The Sweetwater Tavern in Detroit's historic Bricktown neighborhood has been serving the community since 1989 . . . but the history of the neighborhood and the building go back to the mid 1800’s.  Bricktown is home to the oldest standing church in the city Ss Peter & Paul Jesuit Church on St Antoine, which was founded in 1844.  The stunning Italian Renaissance style Wayne County building, which opened in 1902 on Randolph Street.  It was home to the Wayne County Courthouse, where Mae West was once a defendant on a charge of public indecency, which was not uncommon with her back in those days. 

Today we are sharing some of our favorite places to go either before, during or after the game, for some amazing food, fun and drinks. All of these are a 10 to 15 minute walk from Comerica Park and are on our radar every time we are downtown.

The Eagle opened in Fall of 2023.  It’s the 2nd restaurant in Detroit’s midtown opened by Cincinnati based Thunderdome Restaurant Group.  Thunderdome was founded in 2012 by Joe Lanni, John Lanni and Alex Blust, when they opened the first Bakersfield in Cincinnati’s Over-The-Rhine neighborhood.  (Over-The-Rhine, or OTR as it is commonly referred to,  is located in the Urban Basin of Cincinnati and is one of the largest, most intact urban historical districts in the US)

While there are a number of places that serve fried fish, especially during lent, not many have stood the test of time like Scotty Simpsons.  Scotty’s is located in Detroit’s Brightmoor neighborhood, at 22200 Fenkell, 2 blocks west of Lahser. While the area has seen better days, Scotty Simpsons is still going strong after nearly 75 years. Teresa and I grew up in Redford, down the street from each other in Redford, at 5 & Beech. She says Scotty Simpson’s was a Friday night tradition at their house.

Scotty Simpsons Fish & Chips has been a Detroit Landmark since 1950 when James (Scotty) Simpson opened and started serving his much desired Fish & Chips.

This week we are enjoying happy hour at Granite City, in Northville Township, at 7 Mile and Haggerty.  If you are not familiar with Granite City, let me start by saying it is NOT a place to go shopping for kitchen countertops. That’s Granite Planet. It is actually a Restaurant and Brewery, that makes all their beers in house.  Granite City was founded by Steve Wagenheim, in 1999, in St Cloud Minnesota. He chose the name Granite City as homage to the city of St Cloud, which was given the name Granite City in the late 1800’s due to all of the granite quarries that had opened in the area. 

Our main focus is The American Harvest Restaurant.  This is a full service, gourmet restaurant, that is open to the general public . . . but you do need reservations to get a table.  The restaurant, unlike the Craft Grill, is only open when school is in session.  They offer lunch Wednesday – Friday with seating ranging from 11:45 to 12:30. They offer an a la carte lunch menu that changes daily, offering freshly baked breads, gourmet soups, delicious salads, creative entrees, and an extensive selection of tempting desserts. Prices typically hover around $25-$30 per person.

Its week 4 of black history month and this week we are featuring Mike Ransom and his successful line of restaurants.  Specifically Supercrisp in Midtown Detroit at Warren and Cass. Owner/Chef Michael Ransom, who is a Traverse City native, first moved to Detroit in 1999.  He was roommates with a sushi chef and that is when he discovered his passion for the delicacy of Japanese food and his culinary flame was lit. 

It’s week 3 of Black History Month and this week we are featuring 2 of Midtown Detroit’s best kept secrets: Jolly Old Timers and Café Sous Terre.  What makes these places cool is that they aren’t big and flashy. Honestly, if you aren’t aware of them, you would walk or drive right by without a giving it a second thought.

In May of 2021, Danielle “Margo Moon” Bigham and Cedrick Andrews founded the pop-up taco shop called Shell Shock’d Tacos.  One of the places they would do a pop-up at is the Bagley Central Bar at 2545 Bagley Street in Detroit’s Southwest neighborhood.   (Bagley Central Bar has closed, and now the space is used as a “pop-up bar space” and is home to the ever so popular pop-up bar Blitzen’s On Bagley, during the holiday season.) They started with a Blackstone grill, a couple tables, some coolers and a tent serving up Detroit-style, Latina Inspired street food.

20 years ago, Charles (Chuck) Nolen bought Joey’s Meatcutters Inn . . . a bar located at the corner of Orleans and Division streets, just outside of Eastern Markets main drag.  It was originally a butcher shop turned bar, owned by Joseph Gajewski, which was known for their gigantic burgers. Charles renamed the bar to be just Cutter’s Bar & Grill . . . but kept the gigantic burgers on the menu along with other favorites.  The bar has some deep rooted history.  In the late 60’s and early 70’s it was owned by the infamous Purple Gang, one of Detroit’s most notorious organized crime gangs dating back to the 20’s and 30’s. 

Grandma Bob’s, in Corktown, was opened in 2019 by brothers Dave and John Kwiatkowski.  John founded the Detroit Optimist Society in 2014, as a parent company to his growing number of hospitality businesses. His first was 2011 when he opened the Sugar House, a nationally recognized craft cocktail bar, on Michigan Ave right next to Slows BBQ.  In 2014 they signed the lease to occupy the 2nd floor of the Wright Kay building at 1500 Woodward and Wright & Company was born.  Since 2014 his empire has grown to 8 of the most popular bars and restaurants in the city: The Sugar House Wright & Company Honest John’s The Peterboro Bad Luck Bar Mutiny Bar Time Will Tell Grandma Bob’s

Grandma Bob’s may seem like an odd name for a pizza place . . . but of course when there is an odd name, there is usually a good story behind it.  It is actually named after John & Dave’s grandmother Roberta.  She was nicknamed Robby, and their grandfather affectionately called her Bobby and the grandkids always called her Grandma Bob.

Growing up, we remember mom and dad taking us out for pizza at the local pizza place.  This was back before there was a carryout pizza place on every block. To get good pizza, you had to go to an Italian restaurant like Mama Mia’s or Corsi’s. These were the 2 that were the “go to places” where we grew up.  When we bought our first house in South Redford, we had the Mama Mia’s on Plymouth Road. But we quickly became fond of DeLuca’s in Westland.  We moved to Livonia in 2001, and of course you leave a lot of your local favorites behind and find new local favorites.  Well we recently made a special trip to get back to DeLuca’s and we are so glad we did. 

Downtown Detroit is going to be hopping with the Lions Playoff game starting at 8PM this Saturday, January 18th. Detroit has a lot of great restaurants . . . but maybe you don’t have the time to sit down for a meal.  Well, you are in luck because this week we are focusing primarily on locations throughout the Downtown area which are great places to grab something while on the go. 

This week we are in Eastern Market, at Frank’s Deli & Grill, enjoying breakfast after a great morning at the Saturday Market.  We have been coming to Eastern Market on a regular basis, 15-20 times a year, for the past 10 or more years.  We know all the places to eat and drink and have featured many of them in this blog. Frank’s is one place that we have known of, but never stopped in to eat until just recently.  The truth is, no one goes on and on about it like they do Vivio’s, Zeff’s or Farmer Frank’s.  Maybe it’s because it is not in the “actual market area” like the rest of them. I think it is what kept us from getting here sooner . . . but we finally did!

The Brentwood Grill has only been around for about 18 months . . . but it has much deeper roots than that.  If you have never heard of the Brentwood Grill we wouldn’t be surprised. You may know it better as Steve & Rocky’s.  Steve & Rocky’s, which was owned by Steve Allan (Steve) & Charles Rachwitz (Rocky), since around 1998 was a staple to the Novi area.  Last year, when Steve & Rocky decided to step away from day to day operations, their General Manager Bob Loomis stepped in and purchased it from them.

If you live in the Detroit area, and have never been to the Whitney, it needs to be on your list! Not necessarily to dine, even though we highly recommend it, but just to see and maybe take a tour.    If you are not familiar with the Whitney, it is an old mansion on the corner of Woodward and Canfield.  It’s name is an homage to the original owner, David Whitney Jr, a lumber baron and the wealthiest man in Detroit at the time, who had the house built as a residence for himself and his Wife Sara. 

This week we are in Oak Park at Ernie’s Market to grab a couple of Ernie’s renowned sandwiches.  We heard about Ernie’s a couple of years back, through my brother Don, but were not able to get there until recently. In 1955, Ernie & Virginia Hassan (Ernie’s parents) purchased the local Austin Heights neighborhood market, at the corner of Capital and Republic, for $4000 (the equivalent of $50,000 today) but, according to Ernie, it has been in the family for over 100 years. 

This week we are visiting 2 places in New Buffalo Michigan, The Beer Church and The Stray Dog Bar & Grill.  Both of these places are a great place to stop if you are in the area.  We go to Chicago a lot and are always driving by the billboards on I-94 advertising these location in New Buffalo so we finally decided to exit the highway and check them out.  Both places have great history or backstories, both have wonderful food (though the Stray Dog has a more expanded menu) with full bars and they are literally 2 blocks form each other. 

This week we are checking out Sullivan’s Steak House in Downtown Detroit.  Sullivan’s is located on the ground floor of the Westin Book Cadillac, on Washington at Michigan Ave in the space that Michael Symon’s Roast used to occupy.  Sullivan’s opened the doors in Detroit on September 20, 2023, but nationally they opened in 1996 in Austin Texas with the commitment of big steaks, big portions, big drinks and big hospitality.  That theme has carried on to all 15 of their locations from Anchorage, Alaska to Raleigh, North Carolina.  The Detroit location, which has been open for a little over a year, is very spacious.  When you walk in, the restaurant is to the left of the hotel lobby.  It has 3 separate dining areas all set with white linens and white high back chairs.  

In 1936, Gus Guerra opened Buddy’s Rendezvous in Detroit, on Conant at 6 Mile. Originally is was a blind pig, since prohibition had just ended a couple years earlier.  The “Detroit-Style Pizza” legacy began in 1946 when Gus Guerra and his team made their first square-shaped pizza. 

They used square forged-steel pans, “borrowed” from local automotive plants that used them for holding automotive parts. 

They were able to produce a pizza with a very light cheesy and crispy crust, which is now known as Detroit-Style Pizza. This was something that had never been done before and was the first known square pizza in the country.  Now, more than 78 years later, the pizza style has become a national favorite to most people . . . unless you are from New York or Chicago.