Quoting CB Droege

There are specs?

Oh yes.

Your quote in the second paragraph helps understand at least a part of my very demanding standards for what makes the cut:

Quoting CB Droege

I understand that very little of the ethnic food we get in the states is anywhere near authentic

That's one of them. See, Detroit may not have much going for it, but one of the riches of this region is in its huge cross section of global culture. Detroit is extremely ethnically diverse, and one of the many treasures resulting from this diversity is a spectacular rainbow of cuisine.

Since people from all over the world are coming HERE, of all places, I feel that it is somewhat important for me to consider myself an ambassador of my hometown. Therefore, I have taken it upon myself to introduce outsiders to one of our hidden gems: our amazing diversity of wonderful food.

Detroit was, I believe, the first city in America with an authentic Nepali restaurant. We have the largest Arab community outside of the middle east. We have one of the three large Hmong communities in the US. Our pan-Indian cuisine is second only to probably the UK.

So, one aspect of the "specs" of my food tour are that the restaurant I choose must have some character that the majority of the attendees has never experienced before. I am not here to take people to get burgers - unless it is unquestionably the most unique or best burger they have ever had, or the restaurant itself possesses this same quality.

Mongolian Barbecue and her clones (such as Hu-Hot) are definitely interesting dining experiences, but they can be had in other locales, such as Cincinnati, or any of the other "markets" where the franchises are located. It would be a fairly good bet to say that a corporate chain restaurant will never be on the roster for the food tour