Chartreuse Kitchen Cocktails

More than a decade later, he's slinging out dishes at four locations of his own restaurant concept, Bucharest Grill They're best-known for their foil-wrapped shawarmas top restaurants in midtown detroit like the namesake Bucharest version, stuffed with grilled chicken marinated for hours, pungent garlic spread, cabbage, pickles and crisp fries, all wrapped in pita.

The food: The food is upscale and meticulously prepared but doesn't take itself too seriously, with playful dishes like Escar-no," which is cremini mushrooms with parsley breadcrumbs and mushroom bouillon, and creative combinations like the smoked whitefish financiers.

The food: Combining local ingredients with ethically sourced seafood, Oak and Reel boasts contemporary Italian cuisine punctuated with bright and clean flavors as evident in dishes like hamachi with calabrian chili and caperberries, scallops with peas and prosciutto, and paccheri with tuna bolognese.

Named for the green liqueur that bears the same name, this quaint restaurant near the Detroit Institute of Art pays homage to all things green with the seven-foot garden installations and the abundance of fresh, local ingredients that grace the menu, from a bright, springy pea-ricotta toast to winter's warming squash soup.

Sato, who ran and operated sustainable sushi restaurant Mashiko in Seattle for 25 years before moving to Michigan a couple of years ago, is trying to raise awareness of the omakase concept, which isn't as common in Michigan as it is in New York or Los Angeles.