NYC chef comes home to open Oak and Reel in Detroit

Chef Jared Gadbaw is a Michigan native who has spent nearly the past two decades cooking at nationally lauded restaurants in New York City. Now, he's readying his own venture in Detroit: Oak and Reel. 

The Italian, seafood-forward restaurant with house-made pasta and a wood-burning hearth is expected to open this spring in the Milwaukee Junction neighborhood, but local diners can get a taste next month at pop-up kitchen Revolver in Hamtramck. 

Gadbaw will present the six-course meal for three seatings Dec. 13-14. Tickets are $65 per person plus gratuity and are on sale now. 

An alum of Michigan State University, Gadbaw graduated from NYC's French Culinary Institute and has cooked in the kitchens of a variety of James Beard Award-winning and Michelin-starred restaurants there. These include Alto with chef Michael White, who Gadbaw followed to Marea, which was named Best New Restaurant in the country by the James Beard Foundation and other culinary outlets. 

Oak and Reel will be at 2921 East Grand in Detroit. This is just a block from where Freya and Dragonfly set to open, two new spots from the team behind Chartreuse Kitchen & Cocktails. 

mbaetens@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @melodybaetens