Rising star

Despite its obvious specialty, categorizing Astro Coffee as a coffee shop would be a grave disservice. Coffee shops in southeast Michigan are generally caffeination stations. Places with stale pastries or dry muffins. Vulgar franchised institutions with ad-sponsored WiFi connections where the burnt "dark roast" is practically toxic.

While Astro has quickly and justifiably become known for its superb coffee, the food and the community spirit are every bit as important in making it what it is — an excellent, comfortable neighborhood café that does just about everything right.

Located on Michigan Avenue in Corktown, the shop presents an unassuming black-and-white facade with its playfully sketched logo painted above the door and a decorative plant or two adorning the entrance. Inside, proprietors Daisuke Hughes and Jessica Hicks chalk out the day's menu on the blackboard wall behind the main counter. 

Exposed brick, high ceilings, and eclectic furniture create a fun, approachable space. And the room bursts with conviviality: locals, Team Detroit designers, Wayne State students, local entrepreneurs and suburbanites are all there, talking about their work, talking about the city, talking about Astro's newest coffee.

And most definitely talking about the food.

Before anyone arrives for a morning latte, Hicks and her colleagues are preparing the day's provisions. They make virtually everything by hand, baking cakes, cracking eggs, and roasting vegetables while most of the city is still asleep.

Since she has been finding the majority of her ingredients locally — Grown in Detroit, J&M Farms, Calder Dairy and Zingerman's are just several of their sources — the seasonally-driven menu changes constantly. Everything — yes, everything — is delicious.

Those arriving for breakfast should expect choices along the lines of homemade buttermilk scones, ham and white cheddar croissants, tomato and ricotta tarts, and eggs, perfectly cooked and prepared in any of a variety of ways. Particularly memorable on a recent Sunday was a sausage and ricotta frittata served with a hand-torn chunk of baguette, simply but flawlessly executed to delicate perfection, the eggs just set.

As lunch approaches, small baguette sandwiches are available for around $5, give or take, and every day offers delicious new possibilities: roasted beets with avocado, meatballs with cheddar, roasted carrots with mint, tomato with basil, thyme-roasted chicken. These consistently vary in their ingredients but never, it seems, in their quality. 

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