Benvenuti al mercoledì prima del Ringraziamento!
Parliamo dell’apertura di Social Brews, un nuovo locale nel distretto finanziario di Detroit, che offre una miscela unica di caffè, cocktail e spine di birra self-service in un ambiente spazioso e moderno.
Jer e Devon discutono delle sfide e delle opportunità per le imprese in questa parte meno conosciuta del centro: potrebbe essere il momento di scrivere una guida per uscire in questa zona.
In un momento agrodolce, discutono della chiusura di 8 Degrees Plato, un’amata birreria e bar nel Cass Corridor, ricordando il suo impatto e sperando che qualcuno rilevi lo spazio.
L’episodio si conclude con un approfondimento sul massiccio piano di trasformazione da 1,6 miliardi di dollari del Renaissance Center di Detroit. Jer e Devon discutono della proposta di demolizione di due torri per creare più spazio pubblico, dei potenziali finanziamenti pubblici coinvolti e delle implicazioni per lo skyline della città e gli spazi comunitari. Affrontano le preoccupazioni degli ascoltatori riguardo ai parcheggi, al futuro del Gran Premio e alle possibilità di nuove attrazioni come l’acquario, incoraggiando il pubblico a partecipare al processo di pianificazione.
Vi auguriamo di trascorrere un ottimo fine settimana di vacanza.
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Shianne Nocerini: Good to see you, too.
Jer Staes: Well, I went to a place that feels like a warm hug.
Shianne Nocerini: Oh, yeah?
To those of us who are possibly geriatric or solid millennials … There’s always the debate: am I a geriatric or elder millennial?
And that would be the Java Hut in Downtown Ferndale. It feels like a warm hug. The walls have colors on them. There is not the hipster bar seating, style sheet. If people don’t know what that is, it’s where every seat is metal, and everything is optimized to get you to leave as soon as possible.
Yeah.
Like Java Hut in downtown Ferndale on Nine Mile. If you haven’t been, it’s been open since 1999 or something.
Yes.
It could be in some sort of television show from back then. And look, it’s not gonna win design awards.
No. But you know what? It is like a second living room. They have big, black, cozy leather couches in the front. They have tables that you can work on. They have bigger tables that you can sit with a group at.
I actually got some work done over the weekend.
Yeah.
There. Because I was waiting for some stuff, and I was doing some shopping at the Rust Belt. Because, despite rumors to the contrary, I do not start dissolving north of Eight Mile.
No, Jer. You don’t. I do want to also point out that there is a second location that I actually have been going to a lot more recently, and that’s the one that is in Hazel Park on John R., just north of Woodward Heights.
So why do you go to that one? Because I think you’re closer to Downtown Ferndale.
I am personally closer to Downtown Ferndale, but my mom is closer to the Hazel Park one, and my son’s school is right down the street, so I tend to go there more during the week.
One thing I liked about the downtown location, I’m just giving a shout out. They’re not a sponsor or anything, but I love the facade and the cool metal Java Hut. I understand clean-ups and remodels are necessary at some point, but I hope they don’t significantly do it. Because … Okay, I have an unpopular opinion in a second.
Okay.
But, I really enjoyed it. I also enjoyed sitting there and seeing city life. Now, I know it’s in a suburb, but you can see buses going by, and people walking their dogs, and the din of conversations where you feel like you’re plugged into something. And I really enjoy that. And currently there aren’t that many places that have that right now.
Yeah, I do. That is the one thing I love about the Ferndale location. It is right there on Nine Mile. It’s walkable. There’s so many things going on there. You can stop into Java Hut, or you can get yourself a drink and walk down the street. Go to the library bookstore right next door. It’s just so quaint, and I love it.
Mom’s Spaghetti
Where have you been?
So it’s been a long couple weeks with a child in and out of the hospital. But one of the times that we were getting out of the hospital, my husband and my oldest had to come pick us up. And since we were already downtown, and it was a Saturday night, my husband told my oldest, “You know what? We will go to Mom’s Spaghetti.” And so we did. And I basically just dropped them off so they could walk to Mom’s Spaghetti. Because it was a Saturday night. There was a game, there were shows at the Fillmore. It was bananas, a dine and dash, if you will.
It was illegal.
Yes, because it’s a walk-up place. Right? So they went and got the food, and I just circled Downtown with the little one. And yeah, he had an experience.
All right. What did you think of Mom’s Spaghetti?
I think it was good.
Really? Okay. Was it all right? Because, you know, when that thing came out, there were a number of outlets that were extremely tough on it.
Let me put this as a caveat, okay. Because there is nuance to this discussion, which will lead us into the next discussion. I think it was good for what it was. I went into it knowing these previous opinions about the place, but the reason we went was because my 10 year old is obsessed with Eminem, and he really wanted to try Mom’s spaghetti.
So I kept an open mind. I just got plain spaghetti with plain sauce. My son got spaghetti with meat sauce, and my husband got spaghetti with meatballs. My husband liked the meatballs. My husband liked the spaghetti. My son really liked everything. He’s 10 years old. But I think my 10 year old has some pretty good taste. Right?
Like your 10 year old likes Ima [Izakaya]?
Yeah, he does. He loves Ima, and he likes sushi. And he likes all kinds of food; he has a very wide range of food that he likes to eat. So for him to like it … you know? Everybody ate everything. And I think for what it is … Is it San Marello? No.
Is it Le Supreme?
No. But you know what? It was warm. It was filling. It was comfort food. It was what I needed because I had just spent a whole night in Children’s Hospital. You know … it was good for what it was.
I feel like sometimes we judge restaurants. Maybe not we, but like the general discussion around restaurants.
Yes.
Sometimes it’s a little unfair, in my opinion. Now, I’m all about a good restaurant. I’m all about a quality fry, as engineer Randy would say.
Of course.
But I feel like we need to make sure when we talk about restaurants and places that we go to, that they match what they’re supposed to be.
I think sometimes there’s a genre of food criticism where it’s gotta be like: what would be a Michelin star or something? Like it needs to match what it is. So like Mom’s Spaghetti, which I have not had, which maybe I will try because I was dissuaded by many of the reviews.
Okay, maybe I need to give it a spin. I’m being self reflective here.
Right.
And maybe I need to give it a spin, and make sure that we are judging places for what they are. So if it’s a coney, it’s a coney. You know I love the hani at National Coney Island. However, I am not gonna argue that it’s anything but comfort food.
Oh, it’s total comfort food.
And like Duly’s [Place] Coney Island in Southwest Detroit was made better. And I shared this video with our member-only Discord of how it was made better by Albanian music playing.
Yeah.
2:30 in the morning.
Yeah. I think it just depends. And I think people take things too seriously, and they aren’t meeting places where they are.
It’s all about value for money in my book. And I feel like as we look at food coverage going forward, reflecting upon that conversation with Carlos Parisi, is to meet things where they’re at and just really focus on that value for money. So, you know, if it is a $100 meal … Okay, but we’re gonna judge it that way.
Yes.
Versus if it is $11 or what is it trying to be like Mom’s Spaghetti is a kitschy tourist trap.
It is.
And that’s okay.
I mean, and it’s in a location where there are a lot of people walking by who are tourists, who are going to shows, who are going to games, who just don’t necessarily have the time or the want to actually sit down somewhere. And if they did want to sit down somewhere, there are restaurants for that.
I’m actually looking forward to it. Later in the week, Engineer Randy’s going to be on the air.
Yes.
He went out and tried Big Chicken out in Livonia. I’m curious to see what he thinks about it. Which remember … was Chicken Guy!, Guy Fierri’s chicken place. Because of course I do think that we’ve had a lot of chicken joints.
There’s way too many chicken joints. I will agree with Devon on that front.
So … but not too much corn?
No, there’s never too much corn.
There’s never too much corn. For now.
Kid-Friendly Activities in Metro Detroit
Shianne, you came to the studio today with a list. And maybe, like Santa Claus, you’ve checked it twice.
I have.
And you’re going to share with us the places to visit that are nice.
The places to visit that are nice for children.
Okay.
Because, Jer, I don’t know if you know this, but Christmas vacation is quickly approaching.
And if you’re staying in town, there’s going to need to be things to do.
You’re going to be stuck home with however many children you have. And, yeah, they’ll have their toys to play with.
Or you might be their favorite uncle.
Yes.
Watching them.
Or, Jer, you might be getting children under the tree for you.
I hope that would be …
I’m going to give you my children and just say, “Please go have fun.” So I was thinking “what am I gonna do with these children for two weeks while they’re home from school on winter break?”
Are you gonna … sidebar, though. Are you going to just, like, make the entire team? The ones of us who don’t have children just all have to do a shift with your kids. Fletcher’s really great with dogs. He’s actually a professional dog walker. If you need someone to walk or watch your dogs, call Fletcher Sharpe. But are you just going to show up at, like, here’s your Uncle Fletcher, and they’ll be like, “who’s Uncle Fletcher?” Like, “you’ll be fine.”
I mean … I have joked with Fletcher about just dropping my child, my oldest, off with Fletcher so he could go run him like a dog because he has so much energy. He was like, “I mean … if you want.”
But, that’s the great thing about Fletcher Sharpe. He’s so easy going like that.
It’s just like. I mean, I guess. But here’s the thing. I’m not going to want to stay in the house for two weeks. I’m going to go bananas if I have to do that. So I was thinking, where can we go with our children to keep them entertained? Also, like, that are entertaining for adults, too? Right? There’s nothing worse than just having to be at a play place and just sitting there staring at your child going down a slide.
There’s a reason why the Looney Tunes and Bugs Bunny also had jokes that were there for the adults.
Oh, of course. Of course. It just goes right over their heads. Anyway, okay, let’s get on to the list.
Yeah. And so you have a mix of both free and paid things?
Yeah. And I have a mix of, like, day-time things and night-time things.
Okay, hit me with it.
Okay, so the first thing off the top of my head … When my oldest was younger, he loved trains. And so the number one thing is just hop on the QLine.
Park in New Center. I believe, near the Amsterdam stop.
Right. Yes, there is a park and ride off the Amsterdam [stop]. You can hop on the QLine. It is free. Head Downtown. You can get off anywhere. I mean, if you want to get off and go to the DIA, you can [do so]. You can go to the Detroit Historical Museum. There’s a wealth of things that you can do along the QLine. But my main thing is to have the QLine; take it all the way Downtown. Get off by Spirit Plaza and you can, like, walk up. It’s beautiful. And you could do …
Do the little picture with the Spirit of Detroit.
Exactly. Do your picture of the Spirit of Detroit and then hop the People Mover.
It’s free, and it’s back.
And it’s back. It is raring to go. Go ride the People Mover. I know people like to joke about the People Mover, but I love the People Mover.
I have heard this from multiple parents, including friend of the show Karen Dybis.
Yeah.
About the People Mover being fascinating. And see, the thing is, I’m a grown adult, and I find the People Mover fascinating.
Yeah, I love it.
I want to do a companion ride on the people mover. Now that it’s open. I should do a series of, like, history within each stop. Like what you like, the number one historical thing to check out is a few other different things like that. Because the People Mover, it’s free. It’s a loop, which means it’s a nice contained thing.
Yeah.
And if you happen to lose a kid somewhere, you could just pick them up, just come back around again. Well, let’s, I mean, let’s not lose children.
Do not lose children. But if you have a kid who’s a little bit older and like, you might think “I don’t know if they’re going to like this,” make it a scavenger hunt. Think of some different things. And then you can hop into the buildings. Right. The Guardian Building is beautiful. Inside, the First National has a coffee shop. You know what I mean? There’s plenty of things to do around …
Downtown that are like that little Cadillac shopping market.
Yeah.
There’s to like, go through. There’s the big Christmas tree.
Exactly.
There’s Campus Martius.
Yeah. And then there’s also … you could go to Capitol Park. You could go all over the place. And then you can hop in and get some hot cocoa somewhere. Make a day of it. It’ll be fun. Or night, if you want to do it at night. It’ll be colder, but you could look at the lights and all that stuff, and it’s really pretty.
All I can think about is Cannelle and fruit danishes.
Ooh, that sounds delicious. When my oldest was younger, he loved doing the people mover and the QLine. So that’s my number one thing.
Next, this is back in the Cultural Center, [the] Michigan Science Center. They are going to have extended hours from December 21st through January 12th on the weekends. So they’ll be open from 10am to 6pm on the weekends. They’re going to have. They’re calling it the Laser Holiday Magic Show, which is a laser show in IMAX. So that’s playing twice a day. You can get tickets for that.
Jer, do you know what’s worse than overtired children? Overtired children who are staying up past midnight on New Year’s Eve. So if you have a kid where you’re like, “I don’t think they can hang,” but they want to celebrate … Michigan Science Center is doing a New Year’s Eve party. So at strike of noon … “Hey, happy New Year!”
Can I put an honorable mention that me and Norris Howard went to the dinosaurs exhibit there?
Yeah. And that’s still going on.
And that was really good. And I feel like a Tyrannosaurus Rex walking past Michigan Central Station is exactly what your 10 year old would be into.
He would! He would love it. So, yeah, Michigan Science Center. There’s plenty of things to do there. The sky’s the limit there.
Third choice … It’s another museum, but this one is in Dearborn. I think everybody knows what I’m gonna say.
The Henry Ford!
The Henry Ford Museum.
All right. But it’s big and has lots of things to do, and you could break it up into chunks, especially if you have, like, if you. The way to go is, if you’re gonna go there more than once, is to get a membership, which I have.
Which is why we’ll probably be going there, because we can skate in and out whenever we want. It’s good to go in quadrants and you can focus on one thing. Don’t try and do the whole thing all at once if you don’t have to, because it can get overwhelming. If you like hockey, they have the hockey exhibition going on right now, and that will be leaving January 5th. So if you haven’t made it yet … I personally could leave or take hockey.
I mean, you are an Aves fan. I thought of it because the Aves were in town, and I was in Downtown Detroit. And I saw a sea of Avalanche jerseys for people who came in.
But yes, I am an Avalanche fan.
You get the local pass on that you were originally from Denver.
I was. I was in Denver when they came from Canada and made the Colorado Avalanche. So if you like hockey, go to the hockey exhibition, I guess is what I’m trying to say. It’s leaving soon. January 5th will be quickly approaching. They have the big screen experience. Go to that.
We would mention the holiday lights, but I think those tickets are already sold out.
They are? Yeah. Those ones go fast. Okay, next.
Also, in the suburbs, Heritage Park in Canton has a lights display and you can walk through the park and it’s free. Go take your kids and walk through the park and enjoy the lights. If you’re near Canton, it could be fun. Get some hot cocoa. Bring it with you.
It’s a nice park.
It’s a nice park. Walk through. It’s going until December 31st, and the hours are from 4 to 9pm and then finally, speaking of lights, Wild Lights at the [Detroit]Zzoo.
That is a long standing tradition.
It is a very long standing tradition. It is a long standing tradition in my family. It’s my mom’s favorite thing for us to do as a family ever since I had my oldest. And she tries to get us tickets every year to go. It’s millions of lights throughout the zoo. You walk through, you can take a bunch of photos. There’s different packages that you can do. Last year we did a package where we got dinner and all you could drink hot cocoa along with going through the wild lights.
Yeah. And that’s right there in Royal Oak. So easy to get to, with I-696 and Woodward.
Yeah, 696 in Woodward. And we live right over there. So sometimes we drive through Huntington Woods in the neighborhood, and you can kind of see some of the lights from the zoo, depending on which way you go through Huntington Woods. And then of course, just drive around your neighborhood.
My favorite drive for the holidays is Lakeshore Drive in Grosse Pointe. And just taking that down and looking at all the light displays, specifically the house on Lakeshore and Morass, that’s always …
That’s always the crazy one.
That is the house to stop at. Well, not really. You can kind of walk into it, but it’s really hard to park on Lakeshore, so don’t. But drive by. It’s a blast. So I know for us parents, the holidays coming up are a lot. We just got to take it in stride and one bit at a time.
And I appreciate you for it. Shianne Nocerini, I’m really glad that you brought this for us. I know we got a lot of feedback that people want to have a little bit more on the parent side and like things to do. So I really appreciate you bringing your expertise to the table, otherwise known as living life.
Yes, that’s what I’m doing.
Well with that, we are done for today with your Daily Detroit. Make sure to leave feedback: dailydetroit@gmail.com. Also drop five stars on your favorite podcast app. Those ratings are appreciated. Thank you to our members on Patreon: patreon.com/dailydetroit. Local media requires local support. With that, I’m Jer Staes.
And I’m Shianne Nocerini.
Remember that you are somebody! And we’ll talk tomorrow.
