metro >> out to eat
Artisan Pizza In Royal Oak
Blaze Pizza will soon open a location in the heart of downtown
Royal Oak on the first floor of 112 S. Main St. The build-your-
own artisan pizza restaurant is scheduled to open in mid-
October. The Royal Oak restaurant is part of a plan to build 10
Blaze Pizzas in Metro Detroit and throughout Michigan. Blaze
Pizza uses an assembly line format to create artisan pizzas for
only $6.95. Guests watch as they travel down an assembly line
to create a signature pizza or design one of their own choosing
from more than 40 toppings. Visit www.blazepizza.com or
www.facebook.com/blazepizza for more information.
New Places In The D
Chickpea in the D, a new
smoothie and juice bar at 2
John R. St. in Detroit is now
open from 8 a.m.-2 p.m.
Also, Detroit Vegan Soul
(D.V.S) announced that it is
opening in the West Village
on Saturday, Sept. 28, at 8029
Agnes St.
Detroit Vegan Soul
Royal Oak Speakeasy
Lock and Key — a
prohibition-style
speakeasy with
classic cocktails, five
absinthe drinks and
six Kuhnhenn Brewing
Co. beers on tap — has
opened at the rear of
the Oxford Inn at 1214
Lock and Key Speakeasy
S. Main in Royal Oak.
Guests use a separate
entrance at the back of the building to visit the new bar. Owner
Bob Higgins says the speakeasy is designed to appeal to an
audience that enjoys fine handcrafted drinks in an atmospheric
setting. Hours are 7 p.m.-2 a.m. Thursday-Saturday. (248-543-
5619).
Eastern Market Tour
There is a new free walking tour series at Eastern Market:
YallaEat!, which celebrates the history of Arab merchants in
the historic market district. The docent-guided walking tours
run approximately two hours and 30 minutes. Opportunities
to shop are offered at most stops. Tours begin and end at
Germack Coffee Roasting Company, Roastery & Espresso Bar,
2517 Russell St., Detroit. Tour registration is free, but an online
RSVP is required at www.arabamericanmuseum.org/yallaeat .
RSVPs will be accepted until each tour date's 15 slots are filled
or until noon the day prior to each tour. Scheduled tours are 2
p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28; 1 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1; 2 p.m. Saturday,
Oct. 5; and 1 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 8.
Dine Drink Detroit
The first-ever #DineDrinkDetroit will be held Oct. 10-16.
#DineDrinkDetroit brings together 13 slightly-less-than fine
dining establishments offering a combination of food and drink
for $15 — no reservations, just a special offering available at
each of these locally and independently owned establishments.
More details will be forthcoming on the event's Facebook page,
www.facebook.com/DineDrinkDetroit.
Local group of burger mavens names
the best burgers in town.
Jackie Headapohl
Managing Editor
L
ooking for the best burgers around? There's a
group of guys who know best. Calling them-
selves the Burgermeister Club, since 2009, these
seven retired and semi-retired friends have traveled to
nearly 50 local restaurants in their search for the per-
fect burger.
The group, all of whom belong to Temple Beth El,
was started by Bob Tell, a retired hospital administra-
tor and aspiring mystery novelist from Bloomfield
Hills, who first read about a group of young New
Yorkers who had started a similar club. "I thought it
would be fun," he says.
Once a month, a member of the group chooses a res-
taurant for the guys to try with the stipulation it be 30
minutes or less from that person's house. Consequently,
the club gets around the Detroit Metro area.
"Burgers are rated on a scale of 1-10," Tell says. "We
judge the quality of the burger, the taste, freshness of
the meat, if it was cooked as ordered, the bun and the
presentation — the overall sensory impression of the
burger:'
The guys got a lesson from the son of Burgermeister
Dr. Myron LaBan, who is a restaurant critic for the
Philadelphia Inquirer. LaBan, of Bloomfield Hills, is a
semi-retired doctor specializing in physical medicine at
Beaumont Hospital.
"He really told us how to take a burger apart starting at
the bun:' he says. "We've gotten rather serious in our eval-
uations, and some of us get rather critical — along with
the BS that goes along with hanging out with the guys:'
The perfect burger is an art form, LaBan says, but
the perfect burger is also different for each member of
the club. Some like it rare, some well done.
"To me, the perfect burger is fresh, grilled so that
it's charred on the outside and rare on the inside says
Phil Fischer, a semi-retired attorney from Bloomfield
Township, whose known most of the members of the
club for 20 years.
The big draw, however, for club members is the
companionship.
"We enjoy each other's company as much as the
burgers:' says Burgermeister Jerry Kline, a semi-retired
vice president of a design firm in Troy.
Kline, whose wife, Margo, is a vegetarian, doesn't
get a lot of meat at home, so he looks forward to the
monthly burger with the boys. "I enjoy a hearty beef
flavor, not over-seasoned:' he says.
According to member Earl Remer, a retired attorney
Best Burgers
These rated 9 or above on
the Burger Scale.
Café Via, Birmingham
Red Coat Tavern,
West Bloomfield
Great Burgers
These rated between 8 and 9.
J. Alexander's, West Bloomfield
from West Bloomfield, "Besides hamburgers, we bring
to the table varied backgrounds and spirited conversa-
tions about current news, politics, jokes, sports and our
affiliation with Temple Beth El, as well as discussions
about the health and happiness of our families:'
Adds Fischer: "The conversations get heated some-
times, but they always remain polite:'
It's also fun to get out of the house and try different
places, says member Arthur Steuer, who retired from
Ford Motor Coss real estate department about 18 years
ago. He lives in Bloomfield Township.
"I enjoy trying new restaurants, even when the burg-
ers don't make the grade says Steuer, who prefers his
burgers medium-rare and juicy with not too thick a bun.
It's not too often the guys end up at a subpar restau-
rant, however, as members usually take their spouses
on a trial run to the restaurant before they choose it as
The Burgermesiter Club at Bistro Joe's in Birmingham (Scores
are not in yet): Back row, Phil Fischer, Jerry Kline, Earl Remer,
George Stern and Arthur Steuer. Front row: Myron LaBan and
Robert Tell.
a monthly destination for the club, according to Tell,
who adds that "I'll never get sick of burgers:'
Neither will Remer, who says biting into the perfect
burger "carries me back to when I was a youngster and
my parents would take the family to dinner at Boesky's
on 12th Street in Detroit. I would always order a ham-
burger with a large slice of white onion and French
fries. It was the ultimate treat:'
Member George Stern, a retired railroad executive
and current treasurer of JVS, is opposed to onions, but
does like his burgers "charred on the outside, medium
rare on the inside and juicy, with lettuce, tomato and
cheese — and sometimes mushrooms:'
What he enjoys most, though, is the camaraderie.
"We've all known each other a long time and get
together socially with our wives:' says Stern, who lives
in Birmingham. "But our monthly burgers present an
occasion for just us men to get together. I always look
forward to that:' ❑
Bastone Brewery, Royal Oak
Beverly Hills Grill, Beverly Hills
Big Rock Chophouse,
Birmingham
The Emory, Ferndale
Fox Grill, Bloomfield Hills
Roadside B&G, Bloomfield Hills
Granite City Food & Brewery,
Troy
Harbor Steak House,
Keego Harbor
Heroes Bar-bq & Grill,
Waterford Township
O'Mara's Irish Restaurant,
Berkley
Page's Food/Spirits, Farmington
Phoenicia, Birmingham
Poole's Tavern, Northville
Red Coat Tavern, Royal Oak
Sweet Lorraine's, Southfield
Toasted Oak Grill, Novi
Town Tavern, Royal Oak
September 26 • 2013
33