A couple of years in the past, my husband and I made a decision to forgo Thanksgiving turkey and all of the household stress and drama that goes together with the meal and head to Barcelona for per week, buying and selling turkey and pumpkin pie for tapas and cava. All week, we loved the easy pleasures of contemporary tomato unfold on crusty slices of bread. We found pintxos (i.e., small snacks, like little, deconstructed charcuterie boards on a stick). We feasted on a three-star Michelin Catalan lunch that included roast pigeon, blue crab with caviar, and cured foie gras and anchovy shavings on paper-thin garlic bread — a chunk of meals that regarded extra like a Dalí portray than an appetizer.
However the meal that stands proud to me from that entire journey was the distinctive seafood paella we had on the final day of our trip.
The pan would possibly as properly have been a internet for catching all of the seafood within the dish — so many plump lobsters, entire shrimp, and mussels that you just couldn’t even see the rice beneath. It’s tempting to gulp a dish this good in giant portions, nevertheless it calls for you’re taking a small chunk and revel in each second. I can nonetheless style this paella: the freshness of the seafood, the savory rice, the crisp and refreshing Albarino wine our server urged to pair with
it … We leisurely whiled away the hours as lunch encroached upon dinner. It was the exclamation level to cap off per week full of excellent meals.
Since COVID has pushed pause on my journeys overseas, I’ve dreamed of that final meal in Spain wistfully. I used to be reminded of it not too long ago upon making a visit to Olin, a downtown Detroit brasserie positioned within the former Puppet Artwork Theatre. Olin is run by Holly McClain, a restaurateur who grew up Downriver and went on to develop and function famend eateries in Chicago. After returning to Michigan a couple of years in the past, she opened Highlands within the GM Renaissance Middle with Shawn McClain, her husband and a James Beard Award-winning chef.
Strolling into Olin on a current Tuesday night was like strolling into a type of neighborhood tapas or pintxos bars in Barcelona — plenty of buzz and conviviality, loud in an energizing manner — with some fashionable American and Detroit taste. The playlist rocked various and indie tracks from the early ’80s to 2000s, from Speaking Heads to The Killers.
The big, open, and ethereal house boasting the artwork deco constructing’s authentic black-and-white tile flooring is carved into distinct sections that cater to regardless of the diner’s temper: a 13-seat bar; a 20-seat lounge with luxurious sofas; and a 100-seat eating room that options an eclectic mixture of seating, from a chef’s desk with leather-based banquettes to cafeteria- model cubicles. Two giant images murals by Lisa Spindler reinforce the economic parts, reminiscent of uncovered brick and wooden beams, of the distinctive house, designed by Birmingham’s McIntosh Poris Associates. Every little thing at Olin is properly balanced, from the decor to the meals.
Every part of the dishes we tried was in concord with the others. We began off with the Potatoes and Artichokes Bravas, the burrata, and the pretzel. The potatoes and artichokes didn’t look or style like several patatas bravas — sometimes crispy fried potatoes in a tangy pimento-forward sauce, typically drizzled with aioli — that I’ve had, however Olin’s model is uniquely its personal; the pimento sauce is traded for harissa oil, and the aioli recieves a black-garlic spin that brings larger depth of taste in contrast with a simple garlic aioli. The housemade burrata is served with earthy golden beets, candy caramelized brown fig, chili oil, and fermented honey.
My eating companions and I additionally chosen a few objects that will most likely not seem on a menu within the Mediterranean however are proper at dwelling in Michigan. The walnut Caesar incorporates a snowcap of Parmesan — the “correct” quantity, our buddy famous. The housemade pretzel, from Olin’s sister enterprise, Twist, may have been nothing greater than a mediocre carb, just like the bread introduced in baskets whose solely mission is to take up abdomen house. Nevertheless it’s finished exceptionally properly — fluffy and tender on the within, with a golden and shiny exterior bathed in butter and sprinkled with sea salt.
Actually, it’s these easy issues finished properly which can be Olin’s power. Our server had urged getting the roast half rooster, which appeared like a wasted order in a high-end restaurant, however upon taking our first bites, we had been assured we had made the fitting selection. Taste permeated each inch of the rooster — notes of lemon and garlic from the chermoula complemented by the sweetness of roasted parsnips. The velvety parsnip puree contrasted properly with the crisp rooster pores and skin, one other instance of how Olin melds textures and flavors seamlessly.
After which, there was the showstopper: the paella. The menu calls it Govt Chef Andrew Shedden’s ode to one in every of Spain’s most iconic dishes, and certainly, it’s a heartfelt love letter. We opted for the seafood paella with chistorra sausage (a smoky selection from the Basque area), mussels, shrimp, and bay scallop. I virtually missed the ramekin of aioli, however a drizzle of the creamy sauce is a should.
The wine listing is transient however properly curated. Our server, admittedly, didn’t have intensive information of the choices, suggesting a white after I needed purple, however she despatched over a server who had extra command of the choice. She defined which wines went properly with the invoice of fare (a pair subsequent to us additionally supplied an amazing suggestion — one other instance of the conviviality) however I had already set my sights on two wines I’d loved in Barcelona: a Priorat and an Albarino, two varietals I don’t see typically round right here. The daring Priorat was an ideal match for the rooster, and the Albarino, paired with the paella, introduced me again to Barcelona.
It could be a very long time earlier than I discover myself at that Barcelona restaurant once more, however till then, it’s good to know Olin is correct right here in Detroit for at any time when I’m craving a style of the Mediterranean.
Olin Bar & Kitchen, 25 E. Grand River Ave., Detroit; 313-774-1190; olindetroit.com
This story is featured within the February 2022 subject of Hour Detroit journal. Learn extra tales in our digital edition.
