Mabel Gray, Hazel Park, MI 10.2 mo 9.24

My wife and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary, a little belated, at Mabel Grey in Hazel Park, MI (a suburb of Detroit).
We each ordered the tasting menu with the drink pairings. To say we were delighted would be an understatement.
Mabel Gray is not a Michelin-starred restaurant, and you don’t need to dress to the nines to feel at home there. But their food is phenomenal, the service is impeccable, and the overall experience was incredibly memorable.

Speaking of memorable…I’m doing this part from memory, part from my photos, and part from the menu descriptions (which help, but not everything was on the menu!):
We started with an oyster course (one raw and one cooked, with scallion and their house chili crunch and cider mignonette, among other fall flavors). Both were briny and oyster-y, but they were different enough to each be unique and interesting.

Then came the roasted beet salad, with farro, ricotta salata, macerated raspberry, balsamic, lemon yogurt and olive oil. This was earthy from the beet, but bright from the acidity of the lemon and yogurt and other acidy components (nice mix of sweet and sour). The ricotta was creamy enough to balance it out well. I think it might yet benefit from some toasted nuts for additional crunch (Hazelnuts? Walnuts?) But overall, just fantastic.

The SOUP. Tomato/potato puree, with celery and crab salad, ciabatta crouton, herbed ricotta, and black garlic oil. This soup was delicious, and the garnish was additive (and didn’t distract from the star of the show). Also impressive was that it was served at the exact right temp…not too hot to melt your face, but not just lukewarm. It was a really perfect soup dish.

Next was a salmon starter with Everything Bagel spice, some herbs, tomato, gastriq…
(As you can tell from the lack of specifics, this one wasn’t written out on the menu). Perfectly cooked salmon that was buttery and warm. The spice mix was nice and not overpowering. The herbs and oil were just right.

Wild Boar “Sloppy Joe” with pickled jalapeños and avocado mousse, on tostada, with fried quail egg on top. This was fun a warm and delicious and REALLY paired nicely with their well-balanced Prickly Pear Margarita. Elevated bar food; really hit the spot on a gloomy Fall evening.

Coconut Sorbet palate cleanser. The little saucers were ADORABLE.

Bison filet with acorn squash puree, onion streusel, scallion and Lord knows what else (also not written on the menu, obviously). This was my wife’s overall favorite and deservedly so. Perfectly seasoned and cooked, with really nice textural differences and a balance between salty/savory/sweet. An excellent entree dish.

Dessert (with candles because of our anniversary): Carmel cake with caramel and nuts and some sort of whipped cream business and fried sage and cranberry compote…a perfect end to a wonderful meal. Not OVERLY sweet but just sweet enough, with a nice bright contrast with the cranberries. The sage gave it a warm hug of Fall.

We loved everything about this meal, and we’ll be back here again in the not-too-distant future. I hope we make the cut for this sub. 🙂