S

uperlative chicken shwarma is 
what made Bucharest Grill a 
Detroit dining essential.
Contrary to expectation, the shwarma 
at Bucharest Grill is not a 
Middle Eastern specialty. 
Instead, owner Bogdan 
Tarasov said the grilled 
marinated chicken breast is a 
Turkish Empire import to his 
native Romania. Whatever 
its heritage, Tarasov
s grilled 
marinated chicken breast has 
received numerous accolades 
from local media outlets and 
enthusiastic customers. 
Diner Jerry Krugel of 
Detroit admits to never order-
ing anything else but shwarma off the 
restaurant
s menu: It is a succulent, juicy 
chicken sandwich with a great-tasting 
sauce.

Bucharest Grill opened in December 
2006 and spent more than nine years on 
Park Avenue, around the corner from 
Cliff Bell
s. After the building owner 
reclaimed the space for another purpose, 
Tarasov opened an 80-seater this year 
in the Rivertown District. The location 
on Jefferson Avenue is east of Chene 
Street, between the RenCen and Belle Isle 
Bridge.
Two smaller Bucharest Grill outposts 
were already in Detroit: the Milwaukee 
Junction location for 25 at 110 Piquette 
and a carryout in Corktown at 1623 
Michigan. Bucharest Grill will move 
uptown with a fourth restaurant this year 
on Livernois, south of Eight Mile.
Tarasov, 40, was a canoeing/kayak-
ing coach before joining a friend living 
in Detroit in 2001. Now married and 
an expectant father, Tarasov admitted, 
I didn
t know the restaurant business, 
but knew I wanted a place that would be 
open a lot. I didn
t open to make money. 
I never knew how this [Bucharest Grill] 
would take off.

When I went, my heart leaped with 
anticipation watching streams of din-
ers drifting in and out of the Jefferson 
Avenue Bucharest Grill in an otherwise 
nondescript shopping plaza. I liked hav-
ing free parking.
I noticed the menu was highly interna-
tional with nothing particularly spicy. 
I
m from the Black Sea part 
of Romania, which has more of a 
Mediterranean influence,
 Tarasov 
explained. 
Simple salt and garlic are the two most 
frequent spices in combinations he devel-
oped for his own menu items. 
I
m the one tasting, and I have 

employees who follow the recipes,
 he 
said. We have a warehouse in Corktown 
where we make the sauces, and slice and 
marinate the meat,
 he said. The meat 
is purchased from the Wolverine 
and Fairway packing companies 
in Detroit
s Eastern Market. 
With such care, the food is 
noticeably handmade, not pre-
made, at Bucharest Grill. 
My co-diner was bowled over 
by the huge quantity of shwarma 
placed on her dinner-sized chick-
en salad, enough for a second 
meal. We shared a plate of excel-
lent hummus, widely ringed with 
paprika.
I tried stuffed pepper for an 
entree more typically Romanian. After 
the delectable, sweet-and-sour Jewish-
style pepper, this is my new favorite. 
The subtle sauce for the pepper
s blend of 
ground beef, rice and Romanian spices 
was not the typical tomato-dominant 
kind I don
t enjoy. 
I was pleasantly surprised by my 
home-style potatoes. They consisted 
of thick-sliced potatoes, of course, but 
also sauteed carrots, pepper and onion. 
Get them! Muenster cheese or chicken 
shwarma can be added for an additional 
charge.
House specialties here include 
stuffed grape leaves (served with sour 
cream!) and Romanian sausage, falafel or 
chicken quesadilla, rib-eye steak, shnitzel 
plate and skinless sausage. Some start-
ers are cheese pie turnover, chicken 
bites, eggplant dip and various hummus 
combos. The six gourmet dogs varieties 
begin with either knockwurst, bratwurst 
or kielbasa. 
There are burgers and sliders featuring 
different proteins, eight salads and home-
made crepes for dessert.
Young ladies take orders at a counter, 
tip jars beside them. A swarm of employ-
ees wearing black crew shirts are hard at 
work in the visible kitchen. 
Bucharest Grill does a big carryout 
business, too. For example, a six-pack of 
shwarma costs $25.
Tarasov said he
ll stay a Detroit-based 
operation. This is something just for 
Detroit. People from everywhere are 
coming to Detroit.
 *

54 September 1  2016

out to eat
dining around the d

arts & life

Esther Allweiss 

Ingber
Contributing 
Writer

Bucharest Grill
2684 E. Jefferson
Detroit, MI 48226 
Phone: (313) 965-3111
www.bucharestgrill.com
$$ out of $$$$$

Bucharest Grill

Chicken shwarma with a Romanian twist.

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