We love the Speakeasy vibe in restaurants and bars.  We have been to several, (including some that are no longer with us due to COVID, and are always looking for new ones.  We had heard of this place, from many people, but since it is located in Howell it is not something we can just pop into.  We recently had a client that bought a condo in the Wixom area and the management company didn’t receive some of his paperwork so we offered to hand deliver it . . . and what do you know, it is in the same building!  We, we made sure to leave time to stop in and enjoy while we were in the area.  Located in the basement of the Heart of Howell building, this place with a serious Speakeasy Vibe, opened its doors in 2015. We are talking about 2 FOGS.

This week’s post has been quite the learning experience for us. Like so many other people that live in the suburbs of Detroit, when we are downtown and have a craving for Mexican food, we would end up at the usual suspects Mexican Village, Xochimilco or Mexicantown.

This week’s Fun Food Friday we are going to an old school steak house that has been going strong for over 60 years… The Clawson Steak House in, of course, Clawson. Voted best steakhouse in metro Detroit by Hour Magazine in 2014 and 2015.  Often referred to as a “Roadhouse-Nightclub”, Clawson Steak House opened their doors in 1958.  The entire restaurant seems like it has never been changed.

This week we are featuring one of those places that we have driven by 100 times and wondered “what’s that place all about”? We know it is a pizza place . . . but is it good? Well we finally decided to meet some friends for lunch in Royal Oak and this is where went. We are talking about Bigalora Cucina.

Is there is a bar or restaurant that whenever you happen to be in the area, you feel it drawing you in? With us that is Second Best, the most misnamed bar in the City . . . because, to us, it is the First Best! We find ourselves coming here all the time and we love sharing it with all of our friends and their friends. There are times when we are the only ones there, and times when we can barely find a place to sit. In the summer, they roll up the garage doors and you can enjoy the open air.

Christmas is always the time when families get together and celebrate and reconnect. For some, it may be the only time they see each other all year.  We all have memories of the Holiday season.  The lights, music, decorations, gifts . . . . and especially the food! Now, more than ever, we all need the warm and comforting feeling from past holiday traditions.

Ooops they did it again! The Four Man Ladder group, John Vermiglio, Josef Giacomino, Will Lee and Michael Gray, the talented crew behind Grey Ghost and Second Best in Detroit’s Brush Park neighborhood, have recently opened their 3rd restaurant…Basan!

What we love most about venturing out in Downtown Detroit, and sharing our fun food and beverage finds, is researching and finding out the history behind the buildings or businesses in the buildings. This week’s feature has been mentioned before, back in October of 2019, as a great place to go for a good pour of bourbon or craft beer . . . but not for their food: The Grand Trunk Pub.

As you may know, we love going to unique bars and restaurants . . . especially if they have a cool history behind them. A while back, we featured The Shelby Detroit (downtown) which is a Speakeasy located in the basement of an old bank. Well we are back with another Speakeasy, except this one you don’t have to venture to Downtown Detroit to enjoy. Instead, just head to Downtown Plymouth to The Ebenezer, Plymouth’s first and only Speakeasy.

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday filled with Fun, Family and Food . . . most of all food! We all know that today is a famous shopping day, known as Black Friday. However, something that is often overlooked, Small Business Saturday, is happening tomorrow. There is so much happening in downtown Detroit in general, but the holidays are extra special. If you haven’t been to downtown Detroit recently, and/or its surrounding areas (Eastern Market, Corktown, Midtown etc.), you are really missing out!!! This is “not your grandparent’s Detroit”. There is so much going on, and so many things to see and do. Not just the people, or the stores or the restaurants, but the decorations, lights, beauty, history, and most of all THE ENERGY. We refer to it as BIG “D” ENERGY.

If you live in the Livonia, Plymouth or Northville area, you are familiar with this weeks Fun Food Friday location . . . but you may not be familiar 100% familiar with all they have to offer. I’m talking about Cantoro’s Italian Market. Cantoro’s itself is a wonderful place to shop. 

If you are not familiar with Brighton, the Downtown area (Grand River & Main St) has exploded with an awesome variety of eating and drinking establishments.  Living in Livonia, we don’t typically get out that way when we decide to go out. We decided that we were going to make a special trip to try out a restaurant that we just knew we would love…Bourbons!

When we are trying to decide what and where to feature each week, we try to mix it up so we aren’t constantly downtown or featuring the same style food week after week . . . and that is not an easy task. With that being said, we have featured this restaurant in the past since it is, BY FAR, our favorite restaurant. We have actually featured it a few times and usually this time of year since they always do a family style themed dinner for Halloween. If you haven’t guessed by now it’s Grey Ghost in Detroit’s Brush Park neighborhood.

The big game between Michigan and Michigan State is tomorrow and we wanted to share some of our favorite tailgating food for the big day.  These recipes are not only delicious but also easy to make.  Teresa’s Buffalo Chicken Dip is super creamy and delicious and can be served with anything. The Chili is really hearty and not too sweet or spicy.  The Caprese is so good and refreshing as well as easy to make and the Philly Steak Quesadillas are a nice twist on an old classic.

If you are like us, you love Italian food, especially old school Italian.  We all know the local places, which we love to go to, that do it right.  There’s Carraba’s in Dearborn Heights, Corsi’s and Mama Mia’s in Livonia and Redford and DeLuca’s in Westland.  Then there are famous Detroit eateries with historic mob backgrounds like Mario’s on 3rd or Café Roma (formerly Roma Café) .  In our travels, we found something for this week’s Fun Food Friday location and it is super cool.

Happy Friday! I guess it is time for this weeks Fun Food Friday! As you may know, every week we like to feature non chain or corporate owned places (even though we occasionally let one slip in). This week we are going to one of the local Livonia golf courses - 1 Under.

Cider and Doughnuts and Beer oh my!  It’s Friday and time for this week’s Fun Food Friday! It's that time of year and the smell of cider and doughnuts is in the air.  We know there are a lot of cider mills in the area, and everyone has their favorite.  If you are an Eastsider you probably go to Blake’s, Franklin Cider Mill is an old standby, and there is always Spicer’s in the Hartland/Fenton area and the Dexter Cider Mill out near Dexter/Pinckney. Here in Northville, we have Parmenter’s.

This week’s FFF was featured back in 2019 but so much has changed there, we felt the need to give them another shout out.  It is absolutely one of our favorite places for some delicious smoked meats, which you can tell are cooked with pride.  Lakeshore Smokehouse in Lakeport MI just north of Port Huron.

It’s Friday and that means it is time for this weeks Fun Food Friday. This week we are going for burgers. There are a number of places we could go to in our area, but this is one we only recently tried and can’t understand why it took us so long to get there. This was a burger spot we mentioned in our July post for the Burger Bash that happened Downtown…Rolling Stoves in Farmington.

It’s Friday and that means it is time for this weeks Fun Food Friday. We love small diners, especially ones you can tell are family owned and operated. Places that take pride in their food and their family heritage. This week we are going back to one of our favorite diners for breakfast: Murphy’s in Redford.