You can get Italian food anywhere, so on the many occasions that I have returned to my homeland of Michigan since moving away one fateful day in 2007, I have not felt a drive to get to Antonio’s in Farmington Hills. After making a trip back there, I now realize this has been a mistake. After all, Antonio’s was the site of my college graduation lunch. Upon arrival, I could almost taste their amazing bread, which was good because it came out quickly and I devoured it like a fiend.

Because this isn’t just any bread. The outside consists of a crisp, but giving exterior covered in a perfect blend of seasonings, while the inside is soft, warm and welcoming. I pretty much ate the whole basket (oh the benefits of eating dinner with a glutard and a paleo).

Having filled up nearly my entire stomach with that bread, my meal arrived: the Covatelli Bolognese. This was some shell-shaped pasta in a creamy meat sauce and definitely looked the part. It also tasted as good as it sounded, with just the right amount of meat to keep the sauce saucy and pasta that tasted like pasta should taste.

I’d call Antonio’s a hidden gem, but everyone in the Farmington Hills and West Bloomfield area knows it’s a good bet. Italian food might be everywhere, but Antonio’s is still something special.

Bates’ Hamburgers in Farmington Hills has a history with my family. As my step-dad’s favorite burger place in the area, I kind of inherited his love for their classic sliders. In the same vein as Greene’s and Hunter House, Bates’ is the third and final spot I had to review in the greasy trinity of awesome sliders of Metro Detroit. And just like in those other two reviews, it is important to note that these are real sliders: skinny patties prepped on the griddle with onions and the bun on top so that they get that tasty burger steam inside.

I, of course, ordered my double cheeseburger without the onions and without the fluorescent pickles that are known to gravitate towards burgers such as these. I also ordered some chili fries to accompany the burger.

Unfortunately, my desire to avoid pickles was not heeded and I was left with frightening green slices and the residual juices soaked into the bun. Not all was ruined, but it was not a good start. The finish, though, was glorious. The Bates burger simply tasted superior to Hunter House and Greene’s. Perhaps it is a heartier patty or a difference in seasoning, but whatever the case it is simply how it is. The fries were just as I had hoped: crinkle-cut and topped with the wet chili that is endemic to the Detroit area.

If they could deal with their pickle issue and stay open 24/7 like Greene’s, Bates’ would be unstoppable.

EDIT: Unfortunately this Ram’s Horn is shuttered, but the horn of the ram lives on elsewhere.

For an early breakfast after my favorite LAX-DTW red-eye, my parents took me to Ram’s Horn in Farmington Hills. Ram’s Horn is one of those restaurants that every town just needs. They have no specialty and they definitely don’t excel at anything. It’s typical American fare that you can count on at a good price. And it will never leave you disappointed. Or at least that had always been my experience, but this was my first breakfast visit to the place.

I hoped that their breakfast would be just as good as everything else I’d ever eaten there, so I ordered their Texas French Toast with blueberries and whipped cream for $4.99. Ram’s Horn is also a pretty efficient restaurant, so within no time, my breakfast was served. The bread was huge and the blueberries were the kind that came in a jar, which was kind of what I expected. I jumped right in and found that the Ram’s Horn breakfast met my expectations. The French toast was tasty and reliable, but wasn’t especially innovative. It wasn’t stuffed or deep-fried or infused with bacon, but it was good and I couldn’t really ask for more.

The phenomenon of the Coney Island is one of the greatest aspects of eating out in the Detroit area in Michigan. Completely unrelated to the actual Coney Island in New York, these restaurants are a result of the mixing of Greek and American foods, with the addition of the famous Coney Dog. Everyone has their favorite Coney Island, and sometimes the favorite one is just around the corner. I grew up with Farmington Coney Island half a mile away and would go at least once a week. Over time, the place underwent a few name changes, such as Farmington Souvlaki (alluding the Greek heritage of the place), but eventually it came to be known as Leo’s Coney Island, named for the owner, Leo Stassinopoulos. Leo was as much a part of the community as any of the customers and I went to high school with his son, also Leo.

The Coney in Farmington Hills is the flagship (in my mind) of an ever-growing Empire of Leo’s Coneys, supposedly even reaching Chicago in the future. Despite name changes and growth, Leo’s remains one of the best places to get good quality, fast and cheap food. There have been days I’ve waited in line at Taco Bell longer than it has taken me to get seated at Leo’s, eat and pay.

At one time, I was able to just go in and order my usual (two grilled cheese pitas without pickles and a side of well-done cheese fries with the cheese on the side). Times and the waitstaff has changed, and since I rarely make my way back to Coney, on my most recent visit I decided to change my order. Instead of my usual, I ordered a Coney Dog and a Loose Burger with a side of well-done cheese fries with cheese on the side. The dog and burger both come with mustard, onions and Coney-style chili. I ordered mine without the mustard or onions, since I’m not a big fan of mustard and onions are one of my unvegan enemies.

Now, you may be wondering what makes Coney-style chili different from other chili and honestly I’m not totally sure. It looks pretty terrible, but tastes amazing. It is the perfect topping for the Coney Dog and the Loose Burger. The Loose Burger is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. Rather than cooking ground beef into a patty, the loose burger is made by cooking the beef while it is still ground and separated, kind of like taco beef. Then, to keep it from falling apart, it is dropped in a hot dog bun and topped with the chili.

As usual, my food arrived quickly and was just as I remembered it. The dog had a little snap to it, but wasn’t too fancy. I did my best to keep the chili on it while eating, but there is only so much one can do. The loose burger was great as well, and since it is already loose, it saves me that unnecessary step of chewing before swallowing.

Grabbing a meal at Coney is a must in this area, so much so that my step-brother-in-law, who has never lived in Michigan, makes sure to stop at a Coney every time he visits and orders at least three Coney Dogs. This food isn’t pretty, but it is damn good and damn cheap. I’m not even sure it’s possible to find a meal there for more than 10 bucks a person. It won’t win any culinary awards for groundbreaking food, but Leo’s Coney Island is the kind of restaurant the world just doesn’t seem to have enough of.

In an area saturated with delicious sliders like Greene’s Hamburgers, I never felt any need to visit White Castle in Michigan. Yet, somehow, on my last visit to my homeland I was convinced to take a drive out to Grand River and 8 Mile Road (yeah the same one that Eminem is from) in Farmington Hills to pay a visit to White Castle. The adventure getting there wasn’t worthy of creating an entire film, but still felt like a hike.

A couple of my friends decided to go in on a cardiac arrest-inducing Crave Case, but I decided to do my own thing and ordered the Sack Meal 2. This included two double cheeseburgers, fries and a drink. Since the burgers came with pickles and onions, I ordered without. Now, you may be thinking that two double cheeseburgers is a lot of food, but at White Castle, you are wrong. Each burger patty is about the thickness cardboard (pre-cooked) and about as wide and long as a business card cut in half. Fortunately, the price is as low as you would hope for this sort of food.

My food was done in a few minutes, since it doesn’t take terribly long to cook through something so thin. Each burger came in it’s own little cardstock box like a gift and as I opened and started eating, I was pretty happy. Although they came in a cookie-cutter square shape, they had good flavor and were nice and greasy. The crinkle-cut fries were also pretty good as a companion to these two burgers. Although I could have eaten about sixteen of these, I was glad I had only ordered two. I think my heart was happy as well.

Although not the perfect slider, White Castle actually does a pretty good job of making the more corporate version of the slider. It’s not a place worth getting in the habit of visiting, but when you can’t get yourself a proper mom and pop slider, White Castle isn’t a bad alternative.

A friend of mine and I have a longstanding tradition that every time I head home to Michigan, we make a special trip to Buddy’s Pizza in Farmington Hills, a Detroit suburb. The most recent trip was even more special because I hadn’t been home for a solid nine months, and because Buddy’s had recently been ranked one of the top 25 pizza places in the country.

We took a seat at their relatively new outdoor seating. Being regulars, we had no need to look at the menu and ordered our usual, a large pepperoni pizza. To accompany our pizza, we ordered a round of drinks indigenous to the area. My friend got a Labatt Blue, imported from across the river in London, Ontario, Canada, while I ordered Bell’s Oberon, from the Bell’s Brewery in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Bell’s is a special brewery that doesn’t have too much distribution outside of Michigan, while their Oberon is only brewed during the summer. Combine those and you have a truly rare beer that I was especially happy to be ingesting at Buddy’s.

When the pizza arrived, it was just as I remembered it. Rectangular, thick crust, sporadic sauce and a cheese that was virtually indistinguishable from the dough. Somewhere under the sauce and cheese was pepperoni just waiting to be found and eaten. And eat we did. In about 15 minutes the entire pizza gone, as were our beers. We ordered another round of those delicious beers and enjoyed Michigan’s beautiful summer weather.

Good pizza, great beer and better company; Buddy’s Pizza is always a place to go in Michigan. Although I am typically more of a fan of round pizza, Buddy’s sure knows how to make their rectangular pizza right.