The Scene

Motown is full of surprises
for the jaded suburbanite.

JULIE EDGAR SENIOR WRITER

02

gone in Detroit's warehouse district, but the Soup
Kitchen remains unchanged, like a good friend.
The grub — hamburgers, fried stuff and the like
— is solid, as are the beers. Most of all, the place
offers up great blues almost every night. Danc-
ing is encouraged.
If you've got a hankering for Ethiopian fare,
there are now two choices in the city. One is the
Blue Nile in Trapper's Alley in the heart of
Greektown. You pay dearly for mush, albeit de-
licious mush. But take Jefferson Avenue east to-
ward Belle Isle and keep your eyes peeled on the
south side of the road for Club Abyssinia, a run-
down corner bar at 6452 E. Jefferson. The decor
consists of wall-to-wall travel posters touting the
sunshine of Addis Ababa, and the beer is served
in scuffed motel-variety drinking glasses, but you
can get platters of Ethiopian lentils, cabbage and
other highly spiced delicacies for under $7. Dress
way down for the experience.

PHOTOS BY DANIEL LIPPITT

ny new bar, restaurant, cofte
table was superb, as
club that opens in Detroit wa my we ppetizers — the Canfield Cookie,
heart. consider it a real act of a age grilled eggplant wedged in a portabello mush-
or a merchant to beat back the drea room with herbed goat cheese and a tomato basil
ess that characterizes so much of the sauce, and goat cheese and red peppers in phyl-
city.
lo in a cabernet sauce. My companion's cedar
• So when we drove up to the Town roasted salmon with a chive champagne sauce
Pump at 100 Montcalm Avenue last and garlic mashed potatoes was better than my
week and walked into an English pub, Caesar salad, which I found too fishy. For two,
authentically appointed in rich oak with two glasses of wine each, the bill came to a
and thick leather and bathed in soft reasonable $60.
lighting, my companion and I both
So much for the new. Detroit has no shortage
smiled and nodded to each other in of old standbys (too many to mention) that make
approval.
leaving the suburbs an inspiring adventure. Keep
Located in the funky Park Avenue in mind that Greektown is but one destination
Hotel (at the edge of Grand Circus for an urban experience.
Park), the Town Pump has couches
Take the Soup Kitchen (1585 Franklin, at
and books for those who are more in- Orleans) in Rivertown. A sprawling, loud brew-
clined to relax and a sweeping bar ery-bar opened across the street (Franklin Street
and high tables, complete with beer Brewing Company) and discos have come and
towels._ The brew list includes 18
tap beers and 32 bottled beers. An
English bartender rounds out the
experience.
We dropped in on a Tuesday
night, so the place wasn't exactly
rocking, but patrons seemed com-
fortable and the staff was totally
unpretentious. With the imminent
construction of two stadiums near-
by, the Town Pump ought to catch
the windfall.
Wanting to check out the new-
er places in the city, we dropped
by Cafe Mahogany (1465 Centre
Street) a few doors down from In-
termezzo, a newcomer to Detroit's
restaurant scene. Located in Har-
monie Park, the spacious cafe is
relaxed and informal, with high
ceilings and massive mirrors on
one wall and a coffee bar opposite.
On this night, a poetry reading
was in progress. A very good-look-
ing and enthusiastic crowd — the
place was packed — occupied
couches and tables. The cover was
$3 — high for a place that doesn't
serve liquor — but the scene is Above: Cueing up at the Music Menu in Greektown.
amusing and certain to shake you
out of your suburban complacen- Above right: Pouring a pitcher at the Town Pump, a
new watering hole in Grand Circus Park.
cy.
Earlier in the evening, we
thought we'd see what has become Right: Chatting at the Cass Cafe, a bit of Bohemia in
of Stewart's, a former upscale Motown.
eatery on Woodward Avenue, to- Opposite page:
ward the Wayne State campus. Its Intermezzo, a restaurant/bar in Harmonie Park.
new incarnation is Canfields on
Woodward (4265 Woodward) and
it's owned by Barton Charlip,
whose grandfather bought the
building 40 years ago. The warm