Is it Inn yet?

As you may or may not be aware, Eastern Market on a Saturday morning is a gay hotspot in the city of Detroit. You get queers of every stripe bustling around, picking up gastronomic delights or just getting a high-calibre hangover cure (bacon or a bloody) at one of the many great breakfast spots in the market. It's great to walk around the market just for the people watching - the hot farmer boys, the cactus lady who looks like a drag queen (haven't seen her in a while, though, is she still around?), gay couples galore, and even a tranny once last fall! You may be able to guess how much that thrilled me.

Many people argue about "the best breakfast" in the Market, with Russell Street Deli being the popular choice for many. You will see gays lined up to grab eats there any Saturday. And while it is great, it's always packed, and after you wait in line you have to share a table with people cafeteria-style. Now I'm down with that at the Hudson hotel in Manhattan, but I get less thrilled when I have to share a table with a seven year old. I have a filthy mouth.

Popular doesn't always mean best (ref: high school), so I've turned my sights elsewhere, and discovered possibly the gayest spot in the Market.

Butcher's Inn is located at 1489 Winder, just across the street from R. Hirt. While not a gay restaurant per se, it is gay-owned, and if the waiters the last time I was there aren't gay then I need a gaydar tune-up. But even when the staff isn't gay, the attitude pretty much is. I mean, you've got your Between the Lines right inside the door and everything. The current ownership reopened it last year after an extensive renovation. Gay gentrification is best when it serves booze.

Still might be considered a whorehouse,
depending on which one of you shows up.

The place is pretty cool inside, all historic 'n' shit. First of all, points because it used to be a whorehouse. Second of all, there is a ton of very fun ye olde Detroit memorabilia on the walls, and not in a typical Detroit memorabilia kind of way. For instance, minimal sporting references - that turns me on.

On a recent Saturday morning visit we didn't have to wait for a table and our cute gay (probably) waiter was like "bloody mary?" right away. We weren't drinking, but that didn't stop him from offering a bloody mary every time he stopped by the table. That also turns me on. He was fun and personable and Detroity and great, and you know it's always better when you have a good server.

But really the best thing there is the food, though. It comes out pretty quickly, which is great on a Saturday morning, and as far as my untrained palate can tell it's fresh and tasty. Most of the stuff is from the Market area. The thing that really blew me away the first time I went was how good their sausage was - um, it turned me on. But seriously, it's really really good, and when even the rye toast is impressive, you know you've hit a winner.

I have never been there for dinner, but they do stay open in the evenings. Open mic nights and live music potentially make it less appealing from a gay perspective, but certainly not from a general person perspective. To their great credit they started having a gay night on Mondays last year, but it fizzled out before I could get there. Eh bien. Mondays are hard, and word of mouth isn't always the fastest advertising.

The clientele each time I've been there has also had gay representation (aside from me), and it tends to be a little less Royal Oak gays and more like East English Village gay types. And that turns, well, you know.

So let the suburban gays follow the crowd to Russell Street - you head over to Butcher's Inn and have a real gay Market day.