El Amanecer in Ecorse graces the 2026 Detroit Free Press/Chevy Detroit Top 10 New Restaurants & Dining Experiences list at No. 8 for its authentic Puerto Rican cuisine and enchanting service.
For many years, the only place to enjoy a proper plate of arroz con gandules in a restaurant setting in metro Detroit was at Rincon Tropical, the Puerto Rican hideaway tucked behind a 10-minute oil change in Southwest Detroit.
Puerto Rican cuisine has spread its roots throughout the region in recent years. You might’ve ordered from a food truck or a takeout-only joint, or maybe you descended the stairs at a Knights of Columbus branch where a family ran a cash-only operation out of the basement. If you were really committed, you might’ve sat down for dinner at a Puerto Rican restaurant that a cook once ran out of a home on Detroit’s East Side…