138. Art and Jake’s – September 12, 2015 – Shelby Township, MI

Art and Jake’s! So many of my coworkers from my last restaurant job used to frequent and talk about this bar – I think they were going to the Shelby Township, Mound Road location rather than the Washington Township one. Then a location opened up in the last year on 23 Mile Road in Shelby Township. One of my good friends from my former server gig works there, and I got to see her there yesterday.

This bar is great! I was really impressed with the inside – it’s a large, spacious, gorgeous sports bar. There’s a patio that’s enclosed by glass doors and containing seating areas with gas-lit flames coming out of the tabletops(!), making the patio area suitable seating even in cold-weather months. And the food is awesome! I had the Rocky Mountain burger, which is decked with bacon, Gouda cheese, spicy aioli, and breaded, fried jalepeños (amazing)! The menu is extensive and features specialty pizzas and burgers; sandwiches and wraps; wings and bar appetizers; signature entree salads; steaks and ribs; and even traditional Macedonian and Serbian dishes.

14741 23 Mile Rd.

Shelby Township, MI 48315

Locations also on Mound Road in Shelby Township and in Washington Township.

www.artjakes.com

137. The Crepe – August 22, 2015 – Royal Oak, MI

I had had a Groupon to The Crepe in my wallet for months. It had long since expired, but hey, the good thing about Groupons is that you are allowed to use them for at least that face value you paid for them! And it was a lovely Saturday afternoon, perfect for shopping and lunching in R. Oak. So I headed over.

The place was busy! It’s a cute, tiny little place; from what I can recall, what you are seeing in the photo above, coupled with the row of window counter seats I was based at, is the extent of the seating. The crepe pictured above is the one I ordered, one of the savory crepes called Washington Ave. It contained big chunks of ribeye steak, diced potatoes, spinach, grape tomatoes, and liberal amounts of bleu cheese. This was the meal where I realized I am not a fan of bleu cheese (I thought I was!), which was no fault of The Crepe’s, of course. But the crepe itself? That I found incredible. It was so soft and fresh and wonderfully flavorful. I bet you the sweet crepes are amazing, wrapped up in that deliciously, pillowy, pancakey goodness!

The Crepe is open for both lunch and dinner – except for on Sundays, when it opens earlier for breakfast (9 a.m.) and closes at 3. It’s also open at 9 a.m. on Saturdays for breakfast.

317 S. Washington Ave.

Royal Oak, MI 48067

http://thecreperoyaloak.com

136. Nautical Ride – August 19, 2015 – St. Clair Shores, MI

Photo courtesy of C & G Newspapers’ article – http://www.candgnews.com/news/weekly-ride-makes-city-%E2%80%98cool%E2%80%99-84921

Heading over to my friend Candace’s house on this Wednesday evening after work, I mused, “What are we doing tonight again?” She had invited me to a free, organized bike ride meeting near the Nautical Mile in St. Clair Shores, but I wasn’t clear exactly what it was all about. It ended up being an event called The Nautical Ride, St. Clair Shores’ version of Detroit’s weekly Monday night bike ride extravaganza, Slow Roll. And it was pretty awesome!

The night we went was one that looked really nasty weather-wise; it was threatening to storm, and it had rained very heavily where I work in Auburn Hills just a few hours before. So I was surprised to see what looked like several hundred people gathered for this bike ride, many of them children. If the children could brave the threat of a storm, so could I!

My friend and I soon learned that these Nautical Riders are not messing around! This is a very professional outfit. There are free helmets for those who would like them. There is cooperation with the police/city, who have approved having the cyclists take up the far-right lane of the roads they are traversing each week on the designated route. There are Nautical Ride volunteers helping to direct traffic through intersections and patrolling up and down the column of cyclists, making sure everyone is OK and everything is running smoothly. People with children riding are asked to gather at the front of the pack, then the rest of the participants are asked to line up based on skill level, with slower pedalers lining up towards the back. Yeah . . . we didn’t really end up heeding that, then struggled to keep up with those in front of us in the beginning, causing one of the roving Slow Roll volunteers to urge us to speed up. “We’re trying!” we yelled, pedaling furiously. Fortunately, shortly thereafter, the line in front of us slowed considerably, and we were able to easily keep up. And it was fun! I even somewhat mastered the wobbly borrowed bike that I was riding on (was it the bike, or was it just me sucking at riding a bike for the first time in years? Likely a combination of both!).

I would highly recommend hitting the next Wednesday night Nautical Ride that falls on one of these upcoming sure-to-be-gorgeous, early-fall evenings. The rides are sponsored by Roy O’Brien Ford in St. Clair Shores, and according to their website, are supposed to take place every Wednesday night through October. The Nautical Ride Facebook event page, which you can get to and view from the Roy O’Brien website even if you don’t have Facebook, lists the location each ride will meet at that week. The meet-up time is 6:30 p.m., with rides leaving at 7 p.m.

I neglected to take any photos on my ride, as I decided not to bring my phone with me. The above photo is one that was featured in a July 22, 2015 C & G Newspapers article about the event.

Held every Wednesday night June through October;

meeting location varies; riders meet at 6:30 p.m. and leave at 7 p.m.

http://www.royobrien.net/dealership/nautical-ride.htm

135. Eastern Market’s Sunday Street Market – August 16, 2015 – Detroit, MI

So I can’t believe it, but it’s been almost a month since I visited Eastern Market’s Sunday Street Market! I vow that I will be more regularly updating this blog going forward! Fall is here now, and fall is a great time for writing and introspection – and of course, exploring! And one place you can still enjoy exploring through October is the Sunday Street Market. It’s different from the traditional Saturday market, which is more focused on produce – and which I hope to hit this fall. I haven’t visited the Saturday Eastern Market since childhood, about 20 years ago, and don’t remember much at all about it, so I figure this is a good place to declare that a statue of limitations has expired and that it’s indeed a new place for me! The Sunday Street Market, on the other hand, is packed full of vendors – a few selling produce, but it’s more focused on artisans and their various wares: jewelry; Detroit-centric T-shirts and artwork; hats; vintage clothes; gourmet popcorn – you name it! I bought a wrap dress made from recycled saris that can be wrapped in a zillion different ways. And when you are done shopping, you can grab lunch from one of the multiple food trucks clustered around the area. A perfect Sunday-afternoon-in-the-D destination.

2934 Russell St.

Detroit, MI 48207

Held every Sunday, 10 a.m. through 4 p.m., from June to October

http://www.easternmarket.com/attend/sunday-street-market