Hazel Park, MI — Near the tail-end of October, the new occupants of the former FRAME Bar in Hazel Park debuted a chef-driven restaurant featuring cuisine from their homeland, with an embrace of old and new world culinary traditions. For months, I’d been looking forward to this foodie adventure to check out Hazel Park’s newest addition to its growing food scene: Bar Gabi — a Romanian restaurant with Italian influences and Detroit spirit.
Gabriel and Gabriela Botezan are a husband and wife culinary powerhouse; both were born in Romania and fueled by their passion for all things culinary and love for one another. Their journey has been inspired by the flavors of Transylvania, Old World hospitality, and modern Bucharest’s bustling markets and food scene. After training and learning cooking techniques in Italy, Gabriel and Gabriela made Detroit their home, where the pair worked at several Italian restaurants. Often working together in kitchens, Gabriel as a chef de cuisine and Gabriela mastering baking and pastries. Their nickname in the kitchen even became “Gabi Gabi” because of their names and how in sync they work together.
When the owners of FRAME Bar decided to close up shop and sell their space, the Botezans stepped in and took over the establishment along John R Road, just south of Woodward Heights Boulevard. Now, Bar Gabi (a nod to their nickname), their restaurant beckons diners with an internal dark romance/gothic allure, paying homage to Romanian and Transylvania history, with cuisine you truly won’t find anywhere else around Metro Detroit.
I arrived at Bar Gabi on Wednesday evening for dinner around 6 p.m. I was very excited to try an array of Romanian dishes, particularly the Transylvanian Goulash. I had experienced goulash before during my time in Prague during a group trip with the boys back in August of 2019. We primarily stayed in Berlin during most of the trip, but dedicated a couple of days to Prague, because, why not? We all tried goulash at the first restaurant we visited for dinner after we arrived, and we were all surprisingly amazed that such a relatively simple dish could pack such a flavorful and savory punch. So, needless to say, I couldn’t wait to try the Romanian take on this Hungarian classic!
I was warmly greeted at the door by two staff members and led to my high-top table along the opposite wall of the bar and open-kitchen concept. I had only been inside the establishment once prior under its former guise, and found the new and enhanced interior very inviting and embodying a Romanian, and particularly, Transylvanian vibe. The wall behind me was aligned with really cool candles, which had been allowed to melt and wax down so that they gave a rustic castle vibe. The flickering candlelight flanked both sides of me and really provided some unique lighting for the photos and video that I would soon be taking throughout my meal.
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My server, Christie, was an absolute joy! She was not only exceptional in breaking down the menu, specials, and composition of the Romanian dishes, but also made the experience fun and even more enjoyable with her kind and upbeat demeanor. I had already decided on a couple of menu items, but Christie was able to help suggest one or two additional items that really seemed worth checking out. I decided to order a couple of appetizers: the Mititei and Gabriela’s Focaccia.
I love focaccia bread (which already has me reminiscing about La Pecora Nera), and Gabriela’s rendition served with her take on zacusca is an absolute success. Zacusca is a Romanian roasted vegetable spread, and it can usually vary depending on the maker’s particular recipe. I was quite a fan of this spread; the consistency and texture were perfect for the airy and pillowy-soft bread. The sweet and citrusy stir from the oil gave a wonderful earthy and refreshing zest to the overall bite — and I was in heaven!
I did my best to limit myself to two pieces of bread, as I knew I had several more rounds of food ahead of me. Not long after finishing my second piece of focaccia bread, the Mititei had arrived. These iconic Romanian skinless sausages that get grilled are popular in small bite circles and BBQs, often served with mustard and toasted bread.
Christie had explained earlier that the meat composition for these sausages was 70% beef and 30% pork, so they were going to be quite juicy when biting in! And she ended up being 100% correct, because these little thicc meat chonks were oozing in flavor from a very savory and seasoned meat mixture. The sausages had some nice grill chars and maintained a relatively medium cook for the interior. I would argue that I probably enjoy mustard more than your average, and when paired with such a meaty and salty profile, it just balances out great with each canceling out the other’s sharpness of flavor. A top-tier starter, and a great serving size for a shareable!
The next dish up was an entrée course, the Tomahawk Schnitzel. Aside from its obvious eye-catching and colorful appeal, I can attest that this dish is remarkable and worth experiencing if you’re in the mood for mixing it up. This surprisingly massive bone-in pork chop is entirely breaded and fried (or, schnitzel’ed) until golden and crispy, garnished with a red pepper dressing. Served alongside is a hearty potato salad topped with smoked paprika and a charred lemon.
For starters, that pork chop was massive in size, despite being pounded flat. The breading was fried just enough to solidify and crisp, but remain flaky and light. This cut easily with a fork and knife, to which I made quick work of scarfing down bites of delicious fried pork. I had squeezed the charred lemon rather thoroughly across the pork chop, so I enjoyed a nice citrus kick that mixed in with the red pepper dressing very nicely. This gave the pork a nice, moist reprieve to what otherwise would have been a drier experience without a dressing or sauce, so that worked out very nicely.
It’s worth mentioning because I love buying mustard and other types of potato salad from the grocery store from time to time, and I, for one, was grateful for the serving size plated alongside such an already large portion of pork. A very kind, considerate, and appreciated dish served up by this kitchen and crew! The potatoes were soft but sizable, mixed into a nice creamy mayo-based sauce, with that lovely paprika finish. This makes for a great dinner option, and I even recommended it later on to a table of two nearby. I followed up with the diners before I left, and sure enough, they enjoyed it just as thoroughly as I had!
The Transylvanian Goulash was placed next at my table, and before even digging in, I was pleasantly overwhelmed by the heavenly aroma of braised beef within a hearty, garlicky stew! The presentation was perfect, with a wonderful garnishing of cilantro to add some vibrant color to a relatively reddish stew. The massive hunk of braised beef sat boldly in the middle, a beefy plateau surrounded by a goulash consisting of potato, peppers, onion, garlic, and tomato chunks. And to top it all off, some toasted bread!
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Chef Gabriel came by to check on me right as this dish came out, so we chatted for a couple of minutes before I actually dove into this dish. Which worked out since it gave my stomach some time to “catch up” to all that had been eaten prior, and I got to learn more about Gabriel’s approach to this Romanian rendition of goulash. I learned from Gabriel that some of the key differences between Romanian and Hungarian goulash are that Hungarian is typically served in a paprika-heavy soup base, with small dumplings (similar to what my friends and I experienced in Prague, minus the paprika). Romanian goulash usually leans closer to a stew and includes vegetables along with the potatoes.
I only needed two bites before I could easily confirm this was the best goulash I’ve ever had, hands down. I tried goulash at a few different places in Prague, and even had it once at a restaurant in Phoenix, but Bar Gabi’s Transylvanian interpretation wins the gold easily. The braised beef was sensational, which is actually a 48-hour process and true labor of love by Chef Gabriel, who told me he personally oversees the maturing and slow-cook process of the beef, even spending some nights sleeping upstairs in the back portion of the building to check on the meat at various points along its braising journey. Such dedication pays off, because this beef collapsed easily to the touch of silverware and brought out insane flavors to an already flavorful stew. From absorbing some of the stew, I enjoyed the toasted rustic bread, enjoying the stew on its own without aid from the beef or fresh vegetables. The portion size for the beef and quantity of vegetables were also among the high praises for this exceptional Eastern European dish.
Although I was already approaching my full meter (I even forced myself to limit bites for the previous couple of dishes), I instantly became visually motivated to rush at least a few bites of the Rigatoni once the final entrée arrived. Bar Gabi’s Rigatoni is another shining example of Gabriel’s dedication to his craft and honing years of technique and expertise. Having trained in Italy and several Italian kitchens, Gabriel makes all of Bar Gabi’s pasta in-house and really does a fantastic job on this front.
This dish comes with big and thick rigatoni noodles, braised short rib, parmesan crema, and more cheese for garnish — because who doesn’t love more cheese on a creamy pasta dish! I, obviously, loved all the cheese, which coated the pasta, short rib, and mixed in wonderfully with the parm crema, which had a much higher viscosity to it, making it stick more to the pasta. The three chunks of short rib weren’t as tender as the braised beef, but still pretty solid and very tasty. I would say, for the price, I think adding one or two more chunks of short rib wouldn’t hurt because it’s such a great dish, and each ingredient truly deserves to be enjoyed, for each contributes to this dish in its own way. Overall, I was still a huge fan, and powered through nearly half the dish before I hit my wall — or so I thought!
As the saying goes, when in Rome, do as the Romans do; so when dining at an authentic Romanian establishment where one of the two owners is a top-tier baker and pastry chef, you have to indulge in the dessert. It didn’t take much convincing from my server Christie and fellow staff members, who explained some of the Romanian classics on the dessert menu, including the Cremes, Alibinita (layered honey cake), and Papanași. As seen from the photo above, I decided on the Papanași, which is a Romanian and Moldovan fried pastry made from cheese dough.
The fluffy yet fried dough masterpiece was smothered with vanilla crème fraîche, a pungent blueberry compote, fresh berries, and powdered sugar. I did my best despite being very full, and managed at least three to four VERY enjoyable bites. The sweetness and tartness from the berries and compote seemingly accentuated the fried cheese dough, which had a very mild salty flavor on its own. Between the sweet, salt, and tart profiles mixed within the vanilla crème fraîche, I was thrilled to have selected arguably the best dessert from Chef Gabriela’s concise menu. As if presentation alone wasn’t enough reason to conclude your dining experience with an order of Papanași, trust knowing that whichever of the four desserts you choose, Chef Gabriela and her team are going to serve you up some proper Romanian sweets that’ll have you craving more — even when your stomach is nearing overload!
The sensational staff had boxed up my leftovers throughout the course of my meal and kindly brought my boxes to my table once the courses had concluded. I closed my tab and generously thanked Christie and members of the staff, including Gabriel, on my way out. I assured Chef Gabriel that I would return in a few weeks to dine again and conduct an interview with him and Gabriela, who wasn’t working that night, so I could do a follow-up video feature.
Gabriel was so welcoming and kind, as was his staff, and they all really made me feel like I was enjoying home-cooked meals in a fun and cozy environment. Between all of the fantastic dishes, great vibes, and genuine conversations, Bar Gabi is going to become a staple for Hazel Park quickly, and it is absolutely worthy of your time. Check out Bar Gabi’s social media pages to stay up to date on their rotating menus and specials, and keep an eye out for my follow-up adventure to learn more about the culinary dynamic duo: Gabi Gabi!
For more information about Bar Gabi, click here.
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