Just opened in Northwest Midtown by Chef au Contraire Sylvia Waterson, Crispist is not Detroit’s first cracker-based eatery – but it’s the only one combining both top shelf and top drawer crackers with the farm-to-another-farm-to-table concept that started in Decatur, Illinois last January.
“The crackers are simply the starting point in a monumental experience that will soar to tremendous heights, then level off to become a significant experience,” says Waterson, a graduate of the Chicago Praline Institute. She was also the winner of the 2013 Sylvia Tarnow Award for her Saltine Salut (four crackers with three fillings: a crushed pea roulade, a raspberry minisque, and multi-tarnished sardines).
While there are plenty of Saltines on the menu, there are also such delicacies as Je n’aime Pas Craquelins, the French pelucheux that starts at $166 per cracker, as well as Nabisco’s rarely seen “Wannabe”
Assisting Ms. Waterson in her endeavor is Jame Falmouth, who began his career 15 years ago curating the bar coasters at Malfeasance in Manhattan, then went on to study cracker placement at the Potter School in New Orleans.
Crispist’s décor by Herman Pilner – who also did Quagmire in Corktown – features grain-themed floors, seats, tables and restrooms. The walls are lined with portraits of those who’ve made a name in crackers – including Hans Machlin, who invented the pinpoint holes found on Trix.
Pictured: The “Monday Special” – Five chickpea/brown rice supremes, each topped with a pickled Greek olive, surrounding a blending of uncooked rigatoni.
