(This story has been updated.)
Like a band that takes its show on the road, a beloved Thai-inspired Corktown restaurant is doing the same to celebrate its food truck-to-restaurant beginnings.
Takoi, a popular modern Thai-inspired eatery from chef Brad Greenhill focusing on seasonality, including produce from its farm, is marking 10 years in business.
The Takoi Turns 10 Tour is a series of special dinners and events through year's end. The tour kicked off this month at the restaurant on Michigan Avenue. Greenhill, who also has a music background and ran a music production company, compares Takoi's tour to a band going on tour.
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“The idea of going back to the beginning a little bit, and doing pop-ups was part of it,” Greenhill said.
"I've always sort of been informed by music. And so, the idea of going on tour very much ties into my musical background.”
Greenhill's food truck took off in 2014 when it was parked at the Two James Distillery in Detroit's Corktown neighborhood. It was just the beginning that would ultimately lead to the brick-and-mortar Takoi restaurant, which opened in 2016 at 2520 Michigan Ave. in the west end of Corktown.
For the tour, Greenhill circles back to his pop-up roots.
At Takoi, a multicourse tasting menu featuring its greatest hits started this past week and is available through Dec. 30. The menu showcases popular items including Takoi’s thrice-cooked sweet potatoes, charred broccoli and whole-fried snapper, all infused with Asian-inspired ingredients. The six-course tasting menu is $72, or $60 for a vegetarian option.
Greenhill and Takoi are collaborating with Milk & Froth on a new ice cream flavor. The new flavor will be served at EMAD and Milk & Froth’s Detroit and Ann Arbor locations, according to a news release.
On Friday, Takoi celebrates the finale of its Passion Fruit summer patio series, with a special noodle pop-up from Greenhill and a cocktail program led by beverage and operations director Drew Pompa, plus DJ music. A portion of the drink sales benefit Slow Food USA.
There are more than a dozen tour events and dinners across dates in October, November, and December, including stops at Trattoria Stella in Traverse City, Spencer in Ann Arbor, and Milk and Froth in Ann Arbor and Detroit. A New Year’s Eve tasting menu at Takoi is the tour finale.
Greenhill’s Takoi tour is not just Michigan-bound. Many of the events are a collaboration with other restaurants in Illinois and Ohio and a distillery in Kentucky.
The tour, Greenhill said, is about finding a balance between “celebrating your past and continuing to innovate for the future.”
"It’s another one of those things that I look to music for,” he said. “You see a band, you want to hear what they’re currently doing, but you also want to hear your favorite song. It’s the same with the restaurant. As much as I tried to get rid of the crispy ribs numerous times, at this point, I am just like … they’re here … they’re part of the DNA.”
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The tour, Pompa added, showcases Takoi thriving for more than a decade.
"Once you perfect your own backyard, you kind of want to expand and share your craft and your art with other people,” Pompa said. “And so, at 10 years, I think it's important for Takoi to be able to take that on the road, on a more regional and national level, and say, 'Hey, you know, come and check out what we're doing in Detroit.'"
For information on the Takoi Turns 10 Tour, visit the restaurant's website.
Contact Detroit Free Press food and restaurant writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news and tips to: [email protected]. Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter. ace291