It all began in 1929 when Joe Muer Sr, a cigar producer, decided to open his first restaurant in Eastern Market.  It was a small oyster bar, on Gratiot at Vernor, with only 7 tables and 5 employees.  As he gained popularity he scaled back his cigar production, to expand the restaurant.  The restaurant continued to grow and they kept expanding.  By the 1950s Joe Muer Seafood was one of Detroit’s top dining destinations and was known worldwide.  When Joe Sr passed away, he left the restaurant to his son Joe Muer Jr, who then passed it along to his two sons Joe Muer III and Chuck Muer, who also went on to become an icon in Detroit’s food scene . . . until his disappearance in 1993 while sailing through the Bermuda Triangle.

This years reopening of the Michigan Central Train Station has drawn a lot of visitors to the area, and the local restaurants are reaping the benefits.  In the vicinity you have at least a dozen places to choose from.  Places like Slows BBQ, Takoi and Ima, Supergiel, Cork and Gable and Grandma Bob’s, just to name a few, all right there within walking distance . . . but this weeks adventure is taking us to Mercury Burger Bar.

This week we are visiting the Side Hustle Lounge, a retro bar which is located and part of Mootz Pizza in Downtown Detroit.  Mootz Pizzeria opened its doors in late 2018 or early 2019 serving their authentic New York style pizza.  Shortly thereafter they opened their “side hustle”, which is a walk up “grab n go” pizza by the slice, for those who do not want to have a sit down meal.  It is designed to resemble a NY subway station.  Fast forward to April of 2024 when they opened The Side Hustle Lounge.

The Brakeman, which is referred to as a “Beer Hall” on their website, was opened in March of 2019 by the NOHO Hospitality group. They operate many successful restaurants in New York and have cornered the market here with The Brakeman, also owning Penny Reds, Mister Dips and San Morello in the Shinola Hotel. 

While it feels more like a sports bar than a beer hall, it’s a cool place to stop in for a refreshing cold beverage and maybe play a game of shuffleboard, beer pong, foosball . . . or just watch your favorite team play on one of their many TVs. 

Eat Detroit 2024 is now just a memory, but we wanted to take a minute to highlight some of our favorite restaurants, and the food that we enjoyed, as we ate our way through the city.

If you are not familiar with Eat Detroit it is THE foodie event of the year.  It features numerous restaurants throughout the city, all offering a selection of small plates and signature cocktail. Some were created specifically for the event.  It is a great opportunity to get in and feel the vibe of the new places that have recently opened, or maybe reacquaint yourself with a place that has been open for a while.

This week we are enjoying happy hour at another one of Detroit’s fine dining restaurants: BESA.  BESA, in Albanian culture, is a pledge of honor and its literal meaning is ”to keep the promise”.  BESA opened its doors in November of 2018 and has been going strong ever since.

Shelby Detroit is located in the basement of 607 Shelby Street, in Downtown Detroit’s Financial District.  The building itself is historically known as the US Mortgage Bond Building which opened in 1925.   To visit them, head downstairs to Coffee Down Under and let a barista know you're here to see “Shelby”.

This week we are “Losing Ourselves” at Eminem’s restaurant collaboration with The Union Joint’s from Clarkston, which opened it’s doors in 2021.  The name was inspired from a line in the song Lose Yourself from 8 Mile. Let’s go check out Mom’s Spaghetti. 

The story that we heard, was that in 2008 Bogdan Tarasov, a Romanian construction company owner was working in the downtown Detroit area and would bring in sandwiches for his crew.  His sandwiches were so good that he was encouraged to open his own place, serving these delicious shawarma sandwiches. Bogdan was able to secure a place, inside the Park Bar, at the corner of Park and Elizabeth . . . and The Bucharest Grill was born. It was a small “walk up” and “order sandwiches to go” place which quickly grew in popularity. 

This week we are back in Downtown Detroit, at a restaurant that opened in the fall on 2020. Probably not the best time to be opening a new restaurant anywhere in the world . . . but they pulled it off.  Who are they?  We are talking about Holly McClain, the owner, and Chef Andrew Shedden from Olin Bar & Kitchen.

It was a Thursday, March 29th to be exact.  It was Opening Day for the Tigers in 2018 and the weather was not good.  The game actually was rained out.  But that didn't stop all the pre-planned opening day parties and celebrations from happening.  My last destination was the Corktown Tavern, yes in Corktown.  Due to the weather and the game being canceled they closed down early.  I parted ways  with the group I was with, and suddenly realized I could not find my car keys.  Yes, I had locked them in my car.  The Corktown Tavern was closed.  It was raining, cold, and my phone was on life support.  I was able to get someone to rescue me, but they couldn't be there for over an hour.  I couldn't wait outside in the rain and I needed a place to stay dry and warm. So…I stumbled into Bobcat Bonnie’s . . . this week's Fun Food Friday feature.

This week, we are in Detroit’s Midtown neighborhood, at its newest upscale Italian restaurant, Mad Nice.  While the name doesn’t scream “restaurant”, it makes sense once you have seen the place . . . It is Mad Nice!  From the outside, you don’t even think this would be a restaurant. It looks more like a nice modern office building.  The only signage is “Mad Nice” in bold letters along the front of the building, which is on Second Ave between Alexandrine and Willis. 

This week we are visiting Coriander Kitchen and Farms, in Detroit’s Jefferson Chalmers neighborhood of canals . . . sometimes referred to as “The Venice of Detroit”. Coriander is a farm to table restaurant that not only uses locally sourced food in their dishes, but they are also the farm that grows the food, making them the only restaurant in the city that owns the farm and the table.

This week we are visiting a Mid-town Detroit Burger Joint that opened it’s doors in 2017, in the heart of Detroit’s Cass Corridor: Royale With Cheese. Honestly, we have driven by this place a thousand times, yet we had never been here until recently. We thought “well it’s just a burger joint” which it is, but it is so much more than that. Sure they have burgers . . . . some damn good burgers!

We love good success stories . . . and this one is definitely that! We know that any food or restaurant venture entails a lot of hard work and dedication. Nothing shows that more than Detroit 75 Kitchen.  Opened in 2014,  by 2 brothers Mike & Ahmad Nassar, in the parking lot of their family’s truck stop not far from the Ambassador bridge. Detroit Kitchen 75 is a must visit destination in the Detroit food scene.  They were named as one of the top 3 food trucks in Detroit in 2017 by ThreeBestRated.com and one of the top 100 places to eat in 2019 by Us Weekly magazine. We figured they must be doing something right. After trying their food, we agree that they are!

It’s that time again . . . time to talk about how much fun it is going to Eastern Market. Shout out to Alex & Toni Aloe for introducing us to Eastern Market about 15 years ago! You seriously changed our lives!

This Sunday is the official Flower Day - the Sunday after Mother’s Day. While flower day is great for getting your summer flowers to beautify your home, our favorite day is the regular Saturday market which is every Saturday 6AM - 4PM year round. While there are so many great vendors to get your fresh veggies and other favorites, there are also a lot of places to eat and drink within the market as well. Whether it is an actual vendor, selling in the shed, or a brick and mortar building in the market district, there is something for everyone’s taste and new places keep popping up every year.