Breakfast at Mae's

Sometime in junior high we moved from South Ferndale to Pleasant Ridge, a considerable step up from the old neighborhood at least architecturally. Shortly after moving, some rich douche from the West side of Woodward reminded me I lived on the Peasant Ridge side. Can't remember if I ever got the chance to punch that prick in the head or not. For those of you who don't know, PR is a sliver of a town tucked in between Ferndale and Royal Oak, quite literally a half a mile North to South. At any rate a block from my house was Anna's Diner. Anna's was a sliver of a diner in a sliver of a town. My guess is the place was built in the 60's and was never updated. Original counter with stools, old tables with chrome legs, even older equipment lined the kitchen work spaces and then there was Marion. Miss Marion wore a uniform the way they use to. She also wore a beehive doo like few could back in the day. That hair was an engineering feat the Egyptians would've been proud of. Marion had run the place for decades and knew everyone. As long as their name was "Hun", she remembered who you were. For all that was cool about the place, the food wasn't. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't bad it just wasn't anything to be remembered. There was questionable health standards practiced as well. Y'all know I love a good dive but reusing food brought to the table is where I draw the line. OK, so that was Anna's. She passed not too long ago and Anna's was no more.

The joint that was Anna's has been reborn as Mae's, a funky retro breakfast and lunch spot. The counter is still there and so is the cool. Old Faygo bottles and cans line the place along with just enough kitsch to make you smirk but not so much that makes you wonder if you're in an Apple B's nightmare that you can't wake up from. If you haven't noticed yet, I hate Apple B's and any other corporate half assed attempt at creating cool.

I've now been to Mae's a half dozen times and only for breakfast. In short this little joint churns my butter. This is good food. High quality ingredients, breakfast staples and just enough originality to keep a jaded, cynical guy like me smiling. Some items in particular deserve high praise. The potato pancakes which have received little attention from the three published reviews I've read so far, deserve to be noted. These pancakes are at first crispy and then creamy and are full of deliciousness not found very often these days. Seriously, can you name three places with good potato pancakes? I doubt it. Next up is something you won't find at your local coney island or anywhere for that matter, æbleskivers. These Scandinavian little balls of pan fried dough deserve all the praise which is being heaped on them. Reading the description and then seeing them go to table after table led me to believe that they'd be heavy and doughy. Not true. They're light and unlike anything this foodbag has ever eaten. Truly yummy. Everything I've eaten there is done with thought and precision. Like I said I haven't eaten lunch but I will soon and I'm certain it's going to be good.

Word is getting out and it's a little bit of a challenge to get in on the weekends. Once you get a table, relax and take it all in as it may take a little while. The staff busts ass but a full house is tuff on the little kitchen. Weekdays is not problem, just walk in an sit down.

The world needs more places like Mae's. Good people, doing good, honest food. The next time someone tries to take you to a chain restaurant that looks the same as the one you visited in Orlando, politely refuse and suggest somewhere like Mae's. Soon, you'll be rediscovering your city one drink and one bite at a time. Then you'll be digesting detroit, too.

http://www.maesdetroit.com/