
Lebanese Sundae at Leila Detroit and the ham sandwich at Mike's Famous Ham Place
After months of traveling to more than 30 states, the New York Times compiled a list of the top 26 best dishes eaten across the U.S. in 2024.
Two of those dishes are in Detroit. Both reviews in the Times were written by Sara Bonisteel, an associate food editor at the Times. (There's a separate list for the New York restaurants)
One Detroit dish is a ham sandwich at the very unpretentious Mike’s Famous Ham Place at 3700 Michigan Avenue on the city's west side.
Bonisteel writes:
I don’t know if Mike Muftari dreams of ham, but his ham sandwich has been on my mind since May. He’s been plying pork for 50 years at Mike’s Famous Ham Place on a desolate stretch of Michigan Avenue. His is an honest and satisfying sandwich built on a poppy-seed roll, with five or six solid planks of ham, a slice of cheese, a squirt of yellow mustard and some pickles. He sold the business in October, but has stayed on through the end of the year to teach the new owners the ropes. Aside from forms of payment, they don’t plan to change a thing. ($10.50 for regular, $13 for large)
The other dish is a Lebanese Sundae at Leila Detroit in the Capitol Park neighbohood in downtown at 1245 Griswold Street.
Bonisteel writes:
Arriving to the table like a Star Trek tribble ready for a night on the town, this dessert holds your attention from the first bite. Pistachios cover the mop of fairy floss atop the dish, and ashta, the rose-flavored ice cream with hints of orange blossom water, hides underneath the gossamer. The restaurant, on Capitol Park in downtown Detroit, is named for the matriarch of the Eid family, also the owners of Phoenicia, and the menu nods to home cooking. This dessert delights with its simplicity and whimsy. ($10)