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This restaurant opened in 1955. At the time, the Checker Cab Company in Detroit was associated with the restaurant. When folks flew into town, they'd ask the cab driver where to eat. The cab driver would tell them, "Well the Checker Bar and Grill of course!" And that's how this little ma and pop restaurant got its start.
Now a days, Checker is most known for serving the best burger in the city. All hail the Checker Burger! It's a big and juicy seven steak blend of happiness and keeps many patrons coming back. Not a burger person?? Everything on the menu is made from scratch, from Mom's meatloaf to roasted turkey.
If nothing else, head to Checkers for great company after work one day. If you don't know anyone, you'll be introduced to everyone in seconds. Karen and Kathy will tell you great stories of famous Detroiters who dined there including Mayors Coleman Young and Dennis Archer. They'll even give you wine tasting tips.
The Checker Bar and Grill is located at: 124 Cadillac Square in Detroit. (313) 961-9249
Hours: Lunch/Dinner 11am - 7pm Monday-Friday
Tell them Jovina sent you!
The tee-shirt asks: What Would Kwame Do?
And I totally wanted to buy it. I am all for poking fun at politics, political leaders, etc. Basically everything is fair game in my book. And I think this is an awesome shirt. BUT, when I look at it I think of all the conversations I have had with white kids from the Detroit suburbs who complain about how Kwame screwed everything up--that Coleman Young hadn't already screwed up, they say as an afterthought.
The undercurrent of racism in playing the mayoral blame game is evident in these statements. If they don't blame Kwame and Coleman Young then they blame the 1967 12th street riot for making all the white people scared to live in Detroit (which is factually inaccurate--"white flight" as it is often referred to began in the mid 40's and was largely the result of the prevalent automobile culture that encouraged whites to move to bedroom communities and of the despicable practices of blockbusting and redlining).
I guess the point that I am trying to make is that Kwame is by no means perfect, but it seems like he often falls victim to the same social beliefs that are used to explain away the problems of Detroit by so many white residents of the surrounding areas: it's the fault of the black people, we had nothing to do with it. And that's just not true. Later in the week I'll write a post on the Kerner Report, what I find to be a fascinating document on race relations in the United States circa 1968.
By the way, shout outs to Detroit Muscle, the Detroit based tee-shirt company that made this shirt and started me on my train of thoughts for the afternoon.
~bEckY
UPDATE 11:43PM I did not notice this until Ray pointed it out to me, but the Detroit iTunes Essentials graphic has misspelled "Detroit" as "Detriot," emphasis on "riot." I urge you all to email iTunes here, and ask them for an explanation - or, lacking that, merely ask "What the hell?" Of all the categories for request, perhaps "Augment a Genre" fits best - though if "Point out a gross oversight" were a category, that would be most fitting.
Misspelling? Or something else?? I did send feedback to iTunes. Regardless of what happened, it needs to be fixed. Check out Detroit Wonk for the entire article and many great comments.
-Jovina
Since everyone is talking about them today, I thought I'd weigh in my thoughts.
Favs:
2.Bud Light Secret Fridge - "Magic Fridge! Magic Fridge!"
3.Sprint Crime Deterrent - man throws cell phone at other man's face
4.FedEx Caveman - caveman gets fired for not using FedEx, kicks a dinosaur and then gets stomped
5.Budweiser - the wave
What was that??
2.Go Daddy.com - old school. did it. done it. dumb
3.Burger King - whopperettes. the belly flop ending was worth a chuckle, but that's it.
4.GM Cadillac - creepy and boring
5.Gillette Fusion - boring but will probably sell a lot of razors
For an official poll, USA today has published their annual rankings:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/advertising/admeter/2006-ad-meter-results-chart.htm
Also, if you missed some of the ads because you had to grab another beer or take time to relieve yourself during the game, Ray at Detroit Wonk noted that you can watch all the ads at:
http://www.ifilm.com/superbowl?htv=12
-Jovina
Over the weekend I discovered a great little bar by Campus Martius Park called Pulse. Fairly new, this bar has a modern and upscale feel, but is not overly pretentious. The space is designed in shades of red and gold and is adorned with classy pieces of art from Detroit locals. It's has a simple yet defined look with the bar taking center stage. At times the long and narrow shape of the bar made for a crowded area, but the packed crowd added to the happening atmosphere.
Featured events during the week:
SIN Tuesday: Service Industry Night 20% off for those who work in the service industry
Hot Wax Wednesday: Local DJ's battle in head-to-head spin offs
Taste Thursday: Features fine wine, amazing local food, and smooth jazz
Rush Hour: Friday happy hours
156 Monroe: on the south side of Monroe between Woodward and Randolph.
-Jovina
Superbowls may come and go but the Detroit art scene is always here and it's fantastic! 
The ever present effervescent Heidelberg Project -- a project started to reclaim a Detroit neighborhood through art that makes political and social commentary and looks amazing. Initiated and propagated by Tyree Guyton since 1986, it has expanded from an art installation to a non profit organization providing and supporting numerous social services and arts education programs and for the Detroit and surrounding communities.
My classmate Michael Herbst reminded me of the 555 Gallery. Formerly located in Ann Arbor, it's new space is on 4884 Grand River Avenue @ Warren.
A good friend of mine is coordinating a show at the 555 Gallery with the The Unification Project called: Can you Hear me? Expression Through Art. They are currently seeking visual art submissions (due Feb. 25) and the show opens on March 31st.
This blurb explains their mission --
"This year the Unification Project seeks to add depth and breadth to last year’s Protest Art Show. We are actively searching for a wider base of artists including personal backgrounds/identity, geography (focusing on Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti and Detroit), and mediums. Local poets, musicians, films and performers will be featured during the show in addition to exhibiting visual art such as sculpture, photography and found objects. We are looking for artwork which really challenges ideas and ideals in addition to constructively criticizing the world around us. We want to foster a creative, healthy and safe space to discuss and dialogue these ideas with each other." 
Check it out.
~bEckY
Anant Gariola commented on my last post, "You make some good points, but something I never really understood was how after all the corruptions scandals, after being in Time magazines worst 4 mayors in the U.S. Kwami got re-elected? I am by no means (at all) an expert on race relations or racial politics but is the point you're trying to make that Kwami is no better or worse then any white mayor, its just that because he is black he doesn't get a break?"
Those are some good questions and I might have answers...to some of them. I think that the reason why Kwame Kilpatrick got re-elected is very different from the reason why he gets so much crap from white suburbanites. Kwame got re-elected for many of the same reasons that Marion Barry (so near and dear to my heart from my hometown in DC) got re-elected. He is a man of the people. While many people from the suburbs (and from Northeast DC) could not understand how a man who ran a blatantly corrupt government and was caught in a cocaine racket (televised for weeks after the scandal) during which he exclaimed, "Goddamned bitch set me up!" could possibly be re-elected. But he was.
Possibly because he wasn't a tool like many thought the always bow-tied Mayor Anthony Williams to be. He did his own thing and the people of DC (who are, as a general rule, screwed over in many ways) liked that he wasn't taking shit from larger political pressures.
I guess the point that I was trying to make is that by no means would I consider Kwame to be a good mayor. But look at what he has to work with: A bankrupt city with an powerful history of racial tensions, boom and bust job markets, awful schools and a nonexistent regional government with a habit of supporting suburbs and new infrastructure rather than supporting the city and updating the old. I imagine that there are some worse mayors with better towns, and probably some equally bad mayors with equally bad towns (though they are probably on a smaller scale).
Finally, the fact that many suburbanites believe a main reason for Detroit's downfall was the "driving out" of white people--as if it is the fault of the black people who were unable to move out of the city that all the white people left (and as if the only problem was white people leaving)--rather than the public policy that perpetrated an unbalanced/unfair housing market and encouraged racism along with numerous other economic factors (like partial abandonment by the auto-industry), gets me a little upset. Sorry about the run-on sentence.
What do you all think?
~bEckY