Steve Carter's May 2010 Dives of the Month: More Detroit Delis

Hygrade Deli and Mudgie’s Deli

by Steve Carter

 

This month I bring a close to my Detroit Deli Quest.  I visited 13 delis, and there are many more that I will be visiting over the next year or so.  I need a break.  I have discovered excellent corned beef.  I have learned about the corned beef legend, Sy Ginsberg, from many sources.  I have discovered that great crusty rye bread is still served in this town.  I have come to understand the beauty of egg salad prepared with love.  I truly believe that if we could bring world leaders to a deli in any city, that we might have a chance for world peace.  I wrote about several of the delis a couple of months ago, and I have tweeted about many more.  I have found something to like about each business I visited.  In this final segment on Detroit delis, I want to write about another secret ingredient I have found:  the people that run them.

 

You have all heard plenty about Detroit.  The city that has fallen into decay just a generation removed from being one of the gems of the industrialized world.  Closed factories, burned out buildings, thousands of boarded up homes, an unemployment rate that is unfathomable, the city of lost dreams.  Sure, we have heard all about it.  Most of what you hear is certainly warranted, but Detroit has a special blue collar ethic that won’t die no matter how hard it is kicked.  This is exemplified in two different delis that are in business in the city and looking forward to calling you a customer.

 

Hygrade Deli

3640 Michigan Ave

Detroit Michigan 48216

Monday - Friday 6:30AM – 3:00PM

Saturday 7:00AM – 2:00PM

313-894-6620

 

The first is The Hygrade Deli.  Located on a part of Michigan Avenue that could be used as a set for a movie about an abandoned city, the Hygrade shines like a beacon of hope.  Walk in off the street and Stuart Litt will look up from his meat slicer and great you like he means it.  Stuart took The Hygrade over from his dad, who bought it from Nate Stutz in 1972.  The place has been a deli for the past 56 years.  In its heyday, workers from the Cadillac plant lined up for breakfast and lunch.  Today the Cadillac plant and the tool and die factories that supported it are rubble.

 

Stuart says that the Hygrade is like an island.  Not quite in the hip part of town which is making a comeback, and not close enough to Dearborn to bring in a lunch business.  This place is a throwback.  An owner who seems to know everyone that walks in the door, a wait staff that is clearly professional and knows how to give just the right amount of sass, and a truly eclectic customer base.  No one just happens to drop into the Hygrade.  When you visit you will see what I mean. This is a destination.

 

The menu is huge and the prices are as much of a throwback as the Formica tables.  The soups are homemade and change everyday.  I have sampled the split pea, chicken rice, mushroom barley, and chili.  All the soups are very good.  I suggest a cup before you tuck into the star of the show.  You can have a knockwurst sandwich, egg salad sandwich, tuna fish salad sandwich, fried egg sandwich, tuna melt, hot dog, salami sandwich, or just about any other kind of sandwich you can fathom.  Stuart has several entrees on the menu ranging from roast brisket of beef, roast turkey, hamburger steak, to a breaded veal cutlet (all served with sides).  The most an entrée will set you back is $7.95.  Hygrade offers up the traditional corned beef and hot pastrami as well.  Of course most of his corned beef comes from just down the street from Sy Ginsberg’s United Meat and Deli.  Unbeknown to me, I had lunch next to Mr. Ginsberg one day – had I only known, I could have talked to the legend of corned beef!

 

I won’t get into the triple deckers and hot sandwiches he offers, because the star of the show at this place is the Reuben.  It is the perfect combination of great corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Thousand Island dressing, served grilled on rye bread.  Dang, my mouth just started to water!  Here in a part of Detroit which has fallen on tough times, the Hygrade lives on.  Stuart and his team serve up food they can be proud of to the many faces of Detroit.  If you want to meet part of the soul of this city and understand why it won’t quit, go visit The Hygrade.  They open at 6:30 in the morning and close at 3:00. Tell Stuart the guy from Carhartt sent you.

 

Mudgie’s Deli

1300 Porter St

Detroit Michigan 48226

Monday – Saturday 11:00AM – 9:00PM

Sunday 11:00AM – 4:00PM

313-961-2000

 

The second place on our visit to what makes this town special is down Michigan about a mile or so to the corner of Michigan and Trumbull.  This is the location where professional baseball was played in Detroit for 104 years.  The flagpole is still standing and you can still make out where the infield was if you peer through the chain link fence.  This is the Detroit neighborhood known as Corktown, an area working hard to stage a comeback.  Take Trumbull south of Michigan and venture into the heart of Corktown and turn left on Porter.  If you drive to Most Holy Trinity Church, you have missed Mudgie’s Deli.  It is easy to miss if you aren’t looking for the sandwich board out in front of the building.  I have visited Mudgie’s on several occasions over the past couple of months.

 

My first visit was with a friend and visitor of dives, Stan Garfield.  We entered the well-maintained and rather quaint building at noon to find ourselves the only patrons in the place.  We seated ourselves and a young lady proceeded to tell us about the food selection.  Homemade soups, interesting salads, potato salad made with red skin potatoes, apples, red peppers, and Guinness whole grain mustard.  Cole slaw made with red peppers, fresh cabbage, and fresh parsley.  Macaroni salad made with fresh basil, baby spinach, egg, carrots, red peppers, and Michigan dried cherries. You get the idea – this place cares about the food they serve and they want to make it a bit differently.  Greg Mudge roasts his own turkey, chicken and beef.  The corned beef comes from Sy Ginsberg but is roasted in-house.  Mudge isn’t just buying deli meat from Sysco – he is roasting his own for the sandwiches he makes.  This is not to be taken for granted in this day and age!

Mudgie’s has at least 25 specialty sandwiches on its menu.  Let me give you the scoop on just two.  The Mudgie is a combination of Michigan-raised grass-fed beef, house roasted turkey, homemade cream cheese, lettuce, red onion, Brownwood Farm Kream mustard served warm on an onion roll.  The Madill is made from that house-roasted turkey, Nueski apple wood smoked bacon (a bit of Wisconsin is brought into the house), avocado, tomato, lettuce, homemade garlic mayo, and melted pepper jack cheese served warm on an 8 inch bun.  I won’t even get into the Pressley, the Jerk, or the Bat Outta Hell.  Aside from these special sandwiches, the wait staff, which is well schooled, encourages you to build your own or listen to how they customize some of the favorites.

 

Being there for the first time on a Saturday made me a bit nervous, as I was concerned that a place that was so caring about their food wasn’t being supported.  My subsequent trips have been during the work week, and I feel much better.  People are lined up to get in.  They do a brisk carryout business as well as the sit-down crowd.  Like the Hygrade, the clientele is very eclectic.  Workers from the casino wanting a taste of real food, suits from downtown, hipsters, cops, trades people, and students.  A great mix which adds to an already great vibe.  Greg Mudge worked at Eph McNally’s which was formerly housed in the building.  McNally’s moved to Woodward, and Greg stayed on to carve out his own niche in the city by opening Mudgie’s in 2008.  He is doing it with local food whenever possible, homemade basics, and a lot of hustle.  This place represents yet another reason why Detroit has a future.  A guy with a work ethic that won’t quit and a passion for quality.  The only complaint I have about Mudgie’s is the bread – man, I wish he could get some great crusty rye to go with his awesome sandwiches!

 

Two places that anyone visiting or living in Detroit should try.  The Hygrade is a place that has what it takes to work through the toughest of times.  Mudgie’s is the type of place willing to open up when all the odds are against you.  Both places have the vibe of success because they are run by people who can look forward.  Detroit needs more of this.  Support your local deli!

Comments

[Gary Connell]

Mr. Carter,
If your travels ever bring you close to Buckhannon, WV we would love for you to visit JAWS BBQ! -- jawsbbq.com --