Written by MI Foodie Adventures – https://mifoodieadventures.com/
Detroit, MI — Following my most recent foodie adventure to Dearborn, I began pondering which cities and areas of Metro Detroit I hadn’t visited for some time. While there are still some cities I’ve yet to venture to, I did note that I hadn’t dined in Detroit in a while. Before I could consult my never-ending restaurant list, I was coincidentally contacted by a friend in the public relations world on behalf of one of her hospitality clients who recently debuted a new menu in January. The kind management extended an invite for me to adventure out for a foodie endeavor, just in time for warm(ish) enough weather to inspire a trip to dine downtown!
The client, Cibo Detroit, had recalibrated most of its menu, shifting from its focus on Mediterranean cuisine to more modernized Italian and traditional steakhouse selections. Cibo, which means “food” in Italian, opened its doors on the opposite end of the Cambria Hotel in downtown Detroit in May 2023. I heard of Cibo Detroit a couple of times before the restaurant’s invite, and I passed it on several occasions when heading to the riverwalk after parking at MGM Grand Detroit. A few blocks southwest of Campus Martius, Cibo Detroit can be found at the corner of 3rd Avenue and West Lafayette Boulevard.
I’m always excited to check out a new eatery for the first time, especially one that reviewers on Google and Yelp hold in significantly high regard. Some common themes I noticed throughout the reviews were the high praise for the staff and service, most diners adjusting to and enjoying the new menu items, and appreciation of the new chic interior designs of the restaurant. My friend coordinated a dinner outing for me Saturday night around 7 p.m. so that I could immerse myself into the ambiance post-dinner rush and have some time to meet with and interview the Executive Chef at the helm of ingenuity: Rich Williams.
I timed the drive, parking, and walk down from MGM perfectly, arriving a few minutes before my reservation to shoot exterior footage before checking in. I was warmly greeted and led to my table by one of the hostesses. I sat at a nice round table near the bar with a great view of the whole restaurant. I observed the interior and design styles as I walked to my table, enjoying the radiance from the chandeliers, whose enlarged presence captivated one’s attention like a moth to a flame. The tables, walls, booths, and chairs all maintained a light-to-neutral tone, helping to enhance the illumination of the lights and chandeliers.
The vibes and ambiance established an upbeat mood, with servers and managers floating about the floor, routinely checking on patrons and ensuring that guests were relaxed and enjoying themselves. I was even more excited to dine in this setting, especially after scanning the dinner menu online to get a sense of some dishes I wanted to try. Before dining, however, my friend had coordinated for me to interview Executive Chef Rich Williams. And sure enough, not long after sitting down, Chef Williams made his way over to my table and sat down for a chat to share his story with me.
I started by asking Rich what got him into cooking and becoming a chef. It turns out, Rich discovered the culinary world during his childhood and began his career by working at several restaurants after high school.
“I’ve always had a passion for cooking. I cooked for my family a lot growing up because I was raised in a single-parent household. And, you know, dad’s at work, so I had to be at home helping with the kids,” Rich explained. “I learned to cook pretty young, so it’s always been kind of one of those skills I had in my back pocket, and then as I got older and started working in restaurants, I really developed a passion for it because of the creativity aspect. The artfulness of it, I’ve always had a passion for art in general, so this was just another way for me to express myself.”
Rich worked his way up the ranks over the years, starting his journey off in Battle Creek before heading to Kalamazoo and then to Grand Rapids for a little over eight years. Rich then moved to Metro Detroit and helped start the Stoney Creek Mushroom farm. Rich says he began missing the chaos of the kitchen and found his way to Cambria Detroit, where Cibo Detroit was eventually born.
“I started here in the Fall of 2023; I helped open this place from the ground up. I started here when there wasn’t even equipment in the kitchen. It was just drywall and cement. So, I got to watch it all develop and grow, and it’s been quite a journey,” Rich said.
When Cibo Detroit opened nearly two years ago, it explored the cuisine of the Mediterranean. Although the menu has shifted more towards Italian-American fare, Rich said the kitchen still draws inspiration from the Mediterranean. Later this summer, Cibo Detroit plans to roll out new dishes inspired by the city.
“We’re going to be starting a new menu at the beginning of May, and we’re going to have a tasting menu that’s going to be available in two-month increments. Each tasting menu is going to focus on a different area of Detroit. We’re trying to celebrate that culture, trying to bring more people in and make it a welcoming environment for everyone. You know “Cibo” at its root means food, so for Cibo Detroit, we want to celebrate the food of Detroit, start celebrating a lot of the heritage, and some of the neighborhoods around here,” said Rich.
Reflecting on his journey, Rich says one of the highlights for him now is helping others develop and grow in the profession.
“The most rewarding part of it is watching people that work under you just growing up and develop a passion for the same thing, you know? So it’s like you get to grow together at that point. And, yeah, that’s probably been my favorite part about the entire process: just getting to develop new processes and procedures and work them out with the team and just having a good structure and a great team in the kitchen,” Rich stated.
The Food:
As Rich and I were nearing the end of our interview, one of the servers brought over and set down some bread for the table. I had a light lunch nearly eight hours prior, so by this point, even the sight of bread within arms’ reach was enough to get my stomach rumbling with excitement.
Before returning to the kitchen, Rich recommended several of the menu favorites, including two of the appetizers I was eager to order, the Pomegranate Ribs and Burrata di Cibo. When my server returned, I ordered those apps and decided on the Giuseppe pasta for my entrée.
During the tail-end of the interview and post-discussion with Rich, I noticed on nearby tables that most guests’ breadboards were completely bare, with every slice having been consumed. This is an excellent sign for any bread enthusiast! Within seconds of Rich’s departure, I grasped a slice of bread in one hand while the other maneuvered the knife to lop off a section of butter.
I could tell it was insanely fresh, even from just holding the bread. I worked at Jimmy Johns in downtown Grand Rapids part-time alongside my first radio gig after college, so I know a thing or two when it comes to identifying fresh bread recently out from an oven. The exterior “shell” part was a perfect golden brown with an excellent crisp. It had just enough crunch to notice without being anywhere close to chewy, and the interior bread itself was very soft and warm. The butter had no issue melting nearly instantly as I smeared it across with the knife. Although the saying goes not to fill up on bread before your meal arrives, this is one of those occasions where proverbial phrases go out the window because this bread was exquisite! When I finally decided to pause to save room, I had enjoyed about four wonderful slices alongside my cocktail.
Folks who know me well enough know that barbecue is among my favorite foods or types of cuisine. From experiencing a decent portion of the barbecue circuit when I lived in the South to launching Arizona’s Family Foodie with my barbecue series in Phoenix, it’s always been a cuisine and cooking style near and dear to my heart. So when I saw a plethora of reviews from before and after the menu change praising the Pomegranate Ribs (and Chef’s recommendation, of course), I knew I had to place an order to try them.
Cibo Detroit serves its ribs St. Louis-style with a smokey glaze and a sunflower za’atar dry rub. This seasoning blend usually consists of herbs such as thyme, oregano, marjoram, and other spices, including sesame, sumac, cumin, or coriander. This combination usually yields a nice woodsy, smokey, and tangy finish—and it was the perfect spice mix for these ribs!
These ribs are top-tier and some of the best I’ve had in a while. Before drenching the ribs with more sauce, the sauce that remained on the ribs after being cooked gave that nice sticky consistency (I’m not afraid to get messy when clearing off rib bones) with some fine char marks on the edges and exterior. The meat was exceptionally tender, easily pulling off and away from the bone. These ribs were monitored well during the cooking process and kept hydrated to prevent the meat from drying out or becoming chewy and tough.
The spices provided an intriguing piquant kick and a rather zesty profile from the seasoning blend that ran parallel to the savory sauce. The sauce glaze provided a nice smokey finish to the ribs. I really enjoyed the sauce, which also had some noticeable sweetness and influence from the pomegranate. Between the seasoning blend, the delicious sauce, the cook, and the overall presentation (pomegranates included), these ribs are an absolute must-try and were one of my favorite aspects of the entire meal!
The Burrata di Cibo is another dish that caught my eye when inspecting the menu (it even has its own special boxed section), and I was intrigued to see the plate assembled based on the mentioned ingredients. The appetizer includes several pieces of charred tomato bread, Italian burrata, red pepper & onion marmalade, and black garlic. During my interview with Rich, he mentioned the uniqueness of this dish regarding the bread. The kitchen rolls out the dough as if they were making a flatbread and spread a lite marinara sauce across the top before putting it into the oven to bake and bubble up.
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For starters, I loved the presentation of this dish, which genuinely had fine dining vibes. The bread was again soft and airy in consistency and had a nice zest to it from the marinara’s influence. This bread has definitely inspired me to order a pizza from Cibo Detroit whenever I’m able to make my next visit because that kitchen has perfected the science of making great bread.
I mixed the burrata, marmalade, and other ingredients into a mushy fusion. I used my knife to slather the mixture along the charred breadsticks, similar to the butter and bread. I was a big fan of how the onion marmalade’s sweetness complemented the pillowy richness of the burrata, working in tandem as a sweet and milky contrast to the more rustic boldness of the tomato bread. It is another solid appetizer choice perfect for splitting between two to three people.
I chomped away at two of the Pomegranate Ribs and consumed three of the charred tomato breadsticks, so I was starting to approach the final lap in terms of stomach capacity. Nonetheless, the foodie adventure continued with the main course, the Giuseppe pasta.
It’s also worth mentioning that throughout my meal, servers and the managers/owners routinely checked in to ensure that everything was of top quality and enjoyed – and not just with me, but with every table throughout the dining floor like clockwork. It was a pleasant and reassuring thing to see, a testament to any great restaurant, as several patrons appeared to be there for date night and special occasions.
The Giuseppe arrived, and my jaw nearly dropped to the table. I couldn’t believe how much pasta was set down before my eager (and still hungry) eyes. According to Chef Rich, this dish, as are many at Cibo Detroit, is made from scratch. From analyzing the Campanelle noodles, I could tell they were indeed rolled by hand, accompanied by Cibo’s house sausage and an abundance of locally sourced mushrooms and truffles atop a sea of spicy tomato cream sauce lurking underneath. Finally, the dish is garnished with a perfect portioning of grated parmesan and parsley.
This pasta was an absolute palate party. The sauce and house sausage were my favorite aspects, with just the right amount of spicy to not distract from the overall profile, but both adding their own unique and standout flavors. The sausage was delicious, and I was delighted with the copious amount scattered throughout the dish. The pasta was also cooked a perfect Al dente, with that soft but ever-so-slightly resilient texture and the ideal pasta to pair with the thicker tomato cream sauce. I was also a big fan of the delicious mushrooms and their pungency. I was very satisfied with this choice and managed to eat at least a third of it before nearly reaching maximum capacity.
Although I was only two to three bites away from absolute fullness, I couldn’t say no to dessert after noticing one of the nightly features involved cheesecake. Although dessert and sugar are rare in my diet, cheesecake is my one Achilles heel in this department. It had been quite some time since I allowed myself to enjoy a dessert or anything sweet, and since I was having such a wonderful evening with a fabulous meal, I decided to cap it off with dessert!
This tantalizing treat was presumably crafted by Cibo Detroit’s Executive Pastry Chef Rachel Schmidt, who has quite an impressive and talented background. This dessert consists of mascarpone cheesecake, a pineapple-mango compote, and a grilled pineapple slice. I enthusiastically spooned about four bites quickly enough before my stomach was like, “Whoa there,” and I’m very glad that I was able to cram at least a few bites in. This delectable dessert had the perfect consistency, sweetness, and bite from the pineapple and mango compote, a fruit-based dessert originating from Medieval Europe.
I saddled up with my server and gracious hosts, collected my leftovers, and headed back to my car parked at MGM Detroit. As I ventured north along 3rd Avenue, I reflected on the remarkable dinner. I not only enjoyed every wave of food that came to my table, but I also really appreciated the warm and welcoming atmosphere established at Cibo by Chef Rich and the team. This is a squad that takes their operation to heart and really seems dedicated to ensuring that their patrons are not only enjoying the new menu but every moment of their visit.
One of the things I noted about Cibo Detroit’s new menu is that it offers a wide array of selections from pasta to fish, pizza, meat, salads, and more, but it also keeps it simple. Each section only offers about four to six choices, which is ingenious because you don’t feel overwhelmed with options when deciding, and it allows for faster decision-making. Chef Rich and the team have really refined the menu to offer solid choices on contemporary Italian classics and Steakhouse fine dining. To top it all off, Cibo Detroit is a peanut, tree-nut, and sesame-free kitchen!
It was evident throughout my visit that Cibo Detroit is quite the popular destination for folks in on the secret that this place absolutely rocks, and it’s a great place for special occasions where the staff and management seem to care and engage with their guests. If you haven’t gotten around to seeing what the hype is all about yet, take my word for it: Cibo Detroit is an establishment worthy of your next foodie adventure.
For more information about Cibo Detroit, click here.