Michigan 11th Annual Cask Ale Festival

It's been a long time since I've been to this festival.  I went to the first one, and haven't been back in many years.  Held in Westland, a far suburb of Detroit, it is hosted by Ashley's Restaurant.  I love cask ale, but there has to be some strict rules applied before it can be enjoyed to its fullest.  This type of festival is usually not able to fulfil my requirements.  Cask ale is best served at around 50 F.  In England, pub cellars often make perfect places to store the casks, and the beer is pumped up by hand pull engines.  Another unique thing about British cask ale is its relatively low alcohol.  Often American cask ales are way too strong!

With ale-loving friend Jennifer G. along, and Deb as our designated driver, we headed out in really miserable weather to this much-anticipated event.  It rained all morning, but by festival time (2 pm) it had mostly stopped.  However, with temps in the 40s the Festival was a damp and chilly outdoor affair.  25 casks were on offer, and we couldn't wait to try them!  No tokens were required, and we were allowed to taste any of them we wanted!  This was a fantastic way to run a festival, and I highly approve.  We were underneath a canvas and plastic roof, in the garden of Ashley's.  It was not a very large area for the number of people that turned out, and there were some very mushy areas within the grounds.  But these were minor details considering how much ale was on offer.  Here is the list, as provided by the Festival.

Ales on offer at the 11th annual Michigan Cask Ale Festival.  Circled numbers are ones I sampled.  I also tried #6, not circled.  

In addition to a wristband and list of ales, we were given a sturdy taster glass (to keep) along with a single token.  Each cask had a box in front of it, and the token was to be left in the box of one's favourite ale.  Another good idea.  I was quite surprised by how many IPAs were on the list.  I attempted to try none of them.  The latest fad seems to be trying to add the strangest ingredients one can find to an IPA.  In my book, this is a very bad idea.  There are very few IPAs I would drink regularly.  One of them is Two-Hearted Ale, by Bells.  Another is All Day IPA by Founders.  And the third one is Marble IPA, from an Albuquerque brewery (Marble).  Fortunately, there were several sours on offer, a couple of Browns, and one stout.

There were two on offer from one of my favourite breweries, Batch Brewery in Detroit.  However, there were none from the big Michigan breweries.  Nothing from Bells, or Founders.  Boo.  Hiss.  It was nice to see many smaller breweries represented, including several I had never heard of before today.

Two of the hardy tasters out today at the 11th Annual Michigan Cask Ale Festival.  On display are the decent tasting glasses given to each participant.  Though Jenn and I tried some of the same ales, we did venture off in different directions on occasion.  

While Jenn and I got cold and damp at the outdoor festival, Deb went browsing at Westland Mall, just across the parking lot from Ashley's.  After an hour Jenn and I retreated into the warmth of Ashley's for some coffee.  Afterwards, we resumed our tasting, soon joined by Deb, who hung out with us until we finally left around 4:45 pm (the festival closed at 5 pm).

So, who got my token for best ale?  It really was a toss-up between #3 and #5.  But I only had one token, so I remained loyal to Batch Brewing and gave them mine.  New Funk #3 turned out to be the best farmhouse ale I had ever sampled.  It comes from their new Detroit facility on Grand Boulevard, which is dedicated to brewing sours.  I'm guessing that New Funk will be on offer in their Corktown taproom.

Will I go back to the Festival next year?  Come back here and check if I do.  In the meantime, Deb and I will be returning to Columbus, Ohio in June.  She has had two more of her short films chosen for screening at Origins Game Fair in mid-June.  So stay tuned for reports on that party!

Mapman Mike

 

Marshall Michigan: Olde Tyme Funne

We undertook a short trip to Michigan recently.  With my craft beer supply on empty, it was time to stock up on Michigan beer.  Canadians are allowed to bring back 48 bottles of beer after a 48 hour stay, and I did!  Of course that wasn't the only reason we went on the trip.  I also had to return the empties!!

We left early Sunday morning, enjoying the extra hour of sleep from the autumn time change back to Standard Time.  We crossed at the Detroit/Windsor Tunnel and headed for the Detroit Institute of Arts.  While certainly one of the finest museums in the world, it's been awhile since there has been an exhibit to tempt us to visit.  This time there were three:  the annual Offrenda invitational, which this year included 18 entries; an exhibit based around the Detroit Monet painting; and an exhibit based on Frederic Church's archaeological paintings of the Middle East. 

The Offrendas (Day of the Dead tributes) were hit and miss, but several were very good.  The Monet exhibit was quite different, focusing on the painter's garden in Giverny, a suburb of Paris.  The Detroit painting (see below) is one of my favourite Monet paintings.  I am not a big fan of his, but when he gets things right, the results can be outstanding.  The entire exhibit is small, perhaps a dozen paintings, but there are also good displays about paint and brushes from that time, and how things were changing, especially in the types of coloured paints available to artists.  It all leads up to a climactic display of the Detroit picture (below), shown without frame, but unfortunately in a glass box.  Very poor idea.  No other paintings are so displayed, only this one, and it cheapens the end result.

 The splendid painting of Monet's garden by the artist, in the DIA's collection.

This superb portrait of Monet by Renoir is also in the exhibit.

However, it was the Church painting exhibit that really got us excited.  This is a much larger exhibit, and contains several masterpieces by the American artist.  Detroit has two of his finest landscape paintings, and this exhibit was based around his "Syria by the Sea."  Church's large scale paintings are nearly infinite in their detail, and his use of colour and composition is unparallelled in scope and beauty.  Having known the Detroit painting for many years, it was wonderful to see it in context with other works from the period.  Sometimes Church painted things exactly as they were; other times he would take the ruins and transplant them to a new locale.  He was not an archaeologist, but an artist, after all.  It is a wonderful exhibit, and will travel elsewhere after showing in Detroit until January.

The finest painting in the exhibit was this gigantic one of the Parthenon, from the Metropolitan Museum in NYC.  It had its own guard.  What a thrill to stand in front of this masterpiece!!

Another very large masterpiece, this one of Jerusalem, was loaned by the Kansas City Nelson/Atkins Museum of Art.  It also had its own guard.

Detroit's wall-sized "Syria by the Sea." 

 A fine example of Church's placing of ruins in a different setting.

 From the artist's expedition to Petra.

Afterwards, we went to nearby Seva Restaurant for lunch.  It is shocking how few vegetarian and vegan restaurants the city of Detroit has (only 3 at this writing--the suburbs have several more).  Seva is in Midtown (and in Ann Arbor), and has very good food.  Sundays they serve brunch all afternoon, so we brunched.  Afterwards it was time to head west.  It was a Sunday, so traffic would be lighter than a truck-heavy weekday.  However, it was pouring rain, and there was thunder and lightning, and visibility on the freeway was hampered.  We still made pretty good time.  We were first heading for Chelsea, a small town that we have blasted through on our Amtrak journeys to Chicago.  The train does not stop, but there is an historic station and an appealing downtown.  So we stopped in for coffee on our way to Marshall.  We liked the town so much that we hope to return over the Christmas break.  In addition to gift shops, there is also an historic court house, and a wine bar, and a brewery.

 Zou Zou's Cafe, downtown Chelsea, MI.

 Downtown Chelsea is home to Jiffy Muffin mixes!  These are found in every grocery store in the country.

There used to be a stove company here.  The clock tower was built as a water storage facility to aid in fighting fires back in the day.

The beautiful Chelsea clock tower will soon be home

to a craft brewery.  Guess who will be visiting??

 The historic Chelsea depot, which sees passenger trains whizz past six times each day.

After Chelsea, it was on to Jackson.  Home to infamous Jackson Prison, the downtown boasts some cool old skyscrapers, and a very good craft beer pub.  Amtrak does stop in Jackson and I see the pub from the train window every time we travel this way.  Finally I got to visit!

Grand River Brewery, Jackson, MI.  It is also a distillery and a wine bar.

I tried Ryes N' Shine coffee Rye IPA, Pumpkin Grind Porter, Black Penny Porter,

and Temptation Cinnamon Ginger Cider.  All were very good!  I got a tee-shirt!

 Rear of County Building, downtown Jackson, MI.

 It was dark when we arrived in Marshall, which is about halfway across the southern part of Michigan.  We checked in to our historic hotel (more in a moment), then headed out for dinner.  We walked to Schuler's, a very old coaching inn restaurant and pub.  We sat in the pub where I drank a pint of New Holland's Dragon Milk Imperial Stout, dark and delicious, finishing up with a very good veggie burger, my first of three for the trip.  Deb had a salad.  This is one of the better pubs I have been to, nice and dark and atmospheric, and their commitment to craft ale taps makes me like them even more.  It was a short walk back to our hotel, where we snuggled in for the night.  I was in the process of having a major sinus meltdown.  I was swallowing meds as fast as I could, and sneezing about 85 times per hour.  Deb applied some hot compresses to my nose and eyes back in our room (we actually had a suite of two rooms), and things eventually simmered down.

Next morning, afternoon, and evening was our Marshall adventure.  Original plans had called for a side trip to Kalamazoo, but we decided to stay local all day.  Marshall is an historic home and building paradise, and though we have seen much of it on previous visits, it was fun to see some of it again.  This town has more historic signs and buildings then I have ever seen in a small town.  We shopped downtown all morning, had lunch at The Stagecoach (veggie burger and some Detroit craft porter from Atwater Brewery), rested for awhile back at the Inn, then headed out for coffee.

Stagecoach Inn, where we had lunch.  Internet photo. 

http://www.battlecreekvisitors.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Stagecoach_Featured-823x420.jpg

Dark Horse Brewery is one of the best, and they have recently added a roastery, cafe, and bakery to their beer empire.  This makes Marshall nearly perfect (sadly, the train does not stop here).  We enjoyed pour overs, then headed out onto their river trail system for a long (and cold) autumn walk.  Yesterday had been mild with storms, but today was clear and cold.  After our walk, we headed to the Dark Horse pub for beverages (Deb had some delicious ice water; I sampled 5 ales).  We shared a hummus and veggie platter, then later ordered a pizza (no cheese).  The pub is a great one in which to sit around and do pub things, such as talk and drink beer.  I succeeded at both!  Upon leaving we stopped in at the bakery again for some cookies and coffee beans, as well as a few packs of beer.

View from our hotel room towards downtown Marshall, just beyond the fountain and traffic circle.  They were beginning to set up Christmas decorations this morning.

Our historic inn, Marshall, MI.  We had three windows--two can be seen above the sign.

Now the back entrance to the National House Inn.  Our third window is upstairs, but hidden behind the tree on the right.  This place is really really cool!  Staying here is an expensive treat, but rates moderate on Sundays and Mondays.  We stayed two nights.  You can walk anywhere in town from here.  We stayed here with a group of teacher friends when I retired back in 2010.

Downtown Marshall is home to the American Museum of Magic.  It was closed today, but we have visited on a previous visit, and loved it!

It was Deb's turn to get excited, as we visited a new coffee roaster and cafe in Marshall.

 Cute barrel seats at Dark Horse Commons Cafe and Bakery (with brewery and pub next door).

 Images from our autumn river walk in Marshall, MI.

 Images from our autumn river walk in Marshall, MI.

 Images from our autumn river walk in Marshall, MI.

Deb on the boardwalk.

Images from our autumn river walk in Marshall, MI.

 Dark Horse empire in Marshall, MI includes a brewery, tap room with restaurant, coffee roaster, and cafe/bakery.

They got a lot of our money on Monday.

 Inside the cozy Dark Horse Pub, Marshall, MI.  I am sampling their 

Scotty Karate, Plead the 5th, Scary Jesus, Toonilla, and 20th Anniversary Ale. 

Local regulars can get their own mug, which hangs on walls or ceiling when

not in use. 

I had to work Tuesday afternoon at 4 pm (I teach music lessons).  We checked out Tuesday morning, reluctantly passed by Ann Arbor, and headed for Dearborn's fantastic Merchant's Fine Wines (also with liquor and tons of craft beer) for my 48 bottles of craft beer, then to our mailbox, and on home.  It was a really fun trip!  No more overnight adventures planned until at least March Break.  See you all then!

Mapman Mike  

Columbus, Ohio: Origins Game Fair, 2017

We are no strangers to Columbus, though we haven't visited in a number of years.  Columbus is a medium-sized Mid-Western city, situated along the banks of the Olentangy River.  With about 2 million people in the metro area, it is less than half the size of Detroit.  There is still too much traffic.  We were first attracted to this area many years ago as we explored Native Indian Mounds in the vicinity.  On our last visit Deb was a race-walker in the city's marathon.  This year, not one but two of her short films were official selections at the Origins Film Festival, held every June in Columbus.  This part of the festival has been up and running for only three years.  The gaming part has been around much longer.

 A nice PR shot of downtown, borrowed from the internet.

 The focus of the trade show part of the Fair is on new games, ones just about to be released.  There were hundreds of new games to try out and to purchase.

 The Doctor Who game we wanted was sold out by Saturday afternoon.  We'll try to order

it on-line.

 Regional, National, and World Tournaments were another major focus of the Fair.

 There was a lot of serious gaming going on.

 Saturday was the busiest day of the Game Fair.  It was also the day of the Columbus Pride Parade!  It was pretty crazy downtown, and burning hot and very humid.

 Table top gaming sets and parts were also on sale.

Cthulhu Wars, coming soon!

Drinks from the brew pub across the street!

 Kelly is a producer and actress, and a co-coordinator of the film festival part of the Fair.

 Film festival table at the fair.

\

Deb met someone made of barrels.

Deb wears her Supercar tee-shirt, Gumby 

pin, Origins pin, and other assorted bling.

     I got to try seven new games.  I really liked one called Deadline, a Noirish game based on movies from the 1940s.  Not sure why I didn't buy it, but I will, soon.  The Fair ran out of two games we wanted to buy, a Dr. Who card game featuring the first 4 classic Doctors and their companions, and another one called Wordsy.  We will try to acquire all three very soon, as well as an add-on to one of our favourite games, Tokaido Road.

     The film festival was loads of fun.  We saw a feature film, and two sets of short films.  Deb's two films were in the Fantasy section.  We also watched a set of films related to gaming.  Great stuff!  Here is a complete list of what was screened over the 3 days, in alphabetical order.  We saw Akemi and Taru (for kids only), Basic Adventuring 101 (pretty funny and quite good!), Heaven Kid (Gack!!), Horrors (very fun and very good), I Put My Low Stat (okay, but too long), Inhumanwich (a terrific feature spoofing 1950s monster/sf movies--it won best picture overall and audience favourite), Kansay's Glorious Death (at 37 seconds, the shortest of the festival--very stylish), Mr. Denton (a real creepy and extremely stylish and well done horror short from Spain), The Adventures of Sir Fireheart (a comedy costumer, quite engaging to watch), The Rangers: Durstan Chronicles (a much-too serious LOR type episode), Voyage of the Golden Hinder (part 2 of Deb's epic Yorick series), The Sucker (from France, about poker player crooks--quite a few flies in the ointment here, but it was stylish), Tilting at Skyscrapers (a very funny short about a man escaping from his gaming cave for a few hours), and Ye Most Excellent Adventures... (Deb's first Yorick film).

     Best fantasy short went to The Old-Men, which we did not see.  Best SF short went to Penguins in Space, which we did not see.  Next year, if any of Deb's films are accepted again, we will return but go earlier for an extra day.  This way we will have enough time to take in most of the films and the gaming floor.

     Best game by far that I tried out is called Deadline.  Sadly the game does not play as well with only 2 players, and it takes 2-4 hours to play, despite what it says on the box.  Still, we might get this one soon, when it reaches retailers.  Also, Wordsy looks pretty good, and is okay for two players, or even one, which is great.  We will also get an expansion for Tokaido, and a Dr. Who card game.  By Saturday afternoon, many publishers had run out of games to sell, so next year we will buy by Friday at the latest.  There were also a large number of costume wearers!

     We also visited some very good eating establishments.  Portia's is a vegan restaurant.  We ate there Friday night, and recommend it.  Portions are small, however, especially the desserts.  Saturday we had lunch across the street from the convention center, where the Fair was held, at Barley's Brew Pub.  Food here is very solid, and their pale ale was among the best I've ever had.  They also had on a special menu for the gaming crowds, and a special drink menu (see above).  Saturday night we ate at Loving Hut.  It was a bit of a drive from downtown, but it was certainly worth it.  We have visited their restaurants in Brighton, England, Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio, and Fort Wayne, IN.  All are high quality and good value.  On our way home Sunday we stopped in Toledo at Green Leaf Cafe, a relatively new veg/vegan restaurant featuring comfort soul food.  This was a bit out of our way, but again worth the drive.  Great food, wonderful people,though the atmosphere is less than stimulating.

     We are definitely interested in returning next year!  Hopefully Deb's film(s) will once again be accepted. 
Mapman Mike 

Chicago Loop: A Short Visit

Over the years Deb and I have visited Chicago perhaps a dozen times, including four recent stopovers on our way from Detroit to the far west on the Amtrak train Southwest Chief.  Details of those brief visits can be found on my Travels West blog (link on my homepage).

We once again traveled via Amtrak, on the Wolverine.  We left Detroit (Dearborn Station) on time, arriving Monday March 13th at 4 pm, ten minutes late.  We'd booked the trip amidst the mildest February on record for our area, hoping we would have good weather in mid-March.  The weather was horrible.  In fact, during our full day in Chicago (Tuesday), the weather was cold and snowing, possibly the worst weather day of 2017 so far.  

We had planned for just such an emergency, though our hotel bar and restaurant threw our plans askew.  We stayed at the comfortable Club Quarters Chicago Loop Hotel.  It is on Adams St., about ten minutes walk from Union Station (walk east, toward the Lake and the Art Institute).  The Elephant And Castle Pub that used to be here was a place in which I was hoping to spend two quiet afternoons, sipping craft beer, enjoying nibbles, and watching busy Chicago pass by.  Alas, upon arrival the restaurant was closed, gutted, and undergoing renovations.  That left me with no decent craft beer pub close by.

However, we still had a number of cafes and a vegan restaurant right at hand.  We checked in, rested, then headed out to my 2nd choice pub, a bit of a hike from the hotel.

Chicago is the largest city in the Midwest, by far.  It's 9.7 million people vastly outnumber Detroit's 5.7 million (that includes Windsor and Essex Co., Canada).  And where Detroit has some of the world's finest skyscrapers and older buildings, Chicago has ten times the amount.  Same with newer buildings.  I'm not even certain that NYC has more high rise buildings than Chicago!  The Loop is the central downtown business area, home of banks, etc.  The transit system's elevated trains all make a loop through the area, and thus the name.  Luckily our hotel was far enough away from these noisy trains.  The elevated tracks block out the sky for several of the main streets downtown.  There is also a rickety old subway, which we did not use on this trip.

I had never been in Chicago during a snowstorm.  Suddenly signs appeared on every sidewalk:  "Danger--Falling Ice."  Yup.  Huge piles of snow and ice would suddenly come crashing down to the street and sidewalk.  Nice.  Many of the larger buildings can be used as an alternative to walking outside on the sidewalk, as they have vestibules and hallways that cover entire blocks.  I'm certain that more than a few wise commuters know exactly how to minimize their time outdoors on cold, windy, snowy days, and still travel quickly through the Loop.

 The canyons of Chicago are extensive and deep.  In the background is Willis Tower, formally Sears Tower, still one of the tallest buildings in the world.  It is 1450' high, and has 108 stories.  It costs $23 to get up there!  We gave it a miss, having done it several years ago.  The Art Institute charges $25.  We gave that a miss, too (been there, done that).  Cultural Chicago attractions are out of reach for most budget minded families.

Looking west up Adams, from in front of our hotel.

 Calder Sculpture, Chicago, on a snowy day.

First Draft is the premiere downtown craft beer pub, just south of the loop, at 649 Clark St.  We attended for Happy Hour on Monday and Tuesday.  Appetizers are half price.  They have just over 50 taps, and over the two days I got to sample 9 of their beer offerings.  They offer paddles of four 4 oz glasses.  The beer menu is well organized, and they have a lot of good bottles, too.  Here is what I had on draft:

Ayinger Brau Weisse, Germany:  *** stars (highest rating).

Pig Minds Vanilla Bitch Slap:  **1/2 stars. 

Tripel Karmeliet, Belgium:  *** stars.

Victory Blackbeard: **1/2 stars.

Pollyanna Orenda:  ** stars.

One Trick Pony Stallion, Illinois:  **1/2 stars.

Off Color Smores:  *** stars.

Bosteels Kwak, Belgium:  **1/2 stars 

I also had a delicious 12 oz Belgian beer, which I forgot the name of.  Vegan food is limited.  I don't recommend the guacamole, as the chips are deep fried in-house and very unappetizing.  Another down side are the innumerable tvs, all tuned to sports, as if it mattered.  The pub itself is comfortable, and was never crowded on our two visits.

Deb was able to check out espresso at four different cafes:  Pete's, just above Union Station; Intelligentsia; Revival Cafe (and Bar); and Bow Truss.  Her finest experience was at Revival (above).

We made a truly great discovery inside a large building kitty-corner to our hotel.  A giant, all new food court had recently opened, consisting of about 20 independent cafes and restaurants (no chain food or coffee places here).  We ended up spending some time here, in a pleasant atmosphere (very crowded at noon hour).  Vegan food was abundant, and I enjoyed one of the best coconut curry sweet potato soups ever!!

In the same building as our hotel, but only accessible by a walk outside and around the block, was Native Foods, an all-vegan restaurant with counter service (they bring the food out to your table).  We ate here twice, usually getting too much food to eat all at once.  Sadly, our hotel room lacked a fridge and a micro.

Right beside our building on Adams St. was the historic Rookery Building, one of the world's finest and oldest skyscrapers.  We had walked right past it a number of times on previous visits.  The inside is filled with charm and detail, and there is a totally amazing Frank Lloyd Wright shop in the lobby!

 Lobby of the historic Rookery Building

  Lobby of the historic Rookery Building, opposite side to above.

There is only one used book shop downtown, but it is so poorly organized that we barely spent any time there.  Selected Works Books does have a lovely cat, though, and views out to the Lake through some very old windows.  I thank my lucky stars for John King Books in Detroit.  There is a Barnes and Noble in the Loop, but so what. 

Our train for Detroit was booked for a 6 pm departure.  However, because the weather was so miserable, the streets were filled with slush and salty puddles, and it was COLD, and the hotel pub was CLOSED, we rebooked on an earlier train, leaving Union Station at 1 pm.  With the time change and arriving one hour late into Dearborn (typical for the Wolverine Service), we were back in our vehicle (free parking in the Amtrak lot!) by 7:45 pm.  We went to the Midtown Detroit Whole Foods, where I picked up 48 beer.  We also ate dinner there and did a bit of shopping.  It was still winter, and there was snow in our driveway as we pulled in.

Although the trip was fun, and I didn't have to drive at all (!!!), and I had some great beer, it is really disappointing how expensive museums and such are in Chicago (never mind opera or symphony tickets).  I will visit anytime for the food, beer, buildings, and such, but culturally Chicago has priced itself off the Midwest map.  Detroit museums cost much less, and Cleveland Museum of Art is free!  (I consider the three major Midwest cities to be, in order of importance, Chicago, Detroit, and Cleveland.  Other great cities include Buffalo, Cincinnati, Columbus, Indianapolis, and Kansas City, with lesser cities that include Ann Arbor, Toledo, Fort Wayne, Columbia, MO, and Dayton).  If including Canada, then Toronto is a must.  Upper Midwest would of course include Minneapolis/St. Paul, and Milwaukee.  We are long overdue for a revisit to Cleveland, so stay tuned.

Mapman Mike 

Fort Wayne, IN Visit

Our usual contact with the city of Fort Wayne (pop 260,000) is to zoom past it on our way to and from New Mexico.  It is Indiana's 2nd largest city, after Indianapolis.  Our most recent visit here was a short getaway to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary.  Our main interests this time around were craft beer, craft coffee, and a visit to the downtown river walk.

Our two-night stay actually had three parts to it:  the drive from Detroit to Fort Wayne; Fort Wayne; and a quick visit to Toledo to see the Museum of Art.  So this short blog will highlight all three phases.  Since everything was centered on the Maumee River, it could be called the Maumee River Adventure.

PART 1: Detroit to Fort Wayne

We drove to Fort Wayne Sunday morning/afternoon on the 21st of August.  The tunnel border crossing from Windsor to Detroit went quickly, though the border guard was pretty curious as to why we were going to Fort Wayne.  So were people in Fort Wayne, once we had arrived.   It is about 165 miles from the tunnel to downtown Fort Wayne.  Toledo is about 60 miles south of Detroit.  In Toledo the route turns west.

A little more than halfway to Toledo along I 75 is the town of Monroe, MI.  Deb was attracted by a coffee shop she had seen on-line, and wanted to stop for espresso.  Agua Dulce Cafe is just off the main street, and very close to the river.  I had tea and Deb tried the espresso, which she liked a lot.  We took a stroll down to the river.  They seem to have a decent trail along the river, and it leads all the way to the Detroit River.  We hope to return with our bikes!

Agua Dulce Cafe, downtown Monroe, MI.  They serve coffee from Frenchtown Roasters.

 Downtown Monroe, MI, looking west up the Raisin River.  Trails lead from downtown to the Detroit River.

After our downtown stroll, we headed south towards Ohio.  Bypassing Toledo for the time being, we stopped in Waterville, OH.  Waterville sits just north of the Maumee River, an impressive river that begins in Fort Wayne and ends in Lake Erie beyond Toledo.  There is a lot of canal history between Toledo and Fort Wayne, and in previous trips along here we have explored much of it.  The main street of Waterville, now home to gift shops and restaurants, was once the actual canal.

Our goal today was to find some vegan food here.  We thought we might end up at the service station nearby looking for peanut butter crackers.  Instead, we scored a major find!!  Cocina de Carlos is a Mexican restaurant located just around the corner from the main street, and is located in a mini-mall which was once a bustling blacksmith shop.  Their rice and beans are vegan, and they offer vegan chorizo in place of meat.  We had five meal choices!!  We thoroughly enjoyed our lunch, and I also had a delicious bottle of Negro Modelo ($3!).

A mural depicting the original blacksmith shop in Waterville, Ohio.  Now a mini-mall, it is home to a wonderful Mexican Restaurant.  The mural is inside the mall, near the entrance to Cocina de Carlos restaurant.

 Waterville is also home to this amazing garden ornament store.  The ornaments are mostly made locally.

The Columbia House was built even before the canal reached Waterville.  It was a coach stop between Toledo and Fort Wayne.  It is currently abandoned.  It shows up on a lot of haunted buildings websites.

Several miles west, or upriver, from Waterville is Grand Rapids, Ohio.  Today there was a jazz festival on the riverfront, just behind the touristy but attractive little downtown.  There is great walking in this area, including a riverside trail that follows the old canal towpath all the way back to Waterville.  A restored canal boat operates near the town, there is an old mill, and the Bluebird, a tourist train that travels between Grand Rapids and Waterville, may be back in operation soon.

Independence Dam is just upriver from Grand Rapids, OH.  Walking trails lead to it.

View downstream from Independence Dam towards the 900' long railroad bridge near downtown Grand Rapids, OH.

Looking along Main St., Grand Rapids, Ohio.  At least one bar serves craft beer.  Even better, there is a great candy and toy store!  We stocked up on chocolate espresso beans!

Detail of old town hall, Grand Rapids, OH.

Continuing west, we drove along the south bank of the Maumee River to Napoleon, OH.  Napoleon is a county seat, and the old highway between it and Grand Rapids is very winding and scenic.  Near the main town you will pass a giant Campbell's Tomato Soup can.  Andy Warhol would have been very impressed.  We had no time this trip for Napoleon and its fine courthouse and emerging downtown.  We crossed the river and drove to Defiance.

We got some (terrible) takeaway coffee from Bigbee Coffee near downtown, then headed to one of Defiance's very fine riverfront parks.  The park at the library overlooks the joining of two impressive rivers, as the Auglaize joins up with the Maumee.  Just a bit further upstream, the Tiffin River also joins the Maumee, but there is no park there.  The library park is called Old Fort Defiance Park, and gives great views of the two large rivers joining forces.  Across the Auglaize River is Kingsbury Park, and across the Maumee is Pontiac Park.  All three parks can be turned into a really fun, and not too long, walk.  We have yet to do this in all of our many visits, but it will happen!

View from Old Fort Defiance Park.  The Auglaize River comes in from the south (right), joining with the Maumee River as it heads east towards Toledo and Lake Erie.

After our scenic coffee stop in Defiance, OH, we continued along the river route towards Fort Wayne.  There are a few places to stop along the river, but we continued on.  I was getting thirsty.  

PART 2: FORT WAYNE

Fort Wayne has come a long way since our last visit, when only one brewpub existed.  This time we would visit four!  Trubble Brewing is north of downtown, anchoring a small commercial corner.  It is the most recent brewery in Fort Wayne, and they have only been pouring for a couple of months.

      Our first stop in Fort Wayne, IN was Trubble Brewing.

 Inside Trubble Brewing.  I managed to get a wooden beer mat (!), and a decal for my beer fridge!!

Here is what I had, 10 oz (US) each: 

 Peanut Butter Stout 

The peanut butter stout is a well balanced stout, dry hopped with peanut butter powder, cacao nibs, & cacao powder. ABV=4.5% IBU=35

Special Bitter

Yer Bitter is our Special Bitter. A well balanced special B with Challenger and Fuggle hops for bittering. ABV=4.6% IBU=56

 

Though these were pretty solid beers, they did not seem to stand out from the pack, so to speak.  Not enough peanut butter, for one thing.  I probably liked the bitter better.  They also had a number of guest taps,  plus 3 kinds of their own IPAs, and a pale ale.  We had originally planned to eat here, but Sundays they only served brunch till 3 pm, and nothing afterwards.  So it was soon time to head out in search of food.  Captain Deb was now at the wheel.

We headed for a Thai restaurant on the opposite side of downtown.  It seemed to be closed down.  Just as we were about to pull away from the strip mall, Deb noticed a sign for an Ethiopian restaurant, with vegan food.  It was open!!  In we went.  Though they also served meat, there were any amount of vegan options.  Mom, the main chef, was currently in Ethiopia.  The place was being run by two sons and a daughter.  The eldest may have been 21, though it looked iffy.  Daughter was the cook, having learned from mom.  The inside of the place was fantastic, decorated in the green/red/yellow of the Ethiopian flag, along with a number of African musical instruments.

We ended up sharing a massive plate of all of their veg offerings, with lots of homemade injera, the national bread.  No eating utensils are used in Ethiopian dining; the bread is your utensil for scooping lentils and such.  We stuffed ourselves, but the best was yet to come.  Next to our table was this setup, for Ethiopian coffee.

Photo taken from our adjacent table, showing the coffee making area.

The young female chef came out from the kitchen to prepare coffee, from scratch.  She lit a fire in a small stove (we assumed that the smoke detectors were disabled in the seating area).  She roasted Ethiopian coffee beans (Harrar) over the fire, and the smoke billowed forth, as well as the now-familiar aroma (from Deb's roastery).  Since coffee beans are not the best immediately after roasting, she set the freshly roasted beans aside and hand-ground some beans previously roasted.  Soon, very fresh coffee was bubbling away and set before us in a coffee urn.  It was delicious, and certainly a highlight of our coffee-drinking days.

Preparing to roast the beans.

Our coffee ewer, and the end result.  This just might count as our best serendipitous find ever!!!

We had had two wonderful and unexpected vegan meals today.  Both places had been discovered by chance, but are now on our list when in the area.  Next stop was a final brewery for today.

Summit City Brewwerks was pretty quiet.  Though they closed at 9 pm Sundays, we stayed until 9:30.  We were watching the closing ceremonies of the 2016 Olympics, and the torch was being passed to Toyko.  We met a fellow beer enthusiast there, and he sat with us to talk about beer and watch the Olympics.  No one asked us to leave, so we overstayed our welcome.

Here are the 5 oz samples I tried:  Cherry Single; Carl's Creamy Ale; Coconut Breakfast Stout; Thai'd Stick.  Those were from their brewery--they also had guest ales.  I tried Mudder Pucker from Bird Boy (in Fort Wayne), and then finished off with a cider from Michigan, Flannel Mouth from Blakes.  All were fantastic, especially the cherry one.  With 36 taps, I can't wait to get back here someday!!

Summit City Brewery, Fort Wayne.  A magic place for craft beer lovers!

Despite a very fine hotel room and a great bed and pillows (Comfort Inn), I had a terrible sleep.  No doubt it was the late night coffee.  Still, it was worth it!  Delicious memories of a fun and unusual meal stayed with me all next day.  The hotel put out a fine complimentary breakfast, and we partook of juice, tea, oatmeal, toast, and fresh fruit.

As it was now past rush hour, we drove downtown and parked in a garage ($1 per hour!) across the street from a cafe Deb had interest in visiting.

Parking structure view of Fortezza Coffee, downtown Fort Wayne

Like a lot of American city downtowns, the area is home to the court house, lawyers, banks and such.  There is not a lot of retail, and this was the only decent coffee shop in the main street area.  However, not only is it a very fine coffee shop, but it is also a main taproom for Chapman's Brewery!  This morning Deb was here for espresso, but we would be returning later in the day so I could sample their brew.  They have great hours, six days a week.

After her espresso shot we headed out on our walking adventure.  We traveled north a few blocks to the rivers.  Two great rivers, the St. Marys and the St. Joseph, join here to form the mighty Maumee River.  As a result, there are a lot of parks and bridges here.  We entered the trail system via Wells St. Bridge, now for pedestrians and bicycles only.  We followed the river for a mile or so, then recrossed the St. Marys and walked back into downtown.

We left downtown Fort Wayne and joined the riverfront trail system via the historic Wells St. Bridge.

 The trail (left side) passes beneath this railroad bridge.  A canal bridge once crossed here, and the ruins of the foundation can be seen on the walk.

 The walk back downtown took us through a historic district, with many fine old homes.

 The courthouse dome.  The building is massive and architecturally very

significant.  We tried to go inside, but they do not allow cameras or cell 

phones.  Next time we visit we will leave our stuff in the car until our 

visit is over. 

Internet photo of the main courtroom.  We did not get to see the inside this time. 

Next up was a used book store.  Hyde Brothers Books was exactly the kind of store that is really fun to discover and browse.  The extensive SF section was downstairs.  So was Sherlock, one of two very friendly resident cats.  In between filling my arms with books by Budrys and Farmer, I had to bend down and give him belly rubs.  Upstairs we met Scout, just as friendly.  As we checked out she jumped up onto the counter and demanded some attention.  The outside wall of the store has a giant painted mural of Fort Wayne.

Wall mural at Hyde Brothers Books, Fort Wayne.  Even if you know just a little bit about the city, this is a very fun mural to look at.

It was nearly lunch time.  Loving Cafe was actually pretty close to our hotel.  We drove back out to the sticks to the cafe, part of a chain of vegan restaurants in the Loving Hut family.  We have eaten at two others, the one in Cincinnati, and the one in Brighton, England (with Caroline).  This one featured their extensive menu and deliciously prepared food.  We each had a soup/sandwich lunch combo.  The place was really busy, and as we left a group of about seven was just arriving.  In addition, we ordered two take away dinners.  Due to my terrible sleep last night, we were heading back to the hotel to rest.  Our room had a fridge and a microwave, so we stored the dinners in the fridge for later tonight.

I snoozed till about 3 pm, then we headed back downtown.  Even though Fort Wayne does not have a direct freeway leading downtown, they have set up a great system of 3-lane one-way streets that get you there in a hurry.  It only takes about ten minutes from the outskirts, where our hotel was, to the city center.  We parked at a meter near Fortezza Coffee.  Meters are only 50c per hour, and you only have to pay till 5 pm!!

We had pour over coffee, quite delicious, then I sampled four of the Chapman ales.  Three of them were quite fabulous.  The only one I wasn't crazy about was called Brighton Pale Ale.  It was a bit less than average.  The really good ones were the Englishman (a southern English brown ale), Red Ryeding Hood (Imperial Red Rye), and Valiant (American Stout).  We played a game of Carcassonne at a huge table in the main sitting room.

Fortezza Coffee, downtown Fort Wayne.  It's also a taproom for Chapman Brewery.

Part of the main sitting room, Fortezza Coffee.

We stayed till just after 5 pm, then headed to one final brewpub.  We have visited Mad Anthony's Brewery twice before, and enjoyed both visits.  Here is what was on draft on our visit!  I drank #11 and #16, and left with a six-pack of #12.  They have food here, too, but we had dinner waiting back at the hotel.  The Loving Cafe closed at 7 pm, and we knew we would not make it back in time.  Thus the take away dinners in our little fridge, now awaiting our return.
 

Original Brewpub & Eatery Draft List - Fort Wayne

1. Olde Fort Blonde Lager
2. Auburn Lager
3. Six 2 Midnight Session IPA
4. Good Karma IPA
5. Ruby Raspberry Wheat
6. Harry Baals Irish Stout {Nitro}
7. Jolly Cougar Meloncamp
8. Hefeweizen
9. IPL
10. Barrel Aged Raspberry Lambic
11. Damn Skippy Peanut Butter Porter  Damn fine!
12. Ol' Woody Pale Ale  6-pack came home with me.
13. Oktoberfest
14. West Coast Stout
15. Hop Loco
16. Barrel Aged Mad People's Scotch Ale  Mostly delicious.
17. Palate Jacked 200
18. Horse House Honey Cream Ale 

Mad Anthony's, Fort Wayne.

We were back in our hotel room about 7 pm.  We ended up sharing just one of the dinners, the  large order of Udon Noodles!  It was an early night, and this time I slept like a baby, right through the night.  I awoke at 8:35 am, and we had to hustle downstairs, as the complimentary breakfast ended at 9 am.

After checkout, there was time for one more stop in downtown Fort Wayne.  Deb required her morning espresso fix.  A brand new cafe had just opened across the river from downtown.  Conjure Coffee was brand new, and we were one of the first customers.  A girl who worked at Fortezza had told us about it yesterday, as one of her friends had opened it.  It is also a roastery, so things were pretty fresh.  I had one of the best chai teas ever, and we ended up sipping and sharing it as we drove to Toledo. 

PART 3: Toledo, OH 

We had time for only two stops here today: The incomparable Museum of Art, and, of course, a cafe.  I really need to do a full write-up on the Toledo Museum of Art.  It is such an important part of our past, too.  We have visited many, many times, always coming away impressed, refreshed, and looking forward to our next visit.  It is not nearly as tiring or disorganized as the museum in Detroit.  Iy also nicely fills in gaps in Detroit's collection, owning works by several key artists that are lacking in the bigger city.

We arrived around noon, and ended up eating our 2nd dinner from last night for our lunch today at an outdoor picnic area on the museum's grounds.  Parking costs $5, but museum entrance is free.  This place is very well endowed.  Because Toledo is the home of Libby Glass, the Libbys donated dozens of masterpieces of painting, sculpture, decorative arts, and cash.  However, they also left behind their priceless glass collection, which is now housed in a separate pavilion.  This has freed up the main galleries for more contemporary art, and they have arranged it really well.  Many of the galleries reminded me of Tate Modern.

The old master collection is to die for, and they seem to be adding significant works to it all of the time.  We spent several hours reacquainting ourselves with some wonderful art.  If we get to return soon, I will take more representative photos and do a blog entry on just the museum.  We have yet to visit the newer glass pavilion, with its collection of glass from ancient times to contemporary.

 

Toledo Museum of Art:  Gallery Photos

 Part of the ancient art gallery.

The Cloister

Two views of the medieval cloister.

 Medieval reliquary casket.

 Jewellery pins.

 Dutch 17thC Seascape

Extreme detail from a Dutch 17thC interior church painting.

Seascape by Vernet (Sherlock Holmes' grandmother was Vernet's sister)

 Humid landscape by Boucher.

 Ophelia, by Arthur Hughes

Just up the road from the museum is Black Kite Coffee and Pies, where we enjoyed delicious pour over coffee.  Aside from stopping in Detroit for 48 bottles of craft beer, we headed home.  It had been a fun two days and nights, and we look forward to our next visit.

 

Mapman Mike