Cinco de Mayo, Kentucky Derby events offer plenty of food and drink
Get ready to sip some margaritas and mint juleps.
There'll be a lot of celebrating going on Friday through Sunday that includes plenty of food and drink, a war battle and horses. On Friday, it's all about Mexican food and Margaritas for Cinco de May. On Saturday, it's the 149th Kentucky Derby, also known as the "Run for the Roses" and the fastest two minutes in sports.
Here are activities around metro Detroit:
Cinco de Mayo
On Friday, it's all about a war battle victory and Mexico. Cinco de Mayo, the 5th of May, commemorates the anniversary of Mexico's Battle of Puebla in 1862 and its victory over the Second French Empire. All over metro Detroit, especially in Southwest Detroit, Mexican restaurants and businesses are geared up to celebrate the the culture.
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What to know
The Mexican Patriotic Committee of Metropolitan Detroit's 58th annual Cinco de Mayo celebrations take place Friday through Sunday in Southwest Detroit. Its fiesta at 21st and Bagley Street will host artisan vendors, food trucks, local musicians, mariachis and family-friendly activities 4-8 p.m. Friday, noon-8 p.m. Saturday and 1-7 p.m. Sunday. The annual parade is at noon Sunday and starts at Patton Park, at the corner of Woodmere and W. Vernor Highway, and ends at Clark Park.
Restaurants celebrate
Gran Castor and Honcho
Troy and Clarkston
These two Latin-inspired spots by Union Joints restaurant group, along with several other metro Detroit restaurants, are celebrating Cinco de Mayo with food and cocktail specials. At Gran Castor in Troy, the drink menu features a strawberry Thai chili margarita along with blue raspberry and lime jello shots.
A food special is the Gran Castor elote — a traditional Mexican Street corn covered with mayo, queso fresco, chile-lime seasoning and sprinkled with cilantro. There's also the perro loco hot dog, grilled and topped with a Peruvian chili sauce, salsa and finished with Union Joints' woodshop bacon pieces. At Honcho in Clarkston, there will be fruit-infused margaritas including its spicy four berry. On the menu are the Honcho dog, elotes, nachos, chorizo sliders and chimichurri steak tacos.
For info: unionjoints.com
M Cantina
13214 Michigan Avenue, Dearborn
Here the specialty is not only the nuevo Latin street food but the specialty drinks and cocktails from owner Junior Merino, a master mixologist known as the "Liquid Chef." For Cinco de Mayo, Merino will feature special margaritas with different types of chiles. There will be a chipotle Mango margarita, one with poblano peppers and a Tamarindo con chile with chile pasilla, cinnamon and amaranth rim.
For info: 313-399-9117 or mcantina.com
Batch Brewing
1499 Porter St., Detroit
Cinco de Mayo festivities start at noon and run until 10 p.m. at Batch Brewing in Corktown. This year's celebration includes food vendors Taqueria El Rey, Cafecito Alvarez and Tres Leches 'n Snack. Enjoy music from a mariachi band and DJ. Also featured is the Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation's Fantazma Market & Café.
For info: batchbrewingcompany.com
Mezcal Mexican Bar and Kitchen
201 E. Nine Mile, Ferndale
The Cinco de Mayo Festival is 5 p.m.-10 p.m. Friday and noon-11 p.m. Saturday. The restaurant will have live music and a D.J., a mariachi band, Lucha Libre wrestling and food and drink specials. Mezcal's menu highlights include its tacobirria of marinated shredded beef marinated with melted cheese, onion and cilantro on a corn tortilla. There are also burritos and tortas (sandwiches), street tacos, soups and salads. 201 E. Nine Mile, Ferndale.
For info: 248-268-3915 or mezcalferndale.com
Southwest Detroit businesses celebrate
Southwest Detroit is home to several Hispanic markets offering an abundance of specialty produce and meats along with a huge selection of tortillas and homemade tamales. Many have been around for decades. The markets also have made-to-order meals. And chili peppers? You'll find a big selection, dried and fresh. The area is also home to several bakeries including La Gloria Bakery on Bagley Street and the I-75 service drive, and Mexicantown Bakery on Vernor Highway. The bakeries offer an array of Mexican breads including bolillos — oblong-shaped bread used for tortas or stuffed with a filling — plenty of pastries, churros, tres leches cakes and more.
Markets include:
E & L SuperMercado
6000 Vernor Highway, Detroit
This market is set back off of Vernor Highway. It's well-known for its meat selection and a huge variety of marinated items. There's chicken (breasts, wings, drums, boneless thighs) and also ribs, beef and meat for fajitas. There are more than a dozen marinades offered, according to its website.
For info: or 313-554-2140 or el-supermercado.com
Honey Bee Market
2443 Bagley, Detroit
The market on Bagley at the corner of 16th Street first opened in 1956. It's just a few blocks from the Michigan Central Station in trendy Corktown. Honey Bee Market is famous for its homemade guacamole, produce and salsa. They also make thousands of pounds of chorizo — a spicy Mexican sausage.
For info: 313-237-0295 or honeybeemkt.com
Prince Valley Market
5931 Michigan Avenue, Detroit
This market has been around and family-owned for nearly 50 years. Six days a week, they churn out thousands of tamales, as well as other hot foods to go, including enchiladas and burritos. They also have an extensive bakery with made-to-order cakes, Mexican pastries and breads. During Cinco de Mayo weekend, the store will offer samples of its chips, salsa and guacamole.
For info: 313-898-9717 or princevalleymarket.com
Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby traditions, other than dressing up and donning fancy hats, include sipping on mint juleps and bourbon. And you can't go wrong tossing in food favorites like hot brown sandwiches, pecan pie and pimento cheese spread.
Here are a few offerings:
Green Dot Stables
Detroit
This horse racing-themed bar and restaurant known for its array of sliders and truffle fries is hosting its annual Kentucky Derby event starting at 4 p.m. Saturday. Green Dot will offer mint juleps, special menu items and live music. For the festivities, guests are encouraged to wear their best derby outfits. They'll have prizes for "best hat" and "best dressed."
On the menu are hot browns, cheeseburger sliders and derby pie. Bluegrass band Thrift Store Cowboys starts at 4 p.m. The first 100 customers will receive a Kentucky Derby Woodford Reserve collectible cup.
“Detroit may be 350 miles away from the race, but that doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate the best day of horse racing,” Christine Driscoll, owner of Green Dot Stables, said in a news release. Driscoll. “It is a great chance for people to come out and have a mint julep in their best hat.”
For info: greendotstables.com.
Detroit City Distillery
Detroit
Detroit City Distillery is celebrating its two Double-Gold Medal wins at the World Spirits Competition in San Francisco with a Kentucky Derby party on Saturday. From 5-8 p.m. at the distillery's Eastern Market tasting room, 2462 Riopelle, Detroit, there will be $7 mint juleps, and bourbon and whiskey tastings. Detroit City Distillery will also showcase the processes used to create its award-winning whiskies. The recent awards mark the second Double Gold for DCD's Butcher's Cut Bourbon and the third for Homegrown Rye, which previously won in 2020 and 2022. DCD's Four Grain Bourbon also earned Gold for the second time at the competition.
For info: detroitcitydistillery.com
Contact Detroit Free Press food and restaurant writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news to: sselasky@freepress.com. Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter. Subscribe to the Free Press.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Cinco de Mayo, Kentucky Derby events offer plenty of food and drink
