I'm hungry...
...so it's time to blog about food.
Not long ago, I had the pleasure of eating (for the first time in a couple years) at Detroit's Geneva Burger, a legendary late night haven with the tastiest sliders imaginable. A "slider" - essentially a small, greasy onion burger on a steamed bun - can be had all around the Motor City, but no one does it better than Geneva. The smell of grilled onions that hits your nose upon walking through the door is sublime, especially after a few bowls of loudmouth soup.
Geneva is the epitome what Jane and Michael Stern call "roadfood":
"Great regional meals along highways, in small towns and in city neighborhoods...sleeves-up food made by cooks, bakers, pitmasters, and sandwich-makers who are America’s culinary folk artists. Roadfood is almost always informal and inexpensive, and the best Roadfood restaurants are colorful places enjoyed by locals (and savvy travelers) for their character as well as their menu."
"Sleeves-up food"...yes, that's the stuff. Like Lafayette Coney Island (another veritable classic), Geneva is a quintessential Detroit eatery - simple, no-nonsense grub for chain-weary diners. In a world where faceless, homogenized fast food is fast becoming our only culinary option, it's comforting to me that such places exist.
I realize some people only eat for sustinence. To them, food is utilitarian, a means to an end. They get hungry - they eat - and they're not hungry anymore.
I am not one of those people. Eating watered-down, generic cuisine is, to me, every bit as frustrating as listening to bland music. To put it in musical terms, let's say you sit down and order some tasty tunes: "I'll have the first Ramones album with a side of Johnny Cash, please." If someone then proceeds to serve you a steaming pile of the Huntingtons with a side of Toby Keith, you're going to be pissed, right?
As long as places like Geneva exist, I'll always savour the eating experience for all its worth.
Not long ago, I had the pleasure of eating (for the first time in a couple years) at Detroit's Geneva Burger, a legendary late night haven with the tastiest sliders imaginable. A "slider" - essentially a small, greasy onion burger on a steamed bun - can be had all around the Motor City, but no one does it better than Geneva. The smell of grilled onions that hits your nose upon walking through the door is sublime, especially after a few bowls of loudmouth soup.
Geneva is the epitome what Jane and Michael Stern call "roadfood":
"Great regional meals along highways, in small towns and in city neighborhoods...sleeves-up food made by cooks, bakers, pitmasters, and sandwich-makers who are America’s culinary folk artists. Roadfood is almost always informal and inexpensive, and the best Roadfood restaurants are colorful places enjoyed by locals (and savvy travelers) for their character as well as their menu."
"Sleeves-up food"...yes, that's the stuff. Like Lafayette Coney Island (another veritable classic), Geneva is a quintessential Detroit eatery - simple, no-nonsense grub for chain-weary diners. In a world where faceless, homogenized fast food is fast becoming our only culinary option, it's comforting to me that such places exist.
I realize some people only eat for sustinence. To them, food is utilitarian, a means to an end. They get hungry - they eat - and they're not hungry anymore.
I am not one of those people. Eating watered-down, generic cuisine is, to me, every bit as frustrating as listening to bland music. To put it in musical terms, let's say you sit down and order some tasty tunes: "I'll have the first Ramones album with a side of Johnny Cash, please." If someone then proceeds to serve you a steaming pile of the Huntingtons with a side of Toby Keith, you're going to be pissed, right?
As long as places like Geneva exist, I'll always savour the eating experience for all its worth.
posted by Pj at 12:03 PM
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