493. New York Bagel – January 10, 2021 – Ferndale, MI

Like peanut butter and chocolate, bagels and Sundays just go together. But bagels are delicious any day of the week – especially if you order them from New York Bagel!

The family-owned business has been in operation for 100 years! I visited its Ferndale location on a Sunday in early January, kicking the year off right with an order of a dozen bagels and a Reuben sandwich.

That Reuben sandwich – WOW, was it rich, satisfying deliciousness! Nestled in between soft, densely chewy bagel pieces optimally spiced with Everything bagel seasoning were tender corned beef, tangy sauerkraut, and zesty Russian dressing. I got to pick the type of bagel used for The Reuben, which also came with coleslaw. And I opted to skip the Swiss cheese it’s generally made with (though I’m sure it would make it extra tasty!). The end result of those choices: me enjoying every bite of this freshly made, flavorful sandwich.

Sunday or not, I would definitely visit New York Bagel again!

23316 Woodward Ave.

Ferndale, MI 48220

(With additional locations in Southfield and West Bloomfield)

www.newyorkbagel-detroit.com

492. Taqueria Lupita’s – December 31, 2020 – Detroit, MI

2020 was woefully slim on Detroit visits for me (the whole global pandemic thing certainly didn’t help). But one blessing of the year was it ending with a visit to Taqueria Lupita’s!

It made my heart so exquisitely happy to drive down to the D on New Year’s Eve – for tacos, no less! And these tacos were WELL worth the drive to Southwest (and enduring my cringey fear of being so close to the bridge to Canada – a fear I would label irrational if I hadn’t heard multiple accounts of people inadvertently ending up on it and into an impromptu meeting with border agents. Detroit problems!).

WOW, are Taqueria Lupita’s carnitas tacos delicious! I got them à la the Taco Dinner, which included rice and refried beans. The tacos, with their crispy-fried pork nestled inside soft corn tortillas and topped with diced onion and cilantro, were exceptional – as was the guacamole appetizer I ordered. Oh, the joy of fresh-made guacamole and tortilla chips! Is there anything better in life than that? Is there anything better than fresh, flavorful, authentic Mexican food in general? I think not – and this visit to Taqueria Lupita’s backs that up.

3443 Bagley St.

Detroit, MI 48216

www.taquerialupita.restaurantwebexpert.com

491. Sam’s Kebab House – December 27, 2020 – Clinton Township, MI

Mediterranean food is one of my great culinary loves. So it’s no surprise that I adored Sam’s Kebab House!

The Clinton Township-based restaurant serves up a mean chicken fattoush salad, as I learned back in December. This salad was everything you want a fattoush to be: fresh and flavorful, with zesty dressing, ample slices of tender grilled chicken, and plenty of fried pita chips (the pièce de résistance of the fattoush salad!).

My carryout order from Sam’s included an appetizer-sized portion of garlic sauce that would last me a week (much to my delight) accompanied by fresh pita bread. Delicious choices abounded on Sam’s menu, including classic dishes such as ghallaba, shish tawook, chicken shawarma, and falafel.

How lucky are we Metro-Detroiters to be in proximity to so many amazing Middle Eastern restaurants? I’m swooning just thinking about it. Thanks, Sam’s, for being one of those tantalizing choices!

43253 Garfield Rd.

Clinton Township, MI 48038

www.samskabob.com

490. Abby Lane – December 18, 2020 – Fraser, MI

This post is lonnnnnggg overdue but totally worth the wait, as it features the exceptional purveyor of burgers, Abby Lane!

Needless to say, I took an extensive hiatus from 100 Places in the D. It’s not my proudest moment when procrastination gets the better of me and snowballs into a six-month break! The upside is that there are plenty of new-place visits to feature, visits to AMAZING locally-owned establishments in the tri-county Metro-Detroit area – such as this one.

Abby Lane is a jem of a restaurant nestled in an unassuming strip mall near Fraser High School. The carryout joint offers plenty of meal options, including fish and chips, ribs, omelets, sandwiches, and salads. But it’s known for its gourmet burgers, which are EVERYTHING.

Seriously, these burgers are SOOOOO good. I had an inkling they would be before I even tried them: when I called to place my order, I was told there’d be an extensive wait (over an hour, if memory serves me right). I was all in and ordered the Abby Burger with a side of sweet potato fries.

The meal was most certainly worth the wait! The half-pound burger nestled in a toasted bun and topped with tomato, lettuce, avocado, Abby sauce, bacon, and bean sprouts (a substitution for the usual ingredient of alfalfa sprouts) was deliciously juicy and flavorful. The sweet potato fries were a tasty, can’t-stop-eating-these accompaniment. Both were the perfect complement to my Friday Night Dinner Date: Pandemic Edition (a video chat with a bestie – a.k.a. me juggling a cocktail and my phone camera whilst sitting in front of a Christmas tree).

Wow, does this night feel like a lifetime ago! I’m not jealous of my six-months-ago self braving a COVID spike in a pre-vaccine world – except for the gorging-on-Abby-Lane part. That part I am VERY jealous of. Thankfully, it’s a scenario I can easily recreate!

16890 15 Mile Rd.

Fraser, MI 48026

(Closed Sundays)

www.abbylaneinfraser.com