 JULY 2 • 2020 | 35

dining around the D
Nosh

D

etroit Fleat, a “
food truck park and 
boozery,
” is where I went to dip my 
toes into restaurant dining again. 
That hadn’
t been an option since March 16, 
when Gov. Gretchen Whitmer 
issued an executive order 
prohibiting on-site service in 
restaurants and bars — her 
effort to stem the spread of 
COVID-19. With the situation 
greatly improved in Michigan, 
she lifted the ban as of June 8.
I’
ve been a fan of Detroit 
Fleat since July 2019, when owner-opera-
tor Katie Picard and manager Aaron Tye 
introduced casual, food truck dining at the 
eastern end of Ferndale. Three international 
food trucks are parked permanently for the 
season, with additional rotating trucks. 
Open at 4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday and 
11 a.m. Sunday, the choices are Pita Post, 
healthy Mediterranean fare; Impasto Food 
Truck, Italian-inspired wraps; and Fleat 
Tacos, Mexican cuisine (but not on Sunday). 
Detroit Fleat’
s permanent building, in a 
reworked Chinese restaurant, features a 
reclaimed wood and corrugated tin bar. The 

menu is “house street food,
” such as sliders. 
Also open at 4 p.m., but 11 a.m. on Saturday 
and Sunday, the schedule includes Sunday 
brunch until 3 p.m. 
On my first visit to Detroit Fleat this sea-
son, I followed the signs to wash my hands 
with a pump of hand sanitizer and wore a 
mask before entering the patio. I noticed 
most diners took off their masks once seat-
ed. Servers consistently wore theirs. 
The patio has fewer, more widely spaced 
tables than previously. Additional seating is 
under the restaurant’
s covered side porch or 
at parking lot level.
In front of each food truck, pavement 
markers indicate a safe 6 feet apart for wait-
ing. My order at Impasto was a Sausage & 
Pepper Impasto. I ate the tightly wrapped 
sandwich in a park. The still-warm grilled 
pita was stuffed generously with Italian sau-
sage and sautéed bell peppers and onions, 
then topped with marinara sauce and fresh 
basil. Delicious and filling. I took home half 
of it. More Impasto wraps include grilled 
chicken or spicy steak. For vegetarian tastes, 
try Margherita or Spicy Veggie, which has 
arugula, griddled tomatoes, roasted red 

peppers, red onion, spicy giardiniera and 
spicy garlic aioli. I’
ve several times enjoyed 
Impasto’
s crispy Parmesan-Truffle fries.
If choosing Pita Post, I can recommend 
the vegan Falafel Boy and the best-selling 
Chicken Schnitzel.
On a more recent outing, my friend and 
I took a table indoors. I was comfortable 
sitting a distance from other diners and felt 
fresh air drifting in from an open door to 
the patio. We shared Street Taco Salad, a 
very good choice with fresh greens, black 
beans, corn, tomato, radish slices, crispy 
tortilla strips, cilantro and lime. It came with 
avocado vinaigrette. Instead of adding chick-
en or chorizo, we split Chicken Drumsticks 
with a Cajun rub, instead of Lemon-Pepper 
or Garlic Romano. Our sauce was Blue 
Cheese, rather than Whiskey BBQ, Ranch or 
Chipotle Pineapple Remi. 

Detroit Fleat

1820 E. 9 Mile Road, 

Ferndale

(248) 607-7611

detroitfleat.com

$$½ out of $$$$

PHOTOS COURTESY OF DETROIT FLEAT

etroit Fleat, a “
food truck park and

bo
booz
ozer
ery”is
is whe
here
re I wen
ent to
to dip my

menu is “house street food,
” such as sliders
s. 

Al
Also
so ope
pen at
at 4 p m but
ut 11 a m on Sa
Saturday
Detroit Fleat

Esther Allweiss 
Ingber 
Contributing 
Writer

