Hot Dog!

Rereading my last two blogs -- I hope they don't sound whiny. Yes, I did fall on my face and, yes, my legs did ache after climbing down the hotel stairs -- but that was such a small part of my trip. I had a great time in Detroit -- lots of surprises. I'll be blogging more about some of them in the future. Today, I want to talk about food. I had some magnificent meals in Detroit -- one at Iridescence, Detroit's only Four-Diamond award-winning restaurant, located in the Motor City Hotel and the other at Wolfgang Puck's in the MGM Grand Hotel. And I had some fun meals that, though they don't qualify as gourmet fare, provided food for thought.

At the Michigan Cafe in the Henry Ford Museum, I was introduced to Faygo sodapop. Faygo has been making pop for over 100 years. They produce familiar flavors like cola, creme soda and grape and unusual ones like Rock & Rye. That was the one I tried. It was really good but all I can say to describe its taste is it tastes red! Two other Michigan favorites that I saw but didn't try were Better Made Potato Chips and bumpy cake. My guide pointed out the bumpy cake as we were leaving the restaurant. It's a rich, chocolate cake with a buttercream filling and rows of buttercream on top -- covered with a smooth, chocolate icing. Just one more reason to go back to Michigan.

The big mystery to me was being told that the definitive Detroit food was a Coney Island -- a hot dog topped with chili, chopped onions and mustard, served on a steamed bun. American Coney Island Inc., founded in 1917, in Detroit, has a legitimate claim to the invention of the coney as we know it. Because the founders of the company were Greek, it's become tradition to serve it with a Greek salad. I had a chance to try this meal (at a different chain) at the airport where I took this picture. Historically, I'd have preferred an American coney, but sure couldn't fault National Coney Island for their attempt.