Throwback Thursday: Motor City Pizza Fest

      I'm not sure who tattled but someone told Facebook I was a THOT for toppings because for a good three weeks this past summer, my timeline was bombarded with special advertisements on an upcoming Motor City Pizza Fest. I needn't scroll not one more inch, ANY festival celebrating pizza is the festival for me! For the price of entry you got two tickets which was two slices of pizza while sampling and voting for best pizza.

      Held at Ferndale's Farmer's Market, at first glance this "festival" looked like  a hillbilly family reunion that Honey Boo Boo and crew were sure to walk into at any moment. They had sone well known hitters like "Jet's" "Papa Romano's" and "Papa John's but then Domino's *catches vomit*. { Dominoe's, you need more people. I could get better pizza from Barbie's kitchen.}

      

      There were booths with just about any pizza joint you'd heard of plus a few eccentric newbies like a hippy themed parlor and Coney pizzas. I didn't get any shots because I was too busy taking them for Detroit Style Pizza Co.   The crowd hovering around the back booth piqued my interest but I played the game like a true lady. I walked straight up and grabbed a handful of what I wanted...

Classic Margerita
(cheesy, gooey to perfection!)

Detroit Margarita w/ fresh basil, onion, homemade sauce a mozzarella on garlic and herb buttered crust

   The styrofoam prison trays weren't the most fashionable (or user friendly) option for plating here but none of that matters once you take a bite. I could literally taste the care and attention to each layer.

 Beneath the house made sauce, fresh ingredients and mozzarella lie a bed of garlic herb butter atop the crust. Umm, YUM?!  I circled the event trying to find some pizza, ANY pizza to be worthy of my other ticket but there was none other. After four rounds, I went back home-- I mean, to Detroit Style. They had brought a previous PF award winner out this time

Chicken Caesar salad pizza

But I wasn't messing with it. There are some things one shouldn't convert to pizza and one of those things is Chicken Caesar salad. C'mon bruh...

Eating Good: Red Coat Tavern (Royal Oak)

Aside from the "red light special" ambience, it was quite easy to grow fond of this saloon type joint on a Saturday afternoon. Especially when a bearded waiter sets this down in front of you:

                              Calimari Americaine w/caramelized garlic, banana peppers, cherry peppers and lemon aioli




      The banana peppers were a nice liaison between the lemon and the spicy of the peppers, blending the flavors together. My particular batch was a bit heavy on the oil but the dish was delicious, nonetheless. Beer and burgers seem to be their strong point while there are also English based fare (but who wants Yorkshire pudding?) We got:

Brasserie Burger

Fish and Chips

Blackened salmon with garlic mash and veggies

The Brasserie has been dubbed "Best Gourmet Burger in MI" and I could sure taste why. Every ingredient boasted in its own perfection to create one superior flavor mash up that left my taste buds twitching..Lawd have mercy!

All up in The Brasserie
Brioche bun, bacon, Swiss Gruyere, caramelized onions, watercress, tomato, Dijon mustard

       Yummmy! :o)

TheWeekend Recap

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Under much duress (octogenarians are evil!), I got to visit the Shrimp Napoli at Bravo's Italian Cucina.

Shrimp Napoli with Salata Roma (kale, iceberg, chickpeas, cherry tomatoes and a lemon vinaigrette )  

I have loved this appetizer ever since the first time I tried it and I pray to GOD it never goes away! It is crispy fried shrimp with seared tomatoes and scallions over a tomato and beurre blanc based sauce. Thanks to pointers from the chef, I will be trying at home! 

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I also got to get a lil cute and support BevLoveConnection, it was a great time! This was the Patootie Pre-Party where the house cocktail Peach² had me like: 

At the Old Miami, we danced the night away :D ... If you missed it, you missed OUT! 

"Who is Jesse Boykins III???"

 Per usual, I was about 8 years and 4 albums late when I fell in love with the euphonium that is Jesse Boykins III. Yes, it was just a few weeks ago listening to my Robert Glasper Spotify station that I got on. Better late than never!

I got chills! Come To My Room? Amorous?? I don't know what I heard first but I do know that his rich vocals all over The Beauty Created seduces your cranium melting away any type of underwear you thought you wore tonight. I'm sure a Duggars' worth of children have been spawn off of Pantyhose alone!

          He has newer music, i.e the most recent Love Apparatus out this past spring but, if you ask me none can compare to the magic that happened on The Beauty Created. But hey, maybe I'm biased.
      

               




   Check him out for yourself :o))

Trust Nature: Sugar Alternatives Linked to Diabetes...Anyway

    "Artificial sweeteners may lead to diabetes" boasted the front page on my first stop of distractions before I started my "work" day this morning.

The first thought to my head: But of course! Why wouldn't another MAN made product actually be WORSE than its natural original. Even my short search on  Truvia "Nature's Calorie Free Sweetener" showed false promise, safer as an insecticide?! Ok.

 

       It's truly sad that generations of people swear by this living like my 80 year old aunt, thinking the choices recommended by her doctor are best in helping manage her diabetes. But he's just another player in the game of the health system, intended "for the people" working very much against them.

People,  EVERYTHING IN MODERATION!      Have nature's sugar, just don't go overboard!
- Forgo adding that extra heap of sugar to your Cheerios. Try fruit instead.
- Two Crocker Pot tubs of sugar is more than enough for that pitcher of Koolaid, don't you think?
-Double cream, triple sugar?! I hate the taste of the coffee per se, but honey's sweet is naturally more dense. Takes less to get you there ;o)

To err is human, people. The sooner you ACCEPT that the better.


Article at USA Today

TheWeekend Recap

     A great weekend consists of sunshine, good times, great people and delicious food!

 La Dolce Vita

   Caught Sunday brunch on the outdoor terrace on last Sunday...

Lox platter with bagel, cream cheese, tomato, capers and red onion

Stuffed French Toast with Marscapone cheese

Chef's Omelette: Filet mignon, caramelized onion and provolone cheese 

 We also enjoyed a live jazz performance for Sunday brunch and unlimited mimosas. Having had my 80 year old great aunt with us, I consumed a baker's dozen alone on that day. I'm sure they were just waiting to cut me off.  #teamnolimit



Bucharest Grill


  

Added chicken to the vegetarian for a fresher take on the shawarma

 Sunday evening I got caught up but lucky enough I was with cool friends who were hungry. This go 'round I switched up my usual chicken or Bucharest (fat gurgle) shawarma option. Started with the vegetarian which has cucumber, tomato, green peppers, onions, feta and fries :o)

Quick "beignets"

 

 

 On Sunday I happened to fall into a kickback session ending in a "faux" beignet to trick your taste buds until next Mardi Gras. Thanks to a rockstar I met through my awesome cousin :o)

Start with flaky type biscuits, cut to strips. Heat oil to med-low. Cook evenly on all sides, 15-30 seconds on all side. Dust with cinnamon and powdered sugars, enjoy :o)

   

  *** This is where I insert a picture of the final product. Unfortunately, I don't have one. Because as soon as those crispy, crispy delicious "biscuit fingers" were placed in front of many, I was no longer of the home sapiens species; I was a beast in the wild who had emerged from months of hibernation and saw its first plate of a deep fried dessert... but trust me, they were delicious ***

Couldn't Get It Up

     

(CGIU posts are designed for those establishments that failed to satisfy me during my visit, thus,

I think the title serves correct ;o)

    In stark contrast to my last post, this establishment got the game allll twisted up. It sucks my first post home is a CGIU but these guys dropped. the. ball. I'm not sure they ever had it to begin with. It was most disappointing since I had been there before for a showcase presented by some colleagues of mine, but remember seeing the establishment in a very different light. Last time, I had high hopes for the Black owned eatery located just outside of Detroit's historic Sherwood Forest neighborhood. This time, it left a bitter taste in my mouth.    

    To add to the list of conflicting signals, when I entered the steamy vestibule of the crowded interior, it was thumping! The dining room was packed with "mid-level bouge" Detroiters dining and vibing to the jazz band playing live in the front corner of the room. They were so overwhelmed with  management had placed additional seating in what was (probably) before, open walkway space for passers by. I'm looking around to see some notable city officials and socialites alike, the band is going in and I'm getting excited! It's about to be BANGING. Right?? Why else would all these people be will to wait so long in this hotbox of a vestibule for a seat? 

Chef/Owner Don Studvent (left) and his colleague 

         My second visit to 1917 was sponsored by my new job as a Christmas party. This came my second or third week working at my new job back home. After a wait of at LEAST an hour, including having had a reservation for our group set since the week before, we finally were seated in the brightly and messy attic space in what seemed to be their overflow seating area. There was a comfy living room space in the corner but there was no lighting there, making it just a dark corner in a cold, liquorless houseparty-- exactly, where's the fun in that?! To avoid getting in a pissy mood all over again, they took extra long to take our orders, many of the items listed on the menu were not in stock, when our food did arrive it came in pieces, sparsely (I ordered blackened tilapia with garlic mashed and sauteed spinach that was pretty much served as a three course meal).  My coworker (older, suave dude with his chest hairs out and a gold chain shining THAT night, lol) who is happily fond of steaks and cigars was outraged at the fact that the medium T-bone he had been craving was boldly delivered a full on well done...I'm sooo not making this up. I wanted to love it...I did! I fought with my bratty little sister to come out to an awkward Christmas party with co-workers I had only just met to get some quality time with the spot and I had only got a sample of before. I had high hopes. But just like that asshole ex-boyfriend, 1917 American Bistro just couldn't cut it *shrug*