I hope to get “home” to suburban Detroit this summer and when I do, I hope to try the hot dining scene downtown. Got this today from my dad there:
They forgot to mention Leo’s Coney Island…best egg salad in Pita in USA
Check out this article from The Detroit News:
Zagat names Detroit number 3 on “Hot” list
http://www.detroitnews.com/story/entertainment/2015/04/30/zagat-names-detroit-number/26664085/
The second floor open air deck of Mullets, a cheerful bar/restaurant overlooking the rivers and Principal Park baseball field in downtown Des Moines, has long been a great place to stop for a drink (if not for the food) during a bike ride (it’s right off the trail.) Now there’s all the more reason to stop: Mullets is serving BBQ from Woody’s – the beloved little bbq shack in the Drake Neighborhood. During a bike ride on a perfect spring night yesterday, we stopped at Mullet’s for a half rack of ribs (well-smoked and sauced, a rich reddish-brown crust, meat fell right off the bone) and a pulled pork sandwich (lots of smoked succulent meat). Both excellent – and a great view from the deck of the entire city, with the golden domed state capitol in the distance. Life is good.
Filed under bike trails, biking, Des Moines
Pretty morning here in the central (we think) lllinois city of Galesburg where we stopped for what turned out to be excellent coffee and apricot Danish at Innkeeper’s coffee. Art Deco exterior, stamped tin roof and sunny nouveau Mediterranean vibe inside. we walked a little down Main Street, deserted at 9:30 am and clearly trying to hold on with lots of old storefronts with great tile work, masonry, stained glass, copper…some empty, some with antique stores, remnants of an industrial past. Drove briefly past the Knox college campus, circa 1837, site of one of the Lincoln Douglas debates (or elsewhere in Galesburg…also home poet Carl Sandburg.)
last night we we had a disappointing tapas dinner at devotay in Iowa city. Mediocre food, small overpriced portions, lacadaisal service. Oh well.stayed at drab comfort Inn (we get a discount) at the edge of the quad cities airport in Moline. Our view was of an identical hotel (apparently a best western). On to champaign to visit emma and rocket.
Swing leisure apts, Galesburg
I’ve been eager to return to my hometown (suburban Detroit) for a visit and here’s one more reason to do so before mid-July: new exhibition at the Detroit Institute of Arts is awe-inspiring, arriving as Detroit attempts to revive itself from financial ruin.
As a kid, I loved visiting the DIA and a highlight was Diego Rivera’s famous murals of industrial Detroit/America. Now the DIA has that and a whole lot more!
Filed under Detroit
I clicked on my computer at 10:01 this morning to get early bird tickets to this summer’s 80-35 Music Festival in Des Moines July 10-11 (rumors flying that among the performers will be Wilco and Jenny Lewis. That was enough for us) and secured them ($49 each vs. $59 each regular, which is pretty darned good for almost two days of live music). Ten minutes later I returned to the site and the early bird tickets had flown the coop. That was fast. Good to hear. click here for tickets. The lineup will be announced April 7!
This from 80-35 Facebook page:
Many lucky fans have already snatched up their 80/35 tickets. Our super discounted tickets and VIP passes sold out in under 10 minutes! The still-awesome deal of $59 two-day tickets are now available viamidwestix.com.
We have clearance to announce the lineup on Tuesday, April 7. We can hardly contain ourselves — so excited for you to see who will make 2015 one to remember.
We know those of you that take advantage of the early discounted tickets attend every year and that’s why you buy before we even announce the lineup. So THANK YOU, and we look forward to being able to release our lineup with you!
Filed under Des Moines, music festival
I was somewhat surprised to see Miller Union – the restaurant I ate at on Monday in Atlanta – among the nominees for best chef: Southeast from the James Beard Foundation. The place didn’t bowl me over but, again, not sure I selected the right things. The only Iowa nominee was Archie’s Waeside, a steak joint in the out of the way northwest town of LeMars, of Blue Bunny ice cream fame. Who knew? http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/25/dining/the-2015-james-beard-award-nominees.html?smid=nytcore-ipad-share&smprod=nytcore-ipad
We were disappointed to find the new Scenic Route Bakery closed midday Sunday — would have been a perfect place for brunch. But fortunately, Tacopocalypse was open – a little different vibe and menu but just fine. I had two small tacos (lemongrass pork was best) and my husband had a breakfast burrito slathered with the same kind of heartland white creamy gravy with bits of sausage that you find on biscuits and gravy in these parts. Not my thing but he enjoyed.
Filed under Des Moines
The temperature gauge in our car kept sinking lower and lower as we got closer to the Mississippi River, here in eastern Iowa. At one point it dipped to a surreal -11 before climbing back up to still-nostril freezing -4. And as we approached the river town of LeClaire, an odd low hanging cloud — frozen fog perhaps?– sat low int the sky. we are bunking at the surprisingly comfy Comfort Inn, which actually feels a bit like an inn, with a crackling fire in the lobby and old black and white photos of the area on the wall. En route we stopped for excellent middle eastern grub at Oasis and found an old Dino at a Sinclair gas station.
Filed under Iowa, Uncategorized
Always hard to leave San Francisco on a sunny day, especially after walking The dog with Susan in Golden Gate Park, shimmering as green as Ireland after yesterday’s mist and rain. But I will be back. and maybe someday to live here. Susan drove me north yesterday through Marin to Sonoma County to check out the relatively rural, affordable town of Sebastopol (relative to San Fran) but the beauty of the area was obscured by mist and rain. What little I saw made me wonder what kind of life and community we could build in a place with both a young counter culture vibe and an older casual California moneyed chic vibe, since we belong to neither tribe. We did have the best grilled artichoke I
Susan, parking spot park, Outer Sunset
have ever tasted (and there is a lot to be said for that) at the rustic-cozy Hopmonk Tavern. It was marinated in vinegar, oil and seasoned, cut in half and grilled then served with a grilled but still juicy lemon and a creamy white dressing. Susan’s tomato soup was full of flavor and had little cream, another plus. My small pulled pork sliders on little homemade Tasting buns was good. We stopped en route in San Rafael at Shunzi, a favorite clothing store of Susan’s, full of comfortable California chic clothes (I am still working though the guilt of the money I spent there.) In San Francisco, we had pasta and sautéed Brussels sprouts at Bacco in Noe valley, which was good but having spent two weeks recently in Italy, I am a tough customer. We walked along the main drag in Noe valley, windowshopping, the tiny shops closed but lighted, peddling an often idiosyncratic selection of wares, or as Susan observed, a hyper curated collection of overpriced stuff. Other things of note: – Urban Putt, a very inventive indoor miniature golf course in the Mission. – See’s lollipops, sold near gates 82 and 68 at the San Francisco airport.
Filed under California, San Francisco
Exploring the Outer Sunset neighborhood
Tartine
Easy one hour flight from San Diego to San Francisco. (not so easy a flight for D whose flight to Denver was cancelled due to mechanical problems so he got home 5 hours late via Houston). so far I haven’t seen much of this city I adore because I am really hear to see my old friend Susan and we have a lot to catch up on since we last saw each other three years ago.
We did return to Mifune, a good place in Japantown, for udon noodles and tempura. And we have walked her dog several times through Golden Gate Park down the back, which never gets old. We also walked down to the Asian shops on Irving (we are in The Sunset neighborhood) to pursue the little ceramic bowls Decorated with whimsical drawings of animals that I always restock when here.
We also explored the Outer Sunset neighborhood around 46th street and Judah,which has a smattering of little shops and coffee houses including Trouble Coffee, General Store and Carville Annex.
The next day we wandered around the ever-evolving Mission neighborhood, visiting some old favorites like Tartine Bakery, for fabulous bread, quiche and grilled sandwiches and new spots like the gorgeous Heath Ceramics show room, Charles Chocolates, the Local Mission Market – all park of this “small batch” hyper local “maker market” high design aesthetic that’s so big here and beyond. We also stopped for overpriced but incredibly flavorful and creamy ice cream (malted milk ball) at Humphry Slocombe. We also visited a super cool inside put put course in the Mission. Dinner was at a favorite from my last visit – Burma Superstar in the Richmond.
Filed under California, San Francisco
TakeBetsywithyou
