Fall colors on Wilcox Lake

Some of the best fall colors I’ve seen all season were on Hines Drive, on the north side of Wilcox Lake.  I got some pretty good photos despite taking them with my Droid.

Wilcox Lake, Plymouth, Michigan, October 29, 2011

Wilcox Lake, Plymouth, Michigan, October 29, 2011

Wilcox Lake, October 29, 2009

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Fall Festival Schedule of Events

Friday September 9, through Sunday, September 11, 2011

BINGO — Friday  from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

PLYMOUTH TASTE FEST — Friday 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

CAR SHOW — Saturday and Sunday

CRAFT SHOW — Friday and Saturday 9:00 a.m. to dusk, and Sunday 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

PANCAKE BREAKFAST — Saturday, 7:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

ROTARY SPAGHETTI DINNER — Saturday, 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

ROTARY BBQ — Sunday, 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Don’t forget the carnival and entertainment at the stages (Kellogg Park and Old Village)

 

 

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Plymouth’s best sports venues

I’m pretty sure I’ve written about this before, probably in the context of watching college football games.  I have slightly different feelings about my favorite places to watch a game in the city, so I figured I’d tackle this topic again.

Admittedly, I’ve not watched a sporting event in every single bar in town.  They all have TV’s so pretty much any bar is a “sports bar” of sorts.  But, I’ve been checking out new (to me) places during this playoff run the Wings are in (which, sadly, is probably going to be cut short.)

Right in the city, my thoughts about some of the more well-known bars are:

The Box Bar — The Box is a great bar as far as drink variety and menu are concerned.  There are two huge projection TV’s and some smaller TV’s around the bar.  But, I think it’s actually kind of hard to watch a 3 hour game there considering the way the TV’s and seating are laid out.  Projection TV’s also have lousy pictures.  The Box is also just a smidge pricey.  On a 1 to 5 star scale, I give sports viewing at the Box 2.5 stars.

Doyle’s Tavern — Doyle’s is intimate and there is plenty of good seating in front of or around the few screens they have.  It also has the covered patio with a TV if you want to sit “outside” to catch the game.  Doyle’s isn’t necessarily the most comfortable place to park for hours, but the drink prices are really good.  I think Doyle’s is the best value in the city in terms of drinks and isn’t that what you want if you’re going to watch a game at a bar?  4 stars.

Hermann’s Olde Town Grille — Hermann’s has good food and plenty of seating around TV’s.  It’s a cool place as well.  I would like it better if the drinks were better priced.  Admittedly, I’m a bit of snob as far as alcohol goes, so specials on cheap domestic beer don’t get factored into to my feelings about a pub.  I don’t drink Bud Light so it matters not to me if a place runs specials on it.  Having said that, I was a tad disappointed that I paid for a double glass of whiskey only to see that it wasn’t, to my eyes, a double pour.  If it was a double pour, the single pour is awfully small.  The price would’ve been great had there actually been 2x the amount of booze in the glass.  Doyle’s has Hermann’s beat for pours.  For that reason, I rate Hermann’s 3.5 stars.

1999 Tavern — Unless you catch the game out in the “garage,” on a nice summer or fall day, the tavern’s really not the best place to catch a game.  It’s a nice pub and restaurant.  I love their chicken.  But to watch a game at a place, I want to like more than the food.  2.5 stars.

Ironwood Grill — In my humble opinion, the Ironwood doesn’t know what it wants to be.  The decor suggests that the place is a slightly upscale bar.  But there are TV’s all over the place and it’s a noisy place to eat.  To watch a game there is fine, but there’s something about it that doesn’t draw me in for that reason.  It just seems like an odd fit.  2.0 stars.

Sean O’Callaghan’s  — Sean’s is the best place to be for a sport popular across the water, like soccer or rugby.  I’ve seen some Wings games there and I didn’t necessarily like the vibe.  It was the place to be, though, for last year’s World Cup matches.  I was lucky enough to get in there to see USA-England, which was quite a match.  For that experience, alone, I give Sean’s 3.5 stars.

Just because a place has a bunch of TV’s does not mean I want to try to watch a game at it, especially not start-to-finish.  It seems like all restaurants these days have TV’s all over the place.  That’s something, actually, that I find disappointing.  Sometimes it’s nice to eat in a quiet setting where there is little outside stimulation.  I guess we no longer just eat these days.  We have to be entertained constantly.

When you want to catch a game, though, all those TV’s can come in quite handy.  If you like getting out for a game and a drink or two, and you want to keep your money in town, I don’t think you can go wrong with any of the place I mentioned.  Some are just better than others.

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Green Street Fair and Mother’s Day Collide

http://www.hometownlife.com/article/20110213/NEWS15/102130485/Green-fair-s-timing-causes-flap?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Plymouth|s

According to the Plymouth Observer, there’s a bit of a controversy over the timing of this year’s Green Street Fair: it falls on Mother’s Day weekend.  Some businesses downtown are fearful that the massive crowds and the lack of parking space will keep away Mother’s Day diners and shoppers.  The argument is that people that want to take their moms out to lunch or to run into town to buy flowers will not brave the crowds.  The counter argument is that crowds downtown are good for downtown businesses.

If my experience has any broader applicability, the Fair will both help and hurt business.  I  live in the city and when things are going on downtown of the size of the Fair (things like Art in the Park and Fall Festival), I do not even attempt to eat downtown, at least not in any of the sit-down restaurants.  They’re always packed to the rafters and I’m not big on waiting  for a table.  I might grab something quick at Jimmy John’s for my daughter or get some coffee from Panera.  To eat out down there, though, I just won’t do it.

However, I live in town.  One of the big reasons why I won’t wait in line to eat during a fair or festival is that I can eat at our restaurants anytime I like.  Most of our visitors do not live here in town.  They get hungry or want to do some shopping.  There are only so many exhibits you can look at.  Not everyone wants to choke down an elephant ear or pizza that’s made in a trailer.  Those folks fill up the restaurants.   If they didn’t, there would be places to sit.

I can’t speak too much to whether jewelry stores and florist shops and the like suffer.  My guess is that fairgoers need to buy stuff for Mother’s Day and some, who wouldn’t otherwise be in town, will buy their gifts in town.

Besides, there’s always Old Village.  It has jewelry stores, restaurants, clothing boutiques, salons, bars, etc.  Old Village, in my view, never gets enough promotion by the City.  If some of the traffic moves over there for a few days, I’m sure the folks in the redheaded stepchild part of town would be thankful.

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Two thumbs up for a smoke free Plymouth

Many of my friends are up in arms about the smoking ban which took effect statewide on May 1.  They do not object so much about the elimination of smoking from bars and restaurants but are bothered by the perceived governmental intrusion.  I’m a believer in less being m0re when it comes to government, but I have to say that the smoking ban is long overdue.

More to the point, the smoking ban is a godsend for many of us non-smokers.  In the last week I’ve been to three (3) bars in the City of Plymouth that I avoided in the past because of the heavy smoke: Hermann’s Olde Town Grille, Doyle’s Tavern and Ironwood Grill.  I, for the first time, was able to enjoy a drink or two in these places without stinging eyes and burning lungs.

I have no data to back this up, but it appears that the smoking ban has had little or no negative impact on these businesses.  All three places were bustling when I was there.   Hermann’s, in particular, was packed Saturday night.  A few smokers drifted in and out on occasion to smoke out on the sidewalk, but I heard no grumbling or complaints.

For my wife and me, the ban has brought us back to the pubs.  I expect we’ll continue to hang out more in town now that we can do so in relative fresh air.

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Old Village’s resurgence

I’ve been calling for this since I’ve been writing this blog.  I’d like to see more attention paid to Old Village.  It’s a great part of town.

It appears that, in spite of the lousy economy nationally and here in our state, business is growing (or at least holding steady) in Old Village.   New businesses are opening and the old ones moving forward.

Once again, I’ll repeat that I wish the City would support business development there and not just in the downtown.  The people of Old Village have to promote their own area, which I find a bit disconcerting.  Maybe that’s why things are hopping there.  The community is promoting itself.

Here’s an interesting article from the Plymouth Eagle on Old Village “breathing new life” into town.

http://www.journalgroup.com/Plymouth/10839/historic-old-village-breathes-new-life-into-plymouth

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Old Village’s Haunted Block Party — Sunday, October 25

This Sunday, October 25, 2009, from 1:00 to 6:00 p.m., the Old Village Association will hold a “Haunted Block Party.”  Here are the event details:

When: 1:00-6:00 p.m.

Where: Liberty Street, between Mill and Starkweather Streets, in Plymouth’s historic Old Village

What: Kids Games – Costume contest at 2:30 p.m. – for all ages – even pets, 50/50 fundraiser drawing at 5:00 p.m., Trick-or-Treating 1:00-4:00 at area businesses, together with a Kiddie Train Ride from 2:00-5:00 p.m.

http://plymoutholdvillage.com/_w3/oldvillage718022220/-vid-/user/oldvillage718022220/Style/cfy/color/green/theme/classic/variation/46/owner//w3_/template_src/templates/cfy/main

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More Plymouth Facebook fun

Plymouth and a number of local businesses are well represented on Facebook.  I wrote the other day about the Plymouth Area Chamber of Commerce’s Facebook page, but since then I’ve found a number of other pages.  If you’re a “FB’er” you might like these.

http://www.facebook.com/s.php?q=downtown+Plymouth&init=quick#/group.php?gid=2218144254&ref=search

http://www.facebook.com/s.php?q=downtown+Plymouth&init=quick#/pages/Plymouth-MI/Plymouth-Downtown-Development-Authority/91838117123?ref=search

http://www.facebook.com/s.php?q=downtown+Plymouth&init=quick#/group.php?gid=34844181965&ref=search

http://www.facebook.com/s.php?q=downtown+Plymouth&init=quick#/event.php?eid=59093308335&ref=search

http://www.facebook.com/s.php?q=downtown+Plymouth&init=quick#/event.php?eid=71529278528&ref=search

http://www.facebook.com/s.php?q=downtown+Plymouth&init=quick#/event.php?eid=82933413386&ref=search

http://www.facebook.com/s.php?q=downtown+Plymouth&init=quick#/group.php?gid=19552278830&ref=search

http://www.facebook.com/s.php?q=downtown+Plymouth&init=quick#/group.php?gid=100955950969&ref=ts

I’ll gladly post more as I find them.

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The Bonafide Garage

I’m no historian but I was recently asked to identify the location of a business that was once known as the Bonafide Garage, which was at one point (early 1900s) owned by a W. J. Beyer.  (The question was raised in the “About” section of my blog, if you wish to look.)  Here is a photo of the garage which dates between 1915 and 1925.

The location I was given for this building was on Main Street, across from the Markham Building.  The Markham Building, as many in Plymouth will know, is still standing so there is an easy and existing reference point.

Markham Building on left, Beyer's Garage on middle-right

The second photo is from Elizabeth Kelly Kerstens’ book, Plymouth in Vintage Postcards, page 68.  It is a view of Main Street looking southwest from a point northeast of the railroad tracks.  This confirms the placement of the garage relative to the Markham factory.

The only building that I was aware of right across the street from the Markham Building is the current home of Plymouth Furniture Refinishing, which as at 331 Main Street.  I called Plymouth Furniture Refinishing today and the helpful gentleman told me that the building, indeed, had been a garage and later an automobile dealership.  I understand Lou LaRiche had a dealership there (or one building over) at one point.  I was told there is still a ramp in the building which was used to drive vehicles to the upper level.

I think that solves that mystery.  Here’s what she looks like today, courtesy of Plymouth Furniture Refinishing’s website.

I want to publicly thank the good folks at Plymouth Furniture Refinishing for taking the time to answer my questions.

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The best restaurant corned beef I’ve ever had was from…

*drum roll* brrrrrt. tssssh.

Dilly Dally Deli in Old Village!

If you like Reubens, you’ll love DDD’s version.  It’s not just the sandwich.  Their corned beef is out of this world!  What makes it so special?  Well, they make the best corned beef I’ve ever had from a restaurant.  I asked the owners how they got their corned beef so tender that it flakes in your mouth.  They cook it themselves, in their kitchen, all day.

I’ve never had anything other than the Reuben at DDD.  I can’t tell you that all their other stuff is good, but if the rest of their menu is half as good as the corned beef, the stuff would be wonderful.

I’m telling you.  You can’t beat their corned beef.  It’s delicious.

In case you don’t know where it’s at,  look at the map.

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