Wednesday, July 29, 2009

No Reservations: The Rust Belt

Chef, author, and food critic Anthony Bourdain recently conducted a show entitled "The Rust Belt", in which he visited Baltimore, Buffalo, and yes, Detroit.

Always looking for additions to the Little Detroit business district, we tuned in to see where he would go.

The three places Bourdain visited were Polonia (mostly Polish), Al-Ameer (Arab cuisine, let's say Lebanese), The Cadieux Cafe (Belgian roots, now doing all sorts of weird shit). He also solved the great childhood mystery "what is city chicken, exactly?" Apparently, it's veal on a stick, lightly breaded and fried. It's called "city chicken" because during WWII, chicken was expensive, and beef products were cheaper. I don't get it either, frankly, but now I know what it is.

We'll have to add a schwarma shack to the plans for the business district. We have the Polish stuff available elsewhere in Chi, and there is just no way to replicate the Cadieux Cafe.


B* D* B*

In case you're traveling to other fucked up cities that are kind of awesome, here's where else he went during the episode:

Baltimore: Chap's Pit Beef, Moe's (a crab shack), and The Roost (fish and chicken joint). The highlights included Bourdain walking around with actors from The Wire who grew up in Baltimore.

Buffalo: Ulrich's (tavern food), outdoor pig roast, and the tantalizing Schwabl's Roast Beef.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Roller Derby: Detroit at Chicago

If you have any familiarity with the citizenry of Little Detroit, you know that we are totally, totally roller derby type of people.

Imagine our enthusiasm and confusion when the Motor City Disassembly Line showed up to bout with the Chicago Outfit Syndicate. Do we vote for the Chicago squad for whom we have cheered for several seasons, or do we get behind Detroit for Detroit's sake?

It was a really hard decision. In the end, we just chained back some PBRs and shouted encouragement to every single rugged woman whipping around the track.

Final score: Chicago 155, Detroit 40. (It was kind of a beating, but the MCDL is actually the B team from the D, while the Syndicate is that league's top-level squad.)

Little Detroit Heads Home for the Week

Every once in a while, the citizens of Little Detroit must return to the motherland to recharge their righteous batteries. As is his custom, PJ rented the beach house just over the Indiana border, and the unwashed and huddled masses made the pilgrimage up I-94.



The beach. Feel the sandy embrace.



Eventually, the sun retreats behind the clouds, and the crew retreats to the warmth of the grill.



Post-grillage, we head back to the beach and build a big-ass fire. On the most recent beer run, LC, BT, and T2G picked up what may have been the most fearsome twosome of beers ever consumed: Jackhammer beer and (I shit you not) Beer 30. Conspicuous consumption lead to the singing of "Bohemian Rhapsody."



The after effects of Jackhammer and Beer 30 are less than pleasant.



Little Detroit poses for a group shot before heading back to Chicago.

Leo's Coney Island and the Little Detroit Business District

Part of our campaign for the Detroitification of our Chicago neighborhood includes the establishment of a business district, operating as a satellite community of traditional Detroit institutions. Our initial business district proposal is comprised of Leo's Coney Island, Lil' Caesar's Pizza, a party store, and two burnt-out storefronts.

And now there is this article in the vile Chicago Tribune. It seems Leo's is on its way already.

Here's to drinking excessively, and the sobering power of encased meat and chili!