The Sussman brothers from Huntington Woods are New York culinary stars.
"If the Baby Gaps line hit a false note, I take the blame," Jeff Gordinier of The New York Times acknowledges in an unsolicited response to Deadline after our post (below) about an upcoming Sunday article by him.
The food section writer, who visited Detroit with two rising culinary stars who grew up in Huntington Woods, referred to local concern about "too many baristas and Baby Gaps" in Midtown and other evolving neighborhoods.
"That line actually came out of a long and substantial conversation I had with Devita Davison at a FoodLab pop-up that I attended with the Sussman brothers when I was visiting the city," Gardinier emails. "Devita was talking about the path of gentrification that she'd witnessed in places like Brooklyn — the way it always seems to evolve from artists to baristas to Baby Gaps, over time.
"Her concern during our exchange that night was simply that she never wanted to see Detroit losing its grit, its character. She welcomes change — she's a dynamic part of that change — but she's also wary of where change can lead.
"That conversation with Devita (and conversations with many, many other people in the city, of course) wound up getting incorporated into the article, but maybe compressed too much — maybe some of the original context was lost there."
The New York writer adds:
"I loved visiting Detroit — I hope to be back again this year. Incredible food all over the place. . . .
Rose's Fine Food, in particular, is a really special joint. Maybe I'll get an opportunity to come back and write more extensively about what the team is doing there.
Original article, Monday night:
We really don't want to rip The New York Times for getting Detroit wrong again, honest.
We initially weren't going to post much about a style magazine piece coming out in print next Sunday that hits mostly familiar restaurant highlights through the eyes of two NYC chefs from Huntington Woods who visited their home region. But then we saw a tweet mocking the article's claim that "parts of Detroit are in danger of being ruined by too many . . . Baby Gaps."
Here's the full context of what caught local urban planner Patrick Cooper-McCann's eye. It comes right after homeboys Max and Eli Sussman (who "have worked as chefs at some of the coolest and most influential restaurants in New York City") enjoy duck congee, squid-ink chittara and sticky smoked lamb ribs at Selden Standard:
The old name of the neighborhood, Cass Corridor, used to be Motor City code for ‘‘stay the hell away.’’ Now the area has a Whole Foods.
With the sudden influx of creatives taking advantage of cheap rents and warehouse spaces, observers may grumble that parts of Detroit are in danger of being ruined by too many baristas and Baby Gaps.
Baby Gaps surround Detroit, so Midtown indeed may be in danger -- eventually.
Actually, we don't believe Times food writer Jeff Gordinier heard any grumbles about too many Gap Kids/Baby Gap stores because the nearest ones are in Novi, Troy, Livonia, Farmington Hills, Clinton Township and Windsor.
But hey, we get how a New York journalist who grew up near Pasadena can grab "too many baristas and Baby Gaps" as easy shorthand for gentrification. Close enough, right?
We also know it could have been worse. The writer debunks a cliche head-on -- "it would be naïve to proclaim that a grass-roots food crusade is going to save Detroit" -- and doesn't mention Slow's, Avalon or Astro. His namechecks include rarities for The Times (Pegasus, Rose's Fine Food, Noble Fish, Pita Cafe).
And while Detroit earns recognition for "the go-go energy . . . which could help shape what Detroit will feel like in the future," an Oakland suburb gets sharp slaps:
Royal Oak was once a wonderland of record stores and bookshops. ‘‘It’s really not like that anymore,’’ Max says, as we cruise past block after block of Starbucks and Qdoba signs.
‘‘It used to have a great deal of charm,’’ Eli says. ‘‘Now it looks like a mall.’’
But as Midtown evolves, we all should stay vigilant for the danger of too many Baby Gaps. Gentrifying neighborhood can't be too careful about that risk.
