Can I borrow a dress for New Year’s?

Elizabeth Parke Firestone had a fantastic closet. The dresses are now part of the collection at The Henry Ford, and are viewable online. Some of my favorites … Bob Bugnand, 1959-1960

Soldering Class

For some time I’ve been interested in learning some basic electronics. I’ve swaped out simple light switches and wall sockets. But I hate that I don’t *understand* what I’m doing. I’m just matching up wires and colors. I mean, I get the basics, the analogy with water, the size of the pipe, the force of…

Something completely different

At the age of forty, it’s a delight to discover an entirely new foodstuff. I certainly don’t mean to imply that I’ve even come close to sampling all that the world has to offer. But for someone who has traveled rather extensively and belonged to Restaurant Club for fifteen years … who actively seeks out…

Beef & Rutabaga Pasty – $2.85

Buy local! Eat local! The modern mantra encouraging the conscientious citizen to support nearby entrepreneurs. For some reason the good folks of Dearborn have been doing this (without any prompting) for the last, oh … forty or fifty years. Sure you’ll find plenty of big box stores around these parts. But you’ll also find a…

If you’d like to be Anthony Bourdain for a day …

 Want that great “wow this is delicious and seems not exactly legal” feeling? This is the place for you. Life as the host of Parts Unknown (or No Reservations) sure seems grand, doesn’t it? Travel to exotic locales, meals with engaging locals, an alcoholic haze hanging over the whole show. Someone to write your dreamy…

Neehee’s, or why you shouldn’t write off the suburbs

The suburbs. Such an easy target. The big box stores … the bland, national sameness. The traffic, the soul-crushing monotony … OK, I will stop. Because in the surburbs, you will also find … Neehee’s Indian Vegetarian Street Food. What exactly can one expect from Indian Vegetarian Street Food? Well, from their website: “Whether you crave…

Allen Park’s Hungarian Strudel Shop

Thanks to the folks at Edible Wow for tipping me off to the Hungarian Strudel Shop in Allen Park, Michigan. It seems like nothing much has changed at HSS in a long, long time. I wondered about the origins of the dancing couple on the store’s sign … an available clip art choice at the…

My First Fatteh

Al-Ajami west, on Michigan. First come pickles. Then the fatteh.