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 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.

Downtown Plymouth has become one of the hottest areas around for dining and nightlife and the Post Local Bistro is a popular location for good food and live entertainment.  Located at 844 Penniman, The Post, which was formerly The Rock Bar & Grill, was opened by Jim and Jennifer Dales in 2013 and have been going strong ever since.  The Dale’s were not new to the restaurant business, having owned a number of other Post Bar locations in Ferndale, Auburn Hills, Detroit and East Lansing until 2007.  While those locations were primarily bars first and restaurants second, they vowed to make this location a destination for all ages and they started with the name, Post Local Bistro.

In 2013 David Steinke (who also co- owns the Mercury Burger Bar on Michigan Ave) and Tim Springstead (who co-owns Nemos Bar also on Michigan Ave) had the thought of opening a new and exciting restaurant in Corktown.  The area was bouncing back and the building right across from Nemos, at the corner of 8^th St. and Michigan Ave, was available and turned out to be the perfect location for them to open up an Italian restaurant.  Ottava Via (pronounced O-Tava Via), which translates to Eighth Way or 8th Street was the perfect and most obvious name, and it sound cool.  The building, which was built in 1914, is the former home of Dime Saving Bank way back in the day and most recently a pawn shop before being transformed into what it is today.