The Drinking Expert

A last-minute leaving-work IM from a friend drew me to Roast for their Cocktail Hour yesterday, which never disappoints.  It ended up being a bit of a foodie gathering at one corner of the bar, as you will sometimes find with bargain-priced delicious food in Detroit.

After the Cocktail Hour ended there a few of us moved on to Martini Monday at Atlas Global Bistro where the cocktail hour never ends.  I grilled Dave Mancini (of Supino Pizzeria fame) about what exactly his talent will be in the show on Friday (it's good); and I got to chatting with Putnam Weekley, a man who is possibly one of the most knowledgeable "wine guys" in town.  Specifically we talked vermouth (you know how these things happen.)

I learned that Martini & Rossi vermouths are lame, instead opt for Stock brand vermouth which is less expensive and actually better (to the informed palate).  At least if you are going with a basic vermouth.  If you really want to wow yourself you have to try Carpano Antica red vermouth.  Putnam swears it is the best, like eight times over.

Well, for sharing this information I promised Putnam I would dedicate the following videos to him.  Martini & Rossi may not be the best vermouth on the market, but they hands-down had the best ads in the 70s!

Angie in a white mood.

Jaclyn feeling red.

File this post under "raising standards" ... the more you drink the more you know!  You can glean some of Putnam's extensive knowledge on his blog (being added to my blogroll as I type this) and in the bar zone at El Barzon, where he is charge of their excellent beverage selection.

And now I will expect that I'll be enjoying a glorious manhattan the next time you have me over for cocktails!

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Catching Up

New years are good for many kinds of starting over; climbing back on the wagon, going back to the gym, jump-starting long-postponed projects.  Resolutions are really about as useful as a post-it on the fridge - one luxury, or possibly burden, of getting older is accepting that a broken promise to yourself only matters as much as you want it to - but sometimes even post-its are handy.

I remembered I had a blog the other day, so I figured writing on here again could be one of my resolutions.  Last year was a rough year for everyone and I was no exception.  The awful distraction of desperate work really monopolized my creative energies and I just didn't have any drive to write.  Plus Facebook is fun, so I dabbled in that just a bit.

I also thought that I'd run out of things to say, at least regarding gay life in Detroit.  I wasn't looking for my people anymore, a decent "downtown" gay scene had evolved, I was actually getting invited to the occasional gay house party, and against all odds I'd met and started dating someone.  I'd assimilated.

But I've missed writing, and I feel like my writing chops aren't quite what they used to be due to lack of practice.  And there are still plenty of things going on that may not be specifically gay or lesbian but might benefit from a gay viewpoint.  And I still like trying to find cool shit first. So I'm going to try to start up again.

The Detroit Auto Show is going on this week. I heard that Daimler was putting all their people up at the Book Cadillac so on Monday a friend and I went to watch for Germans and enjoy the Roast cocktail hour. If you have not experienced the Roast cocktail hour I highly recommend it, it's an outstanding value. We ran into Dave Mancini, the genius behind Supino Pizzeria in Eastern Market, and we had a great time talking about Detroit crazy and future possibilities and foodie stuff. It's funny, but that Roast really does attract a crowd of what I would describe as indy downtowners, the kind of people who support their friends businesses but you don't expect to find at a place like Roast. But Roast has street cred despite its tony digs.

Germans indeed showed up, by the way, along with a bunch of other euro types.  They're all so cute in their auto foreignness.

Great people-watching all over town this week actually.  I headed from Roast up to Atlas to enjoy a half-priced Monday Martini to kill a little time before meeting a friend. It was jumping, I'm sure partially due to the Designer's Party taking place across the street at the Bankle Building. I ran into more friends at the Atlas bar who convinced me to go over to the party with them, and it was great and not platters full of cocaine like the rumors have led me to believe about Bankle parties. Which is good because I like to stay away from that scene, I can only manage one vice at a time.

The Designer Party was a total sausage fest.  There are like *no* women around for auto show week, it's nuts. Break that glass ceiling, babycakes.  Lots of familiar faces though, so that was highly entertaining.  Having attended parties where Camilo and company were co-presenters, I'd seen the furniture and the cars and the costumes/fashions and the art before, but it's nice for the new people to see it all I suppose, and somewhat comforting to revel in the familiar, especially with all the upheaval around town this past year.

Lady Gaga rolled into town yesterday, and being a lazy and last-minute kind of person I never even bothered to try and get tickets.  Jesus loves me though, and I got a text at 4:30 saying "your free tickets will be at will call." What? I know! It's a mary-cle!  But that's how I roll.

It was interesting to go to a show at Joe Louis Arena, I hadn't been in forever.  Walking up and down the steps of death was a particular thrill.  It was kind of appropriate, I thought, seeing Lady Gaga - the heir apparent to the Madonna pop throne, some say - in the same venue where I saw the Virgin Tour back in 1902. The crowd was of course TRAGIC and FABULOUS. Half the crowd looked like they were on their way to Fierce Hot Mess. The other half doesn't even merit description.

That's a lot of gay.

Of course the place was gayer than Ikea on Superbowl Sunday. If anyone tried to use that Grindr app in that place I think their iPhone would have exploded.  The show was really great and frankly a lot more than I expected. It was a little visually noisy with all these giant LCD panels in the background and probably would have come off better if the show had stayed at the Fox, but that girl puts on a spectacular spectacular. It might be because she doesn't have to stop and close her eyes and concentrate to hold a single note for four seconds a la Madonna, so she can concentrate on being a freak bitch. Or it might be just because she says "Detroit" a thousand times and everyone cheers every time.  Every time, seriously.

By the way, did you hear the parody of "Poker Face" done by the Westboro Baptist Church?  You know, the people who brought you the "God Hates Fags" protest sensation?  It's laughably bad, especially because I'm pretty sure Lady Gaga doesn't care if you say she has a "whore-ish face." Of course I listen to this all the time, cuz of my love for the laughably bad.

@LadyGaga "Poker Face" parody by WBC is done! Lyrics: http://tiny.cc/LGL2 Music: sound bite  Lady GaGa sound bites

There have been a few changes in the Detroit blog world, and I was thinking that my links section should better reflect a broader scope for the blog, so I'll be changing up shortly.  In the meantime, a few noteworthy changes.

Toby Barlow and Phil Cooley, with some help from our buddy Ryan Shirmang (who was objectified on this very blog a while back) have launched a blog called Remains of the D that will highlight the multiple cool side projects they invent to promote and develop the good things in Detroit. I have already learned several things about Detroit I didn't know on the blog, such as the fact that there will be a charcuterie shop in the Cass Corridor this year, and that coffee pro Dai Hughes will be opening up Astro Coffee Company in the Slows BarBQ strip of Michigan Avenue.  The "Twelve Young Versions of Twenty-Ten" entry is a nice one, and we've got our gays representing on that list so right on!

Fabulists in the audience have used the link to Planet Fabulon before, and probably already know the site has gone bye-bye. The good news is that the author has launched a new platform to bring a slightly altered vision of over-the-top fabulous at Chateau Thombeau. Breathe a sigh of relief and dive in.

OK, I think we're caught up. Have a great day.

Living La Vida Broka

Well it's been over two months of work interfering with blogging. That is a leading economic indicator and it means the economy here in Detroit is still in the crapper.

I figure I can't be the only one forced by circumstance into a life less lavish than the one enjoyed same time last year, so I thought I would share some of my tips for keeping your leisure time standards high and your cash expenditures low.

Let me begin by saying Detroit is a great place to be broke. We have a strong and proud tradition of avoiding those distracting boom times that blow up real estate prices and deposit overpriced restaurants and bars on every corner. Detroit's ample inventory of cheap bars and Coney Islands is well documented. What requires a little digging is taking your dollar-store budget and living well, eating well and - most importantly - drinking well in Detroit.

Fortunately for us, the Cocktail Hour has exploded around town. There are a ton of fantastic deals to be had, if you are willing to shift your social time a little earlier in the evening. Since I am now a Gay Elder, I have had no problem doing this. It's pretty great - you get your drink on and you're in bed by 10 watching a streaming episode of 30 Rock on your laptop.

Roast, Michael Symon's new restaurant in the Book-Cadillac, has the king of the Cocktail Hours in town. For starters, it is the only one that takes place every weekday, from 4:30 to 6:30 at the bar. They have a fantastic bar menu derived from their regular menu, and each item is only $3.00, including a 5 oz version of their burger (topped with bacon, cheddar and and egg!), a roast beast taco and a tremendous sausage-of-the-day stuffed pepper dish. Six bucks gets you a great dinner.



OH - there are drink specials too! Three drafts and two wines are $4 a glass, and well drinks "with a wash" (it means one mixer, I've learned) are $5 each. Seriously $15 and you are well-fed, feeling fine and on your way. Roast has a lovely interior too, and if you don't mind the fact that most of the women who work there seem angry (seriously, hostesses who don't even look at you) you will have a wonderfully budget-conscious time.

Angelina Italian Bistro has turned out to be a pleasant surpise, especially for someone like me who always expects the worst. The decor is not 100% there (although pretty good by Detroit standards), but the food is really fantastic. I recommend the Pappardelle Bolognese in particular, but everything I've tried is great. For their Happy Hour they are offering everything in the "Tasting Plates" section of the menu at half-price (the pizzas are a whole meal) plus drink specials! It lasts until 7pm Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. On a nice day the windows are all open and it's practically dining al fresco.

Cliff Bell's has introduced their dinner menu, which is a good deal even at regular prices. On Tuesdays from 5-8 is Happy Hour, and not only is all the food half-price, but all bottles of wine or champagne are half-price too. There is no live music at that time, so it's a low-key jazzy supper club vibe, which always suits me just fine because you can easily converse with your companion.

Atlas Global Bistro, a perennial favorite of mine, lets you expand your social time past the dinner hour. On Martini Mondays they offer half-price martinis all day long, so you are quite likely to find a saucy bar crowd trying to live within their means. A few newer bar menu introductions at nice prices also keep your food expenditures low.

"Latitude Wednesdays" at Atlas is the gay night, and it has taken off like CRAZY lately. It is, frankly, as well-attended by gays as our Doggy Style nights are (at least!), and it's a fun crowd that's a super mix of city and suburb. The new introduction of a special Queer-as-a-$3 bill drink specials (that are $3, obviously) may have helped. A good time, and it gets buzzing around 9pm.

And there's another way to save at Atlas GB - there is a promo through Channel 7, "Ultimate Dining Deals," where you can buy a $50 Atlas gift certificate for $25! You can get up to two, so buy them up and you can not only get half-price food, but you can go on Monday and get quarter-price martinis like I did the other week!

I am sure there are other deals out that that I don't know about - if you have any tips, post them in the comments, ok? I know there are more deals out there!
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