Review: Midtown’s Vecino is the most underrated restaurant in Detroit

Vecino, the sleek restaurant that brings a new perspective of Mexican cuisine to Midtown, has drawn the elite of metro Detroit's dining scene in recent weeks.

Just last week alone, respected chefs and food writers lined up on the patio for carne asada and smoky Sonoran hot dogs for the restaurant’s inaugural Carne Asada Mondays shindig. Then on Tuesday, industry insiders sat down for an eight-course tasting menu event, the first of a monthly omakase dinner series. And on National Tequila Day, July 24, food influencers took sips of herbaceous and spicy elixirs from local tequila brand Cabresto Tequila.

Those who know good food when they see it know that Vecino is the place to be. The cool crowd that’s always first to sniff out the greatest new restaurant in town knows Vecino is one of the top hot spots of the year.

And yet, during my last two visits to the fabulous restaurant with a clear handle on the style and flavors that embody Mexico City, the dining room was hardly filled with the number of enthusiastic diners I’d expect of a restaurant as highly anticipated as Vecino.

On two separate occasions, I was able to snag a table without a reservation, and though my visits were closer to the end of service, crowds at Detroit’s buzziest restaurants tend to spill over after hours when they're this new. At just three months old, the Midtown restaurant should theoretically be so filled with reserved parties that even a seat at the bar would be waitlisted until well after the kitchen is closed. After scanning Resy for a same-day table at Vecino, however, bookings are often largely open and a reservation seems hardly necessary.

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Though puzzling, I won’t complain. The airiness of the room and the minimalistic design of the space offer a direct sight line of the tortillera behind the open kitchen.

A woman with a long, dark ponytail stands with an unwavering focus as she hand-presses one nixtamalized tortilla after another. The job, I think, must be either mind-numbing or meditative. Hypnotized by the monotony of her handwork, I dream it is the latter.

However she views her own work, I see it as the craft of an artisan.

Unveiling those corn tortillas from the napkin-lined basket that lands on your table is like unwrapping a delicate gift. The marbled discs flaunt the beauty of blue and white corn blended into a housemade masa. The tortilla is a soft vehicle for creamy beans laden with hunks of smoky pork and slices of steak or fish.

Vecino brings the allure of Mexico City to Detroit, where Mexican cuisine is largely reflective of the coastal Jalisco. A first of its kind, Vecino has introduced the Detroit diner to an upscale Mexican restaurant that delivers old-world traditions, like nixtamalization, with the contemporary and refined feel of the nation's capital.

Nixtamalization and Vecino’s housemade masa program — another first for the city, where many restaurants rely on pre-made masa and tortillas — show up in the crunchy, gritty, salted chips (or totopos), sopes, tlayudes and tostadas.

For the sope, meaty pieces of pork belly sit in a deep blue corn fried masa base that resembles an ash tray the way it bends around the edges. Crisp slices of fresh radish and salsa verde cut the fat of the pork belly while beans and queso fresco compete to add a creaminess to each bite.

Three small bowls of salsa are an additional cost, but should be ordered at every visit to Vecino. Ranging in spice level and consistency, the verde packs in a bit of bright heat with its blend of serrano peppers and tomatillos while the roja is a mild blend of dry chilis, tomatoes and herbs. The tastiest salsa that complements every dish on the menu is the macha, a smoky chili oil with flecks of sesame seeds suspended in the brick-colored condiment.  

Seasonal produce shows up in the sides here, such as sweet cherry tomatoes tossed with sliced red onions and buttery, crushed nuts in early summer and a tussle of cubed tomatoes and sweet peaches in an umami broth with fresh mint leaves in late July.

Nopales here are year-round, however, sliced, seared and served with black beans and a coat of queso fresco.

The question is: How aren’t more diners huddled around the large portions of steak and fish meant to be shared among friends? A perfectly cooked bone-in ribeye kissed by fire on the hearth is flavorful in its own juice, but perfected with the squeeze of a warm lime half frosted in salt. A fleshy, charred red snapper is painted with spicy and pungent salsas for a punch of flavor.

How aren’t more diners sopping those handmade tortillas with the deep, velvety Oaxacan mole full of warm spices and rich chocolate flavor that bleeds under a pile of charred asparagus? Don’t they know Chef De Cuisine Stephanie Duran has cooked at Pujol, the two-Michelin-starred restaurant in Mexico City famous for its complex mole? How aren’t they sweeping those tender duck enchiladas in that pool of lip-smacking, tangy salsa verde?

At the very least, guests should be clamoring for a seat at the bar for agave-forward drinks, like the Yucateo, a restrained, fruity, clarified mezcal passionfruit cocktail with a buttery mouthfeel. Or, a carajillo, Mexico City’s version of an espresso martini with a sweet hint of vanilla. Or, any one of Vecino’s nonalcoholic options, such as the — dairy-free — milky matcha horchata or a sweet hibiscus tea spiced with anise and ginger.

And if nothing else, diners should come to Vecino time and again for the impeccable service and hospitality delivered by each member of the team — from the host to the servers to the bartenders to owner Adriana Jimenez, who is always nearby with a bright smile to serve totopos, wipe down tables between courses and fill water glasses.

The English translation for the Spanish vecino is, “neighbor.” Vecino has all of the makings of a Detroit mainstay. It’s just waiting for a little neighborly love.

Vecino, 4100 Third Ave., Detroit. 313-500-1615; vecinodetroit.com.