Detroit Moxie's Weekend Roundup

No time for small talk and dribble drabble today. Today is about serious business. The people of Japan have gone through a horrific few weeks that I can’t even imagine. Have you done anything to help?

My friends over at Mighty Detroit have. They have a new t-shirt design out with 100% of the proceeds going towards the rebuilding and relief efforts in Japan.

Since 1805 Detroit's city motto has been "Speramus Meliora; Resurget Cineribus" which translates to "We Hope For Better Things; It Shall Rise From the Ashes."  With every test and every obstacle, Detroit has bounced back and lifted itself up.  As much as Detroit was, is and will continue to be a "come-back" story, we, here at Mighty Detroit, cannot ignore a Japanese culture and society that has faced immeasurable obstacles and has always made a come-back.  Today, Mighty Detroit offers its help to Japan.  For an unlimited time, Mighty Detroit will donate 100% of the proceeds from every sale of the Mighty Japan t-shirt to rebuilding efforts in Japan.  Be Mighty.

 Be mighty, people, be mighty.

Weekend Roundup

1. Progress Report record release party - Hip hop duo D. Allie and Eddie Logix release their debut album at The Magic Bag. March 25th.

2. Romancing the Rustbelt - The free exhibit at Pewabic Pottery focuses on "ceramics inspired by our historic industrial past" and will showcase 10 artists. Through May 8th.

3. Lettuce Rock! - This fundraiser for the Royal Oak Community Farm features music, including The Polish Muslims, food from local establishments, and kids activities. March 26th.

4. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - Catch this classic on the big screen at The Redford Theatre and watch the zany professor invent a revolutionary car. Wackiness ensues! [Editor note: I love Dick Van Dyke, his character of Rob Petrie is my vision of the perfect man. "Oh, Rob!"] March 25-26.

5. A Sip of Michigan - Join Drink Michigan for a beer, wine, and spirit tasting. Featuring wine from Black Star Farms and L. Mawby, beer from Jolly Pumpkin and Short's, spirits from Valentine Vodka and Hard Luck Candy Flavored Vodka and many, many more. March 26th.

Do you know of a great event going on in Metro Detroit this weekend? Add it to the comments and share it with us!

Winners & Losers in Restaurant Week Marathon

Are you ready for 22 days of discounted dinners in metro Detroit? Troy, Royal Oak, and Detroit Restaurant Weeks are all overlapping this spring.

And I’m wondering if it’s too much all at the same time?

The Details:

• Troy Restaurant Week – March 20 through March 25. Lunch is $15 and dinner is $25 or $35 depending on the establishment.

• Royal Oak Restaurant Week – March 25 through April 2. Three-course meal is either $15 or $25 depending on the establishment.

• Detroit Restaurant Week – April 1 through April 10. Three-course meal for $28.

So, which cities are going to be the winners and losers in the restaurant week spring schedule?

The always-popular Detroit Restaurant Week will still shine and is going to capture the most buzz. People have been talking about it for months and have already made reservations.

Royal Oak, the new kid on the restaurant week block, will also do well. The residents of Royal Oak and surrounding communities will come out to support and to try a new eatery or two. They may stumble a bit because it’s their first time out but they’ll work it out.

Troy Restaurant Week, which has already started, is going to be the loser in this food marathon. There hasn’t been much chatter about it and it has the potentially highest price point.

Restaurant week devotees, yes they exist, are going to hold out and spend their food dollars in either Royal Oak or Detroit.

That’s my take, anyway. What’s yours?

Detroit Moxie's Weekend Roundup

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! If you’re looking for something to do to celebrate the holiday, um, go to an Irish bar. Just please don’t drink green beer.

Guinness Brewery, Dublin. 

Weekend Roundup

1. Black Women Rock! - A tribute to Betty Davis and women who rock, this concert at the Charles H. Wright Museum features Jessica Care More and others. March 18th.

2. Marche du Nain Rouge (Facebook link)- It's time once again to banish the red dwarf who has haunted Detroit for over 300 years. The Cass Corridor will be filled with revelers, street theatre, and entertainment. March 20th.

3. Supporting the "D"... Detroit 1-8-7 Finale Event - Are you a fan of Detroit 1-8-7? Enjoy the finale with other fans while supporting Motor City Blight Busters. Featuring Better Made chips, American Coney Island, Fist of Detroit apparel, fabulous door prizes and more! More info here (Facebook link). March 20th.

4. Brunch with Bach - Elena Urioste and Julie Coucheron play classical music in this popular series at the DIA. Enjoy music and dining in the beautiful Kresge Court. March 20^th.

5. Purim Shpiel - Based on the Book of Esther, this marionette tale at PuppetART is set in old Persia. March 19th.

Don't forget: This is the last weekend for "Bagels at the Downtown Synagogue."

Do you know of a great event going on in Metro Detroit this weekend? Add it to the comments and share it with us!

Vote for the DMA's People's Choice Award & download free music

The 20^th annual Detroit Music Awards, presented by Vitaminwater, hits the Fillmore Theatre on April 15, 2011. Local musicians and music industry professionals in southeastern Michigan vote and determine the winners.

Except for the Vitaminwater People’s Choice Award! That’s where you come in. Check out the media player below and download your favorite tracks to make your vote count.

Free Detroit music plus a say in who wins the People’s Choice Award? Sounds like a win-win to me.

You can also support your favorite artist and announce it to your friends via the Facebook and Twitter icons. And don't forget to check out the Facebook page.

Nominees for the People’s Choice Award are Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., Brandon Calhoon, October Babies, Eliza Neals, T Money Green’s Roadwork, Crud, Shoe, Annabelle Road, John Hold and the Sequins, 1592, Bear Lake, Danielle Car, Lettercamp, The Infatuations, Critical Bill, The EEKS, The Classic, Nervous but Excited, and HafLLife.

Robots in the Garden won the 1st People's Choice Award in 2010. Previous DMA award shows have featured performances by Eminem, Kid Rock, Was (Not Was), Smokey Robinson, Bob Seger, and Ted Nugent. 

 

 Who are you voting for?

Bagels & a Schmear for the Downtown Synagogue

With a tagline of “fine bagels for the masses” how could I resist? For the past two Sundays, The Detroit Institute of Bagels (DIB) has been cooking up homemade bagels, pairing them with fabulous cream cheese, and selling them with proceeds going to the Downtown Synagogue.

The DIB is the brainchild of brothers Ben and Dan Newman. Ben is an urban planner and foodie while Dan’s focus is food access issues and the non-profit arena. Ben would like to see more food destinations in Detroit, “I think that places like Slow's and Woodbridge Pub are part of what makes Corktown and Woodbridge vibrant and desirable places to live.”

“Like other cities, Detroit has an amazing bakery, a few amazing pizza places, and lots of good bars, but no one was boiling bagels in the city. I started making batches and batches of bagels in early December and eventually found a recipe I liked,” Ben explains.

“Because bagels are historically a Jewish food, I thought that making bagels as a fundraiser for the Downtown Synagogue would be a good way to test the demand for bagels in Detroit. I got in touch with a few members of the Synagogue, they liked the idea, and we started making pre-ordered bagels for pick-up on Sundays in March.”

The Detroit Institute of Bagels (DIB) continually studies, pursues, and exhibits excellence in bagel making. Customers come to the DIB to see, and eat, masterpieces in bagel craft. Each bagel is a work of art, worthy of its own worldwide tour around the finest museums. And even though each bagel carries such prestige, it is still a bagel, achievable and eatable by anyone with a dollar and an appetite. Fine bagels for the masses! ~ Detroit Institute of Bagels

Detroit Institute of Bagels

Much like other Detroit foodie initiatives such as Neighborhood Noodle and Detroit Brunch, you order your bagels a few days in advance online. On Sunday morning, head to “Bagels at the Downtown Synagogue" and grab your bagels.

Detroit Institute of Bagels offers plain, salt, sesame, and poppy seed bagels. Did I mention the fried bagel? Yep, they also offer a cinnamon raisin bagel that is fried and rolled in cinnamon and sugar!

The cream cheese, aptly named “Downtown Schmear,” comes from Suddenly Sauer, which picked up the first micro-grant from Soup at Spaulding.

I devoured my hand-kneaded salt bagel in the car, dipping it in my little cup o’ cream cheese. It was perfectly crusty on the outside while staying chewy in the middle. And this is not cream cheese from Philly; the Suddenly Sauer schmear was tangy and complimented the salt perfectly.

Celebrating its 90th year and officially known as the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue (IADS), the synagogue was established in 1921 and is now the last surviving conservative synagogue in the city of Detroit.

In short, one of IADS’s principal missions has always been to provide an accessible and open space of worship and celebration for everyone. ~ from the IADS website

Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue

Keep an eye on the Newman brothers, I have a feeling we’re going to see great things from them. Ben is working on establishing a non-profit that will help others start food businesses in Detroit. Dan recently started working at the Ozone House in Ann Arbor.

Order now, these are limited edition bagels! This Sunday, March 20^th is the last “Bagels at the Downtown Synagogue.” And they only make 50 bagels! Follow DIB on Twitter.

Photo credit top: The Detroit Institute of Bagels

Photo credit bottom: Thanks to Sabrina at Bare Bones Detroit for the Downtown Synagogue photo.