After a long couple of years of ever-changing hours, we’re delighted to be open seven nights a week. We opened again on Mondays earlier this year and have just re-opened for Tuesday dinner services again last night. We’ll look forward to seeing you in Detroit soon!
We were delighted to learn earlier today that Chef Andy was nominated as a James Beard Finalist for Best Chef: Great Lakes. He’s been a semi-finalist five times, but this will be his first time headed to Chicago as a finalist alongside fellow Detroit chefs Omar Anani from Saffron De Twah and Sarah Welch from Marrow.
It’s quite an honor for Andy, of course, but all restaurant awards, including the James Beard Foundation awards, are ultimately recognition for the team. There’s a lot that goes into any restaurant, including Selden, and the dozens of folks who are here every day helping make your night special are what makes this type of national praise possible. So congratulations to Andy and our entire team!
The award ceremony will be in June in Chicago with plenty of other great nominees, including several from Chicago with really great restaurants. So indeed, it’s an honor just to be nominated. (But we’ll keep our fingers crossed for Detroit!)
The readers of Hour Detroit have again voted us Best Restaurant, Wayne County. (As well as best so-called farm-to-table restaurant.) It’s an honor we were delighted to receive in the past, and especially in light of the challenges our industry has faced over the last two years, we’re most appreciative to have so many people’s respect and trust. We’ll do our best to continue to earn that as we march toward our eighth birthday this fall.
We’re proud to work with a great team who continues to welcome our guests warmly and put forth delicious food and drink. While we try never to focus on awards or media mentions, it’s nonetheless gratifying to see their hard work recognized both locally and nationally. As always, thanks for the support!
We were honored to be named Restaurant of the Year by the Detroit Free Press in 2015, and this cauliflower dish from that early menu was mentioned in the write-up. It was among our most popular offerings.
Ingredients
1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
Tahini vinaigrette (below)
Cilantro
Pickled chilis (or if you do not have any, use fresh chili and kalamata olives)
Tahini Vinaigrette
1/2 cup lemon juice
~ 8 oz tahini (a Middle Eastern sesame paste), depending on brand
1.5 Tbsp coriander seed, ground
2 tsp cumin, ground
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 to 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
2/3 cup water
Directions: Tahini Vinaigrette
Add everything but the olive oil and water to a bowl. Whisk to incorporate. Add the oil, continuing to whisk. The dressing will look “broken” and not smooth to start. Once all the oil is added, slowly add the water while continuing to whisk, and it will eventually emulsify into a nice dressing.
Directions: Cauliflower
Heat oven to 425 F. In a mixing bowl, toss florets of cauliflower with oil and salt. Spread on a sheet tray or baking dish and roast, turning once or twice, until tender with golden edges, about 20 minutes.
Toss the roasted veggies with the tahini vinaigrette and pickled chilis, tasting for seasoning.
When plating, garnish with cilantro and a bit more chili.
Friends, however difficult the pandemic has been for the restaurant industry, this year has also reminded us of many of the difficult, chronic issues that our society continues to face. Among the local organizations affecting change is Detroit Food & Entrepreneurship Academy, which works with hundreds of students each year. Our team has elected to do what we can to help further their mission, so we’re delighted to announce that we’re hosting a benefit dinner next month.
5 course dinner with wine pairings
Wednesday, Nov 11, 2020 at 6:00pm
$125 per person – all proceeds go to Detroit Food & Entrepreneurship Academy
Having hosted DFA students at Selden Standard for internships in the past, we know and love the organization. Tiffany and her colleagues are helping to address a troubling statistic: nearly 20% of young Detroiters are neither working nor in school. This is where DFA enters, co-creating with over 300 students year-round through leadership development programming rooted in schools, our food community, and our neighborhoods.
In their food entrepreneurship program, students become creators of their own food business projects – inviting all the self-discovery, innovation, growth that process generates. Through the after school, advanced, summer, and business-launch programs, young Detroiters gain a solid foundation in culinary arts, health and wellness, food systems, and business essentials. DFA’s project-based learning model invites students to work both as individuals and in teams to apply their learnings, engage with community, and launch a food-based business project with tangible impact. Participants gain the confidence, community connections, and hard and soft skills for professional, academic, and personal well-being.
DFA focuses primarily on youth aged 14-22, offering opportunities for hands-on educational attainment, growth of career skills, and personal and leadership development. Students who have been through DFA programs overwhelmingly report improved academic performance, confidence, and relationships with peers and adults alike. We’ve had some of these students work in our kitchen, and we’d love to see DFA’s programming continue to expand.
What About the Pandemic?
Can such an engagement-based program continue to be effective under such unusual circumstances? It can: since March 2020, Detroit Food & Entrepreneurship Academy has shifted to a virtual format, delivering programs digitally on Zoom. In the DFA team’s own words:
[Going online] has allowed us to open our doors to a wider audience. In a typical year we serve 13 school and community-based sites in Detroit. With the switch to online programming, we now have students from all over Southeast Michigan and as far away as North Carolina. We have continued with our Afterschool Leadership Programming, now open to all youth who apply and are oriented with us, and also have launched a monthly family cooking program, where families can cook alongside a certified chef to make a healthy meal. We currently have one in-person site at the Downtown Youth Boxing gym where we are supporting groups of students learning healthy cooking techniques, nutrition and fitness. In the winter months we will partner with local fitness leaders to offer free virtual movement classes to our youth and their families.
Although we are remote, we will be ensuring hands-on learning by delivering nourishing groceries, kitchen equipment, PPE, and fitness equipment right to our students’ homes. This will allow us to continue engagement with hundreds of youth across the region while helping families meet their needs.
Tickets are non-refundable and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Should COVID concerns cause a shut-down or safety issues, we may reschedule for a later date. As always, we will do our best to accommodate all allergies and dietary restrictions, but we ask that you email us after booking so we have advance notice.
