Category Archives: Michigan

March 28, 2013 · 7:13 pm

Vodka Made in Ferndale (Mi) – why not? (I guess)

News that there is now someone producing vodka in Ferndale, a Detroit suburb near where I grew up, first struck me as odd, then as amusing and then I thought, well why not? Ferndale was a worn out place in the 1970’s, when I lived in Michigan, but when I’ve returned home of late, I’ve found it emerging as a hipster haven, with interesting boutiques and restaurants. So vodka production – bring it on. The company is called Valentine Vodka and according to a recent story in Midwest Living mag, it was started by a former Wall Street trader who suddenly felt inspired to return to his native Detroit and start producing domestic vodka (to save us from having to drink that Russian stuff, perhaps.) Apparently Valentine Vodka also has a “speakeasy-esque lounge” for visitors. (If only I liked vodka.) It’s good to see people producing stuff in Detroit – more encouraging than the depressing documentary I watched recently about the city (Detropia).

Other made-in-(or near)-Detroit products launched by entrepreneurs (and mentioned in this same Midwest Living story) include:

– Peteet’s Famous Cheesecakes in Oak Park (started by a guy after his real estate business crashed).

– Corridor Sausage, producing artisanal sausages near Eastern Market downtown

– Love’s Custard Pies – another Eastern Market hotspot serving southern-style custard and fruit pies

– City Bird – a “hip housewares and gift shop” near Wayne State’s downtown campus.

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July 12, 2012 · 8:10 pm

Bus and trains from Chicago to Northern Michigan

A reader requested ideas on traveling by bus and trains to get from Chicago to Traverse City then  to Mackinac Island  and the Upper Peninsula, Michigan. I’m no expert but when I looked into the Chicago-Traverse City public transportation options a few years ago, renting a car seemed the best bet. A few other things:

– Remember the boat option, but again you’ll need that car. You can take a ferry (see ssbadger.com) from Manitowic, Wisconsin (about 1.5 hours north of  Milwaukee) to Ludington Michigan shore but you’ll land almost two hours south  of Traverse City.

–  When we compared the ferry/boat vs. driving around Lake Michigan option, we stuck with driving because as I recall the ferry/boat was pricey and didn’t save much time.

–  My dentist recently returned from a drive through the Upper Peninsula to Mackinac and then the Detroit area. She does NOT recommend the major road through the center of the UP. Apparently the view is limited to dense forest. She wished she’d taken a road hugging either coast, if there is a viable one.

– When in Mackinac, make sure to venture off the main drag of touristy shops (although you might want to get some Murdick’s fudge first) and wander up the hill to the Grand Hotel and to the wilder areas of the island to enjoy its natural beauty. You can  rent bikes to explore. (see: http://bikemackinac.com/)

– Around Traverse City, don’t miss Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes National Park. We also enjoyed staying in Glen Arbor and visiting Empire, Michigan (go to the Friendly Tavern) and the Cherry Bowl Drive-in Movie Theater in Honor, Michigan.

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November 29, 2011 · 3:15 am

Bad luck with Delta Airlines but good corned beef with dad in Detroit

arrgh…On both my departing and return flights between Des Moines and NYC, there were mechanical problems that caused delays and/or heart palpitations. En route, during the Detroit to LaGuardia leg, as we were trying to land in a cloudy rainy New York City, the pilot suddenly reversed course and went back up into the clouds. “You may have noticed we tried to land,” he explained over the intercom. “But we decided not to as a result of an anomaly in the braking system.”

WHAT???

He then told us he’d be trying to land again in 10 minutes and there shouldn’t be any further problems.

GULP.

After what seemed like a very long 20 minutes, he did successfully land the plane on what appeared to be an exceedingly long runway. (good idea) and as the wheels touched down and the pilot pumped the brakes, we passengers clapped. And eagerly deplaned.

Then today, we get in the plane at LaGuardia on a beautiful sunny day, taxi out to the runway for an ON TIME departure, only to return to the gate because some water is leaking in the bathroom. An hour and a half later, we are airborne and our chances of making our connecting flights (having lost our original one-hour layover) are slim. I did call from the stalled plane and was told my daughter – who was going onto Cedar Rapids – wouldn’t be able to go on the 4 p.m. flight to CR if she missed the 12:20 one – but there was one seat left on the 7:51 p.m. flight. Feeling like a contestant on Lets Make a Deal, I had to choose between door #1 or #2. And decided to book the 7:51 and try to go standby on the 12:20 should we arrive in time. So we arrive in Detroit at 12 and of course the connecting flight is miles away in another concourse but I run and run and get to the gate just as the door is closing and I BEG the already harried-looking desk person to let Lily get on standby. She balks at first but I look pathetic enough that she gives me the ONE SEAT left on the whole damn plane. And away Lily goes. And of course I’ve now missed my 12:24 p.m. flight to Des Moines (in yet another concourse) and the 4:35 p.m.  is unavailable but, earlier, when the plane was stalled at LaGuardia, I grabbed a seat on  the 7:30 p.m. flight.

Best of all, I call my dad in suburban Detroit and he picks me up and we have a very nice unexpected afternoon together starting with a delicious corned beef sandwich at a little deli on Woodward Avenue (Deli Unique in the Ramada hotel of all places.) So all ends well….and I’m finally home in Des Moines.

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October 11, 2011 · 10:41 pm

Zingerman’s and other Ann Arbor Highlights

Nice 36 Hours story in the NYTimes last Sunday on the penultimate college town, Ann Arbor, Mi. (Go Blue!) Zingerman’s deli gets a nod, as well it should. Other highlights and things to explore when next passing through:

Nickel’s Arcade for upscale shopping and coffee at Comet Coffee

Hill Auditorium for visiting top-notch theater, dance and classical music concerts

Mark’s Carts – ethnic food carts in a courtyard on Washington Street between first and Ashley streets.

Angelo’s – for breakfast, then off to the Farmer’s market.

The Ark – famous folk house now known for world music too apparently.

Pacific rim  for pan-Asian food

Logan for wild boar Bolognese (hmmm)

Frita Batidos for cuban food

Cafe Zola for french, italian and turkish food

 

–

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August 24, 2011 · 2:33 pm

Leo’s/Royal Oak and Lou Malnati’s in Chicago

Made it home without a hitch yesterday after a 5.5 hour drive from Chicago which started with some very stormy weather. Didn’t have much time to explore the city since we were just passing through but did get a take out pizza from Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria – an outpost of which recently opened in my aunt’s Gold Coast neighborhood in the old Anthropologie building. Looked like a fun place to eat – especially the outdoor patio. We opted for takeout and thin crust, not Chicago thick. It was good  – especially the unusual crust that I believe is made with cornmeal – but wasn’t that bowled over. Certainly will try again. Another place to remember – the original Heaven on Seven, a Cajun restaurant downtown near the old Marshall Field’s and near my stepdaughter’s new place of employment. Comes well recommended by several.

Before leaving Michigan, we had to cram in a trip to Leo’s Coney Island in Royal Oak for my son who happily and quickly devoured two Coneys. And I do need to add – for one blog reader who protested – that Lafayette Coney Island was much more crowded when we tried to go there Saturday night than when we passed by midday Saturday. Unfortunately it was so busy that we couldn’t find a place to park and had to forego our visit.

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August 22, 2011 · 1:41 pm

Cranbrook, Royal Oak, Greektown

My dad noted yesterday that he’s been to Detroit more in the two days I’ve visited than he has for days or months prior. Good sport! We tried to go to Slows BBQ, the trendy place rising from the ashes in the Corktown neighborhood across from the haunting hulk that was once Detroit’s train station. The place looked great – but the wait was  one and a half hours. No thanks. We drove onto Greektown where we had a nice meal (after a five minute wait) at Pegasus Taverna. (I was surprised to see that the place we used to go – the name escapes me – is now a hole in the ground. Literally.)

In the morning we rode bikes through Huntington Woods, Berkeley and Royal Oak on a pretty Sunday morning – I forgot how easy riding a bike is here, the streets so flat and wide, lined with pretty well-tended homes and long flat green lawns. Later, we stopped at Sanders’ Ice Cream shop where I had the first hot fudge cream puff I’ve had since I was about 8 years old and went to the old Sanders in Royal Oak. The original Sanders ice cream fountains closed eons ago but someone bought the name (and maybe the secret recipe) and is opening fountains all over the burbs (but not in Royal Oak.) The fudge is as good as ever (and has been available even after the fountains closed.) We had a groupon that for $9 got us up to $18 of food stuffs. Later we drove and walked around the spectacular grounds of Cranbrook, where I went to high school  – and even bumped into a former favorite math teacher of mine.

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August 21, 2011 · 3:29 pm

Tigers game, Hunter House, Lafayette Coney Island

My first trip to Comerica Park and we got lucky, especially with the weather. An intense but short storm moved through about 2 hours before the Detroit Tigers game but by the time we arrived at the ballpark, the sky was clearing, the temps were cooling and the sun came out. Perfect! Good game too – the Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians 10-1. My dad wisely recommended the kosher ballpark brats – which were relatively reasonably priced (5.50) compared to the ridiculously overpriced beer (about $8). For nostalgia’s sake, we tried to go to Lafayette Coney Island afterwards but couldn’t find a parking spot so we drove to Birmingham and had fantastic sliders at Hunter House (5 cheeseburgers for $12.50)

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August 20, 2011 · 2:17 am

Home just in time for the Woodward Dream Cruise!

We made it home to suburban Detroit just in time for the Woodward Avenue Dream Cruise, which did not disappoint – cram-packed with old cars dragging up and down Woodward. The traffic and crowds were thickest around 12 mile road – it was almost as fun to watch the spectators as the cars. Earlier in the day, during our drive from Chicago, we found a good place to eat in the small Michigan town of Coloma (ex: 39 on I-94). My son thought it looked like a nightclub, because of the name “The Hot Spot Cafe”but it was a small town cafe with breakfast all day – great crispy (as requested) hash browns, poached eggs (soft) and sausages. The place seemed to have a way with potatoes – they made their own potato chips. That exit also has a well-known popular fruit stand – Fruit Acres – where we picked up great raspberries, blueberries, red haven peaches and we didn’t get but tried some really strange looking doughnut peaches.

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August 11, 2011 · 11:03 pm

Traverse City hotspots

We were staying very close to Traverse City Michigan when we were up north a year ago, bunking in a sweet little lakeside cottage in Glen Arbor, but we never made it into the big city, although I wanted to. Just ran out of time – too much to do in the small lakeside towns in the area. But now comes the NYTimes Travel section with some recommendations for TC which I will duly note here for our next trip there – which I hope will be soon!

– Artisandesign network, new gallery with local artists’ and designers’ work, especially furniture and “elegant dining chairs” by Woodbine.

– The Cooks’ House, a farm to table restaurant now in new larger location.

– Right Brain Brewery, 16 tap brew pub with all local ales. Must try the Black Eye P.A.

– Mana, “soul food” including the Divine Swine pulled pork sandwich.

– State Theater, site of TC Film Festival started by local resident and filmmaker Michael Moore

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May 11, 2011 · 10:52 pm

36 Hours in Detroit – why not?

Some relatives (you know who you are)  in my hometown of suburban Detroit weren’t convinced by the booster-ish tone of the 36 Hours in Detroit article in last week’s NYTimes Travel section but the article sold me. It made me want to revisit  Detroit with a pair of fresh eyes and new enthusiasm!

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