Choose your own food adventure
March 2025
Growing up in Canada, I ate a lot of British food.
My Mom was an Air Force brat who spent a good chunk of her childhood outside of London. She and my grandparents cooked all of the British classics for me as a kid: flaky, buttery steak and ale pies; rich fruitcakes; fish & chips; Welsh rarebit; and plenty of sausage and beans.
British food was so common in my house that I had no idea other kids weren’t growing up with powdered Yorkshire pudding mix in their pantry. Hell, to this day, I still crave all of the British junk foods like Mars Bars, chocolate Smarties, and Scottish digestive cookies.
Understandably, British food can get a pretty bad rap. Though it often looks dreary, in my opinion it’s one of the most comforting cuisines out there. One of my guiltiest pleasures is a specific brand of beef gravy you can only get in the UK and Canada, Franco American, dumped over noodles. Actually, I take that back — it’s not a guilty pleasure at all. I simply love the stuff. I love British food.
That’s why this month’s tasting menu at Coeur is inspired by the British Isles. We’re talking butter chicken roulade, a jacket potato (the British version of a baked potato) with aged white cheddar and a duck confit cassoulet, mini short-rib beef Wellington, and a crudo riff on fish & chips made with English pea vinaigrette and malted vinegar potato tuiles. That it’s the beginning of pea season is a damn good reason to get excited about spring, and the first indicator that this hellish winter will soon be over. (Hallelujah.)
A word on themed menus: They can be tricky. Last month’s Fast Food February was a rousing success, and quite a good bit of fun, but our aim isn’t to provide a theme every month. Themes can often lead to forced decisions rather than just letting ideas fall naturally into place, and we’re all about honoring the idea.
The goal at Coeur is to follow an idea down a rabbit hole, and then, hopefully, catch the rabbit. Sometimes the idea comes in the form of a cool new wine we’re excited to dream up a pairing for, or the realization that a new ingredient is about to enter its peak season (ahem, peas.) Other times, the genesis of an idea is more abstract. I have a whole notes folder in my phone labeled, “Idears,” which is a lot of stream of consciousness rambling about food, restaurants, and life.
Here’s one such ramble: I love the diversity that our tasting menu accomplishes. Personally, I hate it when restaurants serve tasting menus that are essentially distilled versions of their regular menu. Give me something different. Something exciting. No rehashes. That’s why at Coeur, we so often think outside of the box with our tasting menu, full of delicious deviation and experimentation. Oftentimes, we create a dish that we love so much that it becomes a part of Coeur’s permanent a la carte menu.
Take Valentine’s Day. Two items from that menu are now available a la carte at Coeur: the rutabaga tempura and the filet with raviolo. Our filet dish is something that I’m immensely proud of — a well-seasoned tenderloin capped with a giant raviolo that’s stuffed with au poivre and creamed spinach. The move is to surgically open the raviolo, then let the creamed spinach and au poivre sauce spill out onto the steak. I like to describe it as a steakhouse experience all in one bite.
Also of delicious note: Coeur’s Burger Thursdays have a new entry — the Saganaki Smash. (Look, I love alliteration and I don’t care who knows it.) It’s a lamb smashburger outfitted with melty Kasseri cheese, lettuce, pickled onions, and lemon aioli on a brioche bun. It’s a love letter to Greek coney islands and Detroit’s embracement of all things lamb.
Still, tasting menus are obviously the attraction at Coeur. They’re proof of concept that we know what the hell we’re doing, but I’m always begging more people to order a la carte. Choose your own adventure, but, ya know, with food.
There’s so many different types of experiences to be had at Coeur. Order whatever the hell you want! Split a burger and fries over a couple beers. Order a little gem salad and mushroom beignets for a light meal. Have a glass of white wine with charred octopus after work. Pop in for one of Carla’s inspired, always delightful desserts, or sit at the bar by yourself and order our increasingly popular Chicken Coeur-don Bleu. And don’t forget about brunch!
This restaurant has never just been one thing. It’s a free-flowing food playground where there are no wrong answers. No wrong feelings. Coeur can meet you in many moods. It’s up to you to honor them.
So I encourage you to come in and capitalize on whatever big, beautiful idea you have. It’s always been the spirit of this restaurant.
With 💜,
Jordan Smith
