Bistro Newsletter

My sisters and our husbands hung out in Corktown last Saturday night. The city was jumping! I rarely go out on Saturdays, and I was thrilled to see the neighborhood so vibrant. We started our evening at the Michigan Central Train Station, I was lucky enough to be there 6 years ago when Ford gave tours to see it “before” the renovation (there are some before photos in the link). It was cool then; it is mind blowing now. The work, money and attention to detail is unbelievable. Ford has done an incredible job so far preserving this glorious building. The Station will be open to the public through August, there are very interesting details on placards placed along the building so you can see how things were painstakingly restored, take the time to read them if you go. It adds another layer of appreciation to the task of the renovation.

We had dinner across the street at Takoi. Fun place for upscale Thai cuisine. Lots of vegetarian items on the menu and yummy cocktails. Afterwards we headed to Motor City Wine, one of my hubby’s favorite haunts. MCW has been around for 8 years, it is a wine shop and bar with a nice patio and lots of live music. Saturday was a South African style jazz band. Owned by David & Melissa, charming husband and wife team who have really helped sustain Corktown since its early revival. Know where you spend your money… choosing a neighborhood, locally owned place is so much cooler than hitting a big expensive corporate place. When you decide to shop small and locally you are helping your neighbor pay their kids college tuition, or their mortgage vs. improving corporations stock value.

We then headed downtown, stuck our heads in Sid Gold’s Request Room (live piano karaoke bar) and Paramita Sound (wine/DJ/records spinning kind of club), and ended up at The Skip in the Belt for frozen Irish Coffees… yummy drink and great people watching!

The long weekend was filled by painting with my niece, I was working on a small owl for it while Elsa does the heavy lifting… the rest is a surprise, you’ll see “our” painting soon at the Bistro. We went to Bingo night with my mom at the Richardson Center where I won one and Elsa won two games. I told her the seniors there were going to chase us out thinking we were hustlers, as we told them we had never played bingo and they were gracious enough to let a couple of “youngsters” play their game. I had a blast! Who knew I would like bingo so much?!?!

Tuesday my sisters, mom and I wound down with a lovely spa day at the Beach House in Birmingham followed by lunch at the always interesting Three Cats in Clawson. A quick shopping trip through Leon & Lulu’s, my mom’s favorite store, and a delicious coffee and pastries at White Wolf, a Japanese French pastry shop. Clawson is a cool little town, not as expensive as Bham or hip as Royal Oak, and I find that refreshing.

Do you know what my favorite thing from the weekend was? Even though I ran into THREE guests in Detroit and ONE former employee I never really thought about the Bistro too much, I certainly never worried about it. I knew you all were in good hands with Amanda and Max running the show. I have the best and most supportive staff that allow me to take time off and not worry. Priceless.

Cheers,
Sharon

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