The Colosseum at Caesars Windsor

1 03 2009
  • 377 Riverside Drive
  • Windsor, ON N9A 7H7
  • (519) 258-7878
  • Website
The Colosseum at Caesars Windsor

The Colosseum at Caesars Windsor

I have never been outside the United States.  I’ve never had any reason.  Hell, until a few years ago, the only time I had been on an airplane was my 8th grade class trip to Washington DC.  Traveling farther than driving distance just wasn’t something my family did.  Now, Canada is within driving distance and there was a concert J wanted to see at Caesars Windsor, so I did all the research about what we need to travel back and forth to Canada then bought a couple tickets to see Miranda Lambert.
Getting to Canada and back home had literally kept me up at night for a week.  People do it everyday, so I’m not sure why I was so worried about it, but I was just anxious about making sure I knew where we were going and what we needed to get back into the country.  Since we were downtown in Detroit, the GPS sent us to the Detroit-Windsor tunnel.  I had no idea what to expect.  I paid the toll them waited as five lanes converged down to one.  I think J was a little nervous about using the tunnel, but I just do what the GPS tells me.  It took about a half hour to get through.  When your stuck in bumper to bumper traffic under a river, you do kind of start thinking about what could go wrong.  We got to the other end and talked to the border agent who wished us luck when I told him where we were headed. 

Caesars Windsor sits right on the river and is highly visible from downtown Detroit.  We could see the neon signs well before we made it to the border crossing.  From the time we got to Windsor, it felt like we were just going in circles.  We got to the casino then went around the block what seemed like six times to get to the self park parking garage.  We made our way all the way to the top then hit the elevator back to the third level where the pedestrian bridge is.  Read the rest of this entry »

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Categories : Canada, Entertainment Venues, Live Entertainment, Ontario, Windsor

Roast

1 03 2009
  • 1128 Washington Boulevard
  • Detroit, MI 48226
  • (313) 961-2500
  • Website
  • Menu
Michael Symons Roast in downtown Detroit.

Michael Symon's Roast in downtown Detroit.

Finally!  The present I’ve been looking forward to.  When I told J I bought her tickets to a concert in Windsor, she suggested going to Roast for dinner.  Her treat.  I was so excited when I read an article that Iron Chef Michael Symon was opening a Detroit restaurant and when I saw the menu for it, I knew I had to go.

Roast is in downtown Detroit on the corner of Washington Boulevard and Michigan Avenue in the recently restored Westin Book-Cadillac hotel.  The restaurant is on the bottom floor of the Washington Boulevard side.  There is an entrance from the hotel, but there’s also a set of doors next to the hotel’s main entrance that lead directly into the restaurant.

We surprisingly found parking at a meter about a block away.  Had we not, the choices looked to be very limited.  I think I saw a self park on Michigan Avenue next to the hotel.  There’s also a valet service if that’s more your thing. 

We arrived at about 5:45 for a 6:15 reservation.  We checked in with the matre’d figuring we were going to have to wait, but they actually seated us right away.  Roast has a couple huge dining rooms.  They are street level with huge windows looking out into downtown Detroit.  The space is covered with dark, subdued colors with pops of light.  From the dining room, you can see into the kitchen and you can watch the “Roast Beast of the Day” being slow roasted on a spit.  We didn’t sit in the dining room.  Instead, we were seated in the bar area which actually worked out really well.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Burgers, Detroit, Downtown, Fine Dining, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews

Europa Pastisserie Cafe

1 03 2009
  • 546 Monroe Street
  • Detroit, MI 48226
  • (313) 237-5370
  • No Known Website
  • No Online Menu
Europa Patisserie Cafe in Detroits Greektown

Europa Patisserie Cafe in Detroit's Greektown

After checking out the Eastern Market and snapping some pictures of what’s remaining of Tiger Stadium for my brother, we headed towards Greektown.  We’re still not really familiar with Detroit, but we knew Greektown was a walkable area and probably had a coffee shop or something for us to relax in for a while.  Luck was on our side, we actually found a metered space about a block from where we wanted to be.  After showing off my parallel parking skills, we headed towards the restaurant area. 

We thought about just going to the Astoria Pastry Shop (review HERE) like we did last time we were in Greektown, but the line was out the door.  We kept walking and I noticed a cafe across the street.  We walked down to the stoplight since I was chicken to jaywalk right in front of the Detroit cop that was walking toward us then double backed to the cafe.

Europa Pastisserie Cafe is on Monroe Street on the bottom floor of the Greektown casino.  There is an exterior door, but there’s also an entrance from inside the casino.  There’s a little marketplace area that has a link to a number of restaurants including a Cold Stone Creamery, a steakhouse, and a Greek tavern.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Bakery, Detroit, Greektown, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews

Eastern Market

1 03 2009
  • 2934 Russell Street
  • Detroit, MI 48207
  • (313) 833-9300
  • Website
The Eastern Market in Detroit

The Eastern Market in Detroit

Saturday, February 28th was a big day for J and I.  We delayed our Valentine’s Day celebration by a couple weeks because of a concert in Windsor.  I got J tickets to see Miranda Lambert and in return, she got reservations to Roast in Detroit for me.  When the day finally came, both of us were anxious.  We had been looking forward to this day for so long, it was hard to sit still.  Early in the day, we decided we just needed to leave and go to Detroit even though our reservations weren’t until 6:15.  To kill time, J suggested we check out the Eastern Market.

The Eastern Market is on Russell street.  It’s the oldest public market district in the United States.  Since it’s still winter, things weren’t as crazy as they probably are in the summer.  We got to Detroit just before 4:00.  Since we didn’t really know what was going on, I parked in the first place I found.  During the winter, the market is in Shed 5 which was a two block walk from where we were.  We didn’t know that when we started walking, but I saw signs pointing us that way.  It was cold and windy and it made the walk brutal.  I should have just moved the car, but I didn’t know any better. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Detroit, Farmer's Market, Michigan, Reviews