sliders – Fare..Eat..Ales

I owed my daughter a trip to Detroit to search for her grade 8 graduation dress. In order to maintain my sanity, I insisted on lunch at Green Dot Stables. Green Dots Stables is a well known destination in Detroit famous for it’s $2 and $3 menu items consisting mainly of sliders with a few soups, salads and sides as well. In addition, there are a slew of beer and cocktails for under $3, including a few local drafts from Bell’s and other local breweries. Plus, I found it a bit nostalgic that California Chrome had just won the second leg of the triple crown, so lunch in a converted stable with jockey-sized burgers and a horse racing theme seemed fitting.

The monotony of a horse owner’s life of sipping mint julips and wearing ridiculous hats or other accessories while watching workers tend to the rolling green hills of their ranches is thrown into chaos for a month during the spring when the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes put their prized equines at the forefront. The four legged athletes with names like Dutch Delicacy or Hoof Him to the Curb are centre stage along with their 5-ft sidekicks who can “stand tall” and not worry about getting beat up despite the fact they are dressed up like pastel leprechauns.

I started with the $3 Chicken Tortilla soup. It was thick, spicy and hearty and was nicely garnished with slivers of tortillas and sliced hot peppers. The kale salad with quinoa, lemon and shallot was simple and delicious. I only had one bite before my daughter laid claim to the rest.

Chicken Tortilla Soup $3 and Kale Salad $3

With the triple crown on my mind, I ordered a trio of slides which included the mystery meat (wild boar au poivre), fried chicken (with panko sage maple syrup) and a hot brown (Chicken, monray and bacon) for $3 a piece. Each of them were race winners. The liberal use of pepper, the sweetness of the fried chicken and the perfectly cooked bacon on the hot brown demonstrated the attention to detail put into the simple slider.

Trio of sliders $3 (Mystery Meat, Fried Chicken and Hot Brown)

My daughter ordered le poutine which was quite true to form. Gravy and cheese curds modestly topped the skinny crisp fries to create a tasty $3 snack worthy of partnership with the sliders.

For the home stretch, my daughter went with the corktown smore (with cinnamon, nutella and fluff) while I went with one of my favorite comfort desserts, the ice cream sandwich ($3 each). The warm smore together with the cold sandwich was a blissful end to the meal.

Corktown Smore and Ice Cream Sandwich $3

My Take

Green Dot Stables is a Detroit icon and rightfully so. Cheap but delicious food and drink mixed with a trendy atmosphere and funky staff make for a great experience. Every slider, although simple, is carefully thought out and the product is a mix of sweet and savory smarts. Even the desserts are brilliant, especially the ice cream sandwich which screams local pride with the use of Blue Moon ice cream from the local Guernsey dairy farm stuffed between a Mexican tea biscuit. As I anxiously await the outcome of the Belmont Stakes, especially among the controversy surrounding the use of nasal strips by California Chrome (nothing like a good rumpus over performance enhancement among equines), I can’t help but wonder if Blue Moon might edge out Mexican Tea Biscuit by a nose at next year’s Kentucky Derby.

Much like trends that surge in a given year, there are many that begin to fade away. Here are my predictions of the Toronto food trends that should curtail in 2013.

1. Beet to Death

Almost every menu offers a beet salad of some kind. They are cheap, earthy and offer a pretty colour to a plate. They are however, very distinct. This uniqueness usually results in a short shelf life. Plus, root vegetables take turns being in favour. Just ask a sweet potato. They had to step aside for the beet and a new tuber should soon reign supreme. Perhaps an heirloom carrot, parsnip or even the relatively unknown sunchoke?

2. Doubt the Sprout

Despite its sinister reputation among the young, the brussel sprout has become the cool cruciferous vegetable in the past few years, offering a perfect marriage with other in vogue flavours like hot sauce and bacon fat. However, with other greens such as collards, swiss chard and mustard greens gaining popularity, I suspect the brussel sprout will lose some of its spark and go back to being the low point of many a childhood.

3. Pig: The Magical Animal

Pork is no longer the other white meat; it is THE white meat. Thick chops and pork belly have dominated menus in the past few years. Bacon has been used to wrap everthing from steak to scallops to ice cream. The combination of demand for lighter foods coupled with expected increases in pork prices in 2013 should see the presence of pork diminish somewhat across the board. That being said, bacon will be coveted and pork will remain a key component in ramen dishes, but don’t be surprised to see more chicken (in an attempt to gain the white meat status back) and beef options emerge as a replacement to the mighty pig.

4. Feelin’ Blue

Strong flavours will be replaced with more mild ones and cheese is no exception. The intensity of the bold blues, including gorgonzola will be replaced by lighter cheeses with more subtle flavour. The use of blue as a base for rich creamy pasta sauces (especially vegetarian ones) should fall out favour for more acidic, zingy ones.

5. Falling Flat

Flatbreads are pizzas for places that don’t make pizza. Once a popular appetizer, flatbread is a canvas to display other popular ingredients such as short rib, mushrooms and asparagus with white, red and barbeque sauce foundations. The novelty has worn off as diners are satisfied with the toppings reconstructed in novel and abstract ways minus the bland and often overcooked dough.

6. Holy Aioli!

Chipotle mayos, basil aiolis and other thick and sinful sauces should give way to vegetables based dips, sauces and condiments. The trend toward the focus on fresh and local ingredients doesn’t necessarily include mayonnaise and oil but may favor tangy, tomato jams, spicy chimichurris and vibrant pestos instead.

7. “Poutin'”

Call me crazy but the life cycle of poutine may be coming to an end. The classic Quebec dish has evolved to include lobster, brisket and pulled pork as well as modifications to the traditional beef or chicken gravy. The pendulum is swinging in the direction of lighter flavours. In the end, poutine, regardless of the version, is a salty and fatty mess to the extreme, one which will soon return to be reserved primarily for the after bar crowd.

8. Taking a Slide

Despite the number of new restaurants opening promoting sliders of all kinds, in all likelihood they will not sustain the popularity of the past couple of years. The initial simple slider gave way to newer ideas like pulled pork or beef topped with kimchi, slaw or fois gras. There may be some survival among the many small plate restaurants, but sliders have quickly become an outdated novelty. The advent of competitive burger joints have swung the pendulum back toward the large chin-dripping mains and away from the dainty, often dried out finger sandwiches.

9. “Not”ella

Nutella has gone from a rare childhood vice to a condiment which recently seems to grace everything from grilled cheese to crepes to burgers. The hazelnut spread has been elevated to iconic levels in the past couple of year with many restaurants going as far as displaying various sized nutella jars in their establishments like some kind of award or trophy. Not that it will go away, but the jars should come down with diner’s reactions shifting from 2012’s “Cool, this place has nutella” to 2013’s “Oh, nutella…again”.

10. Muffle the Truffle

Truffle oil is not a truffle. It’s a cheaper, liquid version of the exquisite fungus which has been grossly overused in everything from popcorn to pasta. Truffle is like fish sauce and saffron; if you use too much once, it resonates to every similar dish afterwards. Truffle is meant to subtly complement other flavours, not be the main flavour and too many dishes are offered without this understanding. Similar to Newtonian law, as the numbers of those who have been subject to truffle oil abuse increase, its popularity will decrease.

Tag: sliders

Winning the Triple Crown at Green Dot Stables

Fare..Eat..Ales 10 Food Trends That Will Fade in 2013