Sunday, June 20, 2021
Extreme pizza, Detroit edition
Of course, I can't come to Detroit and not visit Buddy's.
![[A mural, convering the entire side of a building, with the word “Buddy's” on the left, the word “Detroit” on the right, and in the middle, Atlas, with the city skyline of Detroit on his back, contemplating a pan of Buddy's Pizza held in his right arm] ´It's a deep-dish square pizza with the sauce on top, and it's insanely delicious!](/2021/06/20/Buddys.jpg "It's a deep-dish square pizza with the sauce on top, and it's insanely delicious!")
You better believe they ship! So there's no excuse not to try this pizza.
And no, they did not pay me to say this. I just think it's that good!
A detour to historical Detroit
My original plan to drive to Buddy's was to take I-275 south to I-96 east to the Davison Freeway, leaving us two blocks south of Buddy's. Then I saw a two mile stretch that wasn't a freeway and had second thoughts (this is Detroit, after all). The backup plan was to then drive I-275 north to I-696 east to I-75 south to the Davison Freeway, but a chance conversation with the front desk revealed that the I-696/I-75 interchange was closed off until I think next year. That meant I went with my original driving plan. I only bring this up, because on the way back to the hotel I caught sight of the “Shrine of the Black Madonna Cultural Center and Book Store / Art Gallery” (the street view from Google). Despite the sign being so fantastic, this is for real and I spent some time going down a historical rabbit hole.
Not only had I never heard of this organization, but its history is mixed with that of the Detroit Riots of 1967, which I had heard of from my grandparents. I also learned that Gordon Lightfoot's song “Black Day in July” was about the Detroit Riots, and the song was banned in 30 states (although I do recall hearing the song as a kid—either because it wasn't banned in Michigan, or my parents had the record, but I do distictly remember that song).
And to think that a chance glance of an odd sign on a building could lead to such an interesting rabbit hole, only because my preferred route to a Detroit restaurant was under construction.
