Mike’s Famous Ham Place | Freshly Carved Ham | Detroit

Review by: Maggie Rosenberg & Trevor Hagstrom

Classic Detroit Ham House

Mike’s dozen-seat lunch counter feels like it’s from another era. A husband and wife team run it. They refill customers’ coffee cups every moment of rest. The streamlined menu lists four items. Everything except for the coffee (we assume) has freshly carved ham in it. Forget hamburgers and blue plate specials. Here you will eat ham: with bread, eggs, or in soup. Forget fancy, grainy mustard, too. In this place, the bright yellow kind rules. 

In breakfast ham and eggs, the ham comes in thick slices that span a dinner plate. They cook eggs just the way you order them. Over-medium creates a grand combo of half-set yolks and salty ham. With a dash of Frank’s Red Hot sprinkled on top, you have an exemplary North American breakfast. 

For lunch, have a ham sandwich. Divine pink meat fills a soft poppy-seeded roll. This glorious heap of ham on a roll can — and should — be had with cheese. The cheese is thin compared to the ham. It provides just a smidgen of relief from the salty attack of rump. A stack of pickle chips dresses it up. 

Carved Here Since 1974

Any way you get ham, Mike carves it from fairly lean house ham with dark roasted skin and ruby flesh. It carries some spice notes, but nothing too distracting. It mostly tastes like sweet, salty pork. Mike has been serving his freshly carved ham here since 1974.

Super Soup

Do spoon into Mike’s split pea soup. It’s chowder-thick and rich with nuggets of ham. Even if you somehow avoid getting ham in your spoon, the flavor of resonates in every spoonful. You can count on Mike to overfill the bowl so that soup inevitably spills down the sides. Considering the portion size and the heartiness of the soup, you easily could make a meal of a single bowl.

Ham For a Party

Mike’s sells whole hams to take home. But you’ll need a bus load of friends to eat it with. Each ham is enormous.

No Credit Cards, No Nonsense

Like many Roadfood places in Detroit, Mike’s is cash-only with a no-nonsense attitude. When we told Mike that we were on our way to Toronto, he generously insisted we take extra food along. He warned us that all there is to eat in Canada is Wendy’s and Tim Horton’s.

What To Eat

Ham and Eggs

DISH
Ham Sandwich

DISH
Pea Soup (with Ham)

DISH

Mike’s Famous Ham Place | Freshly Carved Ham | Detroit Recipes

Discuss

What do you think of Mike’s Famous Ham Place | Freshly Carved Ham | Detroit?

3 Responses to “Mike’s Famous Ham Place | Freshly Carved Ham | Detroit”

Shawn Asher

October 4th, 2021

I really love the place food is always great and the soups are some of the best ever made !!!

Reply

    Kaarina Aufranc

    October 28th, 2021

    Great to hear and thank you for the update!

    Reply

Michael Meier

September 19th, 2021

Great Sandwich!!!

Reply

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