241. La Dulce – April 8, 2017 – Royal Oak, MI

Hi guys! I am popping on before a Detroit Day (~SQUEAL!~) to recount my visit a few weeks ago to La Dulce, a Spanish tapas place in Royal Oak.

The interior of the restaurant is light and airy, sophisticated, done up in blues and whites. In addition to standard table seating, there are also clusters of upholstered chairs and couches situated around low tables, so that if you are eating at one of those (as we were), you feel as if you are at an intimate dinner in someone’s living room.

I enjoyed a glass of rosé with the tapas spread my friends and I shared: a bowl of green olives, the Ibérico Ham Tosta (thinly sliced cured ham on toasted bread spread with garlic, grated tomato, and olive oil), Patatas Bravas (fried potatoes smothered in a white cheddar sauce, spicy red sauce, and more Ibérico ham), and Gildas (skewers loaded with anchovies, tuna, olives, peppers, and cornichon pickles).

OK, if my 30s mean sitting in elegant restaurants sipping wine and enjoying flavorful tapas with good friends, then I am all about this life! Who said being an adult had to be boring, anyway? If you are looking to treat yourself to a fancy, grown-up-yet-not-dull night out, La Dulce is definitely worth a visit.

115 S. Main St.

Royal Oak, MI 48067

www.ladulce.com

240. Taqueria Alma – April 6, 2017 – Center Line, MI

Hi, guys! Happy Friday! Today’s post features a most DELICIOUS Mexican carryout joint in a new-to-the-blog city. Center Line is being repped for the first time on 100 Places in the D!

Center Line is one of those local cities that developed a mystique for me over the years, because while I grew up quite close to it, it was never part of my narrative, and I had no idea what was located there. All I knew it from was the 696 exit signs that advertised it.

Thanks to my recent visit to Taqueria Alma, I’ve now been to and gained a bit of enlightenment around this Macomb County suburb. I now know that in Center Line you can get some of the BEST tacos and tamales – for an affordable price, to boot.

I hold such a fondness in my heart for Mexican food. What’s NOT to like about it? It goes H.A.M. on the flavor and spices and CHEESE. I am all about that life. So when I decided to pop into Taqueria Alma one rainy afternoon after a work volunteer event in Detroit and saw the whiteboards listing out all of the choices, I was like “YESSSS!”

What to get, what to get? I decided to go the à la carte route and ordered two steak tacos as well as two tamales (one containing chicken steeped in a green sauce and the other, pork in a red sauce), which in total only cost about seven dollars.

After a short wait, I was given a paper sack containing my order: four warm, incredible-smelling foil-wrapped bundles. I could’ve sat and eaten at a table inside Taqueria Alma’s tiny interior, but I decided to take my goodies home.

It ended up requiring much discipline to do the approximately half-hour drive back to my house without either attempting to a) drive and juggle a most-probably-hot-mess-to-eat-one-handed taco (though this option was contemplated several times at red lights) or b) pull over and devour my meal in a strip mall parking lot.

Finally I made it home without delving into those warm little packages of flavorful deliciousness and even had enough willpower in reserve to snap the above photo of my meal before gobbling it.

Was it as amazing as I had hoped? ABSOLUTELY. Those tacos! They were perfect in their simplicity: juicy, flavorful steak, diced onion, fresh cilantro, and soft corn tortillas – how does it get better than that? The tamales were excellent, too. I especially enjoyed the pork one with its meat marinated in a flavorful red sauce.

So thank you, Taqueria Alma, for lighting up a gloomy, rainy day for me with an incredibly tasty and affordable lunch! I most definitely plan to be back – which means another opportunity to learn what else is going down in Center Line.

25343 Van Dyke Ave.
Center Line, MI 48015

239. Rebel Café – March 26, 2017 – Royal Oak, MI

Sunday brunch has become a regular thing for me and two of my best friends, and Royal Oak is a routinely agreed-upon meeting spot. I thought we were running out of new places to try – until I stumbled upon Rebel Café!

All of my friends have been incredibly accommodating of my desire to visit locally-owned, new-to-me places for this blog. It’s at the point where many of them will automatically ask when we’re planning to hang out, “Where have you not been yet?” For this I love them more than they could possibly know. After three-plus years, I was afraid this obsession of mine with the novel would be getting tiring for them. But they have wholeheartedly embraced it, and I’m loving it. So cheers to my lovely pals! I’m glad to know they were getting sick of the same ol’, same ol’ corporate chains, too.

Sorry – little tangential love-fest there. But speaking of love, I can pretty much say I heart Rebel Cafe’s Asian salad. It is DELICIOUS – and I appreciate that they are not shy with the proportions on this one. This bad boy is loaded with shredded cabbage, carrot, jicama, crispy wontons, edamame, onion, and cucumbers and tossed in a sweet sesame dressing – and there’s the option to add chicken to it, too (yes, please!).

I had assumed that the Rebel Café was solely a breakfast and lunch joint – maybe because it features the kind of eats you would typically consume at those times: a slew of early-morning items such as pancakes and breakfast burritos, plus popular noontime items like sandwiches and salads. But it’s open in the evenings, too – until 3 a.m. (Coney Island competition!) on Fridays and Saturdays and until 9 p.m. every other day  of the week.

This is one of those casual joints where you order at the counter. The food was tasty and the place was clean and pleasant during my visit, so it’s getting my vote for a quick and affordable meal option whether morning, noon, or night.

410 S. Main St.

Royal Oak, MI 48067

www.rebel-cafe.com

238. Fillmore 13 – March 24, 2017 – Pontiac, MI

Hey guys! I’m so glad to be back on the blog with a post here today – finally! The last few weeks were a little cray-cray-ba-nay-nay as I helped to plan and throw a dear friend’s shower and caught up on life stuffs. I like to remind myself that a busy life is a good life but am glad things have calmed down a bit so I can get on here and share with you the awesome places I’ve visited over the last few weeks, such as the recently opened Fillmore 13 Brewery in downtown Pontiac.

So can I say that I’m kind of obsessed with downtown Pontiac right now? It’s really looking awesome! Not only is there a Slow’s To-Go down there and the excellent Exferimentation Brewing Company, there’s this great new brewery called Fillmore 13. I am loving its down-to-earth, industrial-chic vibes, welcoming demeanor, and delicious craft brews and grub.

During my Friday happy hour visit (which is obvi the best time of the week EVER to visit a bar – TGIF-style!), the friendly, attentive bartender let my friend and I try a few of the beers before we made our choices. I settled on a four-sampler paddle of the chocolate stout, apricot Belgian ale, hazelnut porter, and saison pale ale. I loved them all, especially the apricot (a refreshing, perfect-for-warm-weather brew!) and the hazelnut.

Food-wise, I got the BBQ Sidewinder Nachos, which are basically the epitome of drinking eats. They’re these crispy potato wedges cut in this curlicue-type shape and doused in beer-infused nacho cheese, sour cream, green onions, and glorious barbecued pulled pork – YESSSSSS.  That is happiness balm for the stomach and spirit right there.

What I like about Fillmore 13’s food menu is that they’ve got the typical bar fare such as those Sidewinder Nachos and chicken wings and pretzels and cheese plus more sophisticated offerings. Most bars don’t have, say, an artisan cheese platter; a charcuterie tray; a pizza topped with prosciutto, goat cheese, and arugula; or sandwiches named Turkey Brie. But Fillmore 13 does. And I love that. Because I adore a luscious, straight-up dive-bar sandwich, but I also love a pulled pork topped with green-apple coleslaw and nestled on a brioche bun. There’s enough room in the world for all the choices, right?

7 N. Saginaw St.

Pontiac, MI 48342

www.fillmore13brewery.com