[HOT LIST] Dream Cruise avoidance guide

Much like snow in the winter, every year at this exact same time the Dream Cruise happens and every year everyone who isn't an eager cruiser seems equally surprised and annoyed by its existence.

Look, if you live in downtown Royal Oak/Ferndale/Birmingham, it sucks. I get it. And if you live on one side of Woodward and need to get to the other, it sucks. I get it. But for everyone else, even those who live in the middle of it, there are ways for you to find relief. And that is by avoiding it. Entirely. Here's how: pick one side of Woodward and stay on it for the next three days. And here's where to go to do that.

#1 Visit the breweries of Warren
You know what isn't on Woodward? Warren. And for east- and west-siders alike, Warren is pretty easy to get to (696 runs right through it). Spend the weekend on a makeshift local brewery tour of Kuhnhenn Brewing Company, Dragonmead, and Falling Down Beer Company. Try the award-winning beers and meads at Kuhnhenn and Dragonmead (Falling Down is still too new to have those kinds of distinctions), and get some good eats from Detroit BBQ Co. at Kuhnhenn and at Falling Down, where there's a serious chef running the show in the kitchen. And Mo Pop is happening in Sterling Heights which isn't too far from there, and there will be food trucks. I know how much everyone loves food trucks.

The patio at Palate. Photo by Nicole Rupersburg.

#2 Go west - really far west
You know what else isn't on Woodward? Milford. Milford is very, very much not on Woodward. In fact, the whole western Oakland County lakes area is pretty far removed from Woodward. Been meaning to check out the Root in White Lake for dinner? This would be a great weekend to head out that way. Another cool spot to check out is Palate in downtown Milford, with a great beer list and fantastic patio. You can even make a whole day of it by starting with hiking, biking, fishing or kayaking at Kensington Metro Park - there's also a nature center and splash park for the kids.

#3 Really far west
And by that I mean Ann Arbor, which sometimes seems so far it might as well be Chicago. Really it's only 45 minutes and I just like to complain. There's plenty to do and see and eat and drink in the old Ace Deuce - there's the Hudson Mills Metropark and the Dexter-Huron Metropark, both of which offer plenty of opportunities for outdoor recreation including hiking, biking, kayaking/canoeing, fishing, BBQing, and more. Right in downtown Ann Arbor there's the Nichols Arboretum, with more hiking and biking trails. There's the University of Michigan Museum of Art, which is a small but great museum on the U-M campus which is pretty much across the street from Ashley's, one of the top beer bars in the country and a place I recommend heartily for both beer and pizza. Plus the kids are not quite yet back in school which makes doing anything in downtown Ann Arbor during the summer about 100 times better. (Less people = better.) And also Jolly Pumpkin.

#4 Or go north
Take I-75 straight up to hit Clubhouse BFD in Rochester Hills, another one of the best beer bars in the country, Rochester Mills Brewery in downtown Rochester, and the recently-opened 51 North Brewery in Lake Orion. Basically what I'm saying through all of this is go drink beer somewhere not near Woodward.

Houndstooth Craft Hot Dog Co. at Downtown Detroit Days.

#5 Or south
Because the Dream Cruise does not actually happen in Detroit, the entire city of Detroit is safe. Mostly. The Tigers are home so there's that to contend with. And I won't have been the only person to make that realization that the Dream Cruise doesn't happen in Detroit. But Downtown Detroit Days is this weekend, a Dan Gilbert Joint with Tashmoo Biergarten and Alley Wine pop-ups because pop-ups, and also Guns + Butter is happening this weekend in Eastern Market because pop-ups.





Also there's the first-ever Zombie Con in Troy. 

[HOT LIST] Valentine's Day

Because it's never too early to start planning (and also and also and also FIRST), here is a preliminary list of events and other points of interest for celebrating (or actively anti-celebrating) this Valentine's Day.

#1 Clubhouse BFD V-Day B-Day, Feb. 14
Don't have it in you to face down yet another Valentine's Day alone? So don't. Join all of your beeriest of friends for a BIRTHDAY celebration at Clubhouse BFD ... a b-day that juuuuuuust so happens to fall on V-Day. But don't focus on that: instead, focus on how this place was just named by DRAFT Magazine as one of the 100 Best Beer Bars in the country. See? Don't you feel better already? Where there's beer, you're never alone.

#2 Single's Night at 8 Degrees Plato Beer Company, Feb. 14
Again: where there's beer, you're never alone. 8 Degrees is hosting a Valentine's Day Single Mingle Thursday, Feb 14th from 9:30 to 11pm. 15 single guys and 15 single ladies plus 6-8 beers to taste. Oh, and pizza. $15 per person. Reservations required please.

#3 The Dirty Show, Feb. 8-16
Early word on the Dirty Show this year is that there is a particular piece debuting that show producer/mastermind Jerry Vile has called "the most important thing the Dirty Show has ever done." (I've seen it, and it is truly a groundbreaking moment for the 14-year-old show. For naysayers that dismiss the Dirty Show as mere smut, this piece by Gregory de la Haba truly embodies that intersection of erotica and high art.) Also: boobs. The burlesque performances alone are worth the price of admission (even if you're a straight girl/gay boy who just likes the pretty costumes and is impressed by the caliber of performances). But the question REALLY is ... will Roxi be there???

#4 Detroit Passport to the Arts presents Detroit Loves Cinema, Feb. 14
A red carpet, a screening of Oscar-nominated shorts, and an afterparty at the newly-renovated Detroit Historical Museum. For couples looking to do something besides the usual dinner-and-a-movie, this is the ticket. You do not need to be a Passport holder to attend this event; click the link for ticket info.

#5 The Brunch Underground presents Dinner Theatre at Planet Ant, Feb. 16
The lovely folks of the Brunch Underground have partnered with Planet Ant for a dinner theatre combo, $30 individual/$55 couple which includes your theatre ticket, dinner AND drinks. And here is the menu: Parmesan risotto with braised short ribs, red wine reduction and a horseradish gremolata. An arugula radicchio salad with celeriac, apple and toasted walnut, in a creamy dressing. Individual pots de creme, with whipped cream. Herbed cheese popcorn for all! Also includes a champagne pomegranate punch and a pear rosemary cocktail.

#6 Anti-Valentine's Party at Whiskey in the Jar, Feb. 19
Who says Valentine's Day is for lovers? Haters unite! Elsewhere in Hamtramicka, the second-annual Anti-Valentine's Party will happen at Whiskey in the Jar. Bring a photo of your ex to throw darts at.

#7 Lobster Lovers Valentine's Day at Tom's Oyster Bar, Royal Oak, Feb. 14
Lobster specials and flaming Spanish coffees.

#8 Pete's Chocolates Company, Feb. 9-14
Ah yes, you also need a gift. Skip the mass-marketed over-priced chocolates and keep it local. Pete's Chocolate Company is a small-batch artisan chocolatier that specializes in hand-rolled truffles made with the finest ingredients. Pete will be at several events leading up to V-Day, so you can place your orders and pick-up at various locations in Ferndale and Detroit (check the schedule for where he'll be and when).

#9 VLNTNSDYMRKT at Pot + Box, Corktown, Feb. 14
POP-UPS! Detroit loves a pop-up. Especially one with a theme. This pop-up is happening at the eventual home of Pot + Box in Corktown, and will feature a number of Detroit vendors (including Pete's Chocolate Co.) selling gifts and goodies ideal for V-Day.

#10 Valentine's Package at Weber's Inn, Ann Arbor, Feb. 15-17
Maybe a staycation is in order? Weber's Inn in Ann Arbor is offering a whole hotel package that includes the room, champagne, chocolate-covered strawberries and a long-stemmed rose. The recently-renovated rooms are quite nice, the facility rather modern, and there's a very popular indoor pool-slash-pseudo water park that is especially popular in the winter. Plus the food at the attached restaurant(s)/bar(s) is excellent.

Bonus round:
Gourmet Valentine's Day Dinner for Two at the Produce Station, Feb. 14
If you're lazy, and I am most certainly that, Chef Steven Grostick has what you need for a perfectly romantic Valentine's Dinner for just the two of you to enjoy at home ... with no mess to clean up afterwards! $60 includes a salad to share, two entrees, two desserts, chocolate-dipped strawberries, two long-stemmed roses, and an optional cheese board (for an extra $20). Let the professionals worry about the food; you worry about the rest.

[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.

[Oakland County Prosper] A Feast for the Eyes

Torino Espresso + Bar. Photo by Nicole Rupersburg.

There has been a flurry of restaurant opening activity in Oakland County lately. Ferndale has seen One-Eyed Betty’s and John D Bistro both open within the last two months, with Woodward Imperial (which will serve California-style gourmet tacos) and Local Kitchen and Bar (serving contemporary American and upscale comfort food) opening soon. The Roberts Restaurant Group – which operates Streetside Seafood in Birmingham, Town Tavern in Royal Oak, and Beverly Hills Grill in Beverly Hills – recently opened Roadside B&G in Bloomfield Hills in the former Brandy’s location, and are currently working on their next concept, Bar ML in Birmingham. Craft beer lovers have a new mecca at Clubhouse BFD, which just opened in February in Rochester Hills. And there are about a dozen other upscale, big-budget concepts currently in the works in Birmingham and Royal Oak which just goes to show the restaurant industry is on an unprecedented upswing in 2012.

One thing all of these places seem to have in common is a whole new focus on interior design. Previously it seemed that design aesthetic in restaurants and bars was never anything more than an afterthought; if the bar itself was interesting (glossy polished wood perhaps, or industrial chic metal and concrete) the rest sort of fell by the wayside; the emphasis was all on the menu, the wine list and the staffing – the rest would just get covered in tablecloths anyway.

Read more.

[EID Preview] Clubhouse BFD: It's a BFD

All photos by Nicole Rupersburg.

There are beer bars. And then there are beer shrines. Clubhouse BFD in Rochester is not just a beer bar; it is a juried gallery exhibit of the brewing arts.

Owner Scott LePage grew up in the restaurant industry. His parents are long-time area restaurateurs, at one point operating over two dozen different restaurants. (Currently they own Big Rock Chophouse in Birmingham, and will be opening a brewpub called Griffin Claw Brewing Company later this year ... Scott jokes it was all his mom's ploy to keep his dad, a 74-year-old with the energy of a hyperactive teenager, occupied and out of trouble.) Scott currently owns East Side Mario's, a chain of hearty Italian-American restaurants with locations in Rochester Hills and Livonia.

Next to the Rochester Hills location, a building sat empty for a long time. Scott owned the land but after he lost his previous tenant, every prospective tenant wanted half a million dollars for a build-out before signing a lease. "If I'm going to spend that kind of money, we might as well do it ourselves," Scott says. Thus the seed of Clubhouse BFD - which, to be clear, stands for "Beer Food Drink" - was planted.

The concept evolved from a sports bar to brewery (they considered moving Big Rock's brewing operations over) and then ultimately landed on craft beer bar. But not just any beer bar. "I don't want to have the same shit everyone else has," Scott states. The thing is, if you want to have a robust beer list it's pretty easy to come by. Most of the big-name local breweries have a handful of year-round beers in wide distribution so right there you can easily get a list of 50 pretty quickly, then pad it with the usual Belgian, English and French imports. And yes, an awesome beer list it makes, enough to keep even the most discriminating of connoisseurs happy (even if they've had the majority of beers on that list before).

But Clubhouse aims to be competitive not just with the best beer bars in Michigan, but the best beer bars in the country - the kind of places that get ranked by DRAFT Magazine and RateBeer in the top 100 across the nation. So Scott brought local beer guru Jason Peltier on board.

This is a beer nerd's beer bar; where most places carry Founders Porter, they carry Founders Imperial Stout. They've got the sole Michigan allotments of extremely limited releases, like Mikkeller/Three Flloyds Boogoop (they've got the only kegs in the state) and bottles of Goose Island's Kind Henry (they got four of eight available in Michigan). As a beer nerd myself, I was reduced to the vocabulary of a four-year-old watching Cars as I perused their tap handles, coolers and back inventory (there are 40 taps and over 150 bottles, plus a few off-list "goodies" for the really good customers). All I could utter was a breathless "Oh WOW!" repeatedly. After years in the industry, Jason and his team (who have worked together at places like Big Rock and Kuhnhenn) know how to properly court their distributors to get the best products. "Every night in here with the beer distributors was like the Last Supper," Scott jokes, miming them all sitting in a line at the bar studiously sampling beer. "One night we tried 97 beers!"



When Scott decided to move forward full-force with this concept, he put together a team of the area's best to make it happen. For the design, he hired Ron and Roman, a Birmingham-based design firm that has recently become the darlings of Detroit's architectural and interior design after some of Ron Rea's recent work has made him the new restaurant "It" guy (including Joe Meur Seafood in Detroit, Luxe in Birmingham, and a handful of other spots about to open including John D in Ferndale and Roadside Bar and Grill in Bloomfield Hills). Rea gave Clubhouse an open feel, incorporating design elements - and items of interest - that would be befitting of an adult man's ideal clubhouse. Stuffed deer, Rock-em Sock-em Robots, airline seats, mounted Cadillac seats, genuine WWI silk parachutes ... the kind of things a guy might want to have in his home if his wife would ever let him (but she won't). You could look around for hours and still catch new details you missed before, but at the same time it still manages to be a relatively minimalist, rustic design - sturdy wood tables, exposed brick. The sound design, with the speakers in the ceiling tiles, is equally as impressive though less likely to get noticed.

The concept of the Clubhouse evolved over the year and a half that they worked on it; in fact, that wasn't even going to be the name but as people kept calling it that, ultimately it just seemed to fit. And that is exactly what it is: a clubhouse for beer lovers. Like, REAL beer lovers. The kind who need a clubhouse. But if you're concerned that there may be too much beer snobbery, don't be - they'll have your Bud and Miller et.al. available in 16-oz. cans ... served in a brown paper bag.

There will be buckets of Little Kings bottles (a cream ale so named because the bottles are indeed little) for $9, and you can also mix your own six pack to go. There is also a small but excellent wine list with some eclectic labels (Michigan's own Left Foot Charley; Kung Fu Girl) as well as a respectable selection of brown liquors for serious consumption.

The menu at Clubhouse is going through its final adjustments, but will be a casual menu of polished bar food. Because of Scott's long background in restaurants, he is extremely particular when it comes to the food he serves and will just as soon test out 15 different versions of a dish and still not include it until he feels it's perfect. They'll have a simply Ploughman's platter (meat, cheese, bread: good), giant buffalo shrimp, mussels, Greek wings (in a lemon oregano marinade), burgers, shaved prime rib sandwiches, grilled cheese, fish and chips, etc. They'll also have something called "The Jersey Shore," modeled after the New Jersey-based Taylor Pork Roll which Scott describes as "the equal to our Coney" and "the ultimate late-night belly bomb and hangover cure." This pork roll is covered in American cheese and served with a fried egg on toasted brioche.

The same exceptionally high standards applied to the concept, design and product were also applied to the service staff. "They're all very polished servers," Jason says. "I'd say 15-25% of them were bar managers before this, but came here because they love craft beer and they love the concept." Upon hiring they were all given copies of the book Tasting Beer by Randy Mosher, and are required to have completed the Master Brewer's Association Beer 101 course within 90 days of hire; already four of them have gone the extra step by becoming Certified Beer Servers (a step below Cicerone). 

Clubhouse BFD is now open Tuesday through Thursday 3 p.m. to 12 a.m., Friday 3 p.m. to 2 a.m., Saturday 12 p.m. to 2 a.m., and Sunday 12 p.m. to 10 p.m. They also have free WiFi.

Want to see more? Check out the Flickr set here.