Detroit Visit – Day 0.5 – Dinner and a Casino.

We’re back in Toronto again, but had a great time in Detroit and the surrounding area. I wouldn’t mind visiting again sometime.

After we had arrived, checked in, and got comfy in our hotel room, I scanned the internet for a suitable eatery – Seva jumped out at me. Seva has two locations, one in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and more recently (as in, in the last two weeks) they opened a location in Detroit. Seva Detroit – (66 E. Forest Ave. Detroit, MI). It’s located behind the N’Namdi Center for Contemporary Art (the restaurant entrance is on the left side of the building.)

There appear to be two seating sections, a bar/lounge/young adult table zone in the back, and a place where grown ups can eat in the front. We were seated in the back at the kids table, near the bar. It was pretty busy in the front, so I’m assuming that’s part of it (they do accept reservations). The back bar space has a very nice collection of art from the N’Namdi Center, during our visit it appeared to be mostly by Valencia Robin, and we sort of eased into the relaxed atmosphere, people chatting, espresso machines espressing, surrounded by exposed brick and rich wooden beams.

We started with drinks, JC got a Seva Soda with Basil and Strawberry (as recommended by our server) and I ended up with Root Beer (which by the way, I found out later was not vegan – damn you raw honey.)

There was an appetizer that looked really interesting, called “Cutting Board” – which normally includes local cheeses, but instead we got extra pieces of everything else, where everything else means: “vegan charcuterie”. The most intriguing item on the board was the fig based salami. It was the kind of thing where sweet and savory duke it out in your mouth, and you’re not sure who wins. Would eat again.

I ordered the Seva Club Sandwich (and just in case you’re wondering the correct pronunciation of Seva is Sehva not Seeva – the waitress promptly corrected my Canadian accent – which of course I hate, but c’est la vie comme Canadienne.) and JC ordered the banana curry, which meant he won at dinner. It’s not that I didn’t like my sandwich, because it had everything I could want from one. Including smoked coconut (why hasn’t this caught on more?), avocado, vegan aioli, and tofurkey slices. But I really liked the black rice with the very mild curry. It was one of the only two vegan entrees there, but they have several veganizable sandwiches.

JC was also smart enough to order the vegan mac & cheese… which was pretty awesome as well. I think they might have used Teese for it, rather than Daiya, because it was more of a sweet creamy cheese sauce, but I could be wrong.

After all of that, there was room for dessert (there always is.) A glance at the menu made the decision easy since they only have two vegan dessert options, and you’ve got to like chocolate because otherwise you’re out of luck. We went with the chocolate macadamia coconut tart, because with a name like that – how can you not? It was a fun flavour adventure, chocolate covered with sprinkles of coconut and macadamia nut. It also happened to be gluten free – but the crumbly crust was still great and melt-in-your-mouth good.

Afterwards we checked out the MGM Grand Casino – something I’ll never get used to is the prevalence of smoking inside at certain places in the United States, it was a casino like every other casino. Big, crowded, smokey, and filled with joy and despair in a constant state of flux.

On the plus side – it’s home to some pretty amazing restaurants, though none of them are particularly vegan friendly.