The Things We Ate in 2019: Free Press Restaurant Critic Talks Detroit Sandwich Wars, Labor Shortage
Detroit Free Press restaurant critic Mark Kurlyandchik dishes on his top Detroit eats of the year — and sounds off on the haves and have-nots in the city’s restaurant scene.
Whether it’s fine dining or a grab-and-go meal, one of the many delights in and around Detroit is popping into new restaurant digs and neighborhood favorites to explore new cuisine.
Nationally, we’ve seen the crazed sandwich competition between Popeyes and Chick-fil-a — forever known as the Great Sandwich Wars of 2019 — take over the internet.
Locally, the battle was on, too.
In conversation with CultureShift’s Ryan Patrick Hooper, Kurlyandchik talks about the food trend of the year as well as a few of his other favorite dishes.
Click the player above to hear the full conversation with Detroit Free Press restaurant critic Mark Kurlyandchik and see his top Detroit sandwiches below.
In this conversation:
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He talks about his favorite dishes from 2019
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A wave of new restaurants opening this year
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A service industry labor shortage; and
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A program at a Michigan correctional facility aiming to turn convicts into chefs.
Excerpts:
I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream For… A Sandwich?
“When the history books are written years from now, they’ll look back at 2019 as the year of the great sandwich war,” says Detroit Free Press restaurant critic Mark Kurlyandchik. “It was so viral and such a meme. So many people were a part of it. You say ‘chicken sandwich’ and most people probably know what we’re talking about.”
The Doner Kebab Arrives in Hamtramck
“This was the year we finally got the Doner kebab at Balkan House in Hamtramck — and the great success they had with that sandwich, which was new to the area,” he says. “It’s kind of like a Greek gyro, Turkish in origin. Made famous really in Berlin, Germany in the ’70s. It’s kind of the shawarma spit style of meat–typically a combination of lamb, beef and varieties of chicken stuffed between bread, [similar to] pita bread, but a little fluffier with fresh shredded cabbage, cucumber, tomato and garlicy sauce with a spicy kick added right into the garlic sauce.”
All Hail the Cubano Sandwich from Latido at Joebar in Hazel Park
“It was really a highlight of my dining year. It’s definitely the best Cuban sandwich I’ve ever had. I don’t know what kind of magic goes into it,” says Kurlyandchik. “I know they do the pork belly on sight [and] that goes a long way and that pairs with the ham. It’s a very traditional Cuban sandwich but there’s something about the quality of the ingredients and the way everything is layered and executed. It’s the perfect handheld food.”
