542. Delphine Jamaican Restaurant – December 31, 2021 – Warren, MI

To end the year with a new-place visit is always a delight – ESPECIALLY when it means visiting Delphine Jamaican restaurant!

The Warren-based carryout joint is serving up ultra-tasty Jamaican fare – with sides of humor and charm, to boot. The man who rang up my order (presumably the owner) on New Year’s Eve was funny, joking about how long his shift was and cracking a smile at my silly quip about being left-handed when I went in to sign the receipt. I left Delphine with a boost to my mood after interacting with him.

After tasting the meal, my mood really got a boost! I’d ordered Delphine’s Large Jerk Chicken lunch special, which kicked off with fall-off-the-bone tender chicken coated in a tantalizingly spicy rub. It was oh-so-delicious! I savored it and the bed of rice and beans that sat beneath it.

Then I moved on to the side of cooked cabbage – and my taste buds were blown away by how good it was. Who knew cabbage could taste that good? It was buttery, flavorful goodness!

The last act of this lunch? The plantain slices – another showstopper. Again, I was amazed at how good they were. I love plantains, but these were next-level: delightfully rich and spongey and subtly sweet. They were a fitting end to a filling, satisfying lunch.

Three pieces of jerk chicken atop a bed of rice and beans, with sides of plantains and cabbage, cost me $10.50 à la Delphine’s Large Jerk Chicken lunch special. What a steal! Check out Delphine’s menu for its other enticing offerings, which include oxtail, curry goat, stew chicken, jerk chicken wings, Jamaican patties, and seafood dishes such as jerk salmon and red snapper. Vegetarian options are available (such as the delicious-sounding Rasta Stew featuring pumpkin and both white and sweet potatoes), as are desserts (including banana cake and peach cobbler).

What a satisfying way to end the year, with a meal from Delphine’s!

14377 E. 9 Mile Rd.

Warren, MI 48089

www.delphinejamaicanrestaurant.com

501. Donut Castle – March 6, 2021 – Warren, MI

Blog Year Eight of 100 Places in the D kicked off right, with a visit to Donut Castle!

This one lives on in my memory. Donut Castle is this unassuming little bakery in Warren producing the most PHENOMENAL donuts. Their crullers . . . OMG, are they good. During my visit back in March, I got some super fresh ones that were the PERFECT blend of deep-fried, glazed-kissed outsides and airy, melt-in-your-mouth insides. The buttermilk sticks I purchased were great, too: crispy-crusted cake donuts coated in a honey-sweet glaze. I’m swooning recalling these donuts!

The donuts weren’t all that was swoon-worthy about my visit to Donut Castle. Besides offering its namesake confection, the bakery has fresh-baked bagels and bagel sandwiches. I got a club sandwich on a cheese bagel, and it was A-MAZING. Everything was so fresh. I remember marveling at the time, “This sandwich is so good, it has me liking iceberg lettuce!” I usually think iceberg lettuce is a total waste of space on a sandwich. But the iceberg on this Donut Castle club was fresh and crispy, enhancing the deliciousness of the turkey and the ham, the provolone and bacon and tomato.

This Donut Castle club sandwich wasn’t skimping on the portions, either; it was amply layered with meat. And the bagel was so soft and fresh, with a thick layer of melted cheese on top – I believe it was parmesan. The name of the bagel escapes me, but the epic deliciousness of it and that sandwich and those donuts are burned into my memory!

11831 E. 13 Mile Rd.

Warren, MI 48093

262. Donut Factory – August 9, 2017 – Warren, MI

Four words, people: CHOCOLATE HONEY-GLAZED DONUT. Those four words equal pure shining goodness and love, in my vocabulary!

Last month, I discovered that the people at the Donut Factory – a bakery/café on Mound Road just south of 12 Mile in Warren – most definitely know what the heck they are doing when they craft their namesake pastry. For a mere 95 cents, I got in return a little nugget of Heaven named CHOCOLATE HONEY-GLAZED DONUT that was delectably crispy and sweet-honey-kissed on the outside and sumptuously soft and chocolatey on the inside. YES QUEEN!

I’m thrilled that I decided to make the detour to the Donut Factory that afternoon while en route from an offsite work meeting, because discovering one more place where top-notch baked goods are crafted makes me feel that much more equipped to deal with life (donuts are an effective antidote to have in one’s back pocket when adulting gets squirrely). I stopped there because I thought it was one of two donut shops in Warren that I have on my 100 Places to-visit spreadsheet (one of my nerdiest and most beloved creations). I realized when I looked there later that it wasn’t (the shops on my list are Donut Castle and Daily Dozen. Apparently Warren is loaded with delightful independently-owned donut shops).  I guess it was Fate that brought me to the Donut Factory – so thank you for that, Universe!

According to its Yelp profile, the Donut Factory is open 24 hours Tuesdays through Fridays (so you can get your donut fix at any time of day! Imagine donuts after a visit to another Warren gem, Dragonmead Microbrewery – NEXT-LEVEL). On Saturday, it closes at 4 p.m. and is wholly closed on Sunday (good, because the saints who make these babies deserve to live a life outside of donut cobbling). It reopens on Monday at 4 a.m.

Besides donuts, the Donut Factory offers other food, too – soups and sandwiches and pasties. You can go in there and sit in one of the booths or at the counter and enjoy a meal in a pleasant, low-key, kinda quaint environment where time feels like it is standing still – in a good way. Because time moves too quickly sometimes, doesn’t it?

There’s a massively popular corporate-chain donut/coffee shop right next to the Donut Factory. I like this chain; I frequented it regularly at one point in my past. But when I see this chain store parked next to the Donut Factory, a humble, locally-owned establishment cranking out fried rings of pure deliciousness at a 24/7 pace, I feel like shaking my fist at them and screaming, “No! No! You will not threaten the Donut Factory!” I mean, not cool, corporate chain, not cool.

But the profound thing about buying power is that we can decide which place of the two we want to support with our dollars – or whether we want to support both. It’s our choice. So the next time you’re in the 12 Mile-and-Mound area and feel like doing a little experiment, give ’em both a taste test and see what you think. For the record, my vote is with the Donut Factory.

28805 Mound Rd.

Warren, MI 48092

191. Dragonmead Microbrewery – September 24, 2016 – Warren, MI

Dragonmead! I’ve been wanting to visit the joint since the beginnings of this blog. It only took me two and a half years to get there!

The Warren brewery that makes its own beer, wine, and mead lived up to the hype that had been created in my head. The pint of its Redwing Raspberry Wheat I 0rdered was INCREDIBLE – definitely the best raspberry wheat I’ve ever had. You could tell by the scent and taste of it that real raspberries were used. I also enjoyed my glass of Gewürztraminer wine; it was crisp and tart. And the pizza! The Fat Drunk pizza, topped with Cajun sausage and caramelized onions and slathered with an addictive cheddar bacon cheese sauce, was out-of-control good. It was the perfect drinking accompaniment.

Shout-out to the beer flight at Dragonmead, as well! The flight shown in the photo above is the one that my friend ordered. The five samples were generous pours and only cost around $10.

My conclusion? Dragonmead is an excellent brewery and a perfect fall destination for all of you fellow Metro-Detroiters or visitors of our fine area. Happy drinking!

14600 E. 11 Mile Rd.

Warren, MI 48089

www.dragonmead.com

178. Joe Suds – June 19, 2016 – Warren, MI

Joe Suds is a dive bar. It’s nothing too special to look at on the inside. But the burgers! I had one of the best bacon cheeseburgers there, perched at the bar, celebrating Father’s Day with my dad and also with one of my aunts who was in town from Denver. It wasn’t exactly the place I expected to spend Father’s Day (actually it wasn’t too far off; I expected to be eating Sunday dollar burgers at my dad’s favorite bar, Freddy’s), but the location worked for everyone involved, and hey, it was a new place to visit. I enjoyed it!

And what a cheap date! It was about $37 for three burgers, a side of onion rings, a side of fries, and four drinks. Plus, the service was good; there was one bartender hustling around, serving a rail full of people and possibly even cooking our burgers in the back, we think. And if (unlike me) you’re motivated enough to engage in recreation when you drink, Joe Suds has a bunch of classic basement games scattered around, such as pool and foosball.

13791 E. 13 Mile Rd.

Warren, MI 48088

87. Falling Down Beer Company – December 5, 2014 – Warren, MI

Falling Down Beer Company is a East-Side brewery with a bar area that looks like a conglomeration of all the dive bars and frat-boy basements you passed hours getting wasted in during your college days of yore. The music played – 90s rap and hip-hop – helps to further set the scene (and reminds you that Biggie Smalls is pretty awesome to drink to – and why isn’t he played more these days?). And yeah, the beer is pretty damn good, too.

2270 E. 10 Mile Rd.

Warren, MI 48091

www.fallingdownbeer.com