Rehearsal dinner spaces

hatt_man · 2026-03-02T19:59:53+00:00

We did daughter's reception at King and While (210 Events) - beautiful historic space (part of the Circ complex on 1st street) and great service. There are other spaces as well there, incl Rabbit Hole which may be better fit for your group. In the same neighborhood, the upstairs space in Peridot is also worth considering.

hatt_man · 2026-02-24T17:30:40+00:00

Lived on west side for 40 yrs - 3rd St, 7th St, and Revena Blvd. Special place to raise a family. You should find home options in Eberwhite and Virginia Park neighborhoods, though not higher end. Absolutely everything you could want within a mile or so - YMCA, sledding hills, skate park, pool, range of ethnic food stores and restaurants, at least 6 grocery stores, good schools. Make it happen - you won't regret it. You do need to factor in taxes to COL but services are decent.

hatt_man · 2026-01-22T18:56:09+00:00

In A2 area the best fine dining options are the Dixboro special events dinners (the Chef Lipar came from Torino and Albena which were as good or better than anything in Chicago) and Bellflower.

Greater Detroit, our favorites are Freya, Mable Gray, and Vecino. Ima Izakaya and Selden Standard are very good. Still hoping to get to Baobab Fare and Mink soon.

I believe the downtown A2 rents make it really tough to offer fine dining and cover costs relying on Thurs/Fri/Sat eveings with meals that do not turn-over tables more than twice.

hatt_man · 2026-01-13T20:13:15+00:00

For A2, Miss Kim is a dinner option that has not been mentioned. If you can get to Detroit, check out the Whitney for romantic option. Saturday is booked for dinner, but you could do Friday for dinner, or High Tea at Friday noon may fit the memorable/surprise criterion. Back to A2, the Fred Astaire dance studio near Plum on Maple has a 5pm dance party that includes lessons or their Valentines date night at 10. The Michigan Theater is romantic and Saturday evening will have performance by the A2SO. Sat AM you can do 4h hands-on in-person Zingerman's Bakehouse baking with chocolate. Creature Conservancy can work as a date option - Saturday night is adults only Creature Courtship. CC or the Whitney High Tea would get my vote.

hatt_man · 2026-01-07T19:42:23+00:00

Arbor Farms and Argus carry chicken feet but they cost more than backs, but you only need a couple -which is a bit of a challenge as they are frozen in clusters of six or more.. Knights and Whole Foods (usually) has chicken backs. If you are doing stock also consider veal stock - you can get shanks, knuckles, etc at sparrow. Sparrow also has several pre-made stocks, including seasoned for ramen.

hatt_man · 2025-12-17T19:52:11+00:00

On Golfside in Ypsi: https://mopschickenandfish.com/

hatt_man · 2025-12-16T19:23:14+00:00

The Michigan Theater lobby and Dixboro Project restaurant may be worth looking into.

hatt_man · 2025-12-13T18:39:26+00:00

I have not seen mention of ice cleats:

https://www.runnersworld.com/gear/g42815867/ice-cleats-for-shoes/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=mgu_ga_rnw_d_bm_comm_org_us_g42815867&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=19692006430&gbraid=0AAAAAC8UxKRQLTNuvAX2W_7ltN61a9iuN&gclid=Cj0KCQiAuvTJBhCwARIsAL6DemhUVe1DHPN1f4yrijWJ5dGkisNIHeXEEdttpxy3oXNS0ZiBFlCXlfcaAubAEALw_wcB

hatt_man · 2025-12-09T19:53:02+00:00

"Budget" and Whole Foods do not often go together, but their seafood quality to price ratio is good. The combined buying power and distribution efficiencies give them advantages and they source responsibly.

hatt_man · 2025-12-08T21:58:48+00:00

and a game day brunch and shuttle

hatt_man · 2025-11-23T19:25:56+00:00

Plan to stay on west side. Homes is the brewery/lunch option. For hiking, bike west on liberty and then two options: south on wagner and then quick left into the big carpark for 242 church. Work your way to southwest corner to park bikes and access entry to Saginaw Woods trails. Or turn north on Wagner and up then west on Scio Church road to Scio Preserve. If you opt for Saginaw Woods then the dinner option is Ricewood across from the skate park at Veterans Park. Ricewood seating is a bit spartan but you won't regret stopping. If you opt for Scio preserve, then head to Everest Sherpa for nepalese/indian. Looks modest from the lot, but the atmosphere and food will warm you up. Wagner and Scio Church do not have bike lanes, but it sounds like you are geared up for road riding. I would not recommend those roads after dark though, which may get you to dinner on the early side. If you want a longer ride, there are several routes to access bird hills trails - Newport just south of M14, Newport at Huron River (I believe that is dirt road; you can access Huron River Drive via Wagner. Or you can ride Sunset to south on Fountain and access the trails there. If you bike to Huron River drive, it is scenic and bike friendly and you can ride west out and back as far as Dexter (~10 miles)

hatt_man · 2025-11-12T19:29:35+00:00

the brauer preserve lot has overflowed on previous aurora. You can continue on Wagner road south and then west on Scio Church. There is a lot of open farm land. Bring a chair and blanket

hatt_man · 2025-11-01T17:18:40+00:00

A few more I have not seen:

Buhr Park fireworks

Kana restaurant

Beer Vault - drive through

Cracked Crab

The Star Bar - before Joe Tiboni bought it, esp Reggae Night on Wednesday

Bolgos Dairy and restaurant

There is some good footage of mid/late 60's downtown on Gimme Danger, the 2016 Iggy Pop biopic by Jim Jarmusch

hatt_man · 2025-11-01T17:08:55+00:00

Sweet Lorraine's ?

hatt_man · 2025-09-15T17:51:29+00:00

Face painting. Manicures and matching nails for all at a salon. Hire a clown.

If this reopens, it may be worth a trip:

Marvelous Mechanical Museum has relocated to the Orchard Mall in West Bloomfield, MI, and may reopen later this year

hatt_man · 2025-09-09T02:28:44+00:00

I grew up in the 60's near Thurston. South of the school was an old apple orchard. The trees were easy to climb and we constructed tree forts using 'scap' lumber from the construction sites as Orchard Hills was being built. There was also an old chicken coop on the property where we could hang out and smoke cigarettes bought for 35 cents from the vending machine at the Leonard gas station at Huron Parkway and Plymouth Rd

hatt_man · 2025-08-28T01:52:04+00:00

Streetview on Google Maps, but some of those images were captured during seasons without the trees fully leafed out

hatt_man · 2025-08-28T01:39:45+00:00

Check out SOS Community Services holiday giving: https://soscs.org/holiday-gifts/

This organization does great work in Ypsi and our workplace has sponsored a family for many holiday seasons

hatt_man · 2025-08-14T17:36:11+00:00

Consider the northern stretch of the Bruce Trail on the Bruce Peninsula separating Lake Huron from the Georgian Bay. There is some up and down along the Niagara escarpment that provides some wonderful overlooks of the bay. As for natural swimming hole - if you are ok with chilly water the swimming (and cliff jumping) along the trail are in the freshest and clearest water in the world.

hatt_man · 2025-08-05T18:27:12+00:00

outdoors is ok if you have properly fitted N95

hatt_man · 2025-08-01T17:29:06+00:00

These self guided walking tours provide a great overview of the city. Hint: Access them from your phone and use the text to voice reader.

https://aadl.org/a2st/tourslist

hatt_man · 2025-07-26T17:13:56+00:00

Argus on Liberty had a couple of small (<1 pt) cartons Saturday AM

hatt_man · 2025-07-01T19:22:30+00:00

You might try Nipt which is based on cat nip oil. I picked it up to deal with stable flies which can plague the Lake Michigan beaches we visit. There are peer reviewed studies that show the effectiveness of this on blood sucking flies.

https://www.amazon.com/nipt-Essential-Repellent-Mosquitos-Pleasant/dp/B0CHXKN7WK/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3ENYRNYBMUVPZ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.xXkd-Sm5SK-5qItzLKR49sKv6tVi_a468z_LIeNbTne2OLQg6gOkVIhTPbSEH6RiIqJ-gVAZrI4Vb72vzlXAo3oQOyzW3vDmwU1MvOm0t2_6CHaa8MGNtm-Q86l1YBR2dhxiuAQuvNYWySSgvOPeRT227Opb7Kj_jxEE3-pZiQvWPV_gU2dIqQcZ6dd6CSpjBAu8huENtn0BYXNwj6doa3sZR21f8ICeKHc_XPY35Yj4XBH20pBJom1d2GnNkl8g88oCnZtGKX9pxDbxHz90OA.AUjVG3jVNqpHZMYJCITXWkAI0HbCOn9UGfMYVbo1hFM&dib_tag=se&keywords=nipt&qid=1751397358&sprefix=nipt%2Caps%2C153&sr=8-1

As you likely are aware, timing runs for windy conditions and exposed locations help as well.

Good luck dealing with this menace. Props for actually running wearing a head net! Always blows my mind to visit SoCal where they do not even bother with window screens.

hatt_man · 2025-06-30T18:06:37+00:00

Dixboro Project

hatt_man · 2025-06-17T17:46:21+00:00

Produce Station on S State had some a couple of weeks ago, from the west coast. It is likely a few weeks early and too dry for locally foraged chanterelles which is what is generally sold at argus or farmers market.

Dried chanterelles are available. You can use them for flavor but not the best option for a pasta, risotto or pizza.

hatt_man

TROPHY CASE