Another Fiftieth Anniversary

Posted on May 31, 2016 by thewineraconteur

I have had the good fortune to attend two Fiftieth Wedding Anniversaries and the funny thing is that both were celebrated at the exact same church, fifty years later. Fifty years is quite an accomplishment in today’s society and I was glad to be a part of both of these celebrations, and they were both part of my Bride’s family. The first was celebrated by her parents, and recently her first cousin had the same honor. There is just something awe inspiring about entering some of the grand cathedral type churches that are no longer being built, and this church was no exception. In fact it was such an awe inspiring structure that it was featured in a Clint Eastwood film that was shot in the Detroit area. When I was growing up, most of the churches that I had ever been in were of this style and grandeur and I still think of church in this manner, and remember the lessons of wearing one’s Sunday best clothing to attend church.

Sierra Mar Pelerin Chardonnay SLH 2012

After the mass, there was a special service for the two love-birds to renew their vows and it was a Kodak moment for all that attended the mass. I was impressed that the priest delivered his sermon while walking around the nave and not encumbered by having to read his lesson. Afterwards we all drove to a hall for the reception and since my Bride is part of such a large family, the invitation list was whittled down to only first cousins and spouses and there was still a crowd, which speaks volumes for the honored couple. They had a caterer who set up a buffet line with all delicious food, and trust me, I am very finicky and I usually do not eat at most wedding receptions that I attend. The beef, chicken and the stuffed pork were all well prepared and the service was very attentive. There was also a disc jockey that played music from their times, and plenty of people were eager to get up and dance for the rest of the evening. The happy couple also could still cut the rug as they did several polkas without appearing winded at all.

High Flyer Doctor's Pinot Noir 2010

The happy couple had called my Bride to find out what kind of wine they should buy, since they could bring all the beverages to the hall. When my Bride heard that, she insisted that we would bring our own wine from the cellar, and that we were honored to be part of the celebration. Since my Bride’s sister flew in for the weekend and stayed with us for the event, I grabbed a couple of bottles that I knew that the three of us could enjoy. I looked forward to trying a couple of bottles that had been in the cellar from my wine club “A Taste of Monterey” and both of the wines were from the Santa Lucia Highlands. The first bottle that we enjoyed was Pelerin Sierra Mar Vineyard Chardonnay 2012. I have had the good fortune to enjoyed several different bottles from this winery and have enjoyed them all. This was a small production of 333 cases and I must say that it was much more Continental in taste, as opposed to the big California Chardonnays that one usually has. The second bottle that I opened was from High Flyer Doctor’s Vineyard Pinot Noir 2010. There were 200 cases of this wine produced and the wine had spent twelve months in assorted oak barrels. One of the points of interest about the vines cultivated at Doctor’s Vineyard is that there are three distinct Pinot Noir clones that are grown there. While the wine was good, and I was looking forward to trying it, I did not find it to be as big and full flavored as some of the other Pinot Noir wines that I have had from the Santa Lucia Highlands. I must say it was just a wonderful evening and a grand time to see everyone at a festive occasion.

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Celani Family Wines

Posted on May 29, 2016 by thewineraconteur

Some days talking about wines makes everything fall in place. I met the new owners of the old Pier 500 in Wyandotte, Michigan the other day and naturally wine became a topic of discussion. When we were introduced I immediately recognized their name and realized that they had just opened up The Waterfront Restaurant & Lounge where the Pier 500 used to be. Back in the day I had been to the old place even before I could legally go there, oh the joys of being young and daring. When I got to The Waterfront, I could barely recognize it from the many times that I had been there, as they did a fine job of making it brand new and so appealing.

Celani Tenacious 2012

The reason for my stopping by at The Waterfront was because they were having a charity fund raiser and tied in with a wine tasting. The party was on the backside of the restaurant on the river side where all the wharfs and boat docking would be, and even that area looked so fresh and new. As I wandered around I noticed that even the rooftop on top of the restaurant was new and open for the guests to mingle and just look out onto the river. The party was all first class as they had a live band performing on one of the far wharfs and they even had hot food set up for buffet dining for everyone, just a great way to introduce some of the new dishes from the new restaurant, and even a bar was set up for those misguided souls that were not into wine.

Celani Cabernet Sauvignon 2013

The wine that was being offered for the charity tasting was from the Celani Family Wines of Napa Valley. I had heard of the winery, but had not had a chance to try some of the wines, as they have a direct tie-in to the Detroit area. Tom Celani first learned about wines helping his grandfather make wine at home, and he eventually working for his family in the beverage distribution business, they became one of the largest Miller Beer distributors in the United States. Eventually he started collecting wines and eventually bought an estate. Unfortunately for me, his two most famous wines “Ardore” and “Siglo” were not part of the tasting event, but the three wines that were offered were fine and were great to be enjoyed out on the water. I also got a chance to talk to the beverage manager of the restaurant as well as the representative handling the wines from Celani.

Celani LaPrima Sauvignon Blanc 2014

The first wine that I tried was Celani La Prima Sauvignon Blanc 2014 and it was a fine example of a California Sauvignon Blanc with a most pleasant color and a soft nose. The wine was aged in barrels for four months and was a nice pleasant wine to enjoy on a summer evening. The second wine that I tasted was Tenacious Napa Valley Red Wine Unfiltered 2012. This was a proprietary red wine and I presumed that it was a classic Claret blend, but the representative told me that it was a Pomerol blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc; he said more in the tradition of Le Pin and Petrus. I informed the representative that I had never had the good fortune of having either of those two wines, though I have enjoyed other wines from Pomerol, and he said that if he hadn’t been in the company of Tom Celani at some events, that he would never have had the chance either. Tenacious is a blend of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc and was aged in new French Oak barrels for twenty-two months with a production of 2,161 cases made. I tell you that this wine was divine and I kind of broke the rules and went back and had a second round of this wine before the evening was over. The last wine that I tasted for the evening was the Celani Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 which was also unfiltered. This wine spent twenty months in 90% new French Oak and had a production of 4,000 cases. It was very impressive with the color and nose; and it was the hit of the evening from most of the people that I discussed the wine with, but it may have been because everyone knows Cabernet Sauvignon. I will say that for my money the Tenacious was the break-out wine of the evening and I would enjoy it again and I am sure that it will even be more wonderful after five or ten years of additional cellar time. The evening was so enjoyable and the restaurant so inviting that I am sure that I will be there for an evening of dining with my Bride soon enough and it was a shame that she could not attend the party that evening.

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Volunteering

Posted on May 27, 2016 by thewineraconteur

I am seeing more and more wineries stepping up to the plate to volunteer some of their proceeds for charitable acts and I applaud that. It makes me think of the volunteer that I live with, namely my Bride who despite that entire professional vocation she has going on still finds time to volunteer her time and effort. Through her church and assorted organizations, she is a mentor for children looking to better their condition, she visits shut-ins with and helps with counseling in a proscribed method. She lectors and is also an Eucharistic Minister, and just recently she has become part of her parish council; and at times I get worn out just keeping track of all that she does.

10 Span Pinot Noir 2014

What made me think about this is, she was attending a birthday celebration for one of the priests at her church, and no surprise she was also working the party as well. This article could almost have been “guest” written by her, as she relayed all the information of the party. She had also tasted the wines and of course brought one of the empty bottles home to tell me about the wines, even though her priest had suggested that she take a full bottle home for me to try, as I had a prior commitment that evening.

Ventana Wildlife Society

The wines that she was telling me about that she had tasted were a Chardonnay and a Pinot Noir; knowing that I tend to drink both of those type wines often. The wines were produced by 10 Span Vineyards of Livermore, California, and both of the wines were from their 2014 vintage. 10 Span Vineyards offers two collections, one is the Conservancy collection featuring a Chardonnay, a Pinot Gris and a Pinot Noir; while the other collection was their Central Coast Collection that she had that evening, and they offer a Cabernet Sauvignon, a Chardonnay and a Pinot Noir. The fruits that are harvested for the wines come from both the Santa Barbara County and the Monterey County, hence the Central Coast designation. The winemaker John Clark worked prior at Corbett Canyon and at Concannon, as well as a boutique winery that he co-founded with his wife called Brophy-Clark. My Bride enjoyed the wines and 10 Span Vineyards offers a portion of the proceeds to the Ventana Wildlife Society, it their effort to reintroduce the California condor into the wild. I am sure that her volunteering kept her from even realizing that the wine that she was enjoying from that evening also volunteers.

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MWWC#25: Travel

Posted on May 25, 2016 by thewineraconteur

“Wherever we go what ever we do.
We’re gonna go through it together.
We may not go far, but sure as a star
Wherever we are its together.”

A little classic traveling lyrics to herald in the next installment of the Monthly Wine Writing Challenge and we are now up to the twenty-fifth challenge. The last winner of the Challenge was Loie of Cheap Wine Curious and her dubious honor was to select the next theme and it is “travel.” One of the most enjoyable parts of the Challenges is that it tends to get us out of our usual writing styles and to make us try our hand at something different. Of course raconteurs are always up to the challenge of being long-winded and rambling.

wine-stain Monthly Wine Challenge

My Bride and I are basically parochial in our travels, and that is really my fault, as she has been to the continent and I have not, and I am sure that will change. We do our fair share of traveling and of course drinking wine, and I could have gone on and on about some of the great restaurants and wines that we have enjoyed over the years from destinations like Manhattan, New Orleans, Chicago, Las Vegas and other communities know for having great cuisine. Thankfully I am not over three hundred pounds and suffering from gout.

Maui Blanc

While we may not have visited any of the great wineries on the continent, we have visited some states and had the chance to visit some wineries, even sometimes where one does not anticipate finding wineries. On another Challenge I even wrote about my concerns about returning with a cache of wines that were stored overhead in the bin, way back when one could transport wine as a carry-on. As I look back, I realize that we have missed chances to visit wineries from states that are not traditionally thought of as wine producing states; and we shall have to make a more concerted effort to change that in future travels. I think that one of the most unique places where we did visit that had a winery was on the island of Maui in Hawaii. We drove up the mountain to visit this location and to see Tedeschi Vineyards and to try their sparkling wine,  their red and of course their pineapple wine. I have also realized that there are some stories that I have neglected to discuss about that trip, but that is for another time.

WyandotteVintage Harbor

I will omit writing about local traveling in the state of Michigan, but we have enjoyed many wines and wineries in the state and there are plenty more to visit and discover. Then we have visited some wineries in the various exotic wine producing state of Ohio and have even tempted fate, since Michigan license plates are not welcome signs for some sport’s fanatics and the assorted law enforcement agencies in the state. We did get the chance to visit Rockside Vineyards and Wyandotte Winery while on a trip. We also got the chance to enjoy some wines at some great restaurants that I would recommend for the wine traveler such as “M,” Mancy’s and The Refectory.

Trius Showcase Red Shale Cabernet Franc 2012

Since I am being really parochial and discussing travel close to home, we have enjoyed many wineries from the Province of Ontario in Canada. A country that is not thought of in general for wine production, but they are really worth the effort to visit, and I am amazed at how they are growing exponentially as I go back to the homeland of my Father. Some of the wineries that I would tout and it is a short list of the many that we have visited are: Jackson-Trigg, Trius Winery, Hillebrand Winery, Reif Estate Winery and Ravine Vineyard Estate Winery. Then there is an abundance of fine restaurants that cater to the wine lovers and not just around the wine production areas of the province. If one is looking for quality wine and cuisine, one could visit Escabeche, Benmiller Inn, Church Restaurant & Belfry, Trius and Barbarian’s Steak and Lobster House. Ontario is well worth traveling to for some serious wine tasting.

Cain Five 1997

Of course no article about wine traveling would be complete with out mentioning California. We spent one week in Napa Valley and we could hardly even attempt to try all of the famed wineries that are so closely found together in easy distance from each other. We stayed in a home up on the mountain overlooking the entire valley and we ventured into some of the famous and not so famous locations, and a wide variety of wine making and varietals. It was truly an eye opening experience. Some of the wineries that we had a chance to visit were: Niebaum-Coppola, Hess Family Estates, St. Supery, Mumm Napa Valley, Duckhorn Vineyards, Opus One, Cain Vineyard and Winery and Prager Winery and Port Works. All unique, some grand and some very low key. The restaurants that one could also wine and dine there can also be legendary and some were just fun. I mean the chance to try Thomas Keller twice in one week at The French Laundry and then at Bouchon. There was also a picnic lunch at Sattui, dinner aboard the Napa Valley Wine Train and Chanterelle were all memorable. I am sure that if we stayed a month there, we would still not see and discover all of the wineries.

Talbott Chardonnay Diamond T Estate 2000

While Napa Valley gets most of the attention when one thinks of wine in California, another area that we have traveled to several times is the Monterey District and of course, we enjoy staying at Carmel-by-the-Sea. This wine producing area is much more spread out and only allowed wine tastings at a couple of wineries on each day, because of the driving from destination to destination. Some of the wineries that we have visited and some more than once were: Heller Estates, Robert Talbott Winery, Bernardus Winery, Bargetto Winery and Chateau Julien. One would not have to worry about starving in this area of California as there were many restaurants with some great wines that we have tried over the years as well such as: Pacific’s Edge, Casanova, Marinus, Ventana Inn and The Sardine Factory. So many places to try both for wine and for food, just make sure that you have a good car with an ample trunk.

JAT JATT at JT

Even though my Bride and I have not traveled the world in search of wineries, though we have vicariously through the years from enjoying wines from around the globe, we have enjoyed our travels and our meals. We also plan on continuing our pursuits and to discover other wineries and of course other restaurants.

“Come fly with me, let’s fly, let’s fly away.
If you can use some exotic booze,
There’s a bar in far Bombay.
Come fly with me, let’s fly, let’s fly away.”

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Union Street

Posted on May 23, 2016 by thewineraconteur

The good news about Detroit is how it is becoming more of a trendy city with all of the new restaurants, taverns and bars. When I was going to high school in Downtown Detroit there was considered more of a “no-man’s” district between the downtown and the campus of the college a few miles up. This slowly has changed for the better and one sees vast improvements from my youth. It just keeps getting better and better, and one of the reasons this has come to mind, is that I found another box of assorted matchbooks and they are a great stimulus for my memory and it also reminds me that I have to try going back to some of the pioneers of the changing of this “no-man’s” district.

Sterling Chardonnay 2002

Union Street is the name of a restaurant that was in the center of this district and was one of the safe havens in the area. The restaurant had been an assortment of different destinations over the years and was probably built around the turn of the last century. At one time it was an Italian Social Club and is now what is called Art Deco in its appearance and is known for its fancy long bar. I remember having some classic “bar food” at the time, because you know that when matchbooks were still passed out and smoking was allowed is some time back. From all indications and discussions I find that I need to go back and try their food again as it is now competing with plenty of new taverns that have opened up in the area.

MI Union Street MB

The wine carte at the Union Street is now much improved from back in the day, and I understand that the beer selection has also improved and that is what I call progress. When I am at a location where the selection is limited, I will look for more popular brands of wine in hopes of faster turn-over of the inventory, which I understand is not as much of a problem as it was then. I had selected Sterling Vintner’s Collection Chardonnay 2002 from the Central Coast region of California. In actuality this wine has become one of my go-to wines often, depending on the selections offered and we even try to keep some of their wine at the house for every day use. So don’t be surprised if one sees another article about this restaurant in a future article as an update to the changing appearance and attitude of the new Detroit.

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A Friend is coming to Visit

Posted on May 21, 2016 by thewineraconteur

A dear friend of ours will be in town soon and asked if we could put her up for a couple of days. In my usual hospitable way I told her that we do not take credit cards, but we also slide the bill under the door on her last day. Of course my Bride does not find that funny at all, but thankfully our friend does. As a hotel, we do not offer many amenities, but the wine is wonderful and so are the home cooked meals, but we normally eat out when she is here. I met her the same evening as I met my Bride, as they were great friends even before me. In fact, she was the one that got me started on Marilyn Merlot wines and she bought the bottle strictly for the label, but the wines have always been enjoyable.

Marques de Casa Concha Cabernet Sauvignon 2000

For years she would like to meet at The Capital Grille, a fine steak house, but also because it is located in the finest Mecca of shopping in the Greater Detroit Area. So the wallet gets damaged twice in one day, but that is fine, as my Bride does not get too extravagant. My only complaint about The Capital Grille is that I find it loud, but I surmise that it is in a shopping mall. I have never been to any of their other locations, basically because we have one at home, and when we are away, I like to try local places, which is getting harder and harder to find; everyone is a chain operation anymore. Putting that aside, the Dry Aged Steaks there are wonderful, and for a non-salad eater, I really enjoy their Hearts of Palm salad. One could feed a small village with the size of their sides, so sharing is the way to go.

MI The Capital Grille MB

One time we had a charming bottle of wine from Chile that we shared; the Marques de Casa Concha Cabernet Sauvignon 2000 from the Concha y Toro group. Concha y Toro is one of the oldest wineries in Chile from the 1800’s and they are situated in Maipo Valley which is called by some as the “Bordeaux of South America.” One of the first districts to be recognized in the Maipo Valley for their distinctive terroir is Alto Maipo and within this area is the Puente Alto where some of the most expensive and finest Cabernet Sauvignon wines in Chile come from. Everything about this wine is done properly, including eighteen months of aging in French Oak barrels. So I am looking forward to another visit by our friend and see what we may discover.

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A Student Memory

Posted on May 19, 2016 by thewineraconteur

Back when I was in college, I had a friend that attended another school, namely Michigan State University up in Lansing. Over the years the State of Michigan has witnessed plenty of school rivalries both within the state and beyond. The rivalries had no bearing on me, as my school was out of that realm. Any ways, my friend was enrolled in Hotel Management and he invited up for a conference that was being arranged by the students and that it would be catered and have drinks flowing. Not a bad invitation.

Bord 1

Michigan State University began as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan in 1855 and became the first Land-Grant Institution under the Morrill Act of 1862. The school slowly but surely grew in dominance, and one of the applied studies was Hospitality Services. Actually they were one of the pioneers in the study of Hospitality Business. One of the dormitories was actually converted into a hotel with a conference center and the students learned how to manage the different aspects of that industry. The Kellogg Center became a laboratory in Hotel Management under the blessings of the Michigan Hotel Association. The hotel is now a Four-Star Hotel in most listings and I believe still benefits the students as well as being an entity to itself.

MI MSU MB

I can’t remember what exactly the conference was for, since I entered it from the back door and met some of the students and enjoyed the benefits of their labors. I know that I was not the only person there that came in through the back door. There was plenty of food, as it was showcasing what the hotel, and of course the students could offer. I remember enjoying one bottle of wine very much, and somehow, I ended up acquiring one of the bottles to go; it was simpler times back then and so much fun. The bottle was Chateau Lafitte Gaujac 1971 and it carried the basic Appellation Bordeaux Controlee. I am sure that it was just the classic Medoc blend that is still in vogue to this day, and one has to realize that during that time, any French wine was considered the proper wine to serve. It was still prior to 1976 and California was known about, just like they knew that there were wineries in Michigan, but for most people they were not what wine was all about. I have to say that I never had an invite or an experience like that when visiting friends at that other school in Ann Arbor.

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Felix or Oscar?

Posted on May 17, 2016 by thewineraconteur

I was going to title this “Wine is like Mink,” but then I realized that wine reproduces as quickly as minks or rabbits, or maybe as quickly. There would have been other ways that I could have alluded to it, but this will suffice. I am always amazed when I speak to people and they claim that they cannot acquire a wine cellar, because they drink the wine too quickly. I am not sure if that is said in jest, or with tongue in cheek, because in this household wine is consumed quite regularly and we maintain a cellar.

Cases of Wine 1

Boy do we maintain a cellar. In the world of Neil Simon’s “The Odd Couple” most people might think of me as Felix Ungar, because I come off rather fastidious, especially in my attire, but I call that an “occupational hazard.” When it comes to certain things like putting cases of wine away, then I become like Oscar Madison. I guess there is just a part of me that gets lazy and need some prodding to put stuff away. I mean I enjoy the concept of having the wine collection, but sometimes that I just get overwhelmed with the logistics of collecting. Then when I force myself to put everything away, I become like Felix again, as I get fussy about how and where to put wine for ease of finding; as if that ever happens.

Cases of Wine 2

I had found some free time and was wondering what to do with it, when I forced myself to clear the floor path in the basement, where I tend to place wine for later storage. After moving ninety-nine bottles up, to make it easier to sort; right, I had to cut up some cheese and crackers and pour a glass of wine and decide what am I going to do. Oh the problems we mere mortals have to face and I am so glad that I am not planning on moving. So after lugging the wine around, eating the cheese and crackers, and then drinking the glass of wine, I decided that I needed to write about the experience, before I got back to actually doing what I had decided to do. I then thought how do these people claim, that they cannot amass wine, when to me, they just grow exponentially in the middle of the night. They reproduce not only in red and white, but they also mutate into sparkling and dessert wines as well. Well I must now say goodbye to Oscar and say hello to Felix. I will leave you the greatest line from that play “I can’t take it anymore, Felix, I’m cracking up. Everything you do irritates me. And when you’re not here, the things I know you’re gonna do when you come in irritate me. You leave me little notes on my pillow. Told you 158 times I can’t stand little notes on my pillow. “We’re all out of cornflakes. F.U.” Took me three hours to figure out F.U. was Felix Ungar!”

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Celebrating Mother’s Day

Posted on May 15, 2016 by thewineraconteur

Mother’s Day is the perfect day to get the families together and to contact those that are not near. We were all set to have everyone over to our house for the celebration and of course set out the “Whirling Dervish” also known as my Bride into last minute preparations for the meal. Then it was decided that we were all going to have the dinner at my Mother-in-Laws home, and that changed the logistics of the day, but alls well that ends well.

Finca Sobreno Seleccion Especial 1999

We loaded up the car with gifts, as we were also celebrating a birthday in May as well as Mother’s Day, folding chairs and of course some wine. We were the designated team to go pick up the food from an Italian restaurant that the families enjoyed, namely Ferlito’s in Grosse Pointe Woods and not far from her house. I have written about another Mother’s Day, when we repeated the same excursion and had to pick up trays of Lasagna, Fettuccini Alfredo and of course an extra order of Gnocchi with meat sauce for that fussy and pain in the rear Raconteur, who is not a fan of Lasagna and requires some meat for his dinner. Thankfully by Bride puts up with me, most of the time.

Toro DO Label

When we were first discussing Mother’s Day and figuring that we were going to have dinner at our house, I thought of our standard offering of filets and went into the cellar for something interesting to try. I found the wine that I wanted, but the menu changed, but I figured that a Spanish wine would still work with the Italian cuisine with out being too sacrilegious. I had wanted to try Finca Sobrena Selleccion Especial 1999 from Bodegas Sobrena. The wine is from the larger Castilla y Leon district of Spain in the Northern half of the Central Iberian Plateau that borders both Rioja and Portugal. This area has some famous wine areas like Ribera Del Duero, Toro, Rueda and Bierzo; all known for their red wines and of course in this area Tempranillo is king. The wine that we were having was from the Toro district and locally Tempranillo is known as Tinta de Toro and the wine carries the Denominacion de Origen, the broadest of the classifications guaranteeing a geographic area and type of wine that is typical for the area. This wine was listed as Selleccion Especial and had been aged for fourteen months in American Oak, and if it had been from Rioja, it would have been labeled as a Crianza. I never get into fancy wordings for the flavor and taste of wines, but this wine did have what I really favor in wines and that is that ethereal quality of terroir, or as I casually call it “dirt.” I enjoy when a full bodied wine imparts some of the terrain into the wine, as I find that special and a bonus. So even with the Italian food, this red wine was choice for the occasion and of course I look forward to celebrating many, many more years of Mother’s Day holidays

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Depot Town

Posted on May 13, 2016 by thewineraconteur

Even the Wine Raconteur can have an off night. Lately I have had a schedule that has precluded going out that much and I hope that changes soon. We finally had a night to go out for dinner and the plans were scuttled, but we decided to go out anyways, just the two of us. It was an odd time for restaurants; it was after Cinco de Mayo and before Mother’s Day. We were going to go to one of our “stand-bys” and we decided to try something new instead. Ypsilanti is another college town near our home that of course is in the shadow of the much larger college town of Ann Arbor. There is a district known as Depot Town in Ypsilanti that has been a “watering hole” since my days in college, so off we went to discover what it was like currently. Depot Town has acquired the name from the section of railway tracks and was vital part of the city back in the early days. There is a building that may be utilized again, it is of historical value from the Civil War days, the old railway depot is now used for other purposes and there is even a caboose on a side track just for ambience. Another kind of unique item there is a museum dedicated to the Hudson Motor Car Company, housed in a former Hudson dealership, and I guess you have to be a Detroiter to really get excited to see all of the cars.

MI Maiz facade

Depot Town is several blocks of vintage buildings and several of them have been converted to restaurants and taverns. Most were geared to the population of students that attend, just up the road. It appeared that wine might not be an option, but as we wandered along the sidewalks and looked at the food that some others were enjoying outside, we decided to go into Maiz, a restaurant offering South of the Border dishes, and I do not mean Canada, if you are a native Detroiter. It was a unique restaurant from appearances and on the brick wall as we entered in we saw an old hand-painted billboard that had been rescued for Finck’s, a working man’s clothing line that I have mentioned a couple of times before. The restaurant was very busy, but we got a table very quickly.

MI Fincks Billboard

Our waitress was very attentive and let us knows that everything was “house-made” as she brought us a basket of tri-colored chips and salsa to munch on. Since we were not going to have wine and we were in a Mexican restaurant we decided to have Margaritas, as we both enjoy them and it probably our favorite cocktail when we are out. I have this “thing” about ordering the “house” Margarita, because I think that if they make a fine generic drink, the food will be better as well, and we were off in the right direction. My Bride had a frozen Margarita with no dusting on the glass and I went with the classic pour on the rocks with salt. We shared a delightful appetizer of three halves of Baked Avocado, one of their house specialties which was stuffed with Pico de Gallo, Muenster cheese and bread crumbs topped with Cilantro Aioli and fresh Cilantro. My Bride had the Mango Salad which was baby greens mix topped with smoked corn, tomatoes, mango salsa, grilled pineapples, tortilla strips and blackened Tilapia. I was kind of torn between a couple of dishes, but just the name of the dish won me over, I mean how can one resist “El Gordo Bastardo”? It was a giant Chimichanga stuffed with beef, pinto beans and rice deep fried, but then it was on steroids, because it was topped with Chorizo sausage, grilled peppers and onions, Muenster cheese, Salsa Verde, lettuce and tomatoes. By the time we finished our dinners and I had another Margarita we were sated and needed to walk around Depot Town again, before the drive home, and yes I will get back on track with more wine, very shortly.

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