Birthday Celebration at B Nektar, the Peterboro, and Standby

So, yes, I turned 32 on August 6, 2017. Ugh! I hate saying it, but I am trying to embrace it. Truth is, I hate getting older, but I am taking it one day at a time. This year was filled with amazing people, great food, and lots of love. I got to celebrate with some of the best people and they made turning another year young really awesome. This one is for them <3 #soblessed #themostannoyinghashtag

Gold Cash Gold, Corktown Detroit, MI

I kicked off my birthday celebration at Gold Cash Gold in Corktown, Detroit for brunch. I have been dying to try their fried chicken so I thought, what the hell? Today is a great day for brunch on the patio. The sun was shining, pop punk was playing, and the mimosa’s were flowing. Good vibes all around.

Pickle Brined Fried Chicken & Waffles: Cornbread waffle, hot and spicy chicken, and orange sourghum butter. The fried chicken was juicy on the inside, and super crispy and sweet on the outside. The breading was honestly the best I have ever tasted. However, it wasn’t hot or spicy, which would’ve been nice. In addition, I wasn’t a fan of the cornbread waffle, mainly because it crumbled as soon as I cut into it. This is one of the reasons why I am not a fan of cornbread. I am not sure if it was too dry or not moist enough. Nothing else matters when you serve fried chicken this good. The pickle brine made for a moist piece of chicken and added a little sour kick.Biscuits & Gravy: Wild mushroom gravy, charred scallions, buttermilk biscuits, topped with an egg over easy. The mushroom gravy is so flavorful and earthy. The biscuits were flaky, soft, and delicious. When the egg broke, the creamy yolk added a rich sauce to finish the dish.

Big shout out to Gold Cash Gold for good food, service, and the birthday wishes! Thanks, guys!

B Nektar, Ferndale, MI

The next stop was to B Nektar in Ferndale for the Meadfest. This was my first trip to B Nektar so I was really excited to try all the different meads. There were a lot to choose from including some limited editions you couldn’t get in the meadery normally.

My favorite is still Zombie Killer, but I also enjoyed Rex & the City and Stupid Man Suit and a handful of others I didn’t really care for.

Zombie Killer (right): Cherry, apple, hard cider. Not too sweet, a little tart. Very nice! Basically, tastes like juice which is dangerous because before you know it, I’m 3 deep.

Stupid Man Suit (left, I think. Hey, it was my birthday and I had a lot of samples. No judgement!): Sweet & bold, ripe berries complimented by crisp, tart apples. Very similar to Zombie Killer, but a little more bold. Really nice!

B Nektar made one of their meads into a slush. It tasted like pineapple and was delicious.

Emily even brought my birthday gift to B Nektar. Nothing like unwrapping presents in public like a child! She ended up getting me a super awesome and thoughtful gift so it didn’t matter (my logo on canvas). Thank you soooo much! Love you, girl!

The Peterboro, Detroit’s Chinatown

After a bunch of drinks (responsibily, of course) and Skipbo, we headed to Midtown Detroit for dinner at The Peterboro. I can best describe the Peterboro as modern Chinese cuisine. The dining room isn’t very big which I like and they put modern spins on Chinese classics.

Asian Cucumber Salad: Szechuan peppercorns, jalapenos, coriander, rice wine vinegar. Nice bright flavors! The jalapeno was nice with the rice wine vinegar. The crisp cucumber paired well with the subtle heat from the szechwan peppercorns.Eggplant Bao Bun (daily special): Grilled eggplant, carrots, scallions, red pepper, and crispy rice. The eggplant was nice grilled. Honestly, I wasn’t a fan of the crispy rice. It wasn’t well executed and didn’t blend with the other ingredients. The bao bun was also very dry and needed more sauce. I asked for a side of oyster sauce which helped.Pork Fried Rice: With hoison sauce. The pork was tender and slightly sweet. I really liked the crispy fried onions and the fresh green onions. The rice was delicious with the sweet and salty flavors from the hoisin sauce.

Standby, Downtown Detroit, The Belt (super hip alley and on any given day you can catch people doing photo shoots).

Roasted Corn Chowder: Blended with corn juice and cream, served cold with jalapeno. So good! I am a huge fan of corn chowder so when I heard this was available, I had to order it. This was my favorite. It was better than expected. It wasn’t super rich or heavy which I appreciated. Nice flavor.Tunisian Fried Cauliflower: Chickpea batter, smoked paprika, chive honey. The chickpea batter was light and flavorful. The smoked paprika was very good and went well with the sweet chive honey drizzle. It was nice how the chickpea batter remained crispy and didn’t get soggy from the honey. Cheese Plate: Combo of blue cheese, sheep’s cheese, cow’s cheese, honeycomb, fig, walnut, and crostini. The different flavors of cheeses were really nice. The sharp blue cheese was my favorite and was delicious paired with the sweet honey and fig. One of the cheeses was similar to brie, being soft, creamy, and buttery. The toasted, buttery crostini was perfect. Duck (special): Crispy, roasted duck served with black lentils and a lightly dressed spring mix. I was not a fan. The duck fat was not rendered off, the skin wasn’t crispy, and the duck was chewy. However, the salad was nicely dressed with an acidic lemon vinaigrette. which cut through the rich duck. Shoutout to Chandan for coming out and helping me conclude my birthday celebration. It was a blast!