"The Fist"

Monument to Joe Louis

At Woodward Avenue and Jefferson

Detroit, MI

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monument_to_Joe_Louis

Most cities around the world have statues of various founding fathers, dignitaries or war heroes.  Detroit has those type of memorials also.  What Detroit has that no other city has that I am aware of is a monument of a man's arm and fist.  It is not just anyone's arm and fist, it represents Joe Louis', Boxing's longest running Heavyweight Champion from 1937 to 1949.  

Although not born in Detroit, Joe Louis moved with his family to Detroit when he was 12 in 1926 during the Great Migration from the South.  He made his amateur boxing debut at age 17 and his record as an amateur was 50-4 with 43 knockouts.

Joe Louis turned pro and compiled a 69-3 record with 57 knockouts over his career.  The two major bouts of his career was against Max Schmeling during the late '30's.  At the time, Schmeling represented Nazi Germany while Louis represented the U.S.  The two bouts took place just prior to WWII in 1936 & 1938 and had social/political implications between the two nations.  Schmeling won the first bout and Louis the second after only 2 minutes and 40 seconds of the first round.  This second win presented a major propaganda victory for the United States and African Americans at the time. Without going into additional detail in this post, one can review Joe Louis' life and career at  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Louis .

The monument was erected back in 1986 and was commissioned by Sports Illustrated magazine.  Besides paying homage to Joe Louis, the 8,000 lb., 26 foot long sculpture, over the years, has also been a symbol of Detroit's pride and defiance.

The statue is best viewed early in the morning on weekends as both Jefferson and Woodward are the two major streets in Detroit and are quite busy during the week.  As an example, the photo above was taken around 10:00 AM on a Sunday morning.  Also, viewing during the weekend mornings allows one to park close by and walk to the statue.  Although not a major attraction in Detroit, it is still an interesting art form worth seeing. 

 

Motz's Burgers

 7208 West Fort Street

Detroit, MI
313-843-9186

http://www.motzs.com/Home.html

 Motz's Burgers Facebook

 

Motz's is located on Fort Street in Detroit about 1.5 miles east of the Ford Rouge complex.  Motz's is a family run business since 1929 and based on that it is one of the original slider establishments in the Detroit area.  

Like most slider establishments, there menu is pretty basic.  Hamburgers, Cheese Burgers, specialty Big Burgers, Fish Fry Flounder and Fried Shrimp dinners.  They also offer hot dogs and coney islands as well as fires, fried mushrooms and onion rings.  Beverages include coke products and coffee as well as vanilla and chocolate shakes.

I have only had the chance to eat at this establishment once, but I was very impressed with their sliders and fries.  They have a lunch deal where they offer two sliders, an order of fries and a pop for $5.00.  It's $6.00 if you want cheese with your sliders.  That's a pretty good deal considering their sliders are on the large size, over twice the size of a White Castle.

I found the servers, as well as the patrons, to be very friendly and accommodating.  While I was there for lunch, I had a lively conversation with one of the waitresses.  We were comparing notes on other slider establishments as well as discussing Motz's recent review on the PBS 'Under the Radar - Michigan' TV show.

I plan on returning to Motz's frequently this summer, both to sample their fine hamburgers as well as experience their friendly waitstaff.

 

 

Bates Hamburgers

 33405 5 Mile Road

Livonia, MI 48154

 734-427-3464

http://www.batesburgers.com/ 

The next two posts will focus on a couple of  locations that specialize in the classic hamburger 'Slider' . 

Bates Hamburgers is family owned and has been located at the 'Downtown' intersection of Livonia (5 Mile and Farmington) since 1959.  They also have a location on Middlebelt south of 9 Mile in Farmington Hills.

I have been going to Bates since moving to Livonia back in '86.  As the photo above shows, Bates Hamburgers has the classic hamburger grille restaurant architecture similar to the old White Castles.  Although they offer a breakfast menu, and judging by weekend morning drive bys, they have a  brisk morning business, Bates menu is basic hamburger fare.  In fact all of the main food groups are represented; hamburgers, cheese burgers, chili burgers, hot dogs and coney islands.    They also offer french fries (crinkle cut), soups of the day and soft drinks and chocolate shakes.

Our favorite menu items are the double cheeseburgers, the fries and chocolate shake.  The double hamburger helps equalize the bread to meat ratio.  Of course, one must include the grilled onions.  The other menu item we purchase frequently are the coney islands.  They are very good and on Wednesdays, Coney Day, they are only $1.15.  

As one can see when reviewing the menu, Bates offers an economical meal that tastes great.  Bates offers both inside dining and carryout.  The inside dining features a lunch counter atmosphere.  Carryouts are ordered and picked up in a small enclosed area adjacent to the main diner.  It is suggested that for carryouts, you pre-order over the phone as the carryout area can get quite cramped with people placing and awaiting for their carryouts.

If you are in the Livonia area and are hankering for a slider and fries, give Bates Hamburgers a try.