[HOT LIST] Single Food Item Festivals

Detroit BBQ Company at Pig and Whiskey.

In a world full of food festivals - as in, here's a bunch of restaurants in one place at one time outside under tents serving food and also there's music - enterprising new festival producers, nonprofit organizations with a savvy social media marketer and events person looking to put together a big fundraiser, and companies looking to create a signature marketing piece for their products (basically branded content in the form of a festival) are all hopping on board the Single Food Item Festival train.

It's just sort of this thing we do here in Detroit: someone has an idea and everyone else says "WHAT A GREAT IDEA" and follows suit to the point of fatigue (see: pop-ups, or things that perhaps somewhat inaccurately call themselves "pop-ups" - NOT THAT I DON'T LOVE POP-UPS or recognize their value for this that and the other, but there is a certain amount of "Wow, there's a lot of pop-ups now," you know?). So now we have several different Single Food Item Festivals, two of which are happening this week. Let's run through them real quick, shall we?

#1 Pig and Whiskey
Technically that's two items but only one of them is food. (I am not counting Beer Fests because those are different beasts, though plenty of opportunistic types have certainly caught on to their popularity and we are now reaching the point of beer fest fatigue, with the exception of the Guild events.) Pig and Whiskey was first, and is still the best. The name says it all: this is a pork-tastic event, and while you might think that being all pig all the time might be limiting, you obviously underestimate the popularity of swine. Participating restaurants include a lot of BBQ, as is to be expected, but also Treat Dreams with sweet and savory ice cream and the new Rock City Eatery with porchetta sandwiches (not to mention quite a few bacon-and-bourbon booze concoctions). Entrance to the festival is free and customers buy food at each restaurant. The event is held every July in downtown Ferndale and is a branding event for the Metro Times.

#2 Motown Macdown
The Motown Macdown came next, a mac and cheese competition held in Ferndale, produced by Garden Fresh Salsa as a fundraiser for Justin's Vision (so both branding AND charity event). This is held every December; last year was the second annual event held at an at-capacity One-Eyed Betty's. No word yet on this year's event. One ticket price gets you tastes of all of the chefs' creations and a few other treats.

#3 Baconfest Michigan
Baconfest Michigan was third at the gate, launched in 2012. (Note: I am no longer involved with this due to a difference in opinion regarding the direction of the festival.) This event is exactly what it sounds like: all bacon. Held every June at the Royal Oak Farmers Market, one ticket price gets you a few drink tickets and free-for-all access to all of the bacon in the room. While there is a charity component to the festival, this one falls under the "enterprising new festival producers" category.

3 days until this countdown stops.

#4 The Detroit Burger Brawl
Now in its second year at Eastern Market, if you have somehow managed to NOT hear about this I am truly impressed. If I were to make a "most annoyingly aggressive social media marketing campaign," this one would receive top honors. So...congratulations? The good news is it actually works (media loves a good press release that takes the work part out of work), and apparently they got a huge turnout last year they weren't quite expecting. This year's event is this Saturday at Eastern Market from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Ostensibly this is a fundraiser for Gleaner's, but appears to be a branding event for Eastern Market's Fairway Packing Co. (which in my own experience makes the BEST burgers in the area; anyone carrying Fairway meat has a great burger by default). Guests pay $10 and get tastes of all the competing burgers, then vote for their favorites on Facebook. The top eight then go on to compete live. Not sure how this all happens inside of four hours but that's the idea.

#5 Motor City Pizza Fest
Brand-spanking new to the scene, the inaugural Motor City Pizza Fest is happening tonight at the Royal Oak Farmers Market. I love pizza as much as the next guy. Actually MORE than the next guy. Actually the most. Which is why it's kind of a bummer that the lineup for this first-ever event is so lackluster: Little Caesars, Dolly's, Detroit Style Pizza Company, New York City Pizza, Hippie's Pizza. While they promise "10 to 15 pizza establishments," these are the only names I can find highlighted anywhere. Same day tickets are $9 for adults and $6 for kids 12 and under; attendees get samples/slices at each, plus there's live entertainment, an "artisan and local business bazaar," and Michigan beer and wine available for purchase. This is a Quintessential Event Company production, which specializes "in pioneering innovative business-to-business and business-to-consumer networking experiences throughout the Midwest." So. Branding event.

Also: The Detroit Ribs 'N Soul Festival
The website appears to be down and it looks like it didn't/isn't going to happen this year. (Alternative: every single Saturday all summer long at Bert's Warehouse Theatre, where the smoke from all of the many ribbers can be seen and smelled for blocks.) Still, it deserves a proper mention.

[EID Giveaway] Give Something to Get Something: Baconfest Tickets

Photo from Baconfest Michigan.

You want Baconfest Michigan tickets? For free? Of course you do, especially since the event is sold out.

It just so happens I've got a pair of general admission Baconfest tickets to give away to a lucky reader. Last year I made people drive all over the many, many miles of metro Detroit in search of clues on a sadistic scavenger hunt I thought no one would actually complete (one team did, and that very same day if memory serves).

This year I quite frankly do not have the time to be so detailed, but one of the most valuable things you can learn in life is that nothing is really FREE. So, I'm making you give something to get something.

My friend Nikita Santches of Rock City Pies is in the middle of a crowd-funding campaign through Indiegogo for his new venture, Rock City Eatery in Hamtramck. So here's the deal. Click on the link (^^^THAT IS A LINK, RIGHT THERE IN ORANGE), make a donation of $25 or more, and be entered for your chance to win a pair of free Baconfest Michigan tickets for Saturday, June 1.

#WERQ

PLEASE NOTE: The ONLY WAY you will be entered is if you (a) donate $25 or more, and (b) forward the Indiegogo confirmation email to info@baconfestmichigan.com.

You might remember Rock City Pies as being the first vendor to run out of food at Baconfest last year. Nik will be back at Baconfest again this year (and with more food this time, you fucking savages).

But wait, there's more! With 12 days and counting left in his campaign, Nik still has a long way to go. If you guys put him over the top and fully fund his project, then I will personally put together for you your very own Baconfest grab bag filled with Baconfest T-shirts (you tell me the sizes), a poster, bacon-themed art, food items from local purveyors, and other freebies. At my own expense. Just for you. This grab bag will be worth over $100 in free stuff, PLUS the general admission tickets, PLUS your face all over EID + Baconfest + Rock City social medias.

Plus plus PLUS, not only do you get entered for a chance to win tickets; you'll also get whatever prize is listed on the Indiegogo campaign for the amount of your donation. So really, either way you win.

So! Donate, and get your friends to donate too. My contest will run through the end of the Rock City Eatery campaign. The winner will be selected at random by Baconfest staff on Friday, May 24, and will be notified immediately. Good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor.

XOXO,
Nicole Rupersburg, HBIC of EID

Baconfest Michigan Returns to the Royal Oak Farmers Market on Saturday, June 1

Last year’s sold-out smash hit Baconfest Michigan returns on Saturday, June 1, 2013 from 7 to 11 p.m. at the Royal Oak Farmers Market, and we only have two words for you: MORE BACON!

What started as just a spark in the eyes of two serious lovers of salted and smoked pork has turned into a full-blown phenomenon. It probably goes without saying, but it turns out people really like bacon. “Baconfest 2012 was an overwhelming success for us and our participating restaurants,” says festival co-producer Matthew Peach. “This year will have more restaurants, increased space to accommodate more guests, two musical acts and even more Michigan based products. Which all means more bacon goodness here in the Great Bacon State!”

In 2012 Baconfest brought together some of the top restaurants in metro Detroit – including the Rattlesnake, Green Dot Stables, Forest Grill, Café Muse, Toasted Oak, One-Eyed Betty’s and Grange – as well as popular local breweries Kuhnhenn, Dragonmead, Jolly Pumpkin and North Peak for a sold-out crowd of 1,400, and these places brought their bAcon-game. We had a huge variety of bacon-infused dishes from 37 different restaurants, even places that butcher and smoke their own, and were the first Baconfest in the country to also have vegan bacon (from Seva in Detroit). We were floored (and so were you based on how you all waddled out of there), and now we can’t wait to do it again!

This year some 2,000 people with a passion for pork will come together at the Royal Oak Farmers Market for Baconfest Michigan 2013. We’re adding more space and more restaurants this year, which means – you guessed it – more bacon! Baconfest will continue to bring together the very best of all things bacon – inventive dishes and drinks with bacon as the theme as well as official merchandise and demonstrations from some of metro Detroit’s most bacon-loving chefs!

There will also be live music from Detroit favorites the Gia Warner Acoustic Trio and the Reefermen during the event and a competition between the restaurants for “Best of Fest,” selected by our secret panel of judges, and a “People’s Choice” fan favorite! (Winners will receive a framed certificate and supreme bragging rights for a whole year.)

General admission tickets go on sale at noon on February 1, 2013 at www.BaconfestMichigan.com. Regular admission tickets are $50 each and include full access to Baconfest booths as well as three drink tickets. VIP tickets are already sold out! Please note, Baconfest Michigan is a 21+ event.

Official sponsors of Baconfest Michigan 2013 and participating restaurants are still being finalized. Follow Baconfest Michigan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/baconfestmichigan and on Twitter @baconfestmi for updates. Also keep an eye out for Baconfest Traverse City, coming this fall!

The Week We Ate (The EID Week in Review)

YOU GUYS. Takashi. Back in Michigan. One night only, at Bacco, cooking the classic hits of Tribute. (Plus he plans on opening a second location of his Chicago casual noodle shop Slurping Turtle in Ann Arbor. It's a far cry from Tribute but I'll take it.) [Freep]

MUDGIE'S NOW SERVES ALCOHOL. Michigan beer and wine, specifically. (Also don't miss their five-year anniversary party on February 9, where everyone is going to be.) [Thrillist]

You've heard of the Battle of Lafayette? Lafayette Coney Island and American Coney Island, that is. Nate Skid has the REAL scoop on the so-called "war" (and how American is, by pretty much any standard, totally dominating it). [Crain's]

Looks like the Oakland is getting their very own single barrel bourbon batch from Buffalo Trace! (They don't do this for just anyone. In fact, that don't do this for many places at all. As your attorney I advise you to go drink the shit out of it once it's ready.) [Oakland FB]

In brunch news, starting tomorrow Maria's of Royal Oak will serve a VERY cheap brunch (also: Maria's of Royal Oak apparently exists), and One-Eyed Betty's has a brand-new brunch menu that includes a pork belly poutine omelet. Really. I will not shut up. YOU shut up. No, I'm totally serious, look at the menu yourself. [Maria's RO FB / OEB FB]

Baconfest Michigan tickets go on sale next Friday! "Boo hoo, it sold out, waaaaaah, you guys are jerks for selling out an event and not sitting on tickets so that last-minute assholes like me can finally get around to deciding to buy some, how dare you" is a line of logic we are not amenable to. (Yes, we really did get emails like this last year.) Get your damn tickets. Also, they might just make great Valentine's Day gifts. [Baconfest Official]

Woodbridge gets Woodbridgier with the Woodbridge Community Garden next to the Woodbridge Pub. [Curbed Detroit]

Food desert? Pure Detroit says pffffffft. Here's a list of grocery and specialty stores where you can buy actual food in the city of Detroit. See, we haven't yet been reduced to eating each other. [Pure D]

Speaking of Pure D, earlier this week was National Pie Day and they celebrated by covering Detroit's own appropriately-named Dangerously Delicious Pies Baked in Detroit. [Pure D]

Dan the Man. And his sentiments about what Michigan craft beer has done for the local food movement as a whole ring familiar. [B4B Connect]

Genji is now open in Little Tokyo. [Det News]

What Crepe? Ann Arbor aims for a Valentine's Day opening. Some of you will plan an elaborate evening of l'amour ... for the rest, no crying over crepes! [AnnArbor.com]

Beerie
Windsor wants in on the hot steamy Beer Fest action, so now they're holding their own this fall. (Don't worry, the date won't conflict with the Guild's Fall Beer Fest. You can go to BOTH!) [Windsor Eats]

Speaking of the Guild's Beer Fests, GR Beer Week planning is underway for February 18-23, culminating in Winter Beer Fest! [EID / GRBW / EIGR FBs]

A note to food and beverage writers: if you are not a beer writer, do not try to be a beer writer. It's embarrassing to all of us, and it just underscores how out of touch you actually are with this "trend." [Yahoo News / Fox News]

This one's better: Fox News names the top 10 restaurants to get great beer (rightfully) includes Slows. [Fox News]

Right Brain Brewery bottles hit the SE Michigan market over this week and that includes the GABF-winning Mangalista Pig Porter. [RB FB]

Which brings me back to Baconfest Michigan tickets go on sale next Friday! [Baconfest Official]

Eat It GR
Now live! Sort of. I'm currently half-assing a Facebook page and Twitter, while in the meantime focusing all of my west coast efforts on GR Beer Week. But hey, check out the sweet logo! [EIGR FB / Twitter / GRBW FB]

Random miscellany
~Well here's an obvious joke I'm going to make anyway: you think the "A" stands for "asshole"? [Eater]
~And Chef Eric from the Cook's House in Traverse City responds. [The Cook's House blahg]
~The War on Yelp (sponsored by Eater) continues, this time with a release of formal FTC complaints. [Eater]
~Some timely cooking advice. [Deadspin]

[NEWS BITES] New TV show UNITED STATES OF BACON features three metro Detroit restaurants this Tuesday

America has a new TV show that follows a douchey overweight loudmouth with age-inappropriate spiked hair and an affinity for patterned button-downs as he traipses across the country from restaurant to restaurant, only this one is dedicated entirely to bacon.

THE UNITED STATES OF BACON (that's the proper given title of the show, in all caps) airs Tuesday nights on Destination America, and this Tuesday, January 22 at 9pm metro Detroit will watch as Guy Fieri Todd Fisher descends upon the Union Woodshop (for their all-pork sandwich), Vinsetta Garage (for their Macon Bacon Burger) and Jacoby's (for their beef and bacon Rouladen).

There's really nothing else to say about this except: bacon.

The Week We Ate (The EID Week in Review)

Formerly-relevant person receives standard Corktown service at Mudgie's, whines about it for two days on Facebook, now she and owner Greg Mudge are biffs and she's relevant again, the end. [CBS Local / Mudgie's FB]

The Franklin Wine Shop + Cafe in Royal Oak sounds like a magical place. All "eclectic" wines (no big names or big bucks bottles), one of the "largest" selections of craft beers around, a chef and a cheesemonger on-site, gourmet pizza, historic rehab building...it's got everything! Opens today. [Royal Oak Patch]

No expense was spared on the new Buffalo Wild Wings in Greektown/Greektown-adjacent, which will open on December 21. And I'm going to give all you naysayers a freebie here by pointing out that this date it also the supposed END OF THE WORLD. [Crain's]

Say it ain't so, Jim! Ann Arbor's iconic Krazy Jim's Blimpy Burger (which has appeared on the Food Network and has been named one of the top in the country by several different pubs) will close its long-running location on South Division Street in the summer of 2013 and seek out a new location after selling the building to U-M. So basically the big news is they're moving. [AnnArbor.com]

VIP tickets to Baconfest Michigan 2013, happening June 1 at the Royal Oak Farmers Market, went on sale and have since sold out. General admission tickets go on sale February 1, 2013, and I suggest you make up your mind before they go on sale and not waffle on it once they do. [Prosper / EID FB]

It's hard not to love everything about this man and his brand. Rifino Valentine of Valentine Distilling Co. receives recognition from the county for doing what he do. [Oakland Press]

You've heard of bourbon-barrel-aged beer. Have you heard of beer-barrel-aged bourbon? It's this new thing from New Holland Artisan Spirits. The meaning of life is Dragon's Milk. [Chicago Tribune]

Here's more about the Two James Spirits Distillery coming to Corktown next year. And some trivia for you: this will be the first distillery to open within Detroit city limits since Prohibition. [Curbed Detroit / Deadline]

DBJ doesn't just pull on the heart strings with this one; he bungee jumps with them. Here is the excruciatingly sad yet sweet story of Steve's Place and its octogenarian owners. [Metro Times]

My prediction (which isn't even much of a prediction because a lot of projects have already been announced and are currently in progress): Grosse Pointe is going to BLOW UP in 2013. The expansion of City Kitchen Restaurant + Bar is just the beginning. [Metromode]

Peterlin's Restaurant + Bar sounds cool. Farmington still isn't. [Metromode]

The Mitt in the Clem will host a grand opening shindig this Wednesday, 12/12/12. [Shelby-Utica Patch]

The 17th chain steakhouse within a three-mile radius of downtown Birmingham, Stoney River Steakhouse, has received approval from the city commission (B-ham residents in the meantime say "get off my lawn)"; new Mexican place Mojave Cantina to open in downtown Clawson next year. [Royal Oak Patch]

Here is an enviable round-up of tea rooms throughout metro Detroit. [Detroit News]

With his latest acquisition of 1Webw@rd (or whatever hideous name he'll re-brand it with), Dan Gilbert owns damn near as much property in the city AS the city. And yet, people still go apoplectic over this proposal to plant trees. The saga of Hantzlandia continues... (For the record, I'm not looking for everyone to love Hantz; I'm just hoping for this same critical lens to be applied to ALL of Detroit's opportunistic land-grabbers.) [Freep / Crain's]

The Official Detroit Red Wings may soon get a new arena to not play in. Here is the announcement from Ilitch's Olympia Entertainment that's been rumored for about 12 years on a new multi-purpose events center/arena downtown. (See also: JERBS!) [Freep]

In case you forgot, people are awful. [MLive]

[HOT LIST] A Very Beerie Gift Guide

Detroit neighborhood rocks glasses from City Bird.

Last year I recommended some made in Michigan gift baskets for gift-giving ideas (I'm a big fan of the personalized, thoughtful gift basket). This year I'm going straight beerie.

#1 Clubhouse BFD "Ultimate Beer Bucket"
On Tuesday, December 11 starting at 7 p.m., Clubhouse BFD's "Ultimate Christmas Beer Bucket"goes on sale for $100. Sound pricey? It is. But consider what you get: (1) Founders KBS, (1) Founders Boltcutter, (1) Goose Island Bourbon County Stout, (1) Mikkeller + Three Floyds Boogoop, and (1) $20 "Johnny Cash Clubhouse BFD" Gift Certificate, all packaged nicely in a Clubhouse BFD beer bucket. This is truly the most beeriest of gifts for your most beeriest of friends. No substitutions; very limited quantity. First come, first served; limit one per person. Once they sell out they will release their next bucket (there will be 3-4 more beer bucket packages leading up to the holidays).


#2 Jolly Pumpkin Cafe Rare Beer Charity Auction
Also on December 11, also at 7 p.m. (so I recommend you find yourself a beerie partner and split your time accordingly): the rare beer charity auction at the Jolly Pumpkin Cafe in Ann Arbor benefitting the Peace Neighborhood Center. We're talking aged, cellared, secret stash kind of stuff. For the hardcore sour beer nerds in your life (hi), this is the most beerie gift of all. Plus all proceeds benefit charity, and we all like to feel good about our reckless spending benefitting charity around the holidays.

#3 Assorted gifts from Hugh
The newly-opened Hugh inside of the Auburn Building in Midtown has everything you need to honor the classic bachelor pad style of the 1960s, and that includes all of your essential barware, stainless steel cocktail shakers, vintage ice buckets, and also vintage Playboys. (The store's name is Hugh, guys.) Detroit's original pop-up(TM) and first-ever winner of Hatch Detroit, Hugh brings a whole different design dimension to Detroit retail. And that design dimension just so happens to be very beerie. (And bourbon-y and martini-y.) Gifts are available in a wide range of price points, from full glassware sets to smaller items like whiskey stones (throw them in the freezer and they'll keep your whiskey appropriately chilled without watering it down ... pro tip from Hugh owner Joe Posch: wash them a few times before using), and this handy "Drinking Man's Diet" (only $4.95).

#4 VIP tickets to Baconfest Michigan 2013
Remember Baconfest? Remember how much fun that was? Well, we're bringing it back on June 1, 2013 at the Royal Oak Farmers Market, and VIP tickets are now on sale. Please note: as of this blog post, VIP tickets are 75% sold out -- they probably won't last through the weekend. VIP ("Very Important Piggy") tickets include early entry, an expanded V.I.P. section with an exclusive bar, six drink tickets (and plenty of Michigan beer, including Jolly Pumpkin), a VIP-only badge and bag, and a signed and numbered limited edition Baconfest Michigan 2013 poster suitable for framing. This Christmas, give the gift of bacon!

#5 Detroit-themed rocks glasses from City Bird
Across the street and around the corner from Hugh is the Detroit-centric boutique City Bird, fully stocked with a wide variety of items ranging from jewelry and soaps made by local artisans, prints from local photographers, books from local authors, and clothing highlighting local sights and events designed and produced in their on-site studio. Also buttons and posters and prints and greeting cards ... you get the idea. You'll also find this collection of Detroit Neighborhood Glassware. These rocks glasses are $20 each (buy them in sets and they get progressively cheaper, up to eight for $120) and are etched with the names of over 55 different Detroit neighborhoods: sure, there's the popular ones like Corktown and Midtown, but there's also Hubbard Farms, Highland Park, Belle Isle, Warrendale, Rosedale Park and many, many more. Decanters are $60, and custom engraving is also available. Rocks glasses from City Bird + whiskey stones from Hugh = ready-made party (just add whiskey).

Holiday bonus round:

Beer baskets from 8 Degrees Plato Beer Company
You pick the theme and name your price range or even hand-select each individual beer and they'll put it all together beautifully in an ice bucket for you! They also have a range of snack items, many locally-made, so you can make a party picnic bucket, or go the more gift item route and pick out some beer-scented soaps, beer bottle jewelry and beer books.

St. Bernardus Christmas Dinner at One-Eyed Betty's
Granted, this is happening before Christmas, but would make a great early gift for beerie friends (or just a fun night out for you and yours). This Wednesday, December 12, OEB will pair six St. Bernardus beers (some of the best beer in the world) with six appropriately opulent holiday courses including escargot, duck fat goose confit, and figgy bread pudding. 7 p.m., $65 per person.

A trip to Grand Rapids, Beer City USA 
Grand Rapids takes their newfound (albeit shared) title of "Beer City USA" very seriously. Now through December 30, the Grand Rapids Public Museum is hosting the "Thank you, BEER!" exhibit that celebrates "beer, brewing and the meaning of life." Also check out the newly-reopened Grand Rapids Brewing Company, Michigan's first certified organic brewery and a revival of the historic old GRBC that first opened in 1893. And of course, while you're there: HopCat (one of the best beer bars in the country), Founders (one of the top-ranked craft breweries in the country and makers of one of the world's best beers), and Brewery Vivant (producers of one of the top beers of 2012 along with Founders). Need more info? I got you, boo. Here and here.

The Week We Ate (The EID Week in Review)

Mead is manly.

Food + Wine is already keen on the "stunning" Great Lakes Coffee bar in Midtown for their "fantastic list of obscure natural wines." Which is extra-impressive considering the bar was probably only open for all of a month by the time of this issue's print deadline ... does that mean F+W editors are trolling Detroit? Hmmmm... [Food + Wine / EID FB]

Imperial launched a brand-new brunch this weekend and I happened to stumble in. It's no beauty queen but the biscuits and gravy (made with chorizo gravy and topped with fried egg) are THE BOMB. Brunch goes into full effect next Sunday. [EID FB]

Seriously though, F+W is all up in Michigan's business it seems (and now everyone is writing about hard ciders). Batali-certified Tandem Ciders gets some F+W ink. [Food + Wine]

Grilled cheese sandwich ice cream exists now. [Treat Dreams FB]

Baconfest returns for 2013! VIP tickets go on sale in December. You have been amply warned. [Baconfest Michigan FB]

Cherries and Grapes is a new online store that ships Michigan-made wines, ciders and specialty products right to your home. This is a great way to get ahold of products from smaller producers that don't distribute far outside their tasting room (if at all). [Promote Michigan]

This was a spectacularly boring news week. Here is a picture of a tatted-up Russian in an American flag tank top. Also, vote for Rock City Pies in Hatch Detroit on the website and Facebook page; round one voting ends tomorrow at 6 p.m.! [EID FB / Hatch]

Pop-ups, pop-ups, pop-ups. It's like everyone's afraid of commitment nowadays. [EID FB / Curbed]

Bell's Brewery's commemorative "Batch" series was supposed to end at 10,000, but wait just kidding, now they're doing Batch 11,000 and calling it the Spinal Tap-inspired "This One Goes to 11." "This One Goes to 11 Ale 'finishes with a lingering warmth.'" That means there's a f-ck-ton of alcohol in it. (11% ABV, to be exact.) [MLive]

Here's a story about an old-fashioned candy shop in that other part of Detroit. You know, the part the hipsters haven't colonized yet. You know, the other 127 square miles. [Metro Times]

Apparently mead is manly. B. Nektar's Wildflower mead is named the "draft pick" for the Detroit Lions. PS, it's only available by the bottle. [Esquire]

This is just adorable. Macomb's got the me-too's! [Macomb Patch]

The D in LV. It is of course seedy, as one should expect a Detroit-ish-themed property in Las Vegas to be. [Curbed Detroit]

Seriously though, would you please just fucking vote? [HuffPo Detroit]