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