Detroit, MI

Where to eat, drink and game watch for Sunday’s Lions game

Published

2 years ago

January 27, 2024

Where to eat, drink and game watch for Sunday’s Lions game

Don’t have a ticket to Ford Field’s “All Grit Watch Party” on Sunday?

Downtown Detroit will be a happening spot with plenty of the area’s bars and restaurants hosting special watch parties of their own or open as usual and scores of TVs for fans to watch the Detroit Lions battle against the San Francisco 49ers for the NFC Championship.

Plenty of restaurants are stepping up their offerings and hours for fans headed into the city. Fans will find menu offerings ranging from Detroit-style pizza and other pizzas to some of the best chicken wings and classic bar food like nachos.

Here’s a sampling of restaurants and bars ready with watch parties and menus offering plenty of their signature eats and drinks. Most are steps from Ford Field and others are within a short walking distance or a quick QLINE ride.

As most of downtown Detroit will be happening, longtime favorite bars and restaurants around other parts of town are ready for fans. There’s Bookie’s Bar and Grille a few blocks off Woodward, Nemo’s and McShane’s Irish Pub on Michigan Avenue in Corktown, and the longtime Anchor Bar on Fort Street.

And if we’ve missed a favorite spot, be sure to let us know. Send an email with the name and location to food@freepress.com.

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Bakersfield Tacos Tequila Whiskey

On Woodward about a 15-minute walk from the stadium or a quick trip on the QLINE, Bakersfield serves up authentic, Mexican street fare with a vast selection of more than 100 tequilas and American whiskeys. It’s a spot where the food is simple, the service is warm and the atmosphere is alive. 3100 Woodward Ave., Detroit; bakersfieldtacos.com

More: It’s Blue, baby: Detroit Lions to wear all-blue uniforms for home playoff game vs. Rams

Basement Burger Bar

Burgers, of course, are the star here. Choose from beef, bison, chicken, and turkey, or a vegetarian burger. There also are appetizers, salads, and sides. 1326 Brush St., Detroit; basementburgerbar.com

More: 3 easy game-day snack options that require little effort, common ingredients

Brass Rail Pizza Bar

Appetizers, salads, and burgers are on the menu at this establishment on Adams off Woodward, along with red, white, and build-your-own pizzas. The Brass Rail also has dozens of TVs for game-watching. 18 W. Adams, Detroit; brassraildetroit.com

Buddy’s Pizza

Buddy’s Pizza is known for its square pizzas with thick crusts, crisp and caramelized edges with sauce drizzled atop the cheese. A downtown location offering its popular Detroit-style pizza and traditional salads is on Broadway just minutes from Ford Field. 1565 Broadway, Detroit; buddyspizza.com

Buffalo Wild Wings

The spot for all things chicken wings — boneless or classic — and game-watching football. There are also salads, appetizers, burgers, and more. Buffalo Wild Wings downtown on Randolph is a several-minute walk from Ford Field. 1218 Randolph St., Detroit; buffalowildwings.com

Detroit Beer Co.

Just a short walk from Ford Field, this longtime establishment has plenty of beer options that pair with its burgers, twice-cooked chicken wings, sandwiches, and main dishes. This year, Detroit Beer Co. marks 20 years in business. 1529 Broadway, Detroit; detroitbeerco.com

Bert’s Marketplace

This longtime Eastern Market eatery offers its classic fried chicken and barbecue ribs as well as other bar food menu options. 2727 Russell St., Detroit; eatatberts.com

Elwood Bar and Grill

The Elwood, at the corner of Brush and East Adams just across from Ford Field, will open its doors at 10 a.m. There will be a tailgate-style setup with a limited menu. Offerings include hot dogs, hamburgers, chili, and sausages. 300 E. Adams, Detroit; elwoodgrill.com

Firebird Tavern

Opening at 3 p.m. the game-day menu includes the tavern’s popular burgers and chicken wings. You can also try steak frites and corned beef sandwiches. The drink highlight is the Lions Kool-Aid shots and Honolulu Blue mimosa. 419 Monroe St., Detroit; firebirdtavern.com

Frita Batidos

Frita Batidos offers Cuban-inspired street food and is located on District Detroit’s pedestrian-friendly brick-lined street. They will have the game on and $10 Miller High Life buckets. Happy hour and its happy hour menu is available 4-6 p.m. 66 W. Columbia St.; fritabatidos.com

Harry’s Detroit Bar and Grill

Here the vibe is a game day party paired with a vast menu that includes appetizers, entrees, burgers, sandwiches, and salads. Parking is free with food and drink purchases. 2482 Clifford St., Detroit; harrysdetroit.com

Hockeytown Cafe

On Woodward Avenue, the multilevel Hockeytown Cafe has a playoff tailgate on Sunday. Doors open on the first floor at 10 a.m., according to its website. The third floor/roof opens at 11 a.m. for its “Playoff Tailgate Party.” There will be heaters on the roof along with a DJ, photo booth, and games. Food offerings include grinders, sliders, ribs, jerk chicken, and pepper steak according to its Facebook page. 2301 Woodward Ave., Detroit; hockeytowncafe.com

Hollywood Greektown Casino

Restaurants inside the casino include the newly opened Red Lotus Asian Kitchen at the Monroe Market’s quick-service dining hall. Red Lotus features Asian fusion dishes and traditional dishes. Monroe Market also includes 313 Burger, Dunkin’, and Detroit Taco. Other casino dining venues are Sportsbook Restaurant and Prism Steakhouse. 555 East Lafayette St., Detroit; 313-223-2999; hollywoodgreektown.com

Jo Jo’s Shakebar

A spot for over-the-top shakes paired with craft cocktails and classic bar food like wings, burgers, and fries. There are also soups, salads, and entrees. 88 W. Columbia St., Detroit; jojosshakebar.com

Mom’s Spaghetti

The restaurant is inspired by Detroit rapper Eminem’s lyrics for “Lose Yourself.” It has a walk-up window on the side of Union Assembly on Woodward offering spaghetti, spaghetti, and meatballs or a Sghetti sandwich. There’s also an upstairs retail store within Union Assembly. The project is a partnership with Union Joints Restaurant Group. 2131 Woodward Ave., Detroit; momsspaghetti.com

Mootz Pizzeria

Mootz serves New York-style pizza with a crisp crust along with a selection of starters, salads, beer, wine, and a full cocktail menu. Within walking distance of Ford Field, fans can also grab a slice to go from their slice house if not dining in. 1230 Library St., Detroit; mootzpizzeria.com.

The Brakeman/Penny Red’s

At the Brakeman in Parker’s Alley, you can watch the game and play a few games. There’s foosball, table shuffleboard, or beer pong. If you work up an appetite, the Brakeman has an attached walk-up window serving up buckets of fried chicken, sweet-savory honey-butter biscuits, and a small offering of sides from Penny Red’s. Both will be open at noon and stay open until after the game. 22 John R St., Detroit; thebrakemandetroit.com or pennyreds.com

The Old Shillelagh

This classic, longtime downtown Detroit Irish pub spot has been around since 1975. Its menu highlights sourcing local ingredients. Offerings include starters, salads, sandwiches, Irish fare, burgers, tacos, and nachos. The Old Shillelagh opens at 11 a.m. DJ Kenny Washington is featured at 9 a.m., according to its Facebook page. 349 Monroe St., Detroit; oldshillelagh.com

Tin Roof Detroit

Steps from Ford Field, Tin Roof is a multilevel spot with entertainment and game-watching paired with a menu that includes wings and Nashville hot chicken. On Sunday, doors open at 10 a.m. for its championship watch party, according to the Tin Roof website. There will be a cover band and DJ’s. 47 E. Adams, Detroit; tinroofdetroit.com

Union Assembly

Multilevel Union Assembly is on the ground floor of Little Caesars’ world headquarters. The restaurant also has a second-floor outdoor terrace with elevated views of Woodward Avenue. A menu highlight is its Detroit-style pizza. 2131 Woodward, Detroit; unionjoints.com

Contact Detroit Free Press food and restaurant writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news and tips to: sselasky@freepress.com. Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter. Subscribe to the Free Press.

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Detroit, MI

Detroit archdiocese releases last proposed parish Mass stoppages. List hits 90

Published

4 hours ago

June 18, 2026

Press Room

Detroit archdiocese releases last proposed parish Mass stoppages. List hits 90

The list of Catholic parishes targeted for the possible stoppage of weekend Masses has grown to about 90 parishes across southeast Michigan, according to the latest proposed models the Archdiocese of Detroit has released as part of its major restructuring process.

The archdiocese released on Thursday the models for potential parish groupings for the six remaining planning areas in the archdiocese, and 32 parishes wouldn’t have weekend Mass under at least one of the models. Previously released models showed that 58 other parishes could stop holding weekend Mass.

The Archdiocese of Detroit recently completed listening sessions meant to garner feedback on the models, but parishioners can still share input through a survey that is open until July 31.

The archdiocese has been divided into 15 planning areas, or geographic areas, and three or four models are being proposed for each planning area, said the Rev. Mario Amore, executive director of parish renewal for the Archdiocese of Detroit.

The models have different proposed groupings of parishes ― called pastorates ― in which a grouping would share a pastor and potentially other priests. In some cases, selected churches in the grouping would no longer hold Saturday Vigil or Sunday Mass.

The models released on Thursday are for planning areas 6, 7, 8, 11, 14 and 15, which include parts of Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties and parishes in St. Clair and Lapeer counties.

Sixteen of the parishes wouldn’t have weekend Mass under any of the models, including St. Alphonsus-Clement Parish in Dearborn, Our Lady of Loretto Parish in Redford Township and Our Lady of Hope Parish in St. Clair Shores.

The models are part of the archdiocese’s biggest restructuring plan in years. Announced last fall, Archbishop Edward Weisenburger said the archdiocese can’t maintain the roughly 200 existing parish buildings and is working to “right-size” the archdiocese, along with its personnel and financial resources.

Holly Fournier, a spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Detroit, emphasized that the models are just draft proposals “intended to solicit feedback from parishioners.” She said no decisions have been made regarding pastorate groupings, weekend Mass schedules or any other aspect of the restructuring process.

The Rev. Mario Amore, executive director of parish renewal for the Archdiocese of Detroit, said in May that parishioners understand that the archdiocese “needs to do something” about its challenges. But when it becomes personal for people, it’s “very difficult,” he said.

“And there’s a lot of human emotions, and … we need to honor that,” Amore said. “We need to be attentive to that, and no one’s saying that it’s an easy process, and it’s not a process that … we’re happy that we need to undertake, but it is one that we do need to undertake.”

What the latest Wayne County models show

Planning Area 6, which is in the southern section of Wayne County, excluding the Downriver area, includes 16 parishes. Eight of them would stop holding Saturday Vigil or Sunday Mass under at least one of the models for the planning area.

They include St. Mary, Cause of Our Joy in Westland, St. Richard in Westland, St. Aloysius in Romulus, St. Sabina in Dearborn Heights, St. Linus in Dearborn Heights, Divine Child in Dearborn, St. Alphonsus -St. Clement in Dearborn and St. Kateri Tekakwitha in Dearborn.

Planning Area 7, which includes the northwest portion of Wayne County, has 15 parishes, four of which wouldn’t hold weekend Mass under at least one model. They include Our Lady of Loretto in Redford Township, St. John XXIII in Redford Township, St. Priscilla in Livonia and Resurrection in Canton Township.

What the latest Oakland and Macomb Co. models show

Planning Area 8, which is in southern Oakland County, has 13 parishes, six of which wouldn’t have weekend Mass under at least one of the models. They include St. William in Walled Lake, St. Gerald in Farmington, Prince of Peace in West Bloomfield, St. Joseph in South Lyon, Church of the Transfiguration in Southfield and Our Lady of Albanians in Southfield.

Planning Area 11, which includes the southeastern section of Macomb County, the Grosse Pointe communities and one parish in Detroit, has 14 parishes. Seven of them wouldn’t have weekend Mass under at least one model. They include Our Lady of Hope in St. Clair Shores, St. Lucy in St. Clair Shores, St. Basil the Great in Eastpointe, St. Margaret of Scotland in St. Clair Shores, Holy Innocents-St. Barnabas in Roseville, St. Matthew in Detroit and St. Clare of Montefalco in Grosse Pointe Park.

What the models in St. Clair, Lapeer counties show

Planning Area 14, which is in St. Clair County, has 12 parishes, five of which wouldn’t have Saturday Vigil or Sunday Mass in at least one model. They include Sacred Heart in Yale, St. Edward on the Lake in Lakeport, Holy Trinity in Port Huron, St. Christopher in Marysville and Immaculate Conception in Ira Township.

Planning Area 15, which is in Lapeer County and part of northern Macomb County, includes ten parishes. Two wouldn’t hold weekend Mass under at least one model. They include St. Mary Burnside in North Branch and St. Cornelius in Dryden.

asnabes@detroitnews.com

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Detroit, MI

This Detroit steakhouse used to serve thousands a night in its heyday

Published

14 hours ago

June 18, 2026

Press Room

This Detroit steakhouse used to serve thousands a night in its heyday

Carl’s Chop House, 3020 Grand River in Detroit, 1923-2008

It was one of the most prominent restaurants in Detroit throughout the 20th century. Carl’s Chop House served Detroit for decades, from the Great Depression through the new Millennium.

Founder Carl Rosenfield first opened as the Grand River Chophouse in the early 1920s and he moved the business across the street and renamed it Carl’s in the 1930s. The often-repeated story goes that he won the full ownership of a bar from his partner in a poker game and turned it into Carl’s Chop House.

Prior to his restaurant success, Rosenfield was a well-known tire merchant. At one point, Rosenfield also owned a lighthouse near Port Sanilac.

As a restaurateur, Rosenfield persevered through many trials, including the Great Depression and a beef shortage during World War II, which left the steakhouse to serve chicken, lobster, sturgeon and “a lot of fish I never heard of,” he was quoted as saying.

A sirloin steak dinner was $1 when Carl’s Chop House opened.

By the 1960s, business was booming, and the restaurant was serving thousands of customers daily and had plans to expand the 850-seat dining room to 1,200. By then, steak dinners were up to $6.

They bounced up to $10 in the 1970s when longtime Detroit News restaurant reporter and critic Molly Abraham included Carl’s in a column, pointing out that even though the restaurant was a bit out of fashion — it had been open for more than 50 years by then — she describes the place as having “an infectiously festive, informal atmosphere.”

Along with the steaks, convivial atmosphere and firm handshakes, Carl’s Chop House was known for always being open, even on Sundays. The only day of the year it was closed was Christmas Day, Dec. 25, which was also Rosenfield’s birthday.

Rosenfield, who would support local farmers by purchasing cattle and other livestock from the Michigan State Fair, was still working at the restaurant in the 1980s when he was in his 90s. He died in 1991 at age 95.

The new owners of Carl’s Chop House ushered it into the next century for another generation to enjoy.

It wasn’t the same without its namesake proprietor, who was known for an absolutely crushing handshake, however. In 2008, owner Frank Passalacqua filed an application with the state for a topless permit, hoping to turn the property, which was now a neighbor of MotorCity Casino, from a steakhouse to a strip club.

Passalacqua, who was more successful at Mario’s Italian restaurant in the Cass Corridor, said he was losing $1 million a year on Carl’s. The gentleman’s club idea never materialized. Carl’s closed in 2008 and the building was demolished in 2010.

mbaetens@detroitnews.com

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