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The Best Special Occasion Restaurant in Every State
Chef Michael Symon seemed bold when he founded Roast in Detroit’s refurbished Westin Book Cadillac hotel in 2008. Why open a high-end restaurant in a struggling city? It seemed like a risk for a celebrity chef. But Symon says he felt comfortable there, seeing Detroit as similar to Cleveland, where he opened his first restaurant almost 20 years ago. Plus, he has noted, “My dad is a Ford guy, so I was in Detroit a lot as a kid.” Unsurprisingly, Roast, which Symon describes as "a meat house — a steak house plus," has since garnered awards for best restaurant and best steakhouse. This is Iron Chef Symon we’re talking about, so the menu is a carnivore’s paradise. There’s a custom, six-foot-long grill for cooking steaks over mesquite and hardwood charcoal, and an open stainless steel rotisserie beside the dining room. Signature dishes include beef cheek pierogies with horseradish and mushrooms; roasted marrow with sea salt, oregano, capers, and chiles; "roast beast" (slow-roasted whole suckling pig, baby lamb, or goat) with seasonal garnishes; short ribs with Cheddar grits; smoked pork chops with polenta, pickled chiles, and barbeque onions. Of course, there are plenty of other tremendously prepared steaks and chops with delicious accents like filet mignon with crab béarnaise, bavette sirloin with Fresno yogurt and roasted peppers, ribeye with beef fat gremolata, and the porterhouse for two with shallot jus.
— Arthur Bovino, 101 Best Restaurants, April 1, 2015
