Restaurants in Highland Park

As he toiled away on the assembly line at Ford Motor Company, autoworker Karl Kurz dreamed of opening a traditional German tavern like those he remembered from his hometown of Weikersheim, Germany. In 1933, he finally got his chance, working nights and weekends to convert a dilapidated Chinese hand laundry into a tiny bar that he called the Dakota Inn Rathskeller.

Eighty years later, the Rathskeller—now run by Karl's grandson—has expanded from three tiny stools to 2,000 square feet. The eclectic décor pays tribute to Karl's memory: trophy animal heads and RV hood ornaments seized during family hunting trips decorate the walls, and hand-painted murals depict scenes from Karl's life, including a rabbit hunt and a group of friends downing enormous mugs of beer. Through arched porticos, waiters in traditional German-style garb deliver Bavarian bratwurst, pork schnitzel, and German-style potato pancakes known as kartoffelpuffer. At night, the hand-carved walls reverberate with German drinking songs such as the “Schnitzelbank”—or woodworker’s bench—as if in tribute to Karl’s remodeling efforts.

This hidden Hamtramck gem is home to Maria’s House Made Salsa. We are a family owned and operated establishment dedicated to bringing you the most exceptional entrees. We create each menu item using only the freshest and highest quality ingredients. The result is a fusion of unique flavors!

Cooks at Amicci's Pizza's two locations crown giant 24-inch pies with italian sausage, sun-dried tomatoes, and pesto before delivery drivers chauffeur orders straight to homes and dorm rooms. The cooks begin with a flavored crust, such as garlic butter, sesame seed, Cajun, or mantel, then top the pizza with a custom blend of fresh veggies, meats, and cheeses. Specialty combinations include the pesto delight topped with mozzarella, mushroom, and tomato and the chicken thai pie with sweet 'n' spicy ginger sauce, red peppers, and mushrooms. The cooks also pile oven-baked 14-inch subs with steak and au jus or italian meatballs covered with pasta sauce.

The Turkey Grill owner, Bugg Lyles, spent five years immersed in research before opening the turkey house, channeling the rich culinary stylings of Mississippi and Alabama into a menu populated with Cajun-fried turkey wings, succulent turkey sandwiches, and whole smoked and fried turkeys. Sizzling turkey sausage, hash browns, and toast with jelly ($1.99) greet the rising Detroit sun Monday through Saturday and send it on its course with a full stomach for endless earth heating. The waning day ushers in wing bites with sauce ($6), which sashay in steamy lemon-pepper or honey-barbecue gowns across a buzzing taste-bud dance floor. For a splash of Mediterranean influence, try the smoked-turkey pita, built with a mix of shredded cheese, spicy banana peppers, and sautéed onions with freshly smoked turkey, nestling the polytextured mix in a warm slab of pita bread ($8.50). Sandwiches ($6–$9), including the renowned char-grilled turkey burger ($6), demonstrate the virtue of layers more deliciously than traveling from the North Pole to the equator wearing 15 turtlenecks.

The dough wizards at Papa John's hand toss circular masterpieces with original and thin crusts made from high-protein flour to support warm bouquets of toppings. Hand-cut produce crowns all of Papa John's pizzas, mingling with the sun-soaked sweetness of sauce made from fresh, California-grown tomatoes. By adhering to its brand promise of "better ingredients, better pizza," Papa John's grew from a back-tavern pizzeria into more than 3,500 restaurants within three decades' time, or the amount of time it takes to grow a single pizzeria from a small seed.