56 August 22 • 2019
jn
dining in the ‘
D’
nosh
n
B
esa in Detroit has been open
for almost eight months in the
historic Vinton Building on
Woodward Avenue at East Congress.
This modern-American style restau-
rant featuring a raw bar and an
impressive selection of wines contin-
ues to turn skeptics into regulars.
The name “Besa” comes from
managing partner Mario Camaj’
s
Albanian heritage. In times of war,
Albanians would often house other
people, even protecting them with
their lives, and this cultural precept
became known as “Besa.” For Camaj,
he wants to show the same level of
hospitality and honor in his restau-
rant.
Camaj works alongside Gerti
Begaj, who began his culinary career
as a server assistant under Camaj at
downtown Birmingham’
s Tallulah
Wine Bar & Bistro in 2013.
“Shortly after he [Begaj] became
serving manager, he was running
Tallulah pretty much every day,”
Camaj says. “Then we decided to
continue our relationship and he
became a managing partner for Besa.”
The menu is modern, with plenty
of atypical menu items. The raw bar
on the ground level features oysters,
beef tartare and various fish.
Executive Chef Kyle Schutte
believes Besa’
s vichyssoise best rep-
resents his style, which he defines as
“fun yet sophisticated, innovative yet
familiar and humane yet accessible.”
The dish is a potato waffle soaked in
a potato and leek broth, topped off
with leek butter.
“The vichyssoise is one of those
dishes that is near and dear to my
heart,” Schutte says. “It’
s the dish I
realized that it isn’
t just about concept
— it’
s about execution. At one point
that dish got away from me and it
was just about being different. It is a
reminder to hone in on fundamen-
tals.”
Schutte struggled with being
unable to tap into his creative side
while studying psychology in college.
He discovered a love for the culinary
arts after eating an ice cream sand-
wich on a spur-of-the-moment trip
to Maui.
“When I bit into this ice cream
sandwich, it took me back to when I
was 6 years old with my dad after a
Little League game,” he says. “I wasn’
t
in Maui — I wasn’
t worried about
my future. I thought about how the
chef has the ability to be creative and
make a connection with their guests.”
After experiencing the joy of the
culinary arts, he knocked on doors at
local restaurants to get hired, eventu-
ally working his way up to executive
chef.
The innovative style at Besa initial-
ly had some diners feeling skeptical.
Now, Schutte says that after tasting
his cuisine, guests are eager to come
back and order their favorite dishes.
“We’
re doing things differently
— a little out of the box,” he says.
“People at first had to get their bear-
ings. It’
s Detroit, so everyone here is
super-friendly and super-excited to
have a new restaurant.”
With Besa only four months away
from its first anniversary, Camaj‘
s and
Begaj’
s goals are best summarized by
the restaurant’
s namesake.
“Doing what we love, which is tak-
ing care of people,” Camaj says. ■
For more information on Besa, visit
besadetroit.com or call (313) 315-3000.
MICHAEL PEARCE JN INTERN
Bold Flavors at Besa
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