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We asked last week for your favorite taco spots — and our dear readers did not disappoint. 

Here are your responses, which made us entirely too hungry: 

Taqueria Lupita's: "Best taco at Lupita's is al pastor. Try it with their whole beans — not refried.  Simply the best."

Taqueria El Rey: It began cooking at a pop-up at Batch Brewing Co. last year after its southwest Detroit restaurant burned in a fire.

Antojitos Southwest: "I absolutely can't eat quesabirria tacos anywhere else because Antojitos is so good."

Real Taco Express in Roseville: "Has some of the most delicious and authentic Mexican food. And their customer service is awesome."

Carnival Market in Pontiac: "Whether you want to pick up tacos or gather ingredients to make them, they will make sure you're set. Great folks too. Pro tip: buy the Mexican crema while you are there and toss your sour cream when you get home. It's just better."

Reader's guide to the best tacos in metro Detroit

Our list includes Taqueria El Rey, Antojitos Southwest and more!

Dos Locos Tacos in Hamtramck. Photo: Samuel Robinson/Axios

We <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="asked last week" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-detroit-a93fb655-3bcc-44b6-a435-0d95a5e2d190.html" data-vars-content-id="04023e8a-a737-416e-87bc-aa7bec743ba4" data-vars-headline="Reader&#x27;s guide to the best tacos in metro Detroit" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-detroit-a93fb655-3bcc-44b6-a435-0d95a5e2d190.html" target="_self">asked last week</a> for your favorite taco spots — and our dear readers did not disappoint. <ul><li>Here are your responses, which made us entirely too hungry: </li></ul>

Food and Drink

You'll see a baker's dozen of recognizable local names on the list of semifinalists for this year's James Beard Awards — the Oscars of the restaurant industry.

Driving the news: Sandy Levine of Freya and Chartreuse in Detroit and The Oakland in Ferndale got a nod for Outstanding Restaurateur, while Hajime Sato of Sozai in Clawson made the cut for Outstanding Chef.

The 11 other Michigan chefs and businesses named semifinalists yesterday are:

🔪 Emerging Chef: Amado Lopez, Casa Amado Taqueria in Berkley. 

🍰 Outstanding Bakery: Good Cakes and Bakes in Detroit.

🍷 Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages: Spencer in Ann Arbor.

🌊 Best Chef, Great Lakes region: Six semifinalists in this category are from Detroit: 

Omar Anani of Saffron De Twah, Norberto Garita of El Barzon, Andy Hollyday of Selden Standard, Hamissi Mamba and Nadia Nijimbere of Baobab Fare, Michael Ransom of Ima Izakaya and Sarah Welch of Marrow.

Abra Berens of Granor Farm in Three Oaks and Ji Hye Kim of Miss Kim in Ann Arbor were also named. 

What's next: James Beard announces finalists March 29 and then winners June 5 at a ceremony in Chicago. 

Michigan's 2023 James Beard Award semifinalists

You'll see a baker's dozen of recognizable local names on the list.

Illustration of a first place ribbon with a gold plate at the center.

You&#x27;ll see a baker&#x27;s dozen of recognizable local names on the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="list of semifinalists" data-vars-click-url="https://jbf-media.s3.amazonaws.com/production/pressreleases/JBF%20Awards%202023%20Semifinalists_1.25.2023.pdf" data-vars-content-id="3ffd4fc2-d01f-45c4-9fe7-8d703d599196" data-vars-headline="Michigan&#x27;s 2023 James Beard Award semifinalists" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://jbf-media.s3.amazonaws.com/production/pressreleases/JBF%20Awards%202023%20Semifinalists_1.25.2023.pdf" target="_blank">list of semifinalists</a> for this year&#x27;s James Beard Awards — the Oscars of the restaurant industry.Driving the news: Sandy Levine of <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Freya" data-vars-click-url="https://www.freyadetroit.com/" data-vars-content-id="3ffd4fc2-d01f-45c4-9fe7-8d703d599196" data-vars-headline="Michigan&#x27;s 2023 James Beard Award semifinalists" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.freyadetroit.com/" target="_blank">Freya</a> and <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Chartreuse" data-vars-click-url="https://chartreusekc.com/" data-vars-content-id="3ffd4fc2-d01f-45c4-9fe7-8d703d599196" data-vars-headline="Michigan&#x27;s 2023 James Beard Award semifinalists" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://chartreusekc.com/" target="_blank">Chartreuse</a> in Detroit and <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="The Oakland" data-vars-click-url="https://www.theoaklandferndale.com/" data-vars-content-id="3ffd4fc2-d01f-45c4-9fe7-8d703d599196" data-vars-headline="Michigan&#x27;s 2023 James Beard Award semifinalists" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.theoaklandferndale.com/" target="_blank">The Oakland</a> in Ferndale got a nod for Outstanding Restaurateur, while Hajime Sato of <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Sozai" data-vars-click-url="https://www.sozairestaurant.com/" data-vars-content-id="3ffd4fc2-d01f-45c4-9fe7-8d703d599196" data-vars-headline="Michigan&#x27;s 2023 James Beard Award semifinalists" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.sozairestaurant.com/" target="_blank">Sozai</a> in Clawson made the cut for Outstanding Chef.

The U.S. Department of Justice is continuing to look into riders' experiences using Detroit's oft-criticized paratransit services. 

Driving the news: A DOJ civil rights investigator is trying to contact users of the city's transit program for the elderly and those with disabilities who have complained about inadequate service for "one-on-one interviews," Richard Clay of the National Federation of the Blind's Detroit chapter tells Axios. 

"They are clearly compiling more information still," says Clay, who was contacted last week to provide the DOJ with contact information for those who spoke at a recent town hall. 

What they're saying: It's unclear exactly what the continued inquiry means or where it'll lead, but Clay says it's "huge news to those of us in the community who are affected, because we know that at the least, that means they are still keeping their eye firmly on the (paratransit) system as it develops …"

Catch up quick: A DOJ representative, assistant U.S. attorney Michael El-Zein, attended and documented a December town hall hosted by advocates calling the situation a "unnecessary paratransit crisis." 

Riders described chronic lateness and missed pickups resulting in missing medical appointments, as well as people in wheelchairs falling because they have not been properly strapped in — plus other stories about inadequate service, according to WXYZ. 

Flashback: Mayor Mike Duggan approved temporary paratransit contracts in mid-December to avoid a halt to service after City Council turned down a proposal involving long-maligned contractor Transdev. 

A gap in providing the federally mandated paratransit service would have meant the city was violating federal law, the FTA told the city in a letter. 

The DOJ has the "independent authority to investigate failure to comply with (Americans with Disabilities Act) requirements," the FTA wrote. 

The other side: A Transdev representative at City Council last week said the company was the "target of unwarranted criticism" and has exceeded DDOT's expectations. 

Between the lines: A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office-Eastern District of Michigan under the DOJ declined to comment. 

Of note: The eastern district has a hotline for those who may have had their civil rights violated, via (313) 226-9151 or usamie.civilrights@usdoj.gov. 

DOJ continues information-gathering on Detroit paratransit

An advocate says it's "huge news to those of us in the community who are affected."

Illustration of a wheelchair on one side of a seesaw with a hand pressing down the other side

The U.S. Department of Justice is continuing to look into riders&#x27; experiences using Detroit&#x27;s <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="oft-criticized" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/detroit/2022/10/18/advocates-question-detroit-paratransit-contracts" data-vars-content-id="6a1a3b5a-e863-487e-846d-7d1e0d48f36e" data-vars-headline="DOJ continues information-gathering on Detroit paratransit" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/detroit/2022/10/18/advocates-question-detroit-paratransit-contracts" target="_self">oft-criticized</a> paratransit services. Driving the news: A DOJ civil rights investigator is trying to contact users of the city&#x27;s transit program for the elderly and those with disabilities who have complained about inadequate service for &quot;one-on-one interviews,&quot; Richard Clay of the National Federation of the Blind&#x27;s Detroit chapter tells Axios.

News

There are few things more pure than sledding. 

It teaches us that going fast is fun, good times require hard work (trudging back up the hill a billion times) and being cold eventually gives way to a hot chocolate-y future.

Now that we finally have the snow for it, here are some places in Detroit where you can take to the hills: 

Balduck Park on the east side has a sizable sledding hill that saw high traffic right after last week's snowstorm. 

Valade Park on the riverfront has a small but mighty hill, plus free sleds, wintertime events and fires to warm up by. 

Rouge Park also offers sledding, including during its upcoming Winter Fest on Saturday, Feb. 18. 

Other options: Dorais Playground, Riverside Park and Butzel Family Center.

Grab your sled, here's where to hit the hills in Detroit

There are few things more pure than sledding.

A hill has kids sledding down it, rimmed by trees.

Balduck Park. Photo: Annalise Frank/Axios

There are few things more pure than sledding. <ul><li>It teaches us that going fast is fun, good times require hard work (trudging back up the hill a billion times) and being cold eventually gives way to a hot chocolate-y future.</li></ul>

Things to Do

The controversy over whether to end cashless businesses has reached Detroit's lawmakers. 

Why it matters: Black Detroiters are disproportionately likely to use cash and not have access to cards, making this an issue of equal access to the economy, says council member Angela Whitfield Calloway. 

The couple cashless operations in Detroit mirror a national trend that businesses consider for reasons including COVID-19-related contamination concerns with handling cash, making transactions quicker and getting rid of cash-handling costs.  

Driving the news: Calloway has a draft ordinance that would prohibit cashless establishments and hopes to introduce it in February, she tells Axios. 

Council would then need to consider and approve it. 

What happened: Calloway says she was motivated to push for the ban after going to the Plum Market in the Ally Detroit Center with just bills.

"I'm looking for, where do I put my cash? … I was shocked." She left without her soup and salad, thinking about how many Detroiters "do everything with cash." 

"This is economic discrimination and stratification," her senior policy advisor, Ramses Dukes, adds. "We need to give every single citizen an opportunity to purchase goods and services."

By the numbers: A fourth of Detroiters had neither a checking nor savings account as of 2019, per a U of M report Calloway cites. 

Between the lines: The new proposal would still permit a cashless policy like the one at Little Caesars Arena, where you can convert cash to a VISA card without charges at on-site portals. 

The other side: When the downtown Plum Market reopened in June after a long pandemic closure, it went cashless "to focus on quicker service," especially during the lunch rush, a Plum Market spokesperson tells Axios. 

"We will obviously comply with any ordinances passed but feel the cashless model has been well received and has made a tremendous improvement in transaction speed for our guests," the spokesperson adds.

State of play: Mootz Pizzeria was among the restaurants criticized in 2019 for cashless policies, with Mootz later switching to accept cash.  

Hollywood Casino at Greektown recently opened a cashless market. 

Zoom out: New York City, Massachusetts and San Francisco have banned cashless businesses, while the Seattle area is considering doing so.

What they're saying: Dwan Dandridge of financial support organization Black Leaders Detroit says it's important to educate business owners about these barriers to access. 

Plus, uplift businesses that "always keep all Detroiters in mind, specifically Black business owners that are still struggling to have equal access to capital," he adds. 

Detroit council member's proposal would ban cashless retail

A fourth of Detroiters had neither a checking nor savings account as of 2019.

A sign in Plum Market says it is cashless "for a faster and more efficient checkout." 

Plum Market in downtown Detroit. Photo: Samuel Robinson/Axios

The controversy over whether to end cashless businesses has reached Detroit&#x27;s lawmakers. Why it matters: Black Detroiters are disproportionately likely to use cash and not have access to cards, making this an issue of equal access to the economy, says council member Angela Whitfield Calloway.

Annalise Frank

Featured stories

Grab your sled, here's where to hit the hills in Detroit

DOJ continues information-gathering on Detroit paratransit

Reader's guide to the best tacos in metro Detroit

Detroit council member's proposal would ban cashless retail

Michigan's 2023 James Beard Award semifinalists