Recipes for classic Detroit foods — new and old — that you can make at home

By Metro Times editorial staff on Thu, Apr 23, 2020 at 11:44 am

We’re sick of frozen pizza and PB&Js, which is why we’re ready to step out of our comfort zone and try our hand at crafting some beloved Detroit classics, both old and new. What’s the secret to the perfect coney dog chili? How many rows of piping for a Sanders Bumpy Cake? What the hell is a Pad Thai Roll and how do we make it — and eat it — immediately? All secrets have been revealed and, in most cases, substituted for some comparable Detroit City fare.

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Sanders Bumpy Cake

Cake, cake, cake, cake, cake, cake. Detroit made a major contribution to the never-ending global landscape of sweet treats in the form of the Bumpy Cake. Created in the 1900s by Sanders Confectionary, this century-old treat consists of chocolate devil’s food cake topped with piped buttercream bumps, which are then covered in chocolate ganache, made with buttermilk, dark corn syrup, and unsweetened cocoa powder. Though there are caramel variations of this classic Detroit dessert, this recipe kicks it old school with the chocolate OG — original ganache.

Find the recipe here.

Photo via Sanders/Facebook

Coney dog

The first rule of Detroit Coney dogs: No ketchup. Never ketchup.

The most iconic of Detroit's culinary creations just so happens to be one of the most simple to make, which is exactly why it’s so easy to eff up. Leave the fixings to Chi-town, and the Jalapeño-covered dogs to Seattle, and keep it Detroit-style by nestling a naturally cased beef frankfurter in a steamed white bun and top it with meat chili, diced white onions, and plain yellow mustard. That’s literally it.

Find the recipe here.

Photo via American Coney Island/Facebook

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Detroit-style Pizza aka pizza

It cannot be denied: Detroit-style pizza is having a moment — and not just here on its home turf but across the globe, with folks copping our 70-plus-years-old Sicilian-inspired recipe. There are a few essential steps in a perfect Detroit-style pie: A rectangular pizza pan, Wisconsin brick cheddar, and the sauce, which does not hit the dough first, but last. Don’t question it, just do it, bake it, and then eat it.

Find the recipe here.

Photo via Buddy’s Pizza/Facebook

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Almond boneless chicken

OK — so Almond boneless chicken, or ABC — may have originated in Ohio, but it’s a Detroit favorite and if Detroit wants to declare ABC as its own, then so be it, because it’s just that good. The Chinese dish war su gai is believed to have originated in old chop suey houses and incorporates chicken, thick tempura-style breading, and mushroom gravy, topped with almonds, all atop a bed of lettuce. Pass the dang gravy, already!

Find the recipe here.

Photo via Peterboro/Facebook

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Boston Cooler

While this recipe is literally the easiest ever as it involves just two ingredients, it is possible to make a major mistake by using some generic-ass ginger ale. Well, folks, that’s a goddamn sin. A Boston Cooler requires vanilla ice cream and Vernors. Not Schweppes, Seagrams, or bullshit Canada Dry, but Vernors — the Detroit-born carbonated remedy to all things. P.S. You can add booze because, you know, booze.

Find the recipe here.

Photo via Hudsonville Ice Cream/Facebook

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Botana

Bless Detroit’s Southwest for no reason other than the food. Oh, the food. Of the Mexican fare to originate here, the Detroit-style botana, which is simply translated to shareable snack, takes on many forms, but all of them are best when accompanied by booze.

Find the recipe here.

Photo via Armando’s Mexican Restaurant/Facebook

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Sister Pie’s Salted Maple pie

There is pie and then there’s Sister Pie. The James Beard-nominated West Village bakery is home to one of the most celebrated pies on the planet: the Salted Maple. But the recipe itself is no secret, as Sister Pie founder Lisa Ludwinski included the hot item in her Sister Pie cookbook because the world is better with pie — this pie.

Find the recipe here.

Sister Pie is temporarily closed. Visit their Facebook page for updates.

Photo via Sister Pie/Facebook

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Boogaloo sandwich

It’s not a sloppy Joe, a hoagie, a barbecue sandwich, nor a loose burger. It’s a Boogaloo — and it originated in Northwest Detroit. In the ‘60s, Brothers Bar-B-Que co-owner Jean Johnson made what is referred to as the Boogaloo, a complex spin on the traditional sloppy Joe. While the zesty Jamaican-inspired sauce is a bit of a secret, only to be revived by Detroit take-out hotspot Chef Greg’s Soul ‘n’ The Wall.

Find the recipe here.

Photo by Tom Perkins

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Lady of the House’s carrot steak

Of the many delicious creations by lauded Detroit chef Kate Williams, it's her carrot steak at Lady of the House that has received national praise and general bewilderment. It’s not a steak, but is shaped like one. Using thinly sliced carrots (using a mandoline) and rolled up like a cinnamon roll (as a New York Times food critic called it) basting it in butter before giving it the steak treatment, after which point it is placed in a pool of Hollandaise sauce, and festooned with crushed pistachio. While this exact labor-intensive recipe may not be available, you can use your imagination and mandoline with caution.

Find the recipe for pan seared carrots here and a hollandaise sauce here.

Lady of the house is temporarily closed. Visit their Facebook page for updates.

Photo via Lady of the House/Facebook

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Corned beef egg roll

Another fusion food straight outta Detroit is the corned beef egg roll. A favorite since the 1980s, homegrown chain Asian Corned Beef has expanded rapidly in recent years. Its corned beef egg roll combines the crispy shell of Chinese egg rolls and the rich and creamy fixings of a classic Irish corned beef sammy.

Find the recipe here.

Photo via by Noah Elliott Morisson

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Potato chips

Did you know that Detroit was once home to 22 potato chip companies at one time, making it the potato chip capital of the world? Apparently, we have pretty tasty and hearty potatoes. Anyway, homegrown snack brand Better Made recently resurrected their Rainbow Chip offering (they’re dark and crispy) from the 1930s. The key? Vinegar.

Find the recipe here.

Photo via Shutterstock.com

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London Chop House-style lamb chops

You’re not crazy. Lamb chops seem to be on just about every menu in Detroit. So, what gives? You know, what? It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that it’s done right, which is how Detroit’s 80-plus-year-old James Beard Award-winning steakhouse, London Chop House — which absolutely puts the chop in lamb chop — does it. Anyway, LCH’s lamb chops come double cut with a mushroom, baby turnip, and pearl onion ragout. While the recipe may not be available online, the following recipes are comparable. (And sound friggin’ delicious!)

Find the recipe for double cut rosemary crusted lamb chops here and sauteed mushroom, arugula, and pearl onion recipe here.

The London Chop house is temporarily closed. Visit their Facebook page for updates.

Photo via The London Chop House/Facebook

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Hummer cocktail

Boozy milkshakes may be a nationwide trend but it all started in Detroit with The Hummer. The rum and ice cream concoction first hit the scene in 1968 when the late Jerome Adams whipped up what he would go on to call The Hummer while behind the bar at Detroit’s Bayview Yacht Club. To Jerome!

Find the recipe here.

Photo via Shutterstock.com

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Paczki

For one day a year, metro Detroiters of all creeds unite around a jelly-filled Polish pastry: the paczki. On Fat Tuesday, bakeries clog our arteries with the stuff — and nothing brings us more joy. Why wait? OK — so real paczki is deep-fried, hence the decadent once-a-year pre-Lent treat. But they can be made by baking.

Find the baked recipe here.

Find the fried recipe here.

Photo via New Palace Bakery/Facebook

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Bangkok 96 Street Food’s Pad Thai Roll

Celebrated chef Genevieve Vang first opened her traditional Thai eatery Bangkok 96 restaurant in, well, 1996 in Dearborn — more than two decades before opening its edgier Detroit shipping container outpost, Bangkok 96 Street Food, where the Pad Thai Roll was born. Part burrito, part sushi roll, and, well, pad thai, the Pad Thai Roll can be made with any protein and any spice level.

Find the recipe here.

Bangkok 96 Street Food is temporarily closed. Visit their Facebook page for updates.

Photo via Bangkok 96 Street Food/Facebook

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Dill pickle soup

Another Polish Detroit staple that should be on your make-from-home menu: Dill pickle soup. Zupa ogórkowa, or pickle soup, is a flavor-packed appetizer that can be made either creamy (like this recipe) or a bit more broth-heavy, and, either way, is not for the faint of heart mostly because, well, it’s not entirely heart-healthy thanks to the use of sour cream, but who cares about that right now, anyway?

Find the recipe here.

Photo via Shutterstock.com

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Double-baked rye bread

If you’re going to go through all the trouble of making a homemade soup, you might as well bake some bread. But not just any bread, duh. Pioneered in Detroit in the 1950s by Stage Deli & Co. Delicatessen’s Jack Goldberg, double-baked rye bread is a taste to behold. Like most everything that takes place in a kitchen, timing is everything, which is why the trick to this doughy Detroit staple is in the steaming once the dough has been cooked partially.

Find the recipe for rye bread here, but apply Zingerman’s Delicatessen’s instructions to the recipe. br>
Photo via Zingerman’s Bakehouse/Facebook

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Saganaki

Opa! Detroit may not have, you know, invented flaming cheese, but we friggin’ love it and it’s a major must-have in the city’s Greektown neighborhood. While we may not advocate for serving the Greek appetizer restaurant-style because, you know, fire hazard, we think this pan-fried version deserves some fanfare.

Find the recipe here.

Photo via Pegasus Taverna

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Shawarma sandwich

Metro Detroit loves a sandwich, and we happen to hold court when it comes to one sandwich in particular that just so happens to be of the Middle Eastern wrap variety. Behold, the shawarma. Drooling yet? While you can readily get your hands on some top-notch shawarma, why not customize your wrap at home?

Find the recipe for chicken shawarmahere.

Find the recipe for vegan chickpea shawarmahere.

Photo via Bucharest Grill/Facebook

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The Last Word

Finally, how about The Last Word — a 100-year-old Detroit cocktail steeped in history and lore that has become an international must-have? It’s believed that the cocktail was created by the Detroit Athletic Club, but some say vaudeville actor Frank Fogarty created the drink during the Prohibition era. The sharp and sweet drink consists of gin, lime juice, Chartreuse, and maraschino liqueur and can be used as a palate cleanser or, you know, as a palate enhancer.

Find the recipe here.

Photo via Shutterstock.com

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