  Dtowncitylover Member Username: Dtowncitylover Post Number: 39 Registered: 02-2008 |
I'm still looking for any information on the last French Mass (Catholic church lingo, for you Protestants and heathens, just kidding!) celebrated in Detroit in 1942!•• Any info welcomed. | ||
Lifeinmontage Member Username: Lifeinmontage Post Number: 74 Registered: 10-2007 |
on devrait fonder un quartier français tout de suite! i had to take way too many stabs at that before i got it correct. our french quarter might be in trouble. | ||
Dtowncitylover Member Username: Dtowncitylover Post Number: 40 Registered: 02-2008 |
That's funny, its alright, the french quarter is a work in progress, like most of new development in detroit for that matter | ||
Jams Member Username: Jams Post Number: 8273 Registered: 10-2003 |
There is on the otherside of the river a living community of Francophones, whose dialect is heavily influenced by the 18th Century French. http://www.uwindsor.ca/units/h rg/hrg.nsf/inToc/042310A61951F DFE852569840068EC28?OpenDocume nt Also check out Marcel Beneteau's Vieilles Chansons du Detroit. He collected traditional French songs of the region from the elders, arranged and recorded them. Just google his name for the links, and you'll be led to other sites of SW Ontario French as well. | ||
Lifeinmontage Member Username: Lifeinmontage Post Number: 76 Registered: 10-2007 |
18th century french, eh? interesting. for our french quarter, we'd need to have it focused around a couple of good ol' french street names. lafayette and beaubien might be nice. . .oh, that's greektown. well then what about montcalm and beaubien; but that's where ford field is- american football isn't very french. grrr, any suggestions? | ||
Dtowncitylover Member Username: Dtowncitylover Post Number: 41 Registered: 02-2008 |
Thanks for the links Jams, we can use the songs for our new French Quarter. But the idea of a French Quarter is a grand one to say the least. Some day we must have one because we are the Paris of the West! Vive Detroit! | ||
Lifeinmontage Member Username: Lifeinmontage Post Number: 78 Registered: 10-2007 |
this isn't a bad idea. imagine a row of french quarter-styled buildings with long verandas and wrought iron metalworking, maybe with a little art deco hint (to keep with detroit's glory architecture). french bistros, boulangeries, maybe a french wine bar. there could be an annual celebration around july 23, the date antoine de la mothe cadillac reached the detroit river, which could be city-wide. anyone know of a metro detroit venture capitalist with french ancestry? | ||
French777 Member Username: French777 Post Number: 395 Registered: 10-2006 |
Vive la Francais! | ||
Kathleen Member Username: Kathleen Post Number: 2815 Registered: 10-2003 |
There is an annual Detroit Birthday celebration hosted by the Detroit Historical Museum!! Yes, it's not a huge celebration, but it's a start! The French Canadian Society of Michigan, founded back in 1978, is a great organization to network with others interested in the French roots of Detroit and Michigan as well as Ontario and Quebec. Their members are always willing to help people get started with their genealogical research. A couple meetings each year are devoted to answering questions and solving genealogical mysteries. For information: http://fchsm.habitant.org/ | ||
Craggy Member Username: Craggy Post Number: 325 Registered: 10-2003 |
According to my Aunt's research, I am related to one Francois Bienvenu DeLisle, who first arrived here as a military escort for missionaries in the mid 1680's. He apparently was one of Detroit's first settlers. | ||
Dtowncitylover Member Username: Dtowncitylover Post Number: 42 Registered: 02-2008 |
I started to draw a rough description of what our French Quarter would look like. I have some bistros, boutiques, and the main cafe, Cafe du Cadillac. I also had "Beaubien Apartments" and "Cadieux Hotel". I can add some boulangeries and pastry shops, too! | ||
Gaz Member Username: Gaz Post Number: 38 Registered: 04-2008 |
You could have streetside cafes in the summer. Maybe jazz bands, a mardi gras? That might be too cold for parades, but you could hold the balls. You could have souvenir shops similar to Marie LaVeaux's in Nawlins. You could have the best of cuisines...a little French, a little Cajun, and a lot of Detroit-inspired food. And numerous celebrations for significant dates in Detroit's history...this can be fun! | ||
Gazhekwe Member Username: Gazhekwe Post Number: 1858 Registered: 08-2007 |
The cuisine here was not exactly Cajun. The Cajuns were as adaptable as anyone could be and blended in the spices of the southwest, which were not readily available here. You might get closer with habitant cuisine. Here is a blogger who is learning habitant cooking on the reenactment trail: http://18thccuisine.blogspot.c om/ Quoting: Explore with me 18thC French cuisine as a habitante in Nouvelle France may have cooked. After the F&I War, and again after the Revolutionary War, habitantes were surrounded and overrun by Anglo and other American influences. By the end of the 18thC, new foods and new methods of cooking would change her culture forever. | ||
Cambrian Member Username: Cambrian Post Number: 1831 Registered: 08-2006 |
Jgavrile, don't think so. My Great Grampa Aime Cote was from New Brunswick...I think. Gazhekwe can verify. My grandmother told me one of the first things he worked on when he moved to Detroit was the Dodge main plant, working on "the smokestacks" she said. I don't think he had sibs here, and none of the kids had anything to do with dealer ships that I'm aware of. | ||
Gazhekwe Member Username: Gazhekwe Post Number: 1859 Registered: 08-2007 |
Some of my faves are Habitant Pea Soup with Johnnycake, and Habitant Meat Pies. I didn't find those on that blog, but will post the recipes on the Food Thread in Non-Detroit. I almost forgot! Lots of maple syrup goodies. I want to invent a Maple Walnut Praline. The Habitants used local ingredients and learned from the Indians. (Message edited by gazhekwe on April 08, 2008) | ||
Kathleen Member Username: Kathleen Post Number: 2816 Registered: 10-2003 |
For authentic French cuisine from the habitant days through the 20th century, check out "300 Years of Detroit Cooking" edited by Marguerite J. Humes and published by Serendipity Press. This book is a "historical cookbook" presenting information about Detroit's social setting and cooking history from 1701 to 2001. Includes original recipes handed down by Native Americans and immigrants alike, as well as some developed by native Detroiters. For authentic French dance and costume, check out the Madame Cadillac Dance Theatre: http://artservemichigan.org/me mbers/mdecadillac/index.html (yes, this is an old listing, but gives you an idea of what you will see and hear if you ever have the chance!) | ||
Gaz Member Username: Gaz Post Number: 40 Registered: 04-2008 |
I almost forgot! In the NOLA French Quarter, while most people think of the French Cajuns, a very big influence is the Creoles (half Black, half French.) I am sure there are plenty of Detroit "Creoles" who could get involved. This could be a great way to involve the whole city, and revive forgotten history. | ||
Dtowncitylover Member Username: Dtowncitylover Post Number: 43 Registered: 02-2008 |
I was thinking that the French Quarter could be car-free and that the streets would be brick. There could be tables on the street for sitting. In France that all people do when they go to the cafe, people watch, sip their cafe au lait, and talk. But we still need a location! | ||
Gaz Member Username: Gaz Post Number: 44 Registered: 04-2008 |
To attract tourists, somewhere around the downtown area might be good. If you could get something near Comerica Park, you could attract the baseball and downtown crowds, but I haven't been to Detroit in years, and am not really sure how feasible that is. Car-free is a really good idea. It would give the French Quarter more of a feel of authencity, and make things a lot safer. | ||
Lifeinmontage Member Username: Lifeinmontage Post Number: 79 Registered: 10-2007 |
what about behind the fox? it's close enough to the CBD, yet not crammed into a tiny alley (like san francisco's french quarter). plus, IMO the area would be too small for a proposed new hockey arena. | ||
Dtowncitylover Member Username: Dtowncitylover Post Number: 46 Registered: 02-2008 |
so i've had three French experiences in two weeks. First, I met a guy from Cameroun who spoke french, then a French au pair from Nancy, a city in France, then on the way back to my dorm I talked with a friend of mine from France )in French) and then had this Albanian guy suddenly talked to us in French also and it developed into a French conversation! I think God is telling me something... | ||
Lifeinmontage Member Username: Lifeinmontage Post Number: 85 Registered: 10-2007 |
very fortuitous, DCL. are there any authentic french restaurants in the city? most i know of are a mixture of european cuisines or a fusion. | ||
Dtowncitylover Member Username: Dtowncitylover Post Number: 47 Registered: 02-2008 |
my french class my senior year went to twingo's, but i wouldn't call that "french", maybe wannabe french. but not that i know of. | ||
Gaz Member Username: Gaz Post Number: 47 Registered: 04-2008 |
DCL-I think God is telling us all something. I am not an especially religious person, but this feels right! | ||
Gazhekwe Member Username: Gazhekwe Post Number: 1868 Registered: 08-2007 |
Aliette's was a French restaurant whose loss is still felt among those who enjoyed good food not too far from downtown. It was on Porter, I think, not too far from the Boulevard. Here are more: French Gourmet 4 reviews - Write a review 23421 Woodward Ave Ferndale, MI 48220 (248) 541-1200 Maison's Restaurants 13031 Mack Ave Detroit, MI (313) 331-7577 Josephine Creperie & Bistro A taste of France in Ferndale 241 W. Nine Mile Rd Ferndale MI 48220 248-399-1366 Wed & Thurs 4:30pm -10 pm Fri & Sat 4:30pm - 11 pm Sunday Brunch 11am - 3pm Sunday Dinner 3pm - 9pm Mon & Tues closed for private parties Cuisine 670 Lothrop Detroit http://www.cuisinedetroit.com/ Open 4 pm Tues-Sat I have not been to any of these so can't say if they are any good or even still open. I have been to this one and can recommend it. The chocolate is outstanding, and the dinners aren't bad, either. Sandwiches and crepes. Cannella Patisserie & Creperie 300 Hamilton Row, Birmingham, MI (248) 203-9704 | ||
Lifeinmontage Member Username: Lifeinmontage Post Number: 92 Registered: 10-2007 |
thanks for the post, gazhewke. i'm gonna have to try cuisine or maison's | ||
Dtowncitylover Member Username: Dtowncitylover Post Number: 51 Registered: 02-2008 |
i'm planning on going to josephines for dinner next wednesday! | ||
Gazhekwe Member Username: Gazhekwe Post Number: 1871 Registered: 08-2007 |
Be sure you call them first to make sure they are still around. You can't always rely on those Google listings. | ||
Gaz Member Username: Gaz Post Number: 53 Registered: 04-2008 |
I work with an older, semi-retired guy from Detroit. I asked him about the idea of a French Quarter going up in Detroit, and he said if it's built, he'll come back and check it out. He was saying that St. Louis has a nice French Quarter. | ||
Dtowncitylover Member Username: Dtowncitylover Post Number: 53 Registered: 02-2008 |
I didn't know St. Louis had a french quarter. I know St. Louis was the top destination for some of Detroit French population after the lymee's moved in. |
