Mabel Gray, a cult-favorite metro Detroit hotspot, named one of America's best restaurants
According to USA Today's 2025 Restaurants of the Year list, the cult-favorite metro Detroit staple stands out as one of the top 44 places to eat in America.
'I appreciate the opportunity to be featured,' Rigato said. 'The barrier to entry for an independent chef only gets harder every year, so when we get celebrated, you're making a vote for the kind of restaurants you want to see. This is for Ali, my pastry chef, for Max and Kylie, the bartenders — this is an accolade for all.'
More: What's the best restaurant near you? Check out USA TODAY's 2025 Restaurants of the Year.
More: Inside look at how USA TODAY chose its Restaurants of the Year for 2025
Despite having a larger-than-life personality and the kind of insatiable energy reality television producers would kill for, after appearing as a contestant on Bravo's 'Top Chef' in 2014, James Rigato had no ambition to join the ranks of competition TV chefs. Instead, his sights were set on opening a restaurant in his home state of Michigan that embraced his identity as a self-identified 'blue-collar guy' and a fine-dining chef.
His ambition led him to a former Coney Island in Hazel Park, Michigan, a humble suburb just outside of Detroit.
In 2015, at just 31 years old, Rigato shook up the culinary landscape from this no-frills outpost with a concept he'd seen along his travels across the globe — the restaurant would center on a daily-changing tasting menu with a rotation of à la carte options. Today, many Detroit-area restaurants offer fixed menus and a focus on seasonal dishes, but at the time, the approach was fresh. And in the decade that followed, Mabel Gray's technique has been buffed and polished into utter perfection.
Here, a whimsical menu, handwritten by Sam Stanisz — Rigato's partner also dubbed 'founding mother' of Mabel Gray — features up to 12 items with a large focus on creative interpretations of Michigan produce, plus delicious meat, fish, housemade pastas and breads in between.
Mabel Gray is the kind of place where you'll get a taste of luxury on your plate, and a home-y sensibility in your experience. You're bound to walk away with a friend among fellow diners at the tightknit tables throughout the dining room, or with the mixologist behind the bar.
And that's half the draw. Aside from the fine fare, well-crafted cocktails and exquisite wine program, it's the jovial, communal energy that keeps reservations booked night after night at Mabel Gray. Be sure to book yours well in advance.
More: What's the best restaurant near you? Check out USA TODAY's 2024 Restaurants of the Year.
Steak frites. A defining quality of the menu at Mabel Gray is its seasonality, rotating roughly every two weeks. But, there are some staples — and for good reason. The steak frites, for example, is an ever-present dish sought after for its impeccable execution and bold flavor. A 60-day dry-aged, bone-in American wagyu strip steak is fanned across the plate with Béarnaise aioli and tallow zip sauce. It's served with an equally flavorful, generous bowl of housemade fries topped with pecorino and fresh rosemary clippings.
Seasonal veggies. There's an opportunity to taste the bounty of Michigan here. In the fall, a harvest of sweet corn gets tossed with a medley of umami miso butter, citrusy preserved lemon and salty, crispy, crunchy bits of chicken chicharrónes. In spring, a cheesy pasta carbonara is updated with wild ramps.
Dessert. Pastry chef Ali Sesnovich's post-dinner sweet treats are not to be missed. Following the restaurant's seasonal approach, Sesnovich spins pumpkin into creamy, spiced Basque cheesecake and tops buttery blondies with slivers of crisp apples.
Bonus: The restaurant's most recent addition, a dungeon-like wine cave, is the lair of Paulina Schemanski. In this red-hued room, the skilled sommelier seduces diners with the restaurant's assortment of wines and Champagnes sourced from around the world. Champagne vs Everybody, a fun blind tasting series in the wine cave, allows participants to learn the flavor profiles of the elixirs in Schemanski's arsenal.
Details: Mabel Gray, 23825 John R Road, Hazel Park, MI; 248-398-4300, mabelgraykitchen.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Mabel Gray makes 2025 USA TODAY Restaurants of the Year list
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