamb + beef, which has a strong garlic and oregano flavor. It also features chunks of red cabbage, lettuce, tomato, and cucumber for some freshness. The Greek yogurt is exceptionally thick, and the whole thing is dusted with sumac. Those fries, which are thin and crispy, also come dusted with lemony sumac. I might eat my way through this whole damn menu. Something tells me their breakfast is worth conquering (chevapi and egg wraps! crispy Balkan French toast! foul and eggs!)
Man, Detroit has so many gems.
Writing Roundup
I wrote about Sheetz for The Takeout and I really had to bite my tongue. That’s because Sheetz is trash. Absolute shit. People were especially upset that I suggested they don’t have deep fryers on site to cook their food, but I don’t know what to tell you: The Sheetz in my area certainly does not. Not only is it apparent in their soft, gummy mozzarella sticks that look and taste like an acne ridden teenager nuked them in a microwave, but there’s also no deep fryer visible within the whole god damn gas station. No vent hoods to speak of, either.
Some people have reached out to tell me that certain Sheetz do have deep fryers on site, but I have yet to see them with my own two eyes. Horrible food. Greedy ass company that’s also probably taking away business from local restaurants. That’s why I love this Substack; I can say whatever I want! FUCK SHEETZ. We deserve better gas station food than this bland, grade-F meat bullshit.
Better Made Honey Cheese Puffs are awesome. Best I’ve ever had. Good snack food is all about flavor alchemy, and Better Made gets it.
This L.A. Times article finally came out in print. On a day the entire city was advised to stay inside. Christ.
Before we get into whether or not steak is overrated, hey! Subscribe! Pay if you want. This is all free, so any bit of money helps!
Is Steak Even Worth Ordering Anymore?
It’s a question that needs asking, especially in restaurants that cook seasonally, like Marrow in Detroit.
I only order steak—like an expensive, simply prepared steak dinner—maybe once a year. It’s just not something I seek out that much, and that’s usually due to the cost. A good steak sets you back at least $50 (and usually more). To me, a $20 dollar grocery store ribeye cooked at home and served with delicious chimichurri is perfectly fine. I like a steakhouse power lunch as much as the next guy—being served a martini, filet, and a chalice of béarnaise sauce is a luxurious experience—but a steak is generally not your best use of going-out money.
Marrow is a fine place to facilitate this discussion because they’re a butcher shop/restaurant with a focus on local, ethically sourced meat. Whole animals arrive to the butcher shop to be broken down, and they’re used nose to tail for a menu that often features marrow bones, homemade sausage, tongue, offal, etc. Eating meat in this way is not only responsible, but more healthful. Marrow reminds me a lot of Dai Due, in Austin, Texas—a hyper-regional restaurant with a focus on Texas wild boar and frying things in beef tallow. Chef Jesse Griffiths preaches to anybody who will listen that seed oils are pretty bad for us and the environment. Tallow also just tastes better, so I’m thrilled when I see restaurants frying with it.
So, Marrow’s animal products are treated with the utmost respect. Their ethics are strong. Their technique is incredible. Still, what I ended up being most impressed with didn’t contain beef or pork at all.
Two dishes specifically blew me away, the first of which was the farmers forage.
This is like if your church fish fry won a Michelin star. The squash blossom has a humble beer batter quality to it; the coating is smooth, crunchy, and flavorful. The fish pate is ultra creamy and savory, as is the anchovy-filled Caesar dressing. This dish is expertly composed and incredibly indulgent. I love it when food makes you instinctually savor it. Moreover, this is exactly why you go to a nice restaurant—to eat food so good you say, “fuck me. what?” The farmer’s feature costs $12, and it was the best thing I had all evening.
The second dish that floored me was the maitake mushroom dumplings…
These mushroom dumplings come submerged in dark soy sauce, chili oil, and corn relish, topped with micro herbs, and then side-swiped with sweet corn butter. The dish is punctuated twice over by the inclusion of sweet corn; it’s a relentlessly seasonal dish, as both corn and maitake (hen of the woods) thrive in August. Getting a soy sauce soaked dumpling kissed with corn butter is an intense sweet and savory combination that reads Szechuan.
The addition of corn also feels very Italian to me, and while this isn’t a straightforward fusion, it definitely reminds me of the super-eclectic food served by Diego Argoti. See: my write up of Poltergeist. Marrow’s mushroom dumplings conjure up memories of Diego’s beef and broccoli ravioli, which are equally stunning and one of the dishes I crave most away from Los Angeles. The dumplings at Marrow cost $20.
The aged NY strip was good, but I can’t say that it was phenomenal. That shortcoming could fall directly on me and my tastes, as I’m just never wowed by steak all that much. A dry aged, Michigan New York strip should be a knockout blow (and it certainly fits the restaurant’s mission of local, ethically sourced meat butchered in house), but I can’t help but feel my money was better spent elsewhere. I felt much more enriched experiencing the mushroom dumplings and squash blossoms. The steak felt mandatory, and the other dishes described above….well, those felt inspired and fun.
There’s something about steak that stifles creativity. There’s no thriftiness, no creative necessity. Steak is far too precious.
The Michigan beef NY strip ran 80 dollars, and arrived with a German potato salad. It was a tad overcooked, but funky, salty, and meaty in all the ways you expect a good aged steak to be. The potato salad, it should be said, was awesome, and even better the next day once the flavors marinated. I was also quite impressed that my girlfriend and I had the last two pieces of steak boxed up with the potato salad. Eating them would have sent us into stuffed oblivion. Having this foresight is new to me, so I have to take a second to pat myself on the back. There is nothing virtuous about overeating. I’ve finally learned this at 38.
So, 80 dollars for steak and potatoes. Meanwhile, the family style chef’s selection ran for $90 per person. That’s 5, seasonal-inspired dishes vs. one dry-aged steak. I know how I’ll decide next time.
I think this steak-dissapointment might actually be a good indicator of where food is headed. Marrow clearly puts a ton of thought into their seasonal offerings, and as a result, what was worth ordering wasn’t traditional steakhouse fare at all. It’s the seasonal corn, the local mushrooms, the stuffed squash blossoms which pay respect to Michigan church fish frys. It was so good that I can’t wait to see what they dream up in the Fall, and it’s got me thinking that maybe steaks are finally falling out of fashion.
I can’t remember the last memorable steak I had, but I know I’ll be thinking about those fish pate stuffed squash blossoms and corn butter mushroom dumplings for years. Chefs, especially good ones, know how to take local ingredients and transform them into something special. Ordering a steak might just deny you of having that experience, and it will certainly cost you. Marrow might be the last time I order steak at all, and strangely still it’s one of the best restaurants I’ve eaten at all year. Wild.
The move? Let the good chefs at Marrow design your dining experience with their tasting menu, let them stretch their legs and cook with excitement, and you won’t be led astray. The move at Marrow isn’t steak. Hell, the move at most places might not be steak anymore, either.
Other Things to Know About Marrow:
They make their own hot dogs, and they look awesome. Plump, thick, all-beef hot dogs that I guarantee are delicious. Also, their maple tarragon sausage looks incredible. In addition to the butcher case, there’s a whole selection of chips, homemade dips, and cheeses.
The house-made pickles are excellent. Order them always. I imagine they change based on season, but the pickled asparagus, beets, and cucumbers were all uniquely flavorful. No limp pickles, here. Plenty of crunch and flavor. The asparagus were lemony, the beets sweet and earthy, and the cucumbers tasted like a quick-pickle kimchi.
You can probably skip the namesake marrow appetizer. It came served with roasted canoe bones, onion jam, and “marrow poofs” reminiscent of Yorkshire pudding. It read a little bit flat to me. I much prefer the traditional preparation of marrow and parsley salad on toast.
The drink menu is also good, and often incorporates marrow itself. The old fashioned made with marrow washed Johnny Walker was smooth and refreshing.
Thank you for reading The Move! I’m having a lot of fun doing this, and I hope you’re following along as I write food recommendations across this whole damn country. I technically don’t have a home at the moment, but you can expect continuing coverage in Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Detroit, Philadelphia, Chicago, New York, and more!
I like to think of the world as my own personal hoagie to be devoured messily. Lettuce on my pants, that sort of thing.
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