Hope Albena seeing you soon!
In looking for a dinner spot to warm up for Lyle Lovett at the Masonic next July 23rd, I thought about that little place that only fed what its 8 bar stools could hold, way in the back of the Hotel Siren across from the Opera House, Albena (1). We’d been there 3 or 4 times, having stumbled on it on Yelp looking for something else. A little “review” of that first experience was one of my first blog posts (2).
But, we’ll have to sit for Lyle with somebody else’s victuals in our innards. From my Google update on Albena, I found from their web page that feedings didn’t start till Thursdays at 6 PM. July 23rd is Tuesday and the concert starts at 7. Anything less than two hours would be unfair to Chef Libar’s preparations. But I found worse news in the search. According to a Free Press article, Mr.& Mrs. Lipar closed up shop March 16th (3). A telling phrase from the story is that the price for one of their 8-12 course tasting dinners had risen to $250 per person, more than I ever paid. It still would be worth it for a once-in-a-while, but that’s a steep ticket for a night out in Dee-troit, although you might be saving on the “…and show” for such dates. No show at any of the local stages could match what Garrett and Tiffany had put on. Here we see the stars of the show, from the Free Press Article.
Chef and co-owner Garrett Lipar named the place after his Albanian grandmother. Nearly 5,000 Albanians live in metro Detroit’s Macomb County, 4h largest concentration of Albanian settlers in the country (4). I had an Albanian Iman for a patient. In 1929, Albanian Muslims helped cover the mortgage on St. Thomas Orthodox Church, established by Albanian Christians. There are Albanian Sufists, who enjoy a retreat at the First Albanian Bektashi Monastery (Tekke), which opened in nearby Taylor in 1953 under direction of Baba Rexheb. Now with all those Albanians, there are some true Albanian restaurants in the area. Right on State Street is Ann Arbor is aMa Bistro (5). A perusal of their menus might make you think you’re in any of the many Greek greasy spoons that dominated Ann Arbor in my heyday, but look close and there’s Fhurghasa, Bhurani, Khina, and Petuilla (fried dough) to get you down and ethnic.
Garrett and Tiffany strayed far from the Karaburun Peninsula for their dishes. What drove their choices seemed to be what was freshest and most local. As such, any lucky ones sitting on those stools at their bar got what seemed like a nonstop array of treats, with wines perfectly paired. I frankly don’t know when I’ll see such personal excellent treatment again. I’m thankful for the brief few years I was able to experience it at Albena. Talented chefs like Garrett emerge on the pop-up tour, so maybe one of us will be lucky enough to find ourselves at a Garrett Lipar catered event. He and Tiffany have a new baby to tend to, so a new restaurant may be a bit off, but I’ll be watching.
If any of you paid attention to my January 2020 blog and went for a meal, lucky you. You’ll not eat like that again for a while.
*(from the Albanian) bye, bye Chef Lipar (&Mrs.)
addendum: see an 8-course meal prepared for us by the Lipars, sometime for us inlate January 2021, introduced in Quaddese** (6).
** Quaddese: a dialect spoken around West Quad, especially Chicago House, in the early 70s. Yep, the “Honors House”. See reference (6) for an example of correct usage.
References
1. Albena. http://albenadetroit.com
2. Ike B. the other Detroit restaurant, day after Christmas 2019 1/13/20. https://theviewfromharbal.com/2020/01/13/the-other-detroit-restaurant-day-after-christmas-2019/
3. Selasky S. Albena, fine dining restaurant in Detroit, set to close in March: Owners explain why. Detroit Free Press 2/8/24. https://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/dining/2024/02/07/albena-fine-dining-restaurant-detroit-close-march-garrett-tiffany-lipar-siren-hotel/72508146007/
4. Wikiwand. History of the Albanian Americans in Metro Detroit. https://www.wikiwand.com/en/History_of_the_Albanian_Americans_in_Metro_Detroit
5. aMa Bistro. https://www.amabistro.com
6. Ike B. ‘squeat*! WordPress 2/1/21. https://theviewfromharbal.com/2021/02/01/squeat/
Bob Ike's blog 