The particular Detroit suburb we live in is rather tiny — about 2 square miles. So its “downtown” area is small as well, but contains some delightful little treasures. On our second day here we discovered the Black Lotus Brewing Company. As the name suggests, they brew their own beer, and also serve espresso drinks, teas and food. The menu was small when we were there, but we were told it would be expanding come July 1. We got there just before 2 pm, in time for their lunch special, which is a burger and a pint for $5. Since McDoc and I don’t eat animals, we were glad to see that they have veggie burgers too. But we weren’t terribly hungry (it was too hot and humid to eat much), so we shared an order of nachos. McDoc had a pint, and I had some freshly brewed black cherry tea over ice.

We chatted with the server, who was very friendly. (She told us that they have live music at least one evening a week, and an open mic night on Mondays. McDoc thinks I should learn to play jazz piano or something, and try out to play there. I’d love to, but it’s no small undertaking.) I wouldn’t have guessed from her appearance — dyed-black long hair, tattoos — that she really likes living in this little town. At one point a small pack of Harleys rounded the corner just beyond the big picture windows, and she looked after them wistfully. I asked her if the noise bothered her, and she said no, there was a big rally today and she had wanted to go, but couldn’t get her shift covered.