Nonna’s Veal Maria
Nonna’s Italian Kitchen offers authentic Italian food in a cozy, family-oriented setting. My Italian grandma liked it, so you know it’s legit.
50528 Schoenherr Rd.
Shelby Twp., MI 48315
Ok, so I’ve worked in Dearborn for about two months now, but this was the first time I tried a new place there. Why? Because driving around there is, for me, a maddening experience. Besides being totally unfamiliar with the area and not being a fan of driving in new areas I know nothing about, there is currently construction everywhere. A few weeks before this, I actually tried to pick up carryout from a place a few miles from my work that looked like it would be very straightforward and easy to get to, and it was a complete debacle. When I looked up driving directions online, it didn’t take into account the fact that pretty much the whole route was embattled by hardcore construction and that the amount of time needed to get there was doubled. I only have a half-hour lunch, so I immediately knew upon putting the address into my phone GPS (which does note current traffic times) that I was screwed. Then, once I got to the area where the place was supposed to be I couldn’t even find it, and after calling them and attempting to get more detailed directions, I was feeling so flustered and already due to be late back to work that I just turned around and went back with no lunch (which then consisted of peanuts from a vending machine and some castoffs from the lunch of a kind coworker). I felt like an asshole for abandoning my carryout and a failure for not being able to find this place (which, one of my coworkers conceded, is a pretty tricky place to find). I vowed to never drive around Dearborn again.
But then I forgot my lunch again (which was what had prompted me to head out for carryout that first day), and I was resolved to make it at least to the corner, for Pete’s sake. So I put in my order of a chicken shawarma sandwich and crushed lentil soup with Café Med, a restaurant very close to my place of employment – and I’m happy to report that this time I made it! Never mind the fact that this place is super-close to my work – the route was still weird enough, because Dearborn streets are cray-cray. But the food was delicious, so it was worth it. And I was proud of my little baby step.
3337 Greenfield Rd.
Dearborn, MI 48120
I’m kind of obsessed with mediterranean food right now. If it wasn’t for this blog and the need to diversify and visit new places, I probably would’ve been back to La Saj several times since visiting it in August, for instance. I love garlic sauce and hummus and lemon chicken, which is the dish that I ordered here at Cedar Grille for a late-birthday lunch after the shopping trip in Northville (one bummer about shopping in Northville on Mondays – all of the restaurants I was interested in visiting were closed for lunch – or all day – on Mondays). It was excellent!
5377 Crooks Rd.
Troy, MI 48098
A display of organic skincare products sold at Healthy Jones.
Health store focusing on natural, organic products (a great interest of mine).
114 W. Main St.
Northville, MI 48167
This is a super-cute shop featuring the work of Michigan artists – hand-crafted greeting cards, candles, t-shirts, beautiful pottery ware, Detroit-themed artwork, and more. I took pictures, but then the owner told me pictures aren’t allowed; the artists are worried about people taking them with the intent of copying their work. So I can show you a picture of the lovely four-pack of Michigan-themed notecards that I got, instead.
120 E. Main St.
Northville, MI
Spent my 30th birthday as a lovely shopping day with my mother in downtown Northville. What an adorable town! This was my first time there, and I loved it. First stop was The Next Chapter Bookstore. I’d been wanting to go there ever since I heard about it years ago, in some news mention that Scream 4 was filming there. I love independent bookstores, and we don’t have enough in the area.
The shop was much smaller than I expected. It’s definitely not a full-blown bookstore; rather, it seems to focus on hand-picking titles. Every book is prominently displayed, and there are only a few copies of each out at one time. At first I was disappointed by the lack of selection, but then I came to appreciate the intention: to make the visitor ponder each of the titles that have been carefully chosen.
There’s a cute café that serves coffee and food inside the store, and some gift items, as well.
Side note: Apparently Northville is located on the border of both Oakland and Wayne counties and so has parts located in both. I tried researching online to figure out if more of it was in one county than the other but couldn’t get a clear answer. For the purpose of counting places visited per county for this blog, I’m counting it toward Oakland County. But I’m categorizing Northville posts in both the Oakland County and Wayne County categories.
141 East Main St.
Northville, MI 48167
Saw Chris D’Elia (that man is crazy!) here with my good friend Amy. The venue was well-suited for a comedy show.
318 W. Fourth St.
Royal Oak, MI 48067
What a delightful little place! Not only is it a bakery, it’s a coffee-house, too, and it offers, as it puts it on its website, “coffee-based l
I actually didn’t get anything from myself here, but I got a friend a chocolate-mousse torte that she said was incredibly rich and amazing. I really want to come back here to try it myself.
85 Kercheval
Grosse Pointe Farms, MI 48236
Yikes! I’ve gotten so far behind on adding posts to this blog. Between planning for my 30th birthday party and then celebrating it, I’ve stayed really busy the last couple of weeks. So here comes an onslaught of posts!
The Jagged Fork is a really cute little restaurant in Grosse Pointe Farms offering breakfast and lunch (mostly breakfast). There’s a wide variety of French toasts, pancakes, omelets, sweet and savory crepes, and more. Check it out on a lazy Sunday morning.
18480 Mack Ave.
Grosse Pointe Farms, MI 48236
100 Places in the D 