MEX Doesn't Drive SW; College Students Return

BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP — Birmingham's love of the bistro has been adequately documented, on this site and others. One of the pioneers of the bistro boomlet is chef Zack Sklar, whose Social Kitchen & Bar has shot the young restauranteur to the top of certain area charts. His new Mexican restaurant, MEX, opens this Friday, and is inspired by Skalr's belief that it's hard to find authentic Mexican food in the suburbs. Naturally assuming that suburbanites would never try and conquer the authentic Mexican food made down in Detroit's thriving Mexicantown, his new bar will deliver a snazzy approximation of "refreshing" new Mexican cuisine to Oakland County. The Freep's Sylvia Rector writes that the most shocking part of the concept is the "wildly eclectic design," so maybe the food will turn out okay? [Freep]

MIDTOWN / ANN ARBOR — Depending on which calendar you use, summer is over after Labor Day Weekend, meaning that the outdoor patios and lazy, leisurely weekend meals are soon to be a thing of the past. Labor Day Weekend also marks the return of most area college students to their campuses, which means that the bars and restaurants in some of the main areas of Detroit's Midtown and downtown Ann Arbor will be clogged with hungry or thirsty University students of all ages and wages. We won't say that they will necessarily 'ruin' these places that are normally so quiet during the summer months (indeed, some of the restaurants and bars in question wouldn't exist without college students). We'll just say that the time for quiet nights out in Midtown Detroit and downtown Ann Arbor is probably past. [Twitter / MetroTimes]

ROYAL OAK — We'll have more food-related coverage of this weekend's Arts, Beats & Eats festival later this week. But our ever-impatient Twitter feed has been blowing up with references to the official smart-phone app for the festival. We won't necessarily download or use the app, but acknowledging its existence feels like the least we can do. It apparently provides a list of bands, food booths and artists that will fill downtown Royal Oak starting this Friday. You could use it, or not. Or go to the festival, or not. It's a thing. [Twitter]