Torino, Known for its ‘Culinary Sex,’ In Running for Eater Detroit Awards

Torino of Ferndale is in the running for Eater Detroit’s ”Restaurant of the Year” and its dreadlocked chef, Garrett Lipar, is a finalist for “Chef of the Year.”

Winners will be selected on both the local and national levels in five major categories and voting is open now. To vote, go here.

The 2013 Eater Awards will be presented Monday, Nov. 18, so don’t delay.

Here’s what Eater Detroit had to say about Torino: “With their tiny kitchen, elaborate plating, and dreadlocked chef Garrett Lipar, Torino has somehow managed to go from struggling espresso bar to culinary cutting edge. The tasting menu only restaurant has sparked some of the most inappropriate local food writing in recent history, as "culinary sex" is used as a descriptor time and time again. Sylvia Rector gushed about it, Chris Cook from Hour wrote words that would make one blush, and Molly Abraham easily gave it four out of four stars.

Other finalists for Restaurant of the Year are:

• The Stand Gastro Bistro, Birmingham
• Ottava Via, Corktown
• The Jefferson House, downtown Detroit
• Marais, Grosse Pointe

Eater is a national web site launched in New York in 2005 targeting people who care about dining and drinking in the nation’s most important food cities. In addition to Detroit, Eater has since expanded its coverage the restaurant and nightlife scene to Boston, Maine, Philadelphia, DC, Charleston, Atlanta, Miami, New Orleans, Louisville, Chicago, Minneapolis, Austin, Dallas, Houston, Denver, Las Vegas, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, San Diego, and Los Angeles.