Best Restaurants Outside of Detroit this Summer

Let's be honest: Detroit Restaurant Week (Sept. 19-28) is just another reason not to leave the city, making it easy to fall into a restaurant rut. So we've come up with our own restaurant week menu highlighting five mouthwatering dishes at restaurants outside the city of Detroit that are worth the drive.

The Porker at Union Woodshop in Clarkston

• Price: $10.95
• 50 minute drive
• 42 miles from Campus Martius

The Union Woodshop is pure barbeque indulgence, which could explain why "The Porker" is its most popular dish. Served with fries, this house-ground pork patty is topped with maple bacon, a house-made hot link, pickled chilies and smoked cheddar.

Shrimp & grits at The Root Restaurant in White Lake

• Price: $24
• 1 hour drive
• 40 miles from Campus Martius

Your everyday breakfast grits are given a gourmet makeover of goat milk, sorrel, fried garlic, pickled peppers and scallions, served with large Michigan shrimp poached with smoked butter.

Crispy Walleye at It's a Matter of Taste in Commerce Township

• Price: $24
• 40 minute drive
• 35 miles from Campus Martius

Overlooking Union Lake, this elegant, open-air eatery hosts a royal seafood menu, but the standout is the crispy walleye-served in a spicy curry and coconut milk broth, and served with mussels, Thai slaw, jasmine rice and sautéed Japanese eggplant.

Chicken karahi sizzler at Loya Organic Middle Eastern Grill in West Bloomfield

• Price: $14.95
• 35 minute drive
• 26 miles from Campus Martius

This Middle Eastern spot has an organic quaintness that complements its locally sourced menu of ingredients. But make the drive for the Chicken Karahi Sizzler-a spicy blend of chicken, ginger and chili served on a piping hot skillet with a goji salad.

Buttermilk fried chicken at The Ravens Club in Ann Arbor

• Price: $15
• 50 minute drive
• 45 miles from Campus Martius

Few restaurants can recreate the tender-but-crunchy texture of Southern fried chicken. But this downtown Ann Arbor gem certainly deserves an "A" for creating an appetizing entrée, served with skillet-baked mac and cheese and barrel-aged hot sauce.