Lilpup Member Username: Lilpup
Post Number: 2541 Registered: 06-2004
| Posted on Thursday, August 02, 2007 - 10:38 pm: | |
Some family members will be in town next week and I want to show them around, but where can I take them for a good, relatively inexpensive lunch (if they reject coneys) that isn't a bar or alcohol oriented? They are strict Mennonites and I'm not sure they go for that sort of thing. |
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw
Post Number: 3450 Registered: 02-2005
| Posted on Thursday, August 02, 2007 - 11:10 pm: | |
Johnny Rockets, Jimmy Johns (x2), and Potbelly are all there, but they are not uniquely Detroit, and won't leave an impression. There are a ton of places that are restaurants + alcohol but will be food-focused rather than drinking-focused during the day. Is it a problem if a restaurant has a bar, even if it's not busy? Sounds like Greektown will be the ticket. Golden Fleece is quite inexpensive. Pizza Papalis ain't bad if they aren't big eaters and you split some pizzas. Neither of those places are in-your-face with alcohol, at any time of the day. |
Lilpup Member Username: Lilpup
Post Number: 2542 Registered: 06-2004
| Posted on Thursday, August 02, 2007 - 11:26 pm: | |
Yeah, I thought of Greektown after posting - it'll be a good excuse to use the People Mover. I just want to be prepared because I'm not really sure what their attitudes towards some things are. |
Deandub11 Member Username: Deandub11
Post Number: 136 Registered: 05-2006
| Posted on Thursday, August 02, 2007 - 11:39 pm: | |
Where is potbelly in detroit? |
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw
Post Number: 3452 Registered: 02-2005
| Posted on Thursday, August 02, 2007 - 11:48 pm: | |
RenCen |
Lowell Board Administrator Username: Lowell
Post Number: 4041 Registered: 10-2003
| Posted on Friday, August 03, 2007 - 2:02 am: | |
Take them out to Warren Avenue in Dearborn to any one of several Islamic Arabic restaurants [Al Ajami by the railroad tracks is my recommendation - the restaurant is far better and classier than the website www.al-ajamirestaurant.com.] They share your relatives attitudes toward alcohol. The area is also very colorful for its ethnic mix. Mennonites won't feel like they are they only good people in the world who look different and don't drink. Pineland at 12 Mile and Farmington is also outstanding. |
Gannon Member Username: Gannon
Post Number: 9776 Registered: 12-2003
| Posted on Friday, August 03, 2007 - 6:36 am: | |
Eph's Downtown, best sandwiches within three miles of Hart Plaza, easily. |
Jt1 Member Username: Jt1
Post Number: 9686 Registered: 10-2003
| Posted on Friday, August 03, 2007 - 8:31 am: | |
I agree with Eph's. If you and your parents like the mom and pop place and the couple tables outside are open I would suggest Happy Cream. While the name implies Ice Cream they make great soup and sandwiches and are as nice as owners as you will find in the city. The place itself isn't great inside but the food makes up for it and the tables outside make for a relaxing environment. |
Spidergirl Member Username: Spidergirl
Post Number: 304 Registered: 12-2004
| Posted on Friday, August 03, 2007 - 8:39 am: | |
Both Gannon and Jt1 hit the mark...I don't know anyone who could say anything negative about Eph's, and the owners of the Happy Cream are too awesome. They do make a great salad (The Black Bottom Salad is my personal favorite). |
Rsa Member Username: Rsa
Post Number: 1191 Registered: 10-2003
| Posted on Friday, August 03, 2007 - 10:08 am: | |
i dunno gannon; the eph's in corktown is within three miles of hart plaza and they have some pretty damn good sammiches ;) |
Gannon Member Username: Gannon
Post Number: 9792 Registered: 12-2003
| Posted on Friday, August 03, 2007 - 7:11 pm: | |
Damn, I thought I had the tolerance correct, they aren't three miles out...you're right. They're three miles from me, so halve that. I was just in Happy Cream, if you hang around enough you're gonna 'catch' diabetes from that unbelievably sweet couple...I just love them to tears, it was great to see their shop with a line in it last night! Cheers. |
Stromberg2 Member Username: Stromberg2
Post Number: 37 Registered: 10-2006
| Posted on Friday, August 03, 2007 - 8:46 pm: | |
Hey Gannon, Where is Happy Cream? Stromberg2, sweet tooth |
Pam Member Username: Pam
Post Number: 2226 Registered: 11-2005
| Posted on Saturday, August 04, 2007 - 8:24 am: | |
Here Strom: http://www.happycreamicecream. net/index.html Google is our friend. |
Gannon Member Username: Gannon
Post Number: 9806 Registered: 12-2003
| Posted on Saturday, August 04, 2007 - 10:13 am: | |
Across the street from the Hard Rock Cafe, next to Sizzlin' Spice, another good restaurant just off the beaten path between cool neighbor hoods downtown. (thanks to Harmonie for turning me onto that one) In the first floor of that parking structure just east of that theater going through renovation across the parking lot from Campus Martius...I think Jams said it was the National Theater. Cheers! |
Jelk Member Username: Jelk
Post Number: 4525 Registered: 10-2003
| Posted on Saturday, August 04, 2007 - 11:56 am: | |
Why is it that fringe religious types have such an aversion to being in the same room with people enjoying something they abstain from? I've had many a lunch at the Detroit Beer Company drinking water or pop. Remarkably I was able to avoid the nefarious effects of alcohol even while sitting within a few feet of the beer tapes. Are Mennonites so weak-willed that they couldn't patronize an alcohol serving establishment without turning into Barney from the Simpsons? I don't want to just pick on the Mennonites. It's no different than the Christianist pharmacists who refuse to dispense birth control pills even if their employer stocks them. Or the American Islamist cab drivers who wouldn't take fares from people carrying bottles of wine or other close alcoholic containers. That actually happened in Minneapolis and is currently being litigated. I'm waiting for the JDL case against McDonalds because they don't cook hamburgers in different equipment than the cheeseburgers. |
Jelk Member Username: Jelk
Post Number: 4526 Registered: 10-2003
| Posted on Saturday, August 04, 2007 - 12:03 pm: | |
quote:The newspaper woman told me of a session with just such a visitor, holden a few days before. The latter waited outside one of the town hot-dog and Coca-Cola shops while her husband negotiated with a hardware merchant across the street. The newspaper woman, idling along and observing that the stranger was badly used by the heat, invited her to step into the shop for a glass of Coca-Cola. The invitation brought forth only a gurgle of terror. Coca-Cola, it quickly appeared, was prohibited by the country lady's pastor, as a levantine and Hell-sent narcotic. He also prohibited coffee and tea --and pies! He had his doubts about white bread and boughten meat. The newspaper woman, interested, inquired about ice-cream. It was, she found, not specifically prohibited, but going into a Coca-Cola shop to get it would be clearly sinful. So she offered to get a saucer of it, and bring it out to the sidewalk. The visitor vacillated--and came near to being lost. But God saved her in the nick of time. When the newspaper woman emerged from the place she was in full flight up the street. Later on her husband, mounted on a mule, overtook her four miles out the mountain pike. H.L. Mencken reporting on the people of rural Tennessee during the John Scopes trial. http://grammar.about.com/od/60 essays/a/hillzionessay.htm |
Leob Member Username: Leob
Post Number: 95 Registered: 10-2005
| Posted on Saturday, August 04, 2007 - 12:48 pm: | |
Eph's on Woodward has become my favorite when they make the extra effort to open on Saturday's !! C'mon guys, people work weekends too!!! Jimmy John's is a poor substitute, but they'll take my money... ;) Leo B |
Smogboy Member Username: Smogboy
Post Number: 5631 Registered: 11-2004
| Posted on Saturday, August 04, 2007 - 12:53 pm: | |
If they have their passports in order, why not take the stroll over to Windsor? Impress them with the fact they went over to a foreign country! There's some great Vietnamese, Chinese (dim sum perhaps?) and Italian food there. |
Stromberg2 Member Username: Stromberg2
Post Number: 38 Registered: 10-2006
| Posted on Saturday, August 04, 2007 - 8:20 pm: | |
Thanks Gannon, Appreciate the info. Coming up on 10,000 Quality posts, Jjaba should have something cool for you. Stromberg2, only 9768 to go. |
Supersport Member Username: Supersport
Post Number: 11652 Registered: 10-2003
| Posted on Saturday, August 04, 2007 - 9:12 pm: | |
Jelk, I suppose a better question would be, why the hell do you worry so much about how others live their lives? I seems to be an obsession of yours. |
Jelk Member Username: Jelk
Post Number: 4527 Registered: 10-2003
| Posted on Saturday, August 04, 2007 - 9:24 pm: | |
I don't worry how others live their lives. I worry why they are so concerned how I live mine. Mennonites or other religious fanatics who refuse to eat in restaurants that serve alcohol obviously believe people having a beer are so sinful and corrupt that their mere presence in a room corrupts the pure. It's intolerance masked as religious expression. That's fine but don't expect me to help these backwoods rubes find a place to eat. |
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw
Post Number: 3465 Registered: 02-2005
| Posted on Saturday, August 04, 2007 - 9:53 pm: | |
Damn heretics. haha If an alcohol-free environment will ensure that they eat out in Detroit...whatever, let's make it happen. Jelk, I wonder the same thing (why can't people who condemn alcohol use for themselves be even near alcohol?); I wouldn't compare it to pharmacists not dispensing birth control, though. |
Lilpup Member Username: Lilpup
Post Number: 2558 Registered: 06-2004
| Posted on Saturday, August 04, 2007 - 11:39 pm: | |
I don't know that they are concerned about whether or not a place serves alcohol, but if they don't care to be in that environment I want to be able to accomodate them. Even *I* don't like being in bars if the atmosphere is too drunk, loud, and rowdy. Face it, alcohol can really bring out a person's unpleasant side. My aunt grew up here, but her daughter and son-in-law have never before visited long enough to really tour the area. They joined the Mennonite Church when they were in college and although my cousin lived in different states growing up, she hasn't done the urban thing much at all - mostly suburbia or small town. She graduated from Penn State in architecture and lives near Harrisburg, PA now. I was at Greenfield Village today and noticed quite a number of either Mennonite or liberal Amish - esp. women with headwear. I heard one man say they were from Indiana. It was funny because GV is the one place my cousin specifically wants to visit. Seeing Mennonite & Amish women in their headwear always makes me laugh at those who get hairy over Muslim women's headwear. |
Susanarosa Member Username: Susanarosa
Post Number: 1594 Registered: 11-2003
| Posted on Sunday, August 05, 2007 - 12:07 am: | |
Oh please, the Mennonite sect in Royal Oak are the biggest group of Whiskey and Bourbon drinkers I've ever met. Sitting around, reading the bible, growing your hair long... drinking whiskey. Point is, they're not as puritanical as they like us to think they are. |
Romanized Member Username: Romanized
Post Number: 241 Registered: 02-2005
| Posted on Sunday, August 05, 2007 - 6:34 am: | |
Why do they not want to be around alcohol. Boozers are loud, obnoxious and stink. Take Jelk. |
Jelk Member Username: Jelk
Post Number: 4528 Registered: 10-2003
| Posted on Sunday, August 05, 2007 - 10:39 am: | |
oooooh BURN! The irony of course is that if these people were Gawd fearin', Bush lovin', 700 Club watching, southern Baptists, no one would be outraged by my comments. |
Smogboy Member Username: Smogboy
Post Number: 5638 Registered: 11-2004
| Posted on Sunday, August 05, 2007 - 1:33 pm: | |
I don't think alcohol is the real reason to avoid certain restaurants. I've been to so me stellar restaurants that serve alcohol but you'd never know it; they just catered more towards a true dining experience as opposed to a drinking establishment that features the bar first and the kitchen second. |
Pythonmaster Member Username: Pythonmaster
Post Number: 80 Registered: 12-2006
| Posted on Sunday, August 05, 2007 - 6:30 pm: | |
Did you mean Mennonites? Or men in tights? |
Supersport Member Username: Supersport
Post Number: 11654 Registered: 10-2003
| Posted on Sunday, August 05, 2007 - 11:21 pm: | |
Jelk,
quote:I don't worry how others live their lives. I worry why they are so concerned how I live mine. You are giving people too much credit that they care about how you live your life. Perhaps they simply don't care to be in an establishment that serves alcohol. The world doesn't revolve around you, christ! I say live life however you want, feel free to shovel in a few more cheese burgers and some extra fries my fat friend, as we really don't care. |
Gistok Member Username: Gistok
Post Number: 5027 Registered: 08-2004
| Posted on Monday, August 06, 2007 - 2:11 am: | |
I wonder if this same concern that Jelk mentioned would be a problem for conservative Americans sitting in a Coffee House (Hash Bar) in Amsterdam! |
Dds Member Username: Dds
Post Number: 305 Registered: 10-2006
| Posted on Monday, August 06, 2007 - 12:20 pm: | |
quote:You are giving people too much credit that they care about how you live your life. Yeah, Jelk! Maybe you should stop blogging so much! |
Buckster1986 Member Username: Buckster1986
Post Number: 2 Registered: 08-2007
| Posted on Monday, August 06, 2007 - 12:27 pm: | |
Lafayette Coney Island is a must...great food! (Message edited by buckster1986 on August 06, 2007) |
Jelk Member Username: Jelk
Post Number: 4531 Registered: 10-2003
| Posted on Monday, August 06, 2007 - 12:43 pm: | |
I may be fat but I'm certainly not your friend. Such an allegation is grounds for a slander lawsuit. |
Craig Member Username: Craig
Post Number: 208 Registered: 02-2007
| Posted on Monday, August 06, 2007 - 12:48 pm: | |
Someone does not want to support a business because the business promotes an abhorrent lifestyle? Shame on those "backwoods rubes!" The Mennonites, and others, have no moral standing to use their dollars to promote an agenda of a fringe. BTW - someone contact the ecological crowd and tell them that they better stop buying Prius's unless they really are turned on by the inverted bathtub design. Just let the Mennonites alone. More room at the bar for the rest of us who choose to drink. |
Monahan568 Member Username: Monahan568
Post Number: 168 Registered: 04-2004
| Posted on Monday, August 06, 2007 - 1:01 pm: | |
I'm a big fan of American Masala. It's a new Indian restaurant that just opened up on West Hancock St. - just off of Woodward south of Warren. They are quite cheap, and the food is awesome. They had a tent at cityfest too... here is the website - http://www.samosaking.com/ |
Dds Member Username: Dds
Post Number: 306 Registered: 10-2006
| Posted on Monday, August 06, 2007 - 1:05 pm: | |
quote:It's a new Indian restaurant that just opened up on West Hancock St. - just off of Woodward south of Warren. I'm pretty sure American Masala has been open for at least 2-3 years. |
Monahan568 Member Username: Monahan568
Post Number: 169 Registered: 04-2004
| Posted on Monday, August 06, 2007 - 1:20 pm: | |
when i talked to the owner a few weeks back they said they just opened...they didn't have several of their menu items available yet which was why I asked. maybe they just moved locations or something? Anywho, either way it's pretty good...just a suggestion! |
Lilpup Member Username: Lilpup
Post Number: 2566 Registered: 06-2004
| Posted on Monday, August 06, 2007 - 1:35 pm: | |
ya know, Mennonites and Amish are probably the least infringing of all religious groups - leave them alone and they'll leave you alone I don't know how many people I heard ranting and raving about the guy who killed the kids at an Amish school awhile back, and had absolutely no comprehension of how the Amish could forgive the shooter. |
Dds Member Username: Dds
Post Number: 308 Registered: 10-2006
| Posted on Monday, August 06, 2007 - 1:48 pm: | |
quote:maybe they just moved locations or something? Possible. A few years back someone handed me a card when he overheard me talking about Priya on Maple & Livernois. I checked the web site, and they refer to being near the 13th Precinct, which means it can't be *that* new, anyways. |