100 Places in the D’s Top Ten Places Visited in Blog Year Eight!

Naked Burger’s (Visit #506) Chick Mac-Net sandwich

100 Places in the D recently turned eight years old! As part of celebrating that milestone, I’m highlighting my top-ten favorite places I visited during Blog Year Eight. Here they are, in no particular order: 10 locally-owned gems wholly worth a visit!

-Naked Burger (#506, Clinton Township): I know I said I’m not listing these in any particular order . . . but I couldn’t help putting Naked Burger first on the list. Because this was, hands-down, my favorite visit of Blog Year Eight. Beautiful ambiance, delicious drinks, and an absolute culinary REVELATION in the form of the Chick Mac-Net sandwich had me eating this restaurant’s wares five times last year.

-PizzaPlex (#523, Detroit): I still daydream on the regular about its exquisite wood-fired pizza crust! And that patio . . ..

The Congregation (#510)

-The Congregation (#510, Detroit): I adore everything about this bar-slash-coffee shop residing inside a beautiful old church in Detroit. From its fantastic drinks (that Lavender Latte!) to its delicious food to its plethora of outdoor seating options (including on a pretty wooden deck and in its sprawling backyard populated with picnic tables), not to mention, its friendly staff and reasonable prices . . . I could go on and on with my gushing.

-Supergeil (#524, Detroit): A revisit to Supergeil last weekend reminded me how fantastic it is – not that I needed the reminder. Its funky-hipster-Mediterranean ambiance lived on in my memory – as did its host of revelatory craft cocktails and absolutely delish food (those fries doused in aioli and hot sauce ~SWOON!~).

SheWolf’s (#517) Paccheri All’Arrabbiata

-Donut Castle (#501, Warren): This unassuming little bakery is serving up some of the biggest, freshest flavor I’ve ever tasted. The crullers and the bagel club sandwich are EVERYTHING!

-SheWolf (#517, Detroit): I wasn’t just served a meal at SheWolf; I was served an experience – and one of the best, at that. If you want to be absolutely wowed, dine here!

-Womxnhouse Detroit (#525, Detroit): Speaking of being absolutely wowed: I visited Womxnhouse Detroit’s inaugural showing last October and was enthralled by the beautiful, compelling artwork on display – all female-created. I look forward to seeing what this year’s artists-in-residence create!

Willis Show Bar (#528)

-Open Book Theatre (#540, Trenton): This sweet community theatre’s production of Christmas at Pemberley was my first viewing of live theater since COVID hit. That alone would have made the visit memorable. But it was the obvious care put into every aspect of the place that made the visit extra special.

-Willis Show Bar (#528, Detroit): My friends and I are still raving about the visit to this magical music club we made back in October. Come for the fantastic house band that brings the house down; stay for the stellar drink menu.

-Ernie’s Market (#532, Oak Park): Ernie’s Market, doing the good work, serving up monster doses of love and delicatessen delight! This place epitomizes the magic of new-place visits for me.

100 Places in the D’s Year Eight Review!

PizzaPlex (#523), a Year Eight Visit

100 Places in the D recently celebrated its eight-year anniversary! February 8, 2014 was the first time I visited a locally-owned, new-to-me place in the tri-county Metro-Detroit area and blogged about it. If my past self had been able to peer into the future and see this blog still going strong eight years in, I think she’d be quite surprised! My present self is grateful to have found a vehicle that brings me such joy and purpose. Visiting awesome, new-to-me places is my happy place; blogging about those experiences allows me to relive them. If this blog has inspired anyone to carry out similar quests in their own lives, that is icing on the cake!

I consider February 8 to be not only the blog’s anniversary date, but also the beginning of a new blogging year. And each blogging year, I set annual goals. My goals for Blog Year Eight (which ended on February 7, 2022) were:

-Blog consistently (no more six-month hiatuses!).

-Visit at least 50 new places total.

-Visit at least 20 new places in the city of Detroit alone.

-Represent at least three new cities (cities I haven’t previously recorded a new-place visit in).

How did I do on those goals? Well . . .

-Since getting back into blogging last June after a six-month break, I have posted fairly consistently. There have been lulls during busy seasons, but overall, I’m content with my output and happy to be up-to-date-ish (two months behind is better than half a year!).

-I visited 48 new places during the course of Blog Year Eight (so close!).

-Sixteen of the new places I visited were in Detroit.

-And I did, during the course of the year, record visits in three cities that had never before been featured on 100 Places in the D! They were:

–Milford

–Riverview

–Trenton

So overall, I did OK on my goals in Blog Year Eight. I admittedly didn’t push hard with them, but I appreciated having them as guideposts. I also appreciated that they got me out of the house on many an occasion when I otherwise would’ve stayed at home all day. As someone who has worked fully remotely for over two years now, getting out can be a (most unexpected) struggle. The comfy allure of home is real – and has affected my volume of new-place visits (as has, of course, COVID).

Speaking of not pushing too hard: I’m two months into Blog Year Nine, and it’s been a slow start on the new-place visits – mostly because of travel I did this winter. But as warmer weather is on the horizon, I’m looking forward to digging into these Blog Year Nine goals:

1. Visit at least 50 new-to-me places.
2. Have 20 of those visits be in the city of Detroit.
3. Represent at least five new cities on the blog (cities where I’ve never recorded a new-place visit).
4. Continue to blog consistently.

Here’s to everyday exploring and supporting indie-owned businesses! I hope wherever you are reading this that you have the opportunity to get some epic new-place visits in this year!

As is tradition with these year-in-review posts, I’ll conclude with a breakdown of Blog Year Eight visits:

Number of places visited in Blog Year Eight: 48

Number of cities visited: 18

Breakdown by county: Wayne: 18; Oakland: 16; Macomb: 14

Breakdown by city:

Detroit: 16

Rochester: 7

Clinton Township: 4

Shelby Township: 3

Ferndale: 2

New Baltimore: 2

Royal Oak: 2

Warren: 2

Berkley: 1

Clawson: 1

Macomb: 1

Milford: 1

Oak Park: 1

Riverview: 1

Sterling Heights: 1

Trenton: 1

Troy: 1

Utica: 1

548. Royal Oak Roast – February 7, 2022 – Royal Oak, MI

What a gem Royal Oak Roast is! A gem with multi-faceted charm: delicious drinks, friendly baristas, and mega-watt ambiance.

During a remote work session at the Royal Oak-based coffee house, I basked in the brilliance of all that charm. I sipped two of its decadent drinks, a cappuccino and an Almond Joy latte (an espresso-based drink infused with coconut, almond, and chocolate). I engaged with the baristas, who were cheerful and welcoming. And I soaked up the ambiance: the glistening tile and gleaming copper, the granite countertops and golden-bright lights. It all melded together to induce a pleasant flow state of productivity, and my couple-hour visit flew by.

As with all good things, my visit to Royal Oak Roast ended much too soon. The silver lining: it’s here for me, awaiting a revisit whenever I’m ready! All I have to do is follow the mantra emblazoned in neon light on one of its walls: “Wake up. Drink coffee. Be awesome. Repeat.”

25070 Woodward Ave.

Royal Oak, MI 48067

(With an additional location, Birmingham Roast, in Birmingham)

www.drinkroast.com

547. Donut Cutter – February 7, 2022 – Berkley, MI

Donut Cutter for the win on a Monday morning! Or any morning . . . because the Berkley-based donut shop’s wares are definitively delicious any day of the week!

During my visit to Donut Cutter, I ordered the donuts pictured above: the sour cream glaze, the cruller, and the frosted chocolate cake with sprinkles. All three were fresh and tasty, with perfectly crispy deep-fried exteriors and soft, cakey (or airy, in the case of the cruller) interiors. All three were answers to the question of why Donut Cutter is so beloved by Metro-Detroiters!

28173 Woodward Ave.

Berkley, MI 48072