Goodbye to 2017 and this Blog. Hello to 2018 and less Negativity.

A view from the Sleeping Bear Dunes

When I started this blog a little more than four years ago, I was living in Virginia and yearning to return home. A year later, I was happy to be back in Michigan, and I have spent the last three years exploring more of our state than I ever had before. There is so much natural beauty to behold here and many good people to meet. With Michigan's distilleries, breweries, and restaurants, my taste buds were never bored, and my stomach was rarely empty. Our cities and towns are filled with architectural wonders and world-class museums. Our history includes Native Americans, French fur traders, the Underground Railroad, British forts, and the Arsenal of Democracy. There is much to be proud of and to love about our Great Lakes State.

However, there is a dark side to our society, both in Michigan and throughout our nation. And that dark side breeds on the internet in comments sections and social media. Twitter has become unreadable to me. It's just a place for people to shout over each other. The cacophony has made us both angry and deaf. For someone who likes to read thoughtful and informative prose, seeing arguments reduced to ignorant memes and name calling is disheartening. Seeing violent acts committed as a result of Twitter fights and hateful propaganda is heartbreaking.

In this climate, writing positive posts has become too difficult for me. I've also made some other changes in my life that frankly leave me with less time to write. I'd rather spend my free time with my wife, Allison, and two daughters than trying to come up with new things to write. I will continue to travel throughout our great state, and I'll talk to people more. This is my last blog post, but my blog will be up for some time for anyone who wants to read old posts. I'm shutting down my Twitter and Facebook pages in a few days. A conversation can tell me a lot more about a person's character than 280 characters ever will.

With that said, here's to a wonderful 2018 and beyond. Thank you to the very few loyal readers I've had for your comments and support. Thanks to the few guest writers I've had. You added different voices to this blog that I appreciated. And most of all, thanks to Allison for being my editor and biggest supporter.

I'll leave whatever readers I have left with some of my favorite moments and things from Michigan in 2017 that I didn't get around to writing about:

The Guardian Building Tour

I finally went on Pure Detroit's Guardian Building Tour a few weeks ago. I highly recommend this tour. Our guide was a history student at Wayne State, and he gave a great tour that included the history of the building and the city, and background about the architect and the materials used to construct the building. It's a gorgeous building with great views of the city. One last thing: Don't forget to tip your tour guide.

A view of a freighter from the Guardian Building

Noel Night

Unfortunately, this event ended when a couple of idiots with guns ruined the fun for everyone. It was sad seeing the ignorant comments from people saying, "This is why I never go to Detroit," when people are shot in the suburban shopping malls, schools, churches, and homes throughout this country every day. [Sadly, as I type this, the national news is reporting a shooting in a Denver suburb with several wounded and at least one deputy dead.]

The Detroit Public Library lit up for the holidays

Anyway, until the shooting happened, this event was everything I love about Detroit. The Midtown museums were open to the public, and people of diverse backgrounds happily wandered the streets. The highlight was seeing the Mosaic Youth Theatre perform at the Charles Wright Museum. The kids in this theater group were incredibly entertaining. My five-year-old daughter was on the edge of her seat, smiling and clapping at everything these young performers did. I hope to see them again soon.

Detroit Urban Craft Fair

Before Noel Night, my family and I visited the Detroit Urban Craft Fair at the Masonic Temple. I am not a craft person, but there was a lot of really cool art depicting Detroit. I didn't buy anything, but Allison did. It was heartening to be in a crowded space full of artistic people who are proud of Detroit.

Kerrytown Bookfest

I visited Ann Arbor's Kerrytown Bookfest for the first time this year. It is a great event for readers of all ages. Several Michigan authors were present to sign books and give readings. There were tons of kids' books features, which our daughters loved. There were a couple of letterpress companies giving demonstrations, and one even allowed our daughters to use the small press. We also got to make paper.

My daughters making paper

Kuzzo's Chicken and Waffles

Detroit's Kuzzo's Chicken and Waffles is damn good. I of course had to try chicken and waffles, and they were outstanding. I've only been once, but I definitely will return, because I love southern comfort food, and Kuzzo's serves some of the best.

Breweries

I was able to try a few new breweries this year, and all were satisfying.

I visited Grand River Brewery in Jackson with Allison after running a nearby half marathon. Disclosure: The owner of this brewery is a cousin of mine, but I wouldn't let that influence my opinion (if I didn't like it, I wouldn't write about it). The brewery has a pretty big menu, but I could smell meat on the smoker when we walked up to the restaurant. I had to try the beef brisket, and it did not disappoint. I also had an excellent flight of beer.

A beer flight at Grand River Brewery

I also enjoyed my visits to Royal Oak's ROAK Brewing, Black Lotus in Clawson, and Fillmore 13 in Pontiac (I also love seeing some of the revitalization efforts in Pontiac. It has so many beautiful buildings.). They all poured good beer and served tasty food.

Michigan Writing

I've compiled a few Michigan reading lists over the years. Since last summer's list, I've read a few more books by Michigan writers that I found noteworthy. The top of the list is The Undertaking: Life Studies from the Dismal Trade, by Thomas Lynch. Lynch's book explores questions of life and death, but often with an irreverence and humor that make these questions more palatable.

I finally read The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides after seeing the movie a few times. The movie is pretty true to the book, but I enjoyed the book more. It gives more of a feel of what living in Grosse Pointe and Metro Detroit was like back in the 1970s.

I've heard a lot of good things about Bonnie Jo Campbell, so I read her novel Once Upon a River. The novel is set in western Michigan and follows a young woman's journey to find herself after experiencing several family tragedies and traumas. It's an intense book, and some of the traumatic parts were hard to read, but only due to the high quality of Campbell's writing.

Last, but not least, is Adam Schuitema's The Things We Do That Make No Sense. This Michigan writer's collection of short stories presents quick, but real, snapshots of life that I found relatable and engaging.

Leland

Leland is one of those towns that I always wanted to visit. We made a quick detour there on the way home from Traverse City this past summer. Unfortunately, it was a rainy and cool day, so we didn't explore as much as we would have liked, but we did enjoy walking around the old fishing village and visiting a couple bookshops. I would like to visit again, but with more cooperative weather.

Leland

The Thumb

Unlike me, Allison is an actual, professional writer. She had an assignment to write about things to do and see in the Thumb. I tagged along and was thinking about writing something, but it wouldn't have compared to her article, which you can read here. Except for the cold and rainy weather, we had a lot of fun.

Sleeping Bear Dunes

Confession: Despite growing up in Michigan, I visited the dunes for the first time ever over Memorial Day weekend. Having run the Bayshore Marathon two days before, my legs were aching from 26.2 miles of pounding on asphalt.

The dunes deceived me because every time I reached the "top," I realized there was another top in the distance. The first "top" gives a majestic view inland of Glen Lake, but I wanted to see Lake Michigan, so I punished my aching legs and continued on, trying to keep up with my daughters sprinting up the sand.

I don't know how many peaks I reached only to see another one taunting me. It must have been two or three, but each view was worth the climb. My sore legs slowed me down, but they forced me to spend more time enjoying the views and the cool spring air blowing in from Lake Michigan.

When we finally reached the bluff that gave us a view of Lake Michigan, I was overcome by dunes' and lake's imposing grandeur. I felt humbled and grateful to live in a state with so many natural wonders, and I still do.

Thank you again for reading. Godspeed!

Lake Michigan from the Sleeping Bear Dunes

A Quick Visit to Grand Rapids

Downtown Market

Despite being born and raised in the Detroit area, I somehow never visited Grand Rapids before. I didn't have anything against Grand Rapids. Instead, I found it too easy to keep visiting the places in Michigan that I already knew.

I have been wanting to visit for some time, and my work luckily took me to Grand Rapids on Monday. Since I had a meeting at 1 p.m. downtown, I left my home early enough so I could have two meals and see as much of the city as possible during my visit.

Argos Book Shop

Besides tasting a new city's food and beer, I always try to visit its independent bookstores, so my first stop was Argos Book Shop in the Eastown neighborhood. Argos specializes in used books, and it has a comic book section that looked impressive to this non-collector. The store has two rooms full of used books covering many genres. I could have spent more than an hour searching the shelves, but I had to eat lunch before my meeting.

The bar at the Green Well

For lunch, I chose The Green Well Gastropub in the East Hills neighborhood. The neighborhood was quiet because it was 11 on Monday morning, but I'm guessing it is bustling later in the day since it features several shops and restaurants, and one of Grand Rapids' many breweries, Brewery Vivant.

A Relaxing Weekend in Traverse City

A view of Grand Traverse Bay from the Shores

My family and I spent Memorial Day weekend in Traverse City because I had the crazy idea to run the Bayshore Marathon. We rented a great condo at the Shores condominiums in Acme, on the east side of East Grand Traverse Bay. The Shores's beach has a beautiful view of the bay and Old Mission Peninsula.

We stayed in on Friday night, since I had to wake up early for the marathon. On Saturday afternoon, after a few hours of post-marathon recovery, we drove up the eastern shore of the Old Mission Peninsula, so I could show my wife and kids the views I saw while running.

Driving the Old Mission Peninsula

The drive was so relaxing that we ended up driving to the northern tip of the peninsula and visited the Mission Point Lighthouse and beach. The tip of the Old Mission Peninsula is on the 45th parallel, meaning we were standing halfway between the equator and the North Pole. We would have explored the lighthouse and beach more, but there were a lot of bugs out, and my four-year-old daughter was not happy that bugs kept landing on her. I also was exhausted and wanted to eat, so we just took a few photos of the lighthouse and the beach. 

Mission Point Lighthouse

We drove back down the western shore of the peninsula toward downtown Traverse City. We went to Apache Trout Grill for dinner because several people recommended it. There was supposed to be an hour wait, but fortune intervened and a table in the bar area opened up after only about 5 minutes.

My Favorite New-to-Me Places to Eat and Drink in 2016

As 2016 comes to a close, it's time to reflect on the most important things in life, food and drink. Although I have plenty of favorite restaurants that I visit on a regular basis, I do like to try new places, especially when traveling around Michigan. Here are a few of my favorite restaurants and bars that I experienced for the first time in 2016.

Breweries

Tenacity Brewing

Tenacity Brewing

I visited Tenacity Brewing in Flint one afternoon this fall. It had just opened for the night, so I was one of only a few customers. The brewery is in an old firehouse along the Flint River, and it has a great atmosphere with a few different rooms and outdoor seating to sit back and drink. I tried a flight of beers and was impressed. The Farmer's Daughter IPA was very good, and their Oktoberfest was smooth. The highlight was their dark wheat, and I purchased a growler of it to go.

An empty flight

Bell's Eccentric Cafe

Bell's Brewery is the godfather of Michigan craft brewing. Larry Bell and his team started brewing in Kalamazoo more than thirty years ago, and Michigan's craft brewing revolution was born. Even though most of their brewing occurs in nearby Comstock, Bell's still brews on the original site in Kalamazoo, and they serve beer and food next door at the Eccentric Cafe.

Bell's Eccentric Cafe

Despite being a Bell's fan for years, I had never been to either of their breweries. The Eccentric Cafe lived up to my expectations. I had an excellent burger as well as a couple of delicious beers. After finishing my meal, I stopped at the Bell's General Store, which sells t-shirts, homebrewing equipment, beer glasses, beer (of course), and more. I picked up one six pack of the Oracle Double IPA and a mixed six pack of Bell's beers.

A Taste of Marquette

Downtown Marquette

I made my first visit to Marquette at the end of August and was impressed by this awesome city. Although it sits on the shores of Lake Superior and is surrounded by wilderness and amazing outdoor activities, Marquette offers great food, drink, and cultural attractions. This is not surprising since Marquette is the Upper Peninsula's largest city, with 21,000 residents, and it is the home of Northern Michigan University, the U.P.'s largest university.

One of the sculptures at NMU's sculpture walk

With so much to do, Marquette feels larger than it is. The areas near NMU and the downtown, with their residential streets, bars, restaurants, and shopping, reminded me of a hilly Ann Arbor. My family and I rented a small house on a residential street near NMU's campus. We could walk to the beach, downtown, the restaurants and bars on Third Street, and campus.

A Weekend Getaway in South Haven

Lake Michigan and the South Haven Lighthouse

This past weekend, my wife, Allison, and I visited South Haven for a quick vacation. South Haven is on the shores of Lake Michigan, about an hour drive from Grand Rapids, two hours from Chicago, and three hours from Detroit. We arrived around 4 p.m. on Friday and left around 1 p.m. on Sunday, just enough time to get a taste of South Haven and to leave us wanting more.

Our Accommodations

We stayed in the beautiful Yelton Manor Bread and Breakfast on North Shore Drive. South Haven is carved into two sections by the Black River, and Yelton Manor is on the north side of town, across the river from the downtown. It is far enough away from the crowds downtown and the larger beaches near the mouth of the river to give guests a relaxing setting to unwind.

The Manor

Even though it is on a quiet street removed from the downtown, Yelton Manor is close enough to walk to almost everything South Haven offers. Downtown is about a ten to fifteen minute walk away, and the South Beach lighthouse near downtown is about a twenty minute walk total. Best of all, a public beach access is across the street from Yelton Manor.

An Afternoon in Lake Orion

Downtown Lake Orion

Michigan has so many great towns to visit for a weekend, a day trip, or even an afternoon. In Metro Detroit, there are a lot of walkable downtowns with restaurants and shopping, but not many of them are within a short walk to a lake.

A dragon guarding the art center

Lake Orion in northeast Oakland County feels like a small resort town that you might find Up North, but it is only 45 minutes north of Detroit. The town actually served as a vacation destination for people from Detroit and beyond in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and it even had an amusement park. The lake and a public park (a park pass is required during the summer) with a swimming beach are only a few blocks from the downtown.

Public art near Paint Creek

My family and I visited Lake Orion on a Saturday afternoon and parked in a free public lot between Broadway and Anderson streets. There is also ample and free street parking throughout the downtown, but the street spots have a two-hour limit, unlike the 23-hour limit of the public lot.

What's Been on My Plate During the First Half of 2016

Osso Buco from Roadside B&G

We're almost at the halfway mark of 2016, and I've had the pleasure of eating at several excellent Michigan restaurants this year. Here are some of my favorites from this year.

Roadside B&G

I have eaten at Roadside B&G in Bloomfield Township several times, and I always leave satisfied. Their balsamic glazed brussels sprouts with dried cranberries is a great appetizer. As for main courses, my favorites are the roasted vegetarian enchilada (I get it with short rib added) and the baby back ribs. On my most recent trip, I tried an osso buco with polenta special that was perfection. The restaurant also makes a very good mac & cheese (and the kids menu version, with its large portion, might be the best bargain on the menu).

Chartreuse

Chartreuse makes a lot of "best of" lists for Detroit, and the Detroit Free Press named it the restaurant of the year for 2016. I have only visited Chartreuse once, but one visit convinced me that it deserves the accolades it receives. The restaurant is next door to the Detroit Institute of Arts, so my wife, Allison, and I decided to try Chartreuse after attending the Freep Film Festival at the DIA.

It was a snowy April day, and Chartreuse's bright chartreuse-colored interior felt warm and inviting. We had a short wait for a table, so we ordered a couple of drinks at the bar. I tried the delicious "gon now git," a combination of rye, averna, and lemon. Allison had the Last Word (Then again, she always does), a tasty mixture of gin, chartreuse green, lime, and maraschino. For dinner, I tried the spare ribs, which were phenomenal. Allison had the vegetable bulgogi--a strange mix that included pineapple, poached egg, green curry, and excellent kimchi, but all the flavors worked well together.

Fork n' Pint

Asian beef tacos from Fork n' Pint

I reviewed Fork n' Pint after my first time eating there. I have been back to this Waterford restaurant a few more times because it has quickly become one of my favorite restaurants in Metro Detroit. I love their fries. Their pizzas and burgers are very good. The walleye n' chips (served with potato chips, not fries) are wonderful, and so are their vegetarian options, like the coconut curry tofu. And they have fantastic tacos, as I recently discovered when I tried their Asian beef tacos. With its great menu, large drink menu, and relaxing atmosphere overlooking Cass Lake, I am always happy to visit Fork n' Pint.

An Afternoon in Plymouth

Downtown Plymouth

It's easy to stick to the familiar, to not venture outside the vicinity of our hometowns, to eat at the same restaurants, to shop at the same stores. But Michigan is full of smaller towns and cities that are perfect for a day trip or even a quick stop for a bite to eat and stroll around town.

Despite growing up in Metro Detroit and spending my college years in Ann Arbor, I had never been to Downtown Plymouth until this past weekend. It's about half an hour from my home, so my family and I decided to make a short visit to walk around the downtown and have dinner.

The downtown is surrounded by single-family homes on quiet-looking residential streets. Unfortunately, the weather was cold for April (and hopefully it was the last cold weekend of this year), so we did not walk around the downtown as much as we would have liked.

Fork n' Pint: Dining on the Shores of Cass Lake

Fork n' Pint

Fork n' Pint in Waterford opened in December 2015 and offers a large menu of comfort food, including burgers, barbecue, fish and chips, poutine fries, and pizzas. Located on Cass Elizabeth Road, the restaurant overlooks Cass Lake's Coles Bay.

The interior of the restaurant has ample seating, and its wooden tables and large fireplace give it the cozy feel of a ski lodge. Its large patio overlooking the lake will be a great spot to unwind with good food and drink on a warm summer's night.

Outside seating with a view of Cass Lake

With only one visit under my belt, I cannot speak for the entire menu, but the food definitely satisfied. My family and I started with the poutine fries as an appetizer. They were good, but I have had better poutine, and I actually found the plain fries that came with my burger to be tastier.

It might be obvious from its name, but Fork n' Pint has a large selection of draft and bottled craft beer, including many Michigan brews. They also have a good wine selection, as well as cocktails and spirits, including several from Michigan distilleries.

The delicious grilled caesar and cheese soup

For our main courses, I ordered a ridiculously heavy, but delicious, Muenster Monster burger. This 10-ounce Angus beef burger is topped with grilled house sausage, muenster cheese, haystack onions, coleslaw, and Fork n' Pint's tangy barbecue sauce, and it comes with a side of fries. I had been craving a burger for a few days, and the Muenster Monster delivered.

My wife Allison ordered the broccoli and beer cheese soup and a grilled caesar salad. The soup is made with Newcastle Nut Brown Ale and Swiss and roma cheeses. The soup was superb; the beer flavor was subtle and did not overpower the cheeses. As for the salad, Allison and I both love grilled caesar salads and found this one to be quite tasty. Our kids also enjoyed a burger and pizza from the kids menu.

The wooden interior gives the restaurant a cozy atmosphere

With its satisfying food and relaxing atmosphere, Fork n' Pint was a good experience. We definitely will be visiting again and look forward to warm summer nights dining and watching the boaters on Cass Lake.

Fork n' Pint. 4000 Cass Elizabeth Road, Waterford, MI 48328. 248-791-3256. www.forknpint.com

Something Good is Brewing at Cap 'N' Cork

Beer kits from Cap 'N' Cork

Michiganders know good beer and have many award-winning Michigan breweries to choose from when they want a satisfying brew. Instead of searching for the perfect beer, some craft brew enthusiasts choose to make their own at home, and Cap 'N' Cork Homebrew Supply in Macomb Township provides everything the novice and the advanced homebrewer needs.

I had the opportunity to visit Cap 'N' Cork for its Basic Brewing Class, presented by Cap 'N' Cork's owner, Andy Moore, on a Saturday afternoon in January (Cap 'N' Cork also holds wine and mead making classes). Moore began working at Cap 'N' Cork thirteen years ago and purchased the business three years ago, and he has experience brewing with Black Lotus Brewing in Clawson and Sherwood Brewing Company in Shelby Township.

Cap 'N' Cork carries a wide variety of grains

Moore says now is the best time to begin homebrewing because high-quality ingredients and equipment are readily available. Cap 'N' Cork carries Michigan-made malt and hops (unfortunately, there are no Michigan-made yeasts for brewing), as well as pre-packaged beer kits with recipes that Moore and his staff created (the store also sells kits for making wine and cheese). The kits contain all of the ingredients and instructions needed for a novice brewer to make his or her first batch of beer. Moore's recipes include "clones" of several famous brands that allow customers to re-create their favorite craft beers at home.  For customers who do not live near the store, Cap 'N' Cork has an online store.

A Few of My Favorite Foods From 2015

A pizza from Mani Osteria in Ann Arbor

I did not write as much as I wanted to in 2015, probably because I was too busy eating my way around the state, especially Metro Detroit. Here are a few of my favorite restaurants and foods that I experienced for the first time in 2015.

Frita Batidos

Ann Arbor's Frita Batidos serves Cuban street food, and is a new favorite of mine in Ann Arbor. Their fritas are creative variations of the traditional burger while the batidos are tropical-flavored milkshakes. For more, read my review from January 2015. I've been back a few times since, and it is still excellent.

Kitchen Hanzo and Sharaku

Tempura from Kitchen Hanzo

One of my favorite finds this year is a couple of Japanese restaurants in an unassuming strip mall in West Bloomfield. Kitchen Hanzo and Sharaku have the same owners but deliver different food and experiences. During my first visit to Kitchen Hanzo, our waiter described the food as traditional Japanese pub food, but do not expect burgers and fries. Instead, the long menu lists a lot of smaller dishes that can be shared, as well giant hot pots filled with seafood. Everything is delicious, and the hot pots are especially appealing on a cold winter day.

Seafood hot pot

Sharaku is Hanzo's more upscale sibling. They have a menu with traditional Japanese main courses, but I only tried several rounds of sushi the one time I visited. The sushi is outstanding, and I definitely want to visit again.

Sushi from Sharaku

Saffron Indian Cuisine

Saffron Indian Cuisine in Farmington Hills is right around the corner from my work, and I often pick it up on the way home on Friday evening. I have not had a dish I did not like. Some of my favorites are the Vindaloo, Rogan Josh, Jalfrazie, and Palak Panner.

A Winter Escape: 24 Hours in Detroit

This is Detroit

When asked where to escape for an overnight stay or a weekend, many Metro Detroiters probably would mention ski trips to Northern Michigan, a cottage on a lake, or even a weekend in Chicago or Toronto. When faced with the need to get away for a night, my wife, Allison, and I chose to stay closer to home and spend a weekend in Detroit. Detroit is ever-changing, and though we try to visit the city as often as possible, we still cannot find the time to do everything we want to in this burgeoning town.

We only could get away for one night in December, but we wanted to make the most of our time in the city. First, we wanted to give a little bit back to the city, so we arrived early on a Saturday morning to volunteer with the Cass Community Social Services, through a volunteer event organized by the University of Michigan Club of Greater Detroit.

Cass Community Social Services provides food, housing, and health services as well as job programs to Detroiters. Our job involved building door mats out of recycled tires. The mat program employs formerly homeless Detroit residents, and also uses the services of volunteers. Along with the mats, they sell other products including Detroit Treads sandals made from discarded tires and coasters. After a morning making mats for the program, we visited the organization's store and walked out with two door mats, and two pairs of sandals.

Tour de Traverse City

Traverse City at night

Until this week, I had never been to Traverse City before. When I was growing up, my family always vacationed in the U.P. during the summer. Luckily, I had an opportunity to visit Traverse City for one night, and my wife was able to join me. Unfortunately, our visit was for less than 24 hours, and, after factoring in sleep, we only had seven or eight hours to explore.

With such a short schedule, we limited our exploration to an area within walking distance of our downtown hotel and limited our activities to walking, eating, and drinking. Plus, after a rain-soaked drive from Metro Detroit, neither one of us wanted to spend more time in the car. Midway through the night, I dubbed our series of quick stops the "Tour de Traverse City."

First Stage: Clinch Park and Grand Traverse Bay

We stayed at the Park Place Hotel, which is in the heart of Traverse City. We arrived around 4 p.m. and were fortunate that the monsoon that had plagued the last hour of our drive stopped when we reached the hotel. Knowing that the rain would return, we moved quickly and walked toward the shore of the Grand Traverse Bay.

Boats on the Boardman River

As we walked toward the bay, we crossed the Boardman River, a small tree-lined river whose shorelines were filled with docked boats. One tree juts out so far into the river that it must take some serious maneuvering to get around and under the tree without dinging one of the docked boats or banging your head on a branch. A walking path runs along the bank of the river, but we continued on to the bay.

After crossing the river, we crossed the Grandview Parkway, whose name is fitting. The skies were still overcast, but the view of Grand Traverse Bay was stunning. Though there are houses dotting the shores of the bay, the hilly shorelines surrounding the bay are covered with trees, making the bay seem pleasantly undeveloped. 

Grand Traverse Bay

We walked along the trail in Clinch Park and watched a few people swimming from the beach. Though the trail runs for several miles, we did not walk far since we had skipped lunch and were excited to try a few restaurants that friends and family had recommended.

Pizza and Ice Cream in Berkley

Downtown Berkley, Michigan

With the trendy downtowns of nearby Birmingham, Ferndale, and Royal Oak dotting Oakland County's Woodward Corridor, it might be easy for visitors to miss out on a small city of only 2.62 square miles like Berkley. Though smaller than these other cities, Berkley has a lot to offer.

The city is full of walkable and family-friendly neighborhoods. Berkley's downtown has several interesting shops, but I always visit for the food. I have never left Berkley disappointed, or hungry (Seriously, this little city has Vinsetta Garage, Republica, and Mr. Kabob within its borders!).

On my most recent visit, I tried Amici's Pizza for the first time. Though I am one of the biggest advocates for Detroit-style pizza, sometimes I need a good traditional round pizza. Amici's feels like three distinct restaurants in one location. Upon first entering from 12 Mile Road, I found myself in Amici's Kitchen, where diners can pick up a pizza to go or sit at a couple of small tables. The Kitchen feels like an old-school pizza parlor where you can watch master pizza makers work behind the counter.

Next door through a small door is Amici's Living Room. The Living Room has a bar and several tables, and it feels more like a traditional sit-down restaurant. At the rear of the Living Room is the Patio, a beautiful outdoor seating area where my family and I decided to eat, since it was a perfect summer night.

Before I get to the pizza, I need to mention the breadsticks. Amici's breadsticks are thick, almost like pizza crust, and they are lightly covered with Amici's pesto sauce and are served with a side of tomato sauce. Not only are they delicious, but they also made it easier to watch other tables get their pizzas while we waited for our two pizzas to bake. 

When our pizzas arrived at our table, it was clear we had made the right choice to dine at Amici's that night. The Portabella Mushroom Pizza has a garlic spread instead of traditional tomato sauce, and it is topped with fontina cheese, portabella mushrooms, roasted garlic cloves, and bacon. My youngest daughter normally prefers pizza with tomato sauce, but she devoured the Portabella Mushroom Pizza.

Amici's Roasted Eggplant Pizza

Our second pizza was the Roasted Eggplant Pizza, which is topped with mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce, sun-dried tomatoes, and roasted eggplant. Everything tasted fresh, and though the portabella pizza was delicious, the tomato sauce gave the eggplant pizza a slight edge for me. The only disappointment of the night was that my wife and I forgot to take four slices that were left over. I am still regretting that mistake. 

Clark's Ice Cream

After dinner, we crossed the street to Clark's Ice Cream & Yogurt. Any good downtown area needs an ice cream shop, especially on a summer night. The real delight of Clark's is the grassy area with picnic tables, where you can watch the traffic on 12 Mile while eating really good ice cream on a beautiful Michigan summer night.

With a stomach full of breadsticks, pizza, and ice cream, I once again left Berkley without any disappointment.

Trust me. Visit Berkley, You'll be glad you did.

Goodbye to Hiller's

The Sanders ice cream stand at Hiller's

As I walked around the Hiller's Market in Commerce Township, something felt off. The staff and customers seemed a little quieter and somewhat subdued. As I approached the checkout, I noticed that my cashier looked upset.

When I offered him my Hiller's card, he stated that the store's rewards program was discontinued. When I asked why, he said that Kroger bought Hiller's earlier that day and was closing his store. Selfishly, my first thought was "No! How can I lose my favorite supermarket?!?!"

Then I realized why my cashier was so upset. He was losing his job while I selfishly was upset about losing my favorite supermarket. I said a few words of encouragement to him, paid for my groceries, and went on my way.

If you've never been to a Hiller's, you have been missing out. I have been to three of their locations and have always found their staff to be helpful and friendly. I also appreciated their efforts to feature Michigan-made products in their stores.

In the short time my family has been back in Michigan, Hiller's has been an important part of our lives. Soon after moving into our new home, my wife came home from Hiller's one night and gushed about how friendly everyone in the store was. Knowing that it was difficult to leave her family in Virginia, I was happy to hear that strangers were making her feel at home.

Just last month, my oldest daughter had to have her bottom two front teeth pulled to make room for her permanent teeth. They were her first baby teeth to go, and her dentist ordered us to go to the Sanders ice cream shop inside Hiller's to help with the swelling. As we sat there eating ice cream for lunch, I was looking forward to future stops with my daughters to get ice cream, after dentist trips, sporting events, or just to spend time with them. I looked forward to reminiscing with my oldest about her first trip to the Sander's ice cream shop.

I did not grow up going to Hiller's, but I was hoping my daughters would. I thank Hiller's employees for always making my family feel at home, and I wish them the best.

Happy Paczki Day!

Window display at Dutch Girl Donuts in Detroit

When I was living in the D.C. area last year, I had to go out of my way to find paczki for Paczki Day (aka Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras). Now that I'm back home in Metro Detroit, it's a lot easier to find paczki, but I wanted to try some of the best. It had been more than a decade since I had Michigan paczki, so I had to read paczki reviews online to decide where to go. I found five or six places that seemed to make every best paczki list, and I settled on two: 1) New Palace Bakery in Hamtramck, and 2) Dutch Girl Donuts in Detroit.

To avoid the crowds, I went to each bakery the day before Paczki Day. First, I stopped at Dutch Girl Donuts. I have driven by this bakery many times and noticed that it always seemed to have a good crowd, even before dawn. The first thing I noticed upon entering was the intoxicating smell of donuts. The sweet aroma was overpowering, as if the building were made out of donuts.

Cuban Street Food in Ann Arbor

The home of Cuban-inspired deliciousness

When I visit Ann Arbor, I always struggle when deciding where to eat. The city has so many excellent restaurants. I can go with the safe choice of one of my old favorites from my college days, or I can take the risk of trying something new. This past week, I ventured into Frita Batidos for the first time with some friends and my family.

The restaurant serves "Cuban Inspired Street Food," including its mainstays, fritas (Cuban-style burgers) and batidos (Cuban milkshakes). Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis at several long picnic tables or barstools at counters along the wall. Although the restaurant may have a minimalist interior, diners should not fret, because Frita Batidos saves the extravagant details for the food.

I ordered a beef frita with muenster cheese, avocado spread, and sweet chili mayo. My wife ordered the fish frita with avocado spread and cilantro-lime salsa, and we got a mini black bean frita and a grilled cheese frita for our girls and the twice-fried plantains for an appetizer (The restaurant also serves chorizo and chicken fritas). We had to try to the other half of the restaurant's name, so I ordered a lime batido, and my wife ordered the coconut cream batido.

The beef frita

Despite being covered in fries, the fritas were not as greasy as I thought they would be. The burger meat was tender and tasty, and the fries were delicious. The burger was not huge either, so I would recommend a double burger to anyone who is really hungry. My wife described the fish frita as a perfectly browned patty of tasty flavors. The black bean frita was good but a little too spicy for my daughters.

The batidos were amazing. The first sip of my lime shake shook my taste buds. The shake was very sour for a milkshake, but not too sour to be unpleasant. My wife's coconut batido was full of chunks of coconut. The smooth taste of coconut soothed the taste buds, instead of assaulting them like the lime batido. 

The lime batido

In the end, I was happy we ventured outside of our favorite restaurants when choosing Frita Batidos for lunch. Deciding where to eat will be more difficult on our next visit to Ann Arbor because we now have another "old" favorite on our restaurant list.

Frita Batidos is located at 117 W. Washington Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48104. Telephone: (734) 761-2882. Website: www.fritabatidos.com.

Filling Up at the Michigan Beer Growler Company

A growler to keep you warm in the winter.

I love craft beer, but I have a confession to make: I had never bought a growler of beer until my recent visit to the Michigan Beer Growler Company ("MBGCo"). MBGCo opened this past fall on the corner of 13 Mile and Southfield Road in Beverly Hills, bringing Oakland County one of its first growler filling stations.

Growlers are 64 oz. jugs that breweries fill directly from their tap, seal, and then sell to costumers to take home. Until recent changes in Michigan law, beer drinkers who wanted to purchase a growler (or the smaller 32 oz. howler) of their favorite beer could only do so at the brewery that produces the beer.

A great selection of craft beers awaits at MBGCo

MBGCo has taken advantage of more liberal growler laws by providing twenty-six craft beers (most of which are Michigan brews), two hard ciders, and two pops on tap. Its customers can take brews home in growlers or howlers or drink pints or flights of multiple 4 oz. beers on site.