With some of the city’s stateliest homes, most beautiful greenspaces
and finest halls of learning, the words “Detroit institution” get
bandied about a lot in the University Commons/Palmer Park area.
The
northwesterly neighborhoods, bounded by the Lodge Freeway, Wyoming,
Eight Mile and Lawton, are home to many a well-entrenched, long-running
distinctly Detroit institution.
I took a day recently to explore
a few of these places — the kind of places that make Westsiders boast
that their side is the best side, and have Eastsiders crossing Woodward
to see what the fuss is all about.
Sugar rush
It's 8:30 on a cold November morning, and the only thing heavier than
the traffic on Woodward is the glaze on our donuts. I’m here for a
little bit of pastry heaven at Dutch Girl Donut Co. on Woodward south
of Seven Mile Road.
University District resident Sharon
Vlahovich swears that the fresh doughnuts made at Dutch Girl Donuts
there are better than Krispy Kreme's. "It looks like a hole in the
wall," she says, "but it's an institution."
The place has been
open since 1942, and it doesn't seem as if they've done too much
updating. You can still see bakers whipping up the batter in a large
bowl in front, while a woman who's been there since 1 a.m. sits in
front of a deep fryer waiting for a new batch to finish. The donuts are
definitely old-school, and yes, better than Krispy Kreme — gooey but
light, perfect for a winter morning. The wind is cold, but the bag of
donuts stays warm.
Designer threads and mean beans
The
best way to work off those early morning donut pounds is by taking a
walk down the historical Avenue of Fashion, the stretch of Livernois
between Outer Drive and Seven Mile Road. About 30 years ago the "Ave of
Fash," as it’s affectionately called, was the place for haute couture
in the city. It has seen its up and downs during the past three
decades, but lately more stores are filling in the gaps. Aida shoe
store stocks Cianti, Via Spiga and other high-end Italian brands, while
Ki's & Jul's Fashion Center sells contemporary urban clothing.
Barbershops, salons and art stores round out the street.
I
poke around inside Gilbert's Antiques and add a couple of items to my
Christmas list before stopping at Shabazz Bakery to warm up and take a
break.
The bakery specializes in health-conscious foods and is the home of the
'Mean Bean Pie,' a pastry with a filling of sweet navy bean paste. It
goes great with coffee, which the bakery also offers (it's planning to
add a coffee shop phase to its business in the near future). If bean
pie isn’t your thing, you can try carrot, apple, cheese or pecan. Local
resident and Wayne State employee Veronica Williams says she stops at
the bakery for her fix of baked goods. "It's yummy," she says, and
she's serious. "I never kid about bean pie."
Historic homes
The
University District, Palmer Woods, Sherwood Forest and Green Acres all
are home to some of Detroit's most beautiful homes, most of which date
back to the 1920s and '30s. A stroll (or, in less balmy months, a car
ride) through the neighborhoods becomes a lesson in architectural
appreciation.
Among my personal favorites are the largest house
in Detroit (1791 Balmoral) and the Frank Lloyd Wright designed Turkel
House on Seven Mile east of Parkside, an example of his Usonian
Automatic style. But even the homes without such pedigrees make
interesting sights. The neighborhood associations organize historic
home and garden tours throughout the year.
Don’t pass it by
After
all that walking, it's on to dinner and drinks at my favorite
neighborhood restaurant. Anyone who says they've found a better plate
of fried calamari than La Dolce Vita's had better be ready prove it.
This upscale Italian restaurant on Woodward north of McNichols has the
combination of good food and pleasant atmosphere that is the holy grail
of restaurants everywhere. (What it doesn't have is obvious signage
from Woodward — look for the letters "LDV" written in cursive above a
doorway on the east side of Woodward, then drive around the corner to
park in the back. I missed it twice.)
Many well-known
Detroiters come here to relax with good food. It's not necessarily
cheap — dinner and drinks for two runs about $100 — but it's the type
of place where the money feels well spent.
Detroit Free Press
columnist Desiree Cooper, who frequents the place, says it reminds her
of the cafes she visited during her European vacation. "It seems so
civilized — a neighborhood place where you can while away the hours
with great food, in a great atmosphere with great friends," she says.
The
martini menu offers a dozen versions of the drink— the milk and honey
martini in particular is quite tasty. When the weather is nicer, make
sure to get there early to get a table in the outdoor patio.
After dark
Baker's Keyboard Lounge, where I head next, is arguably the king of
nightlife in the area. Advertised as the world's oldest jazz club, it's
been a cultural anchor in the city since 1934. The history drips off
the walls, which are covered in photos of artists who have appeared
there. The wait for a table takes a while — there's a line out the door
of people waiting to get in to see the first of two live sets — but
waiting at the keyboard-shaped bar and sipping on cocktails is fun in
itself. National acts such as James Carter and Horace Silver, among
many others, make their way to the club on Eight Mile and Livernois, but
the management makes a point to turn the spotlight on local musicians
as well.
Bavarian nightcap
Wanting to end the night in an entirely different realm of hipness, I
head to The Dakota Inn on John R north of McNichols. "Stepping inside
is like stepping into a different world," says Jason Fulks of Berkley.
The
waitresses here are dressed in traditional Bavarian garb, the man at
the piano is belting out "By the Light of the Silvery Moon" and the
food is made the way it was before "carb conscious" became part of the
national vernacular. Potato pancakes, sauerkraut and schnitzel rule the
menu, and the bar is dominated by inexpensive German beers and
Jagermeister. The place is so not-trendy and so unpretentious it's cool.
Ben Lefebvre lives in the University Commons District and appreciates a mean bean pie now and then.
Marygrove College
Dutch Girl Donuts
Bean pies at Shabazz Bakery
Interior of La Dolce Vita
Baker's Keyboard Lounge
The Dakota Inn
All Photographs Copyright Dave Krieger
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