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At its most basic level, food is a social and economic equalizer. Like air, water and shelter, it's something we all need.
So it's worth recognizing that media rituals of looking back at a year's best anything present not only each writer's judgment and tastes, but also reflect access to free films, concerts, albums, books and employer-subsidized trips or meals.
Not every Detroit-area reader, after all, can dine on lobster udon from ima, corn custard and caviar at the Foundation Hotel or Parisian ham from Lady of the House -- three standouts on the Free Press' list Thursday of this year's "best new metro Detroit restaurant dishes."
The same day as those shouts, another local food writer posts her five favorite 2017 meals on a Bridge Card budget.
"This year was rough for my dining budget," writes Serena Maria Daniels, whose year and a half as Metro Times dining editor ended involuntarily in January.
At Tostada Magazine, an online food publication she launched, adds the former Detroit News reporter:
So my lavish nights of wining and dining I enjoyed as food critic for the Metro Times were slashed dramatically.
In fact, I applied for EBT (electronic benefits transfer, aka food stamps) for the first time in my adult life. . . .
Instead of letting it get me down, I found ways to make it work.
Serena Maria Daniels: "Lavish nights of wining and dining . . . were slashed dramatically." (Photo by Darrel Ellis)
Her imaginative year-end feature is presented "in the tradition of thousands of food writers across the country," writes the San Fernando Valley transplant, a Detroiter since 2011.
The offbeat list fits the mission of her multimedia site, recently awarded a $20,000 Knight Foundation grant to support stories by journalists of color about the region's food system. "We seek to shift the focus of food writing in the Detroit area by bringing the voices of our communities to the forefront of the conversation," Daniels says at the site.
At Metro Times, her 2016 look back list included The Peterboro, Katoi and Parks & Rec Diner.
A year later, nearly to the day, Daniels lists these "favorite meals of 2017, supplemented in part by the mighty Bridge Card:"
♦ Applebee’s appetizers: "I recommend the chicken wonton tacos."
"I recommend the chicken wonton tacos" among these Applebee's appetizers.
♦ U.S. Fish & Chicken: "I recommend requesting your order dusted with lemon pepper. EBT covers the bulk of the cost. Just pay 50 cents for them to fry it."
♦ ima (treated by filmmakers): She enjoyed "umami-rich vegetarian broth and slurpable noodles" while working for a Spanish movie crew.
♦ Detroit Vegan Soul: "Exceptional texture and flavor for a non-meat burger."
♦ Holbrook Market: Hot shawarma sandwich at the Hamtramck grocery is "tender and juicy" -- and worth $3.
Those are just teaser tastes. For the full flavor, see her vividly illustrated post.
