Thursday, June 17, 2021
So much food today, oh so much food
I don't recall the last time I ate at the Mexican Village, but it's been something like 30 to 35 years. It is my second favorite place to eat, Buddy's being my first. I missed eating at Mexican Village ten years ago, and I wasn't about to miss it this trip. So Bunny and I drove the 25 miles between there and the hotel.
I will say that one thing I do not miss are the Detroit roads—it's like one extended pot hole half-repaired. Ka-thunk ka-thunk ka-thunk bud-a-bud-a-bud-a-bud-a-thunk ka-thunk. The entire way! And back again!
Anyway, other than the road conditions, the trip was mostly uneventful. Things have changed in the 30+ years since I last visited Mexican Village, and let's just say the junction between I-75, I-96, and the Ambassador Bridge is a snarled mess under construction and half-blocked off. And the neighborhood there is … um … shall we say, economically challenged and slowly being reclaimed by nature. It's an odd mix to say the least.
But one oddly maneuvered U-turn in an otherwise abandoned lot later, we arrived. And the place hasn't changed at all in the past 30+ years. I even recogized the same art work on the walls. Amazing!
Way too much food. Just way too much food.
A few hours later, and we were off to an after-rehearsal dinner at The Honey Hole in Plymouth, Michigan. We had the entire restuarant for the party as the groom-to-be, my cousin Jordan, was also a part owner of the place (and is still in the process of reopening the place now that Michigan is slowly opening up). His brother Aaron, owner of the Westwind Brewery in Elkhart, Indiana, was curious about the brewing possibilities in the basement (it's Michigan—every building has a basement, and it's something I sorely miss, living in South Florida), When we were given a tour of the basement, it was clear that brewing beer was not an option, unless you hired a bunch of Hobbits (or Oompa-Loompas—they would work just as well).
And then the food arrived. Way too much food. If this keeps up, I might have to use a baby care bag.
Extreme murals, Plymouth, Michigan edition
The Honey Hole building is coverned in murals. On one side of the building is this bit of mural:
![[A larger than life little girl standing on a step ladder, back to the viewer, looking into a hole, with some bees buzzing around her] If I didn't know better, these “honey bees” look more like “killer hornets.”](/2021/06/17/honeyhole2.jpg "If I didn't know better, these “honey bees” look more like “killer hornets.”")
And on the other side of that wall (inside the restaurant) is this mural:
![[A larger than life face of a little girl, staring at a bee on the end of her nose, with honey combs puring out honey all around] There is nothing worse than a bee hive in the walls—you hear all this buzzing yet no bees can be seen, driving one mad. Please don't ask me how I know this—oh god, I'm getting flashbacks!](/2021/06/17/Honeyhole1.jpg "There is nothing worse than a bee hive in the walls—you hear all this buzzing yet no bees can be seen, driving one mad. Please don't ask me how I know this—oh God, I'm getting flashbacks!")
It's a neat concept, but it cuts a bit too close to home for me.
