Living in the Mitten

Life has a scary way of catching up with you and throwing you that occasional curve ball, hence my lack of posts; call it blogger’s block, I guess. I was thrown a wild curve ball over the Christmas holiday this past year, I was transferred, out of Ohio. I now live in Michigan, Westland, Michigan to be exact about 30 miles west of Detroit but close enough that it might as well be the city itself, I live here five days a week and commute home to Ohio on weekends. Michiganders often hold up their right hand to show where they live or are from, holding the fingers together – like a mitten. I knew at some point my job would be moved and it only makes sense that my company moved our technical center, we are an automotive supplier and where else in the world makes better sense to be than in metro Detroit. I work in the suburb of Farmington Hills which is in the northern suburbs but decided to live a little further south. Did I want to move? not exactly but with 32 years of service in my current position, turning my back on a job that I really love was impossible. I found out about the move in September and made the decision to move then and started the search for housing, apartment housing, something I haven’t done since I was in my early 20’s. I looked at so many apartment complexes and trust me there are many in this area. – that my head was spinning. I finally made a list of priorities and found one that suited them all, close to work, nice, close to the freeways, carport, dishwasher, you know the things that make a move such as this bearable. I’m not a stranger to Detroit, I’m just a rookie at living here. Detroit is unique in many ways, locations are stated in cross street locales, like I live at Joy and Hix – not really but that is the closest intersection. Major street names running east to west are Mile Roads, starting at Five Mile and growing in number as the roads are further north. I work with a lady that lives at 14 Mile and Telegraph, my job is at 10 Mile and Halstead, get the picture. Then there are the Michigan left turns, something people not familiar with them complain about, I for one think they are useful in keeping the traffic moving, to turn left at major streets you turn right, then make a U-turn onto the street you want. While we are talking about traffic – Detroit has traffic, and lots of it, at all hours of the day and night. My commute in the morning takes me about 9 minutes on the I-275 Freeway (the other Freeways are named, Ford, Jeffries, Lodge, Southfield, Reuther and Chrysler.) but that same commute home in the evenings is about 30-35 minutes on light days. Even with traffic lights and traffic, going home in the evening on surface streets takes about 15 minutes in comparison. The one thing Detroit does not lack in whatsoever is wonderful food and plenty of it, let’s start with their most famous food, the Coney Island. This is quite different than the hot dogs we love in West Virginia, while it is similar in construction – however they would never ever put coleslaw on them and the chili is different in taste and consistency. Coney Island restaurants are on ever corner, Bloomberg News estimated that in the city limits of Detroit alone there are 150 or so locations – and that estimate was from 2014. What I enjoy about the Coney islands, and I’ll give a shout out to my favorite, Leo’s is the wide variety of other options including the best gyros and rice with this to die for red sauce, I get that combination every time I go to Leo’s, sometimes I add a delectable Greek salad to the mix. Then there is the famous Detroit style pizza, it’s square and is ordered in squares. Confused, I order a 4 square which is fours squares of pizza probably a medium in comparison to round pizza. My favorite is Buddy’s Pizza and they have grown to 12 locations throughout the metro area. Their website states: Established in the 1930s on the corner of Conant and Six Mile Roads as a neighborhood tavern, it was not until 1946 that Buddy’s first introduced our famous square pizza — the first of its kind — to Detroit. Buddy’s has won numerous local and national awards for their traditional Sicilian-style square pizza. Then there is the Greek and Middle Eastern food…ahhhh my absolute favorite. Greektown on Monroe Street in downtown Detroit has several great Greek establishments with Pegasus Taverna being my favorite. According to their website; Pegasus has set the standard for the unforgettable Greek dining experience. Repeatedly named the best Greek restaurant in metro Detroit, family-owned Pegasus offers traditional Greek cuisine in a fun, casual atmosphere. From its huge open kitchen to the generous portions and charismatic wait staff, Pegasus is the perfect setting for a family dinner or special gathering, while retaining the intimacy appropriate for a romantic evening as well. A chip’s toss from Greektown Casino, Pegasus is a great way to kick off an evening downtown. A true Greek experience is to order Saganaki (flaming cheese) and hear the server scream “OPA”. I also love to visit Joe Randazzo’s Fruit & Vegetable Market where you see firsthand the diversity and cultures that make up a large metropolitan area such as Detroit. Opening in 1953, there are 4 locations and a Nursery only location – I’m fortunate to have a location about a mile from my apartment. Randazzo’s carries the freshest fruits and vegetables from around the world with plenty of ethnic products for the Asian, Hispanic, Middle Eastern and Italian communities. I think of my Aunt Corkey every time I stop here and how amazed she would be at the sight of it all. I also really enjoy visiting the Cantoro Italian Market – 2 locations the older location in Livonia and the sparkling brand-new location in up and coming Plymouth-Northville area. If it’s Italian, you’ll find it here – my family always asks me to bring home Arancini (deep fried rice balls) that are so delicious. One of my go to favorites’ is Olga’s Kitchen, another Detroit chain that has the best pita bread triangles called “snackers” and Peasant Soup that I order every time I go there. When I’m feeling down a Memphis Special from Gus’s Fried Chicken always cheers me up and reminds me of my much-missed lunches at Dave’s Park Avery Store (miss you Julie!). Life here in the “D” is certainly different than what I have ever experienced before in my life – but I’m settling in and looking forward to the many adventures that I know will come. So try to avoid the potholes…try and avoid the traffic or just deal with it as I have learned to do…and come visit me and I’ll definitely give you the Jeeve’s tour of Detroit and all my favorite places. You may leave a few pounds heavier!

I struggled thinking of a recipe to connect with this story – then it hit me, Bubble Pizza. This was served at St. Mary’s when my girls attended school there and was lovingly prepared by Miss Anne.