First Taste: Dish in Detroit

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Dish Restaurant

In a tight economy, more and more diners are skipping full-service restaurants and opting for take-out restaurants that offer excellent food at a fairer price.

At Dish, on Detroit’s east side, a loyal customer base of Detroiters and Grosse Pointers has done this for years.

Dish has a niche. It serves gourmet or “new American” cuisine from a small 800-square-foot kitchen and pick-up room. What this boils down to is that Dish has low overhead does not have to cover costs like silver-ware and plates or servers.

Owners Chef Paul Sulek and wife Peg run the business with the help of a sous chef, a counter attendant and an assistant, it’s really a two or three person operation.

Paul is a classically trained chef and graduate of the Culinary Institute of America. Dish’s format allows Paul and Peg to cover all facets of the business, from buying ingredients to menu planning and business tactics. And it’s nice to know that the owners are cooking your food and serving you, compared to large restaurants where an owner is hardly ever in sight.

They have passion, evident from their customer interactive web-site www.dishdetroit.biz that lists their favorite food movies, books and writers.

In some ways, Dish exceeds the more expensive restaurants that offer seating and table service. Customers can enjoy a high caliber meal at home instead of sitting down to a time-consuming meal.

Paul and Peg also refer to their food as home replacement meals because what they prepare is made from scratch and it’s not overly expensive or exorbitant -- similar to the food that people actually cook for themselves.

Dish’s cuisine style straddles the gourmet category while still staying true to home-style meals that everyone can enjoy.

We had the grilled asparagus salad, a Summery creation, made with Michigan asparagus, romaine lettuce, roasted bell peppers and onions served with a creamy lemon-thyme dressing. It was large and filled with grilled and roasted vegetables.

A quiche special is offered daily served with a side Caesar salad, all for $7.50. In the Summer gazpacho and vichysoisse are also available.  

Dish also offers catering service and a catering menu along with their daily menu and specials can be found on their website.

Get the full dish on the Dish