Ottava Via

 1400 Michigan Ave.

Detroit, MI 48226

 313-962-5600

https://www.facebook.com/Ottavaviadetroit 

http://www.yelp.com/biz/ottava-via-detroit 

Ottava Via is located on 8th Street (Ottava Via is Italian for 8th Street) and Michigan Avenue directly across 8th from Nemo's.  Ottava has been open since the summer of '13 and is one of the newer restaurants in Corktown.  It is located in a building that used to be the Dime Bank and still features the bank's Loan sign.  

Ottava Via features moderately priced Italian fare including individual pizzas.  They also offer a good variety of craft and imported beers and wines.  I have sampled their Italian pizza, calamari appetizer and Carbonara entree and really enjoyed them all.

The inside features remnants from the bank as well as traditional Italian and modern decor.  It has a lot of open space and a high ceiling so it can get loud.  The two times that I have visited, it was very busy and we had to wait about 15 minutes for a table.  I found that the waitresses were very good and accommodating.

Ottava Via is yet another go to establishment that is part of the expanding Corktown scene. 

Nemo's

1384 Michigan Ave.

Detroit, MI  48226
313-965-3180

http://www.nemosdetroit.com/

Nemo's is located on Michigan Avenue 1 block east of old Tiger Stadium.  With the closing of the Lindell AC several years ago, Nemo's is probably the oldest sports bar in the Detroit area.  In fact, it may be the original sports bar in Detroit.  When both the Detroit Tigers and the Detroit Lions both played at Tiger Stadium, Nemo's was the place to visit either before or after the game.  I had lunch at Nemo's prior to the 1984 Tiger opening day game.

Nemo's decor is standard sports bar but their memorabilia goes back 80+ years and features all of the Detroit area sports teams including U of M and MSU. 

I can't remember the last time I was at Nemo's so I recently visited it with Kathy.  They had a pretty decent crowd on a Saturday night considering the Red Wings were not playing and there was no other special events going on in downtown Detroit at the time.  I can tell by the interaction between the bartenders and the patrons that there were a lot of regulars that night.

Although Nemo's has a good variety of items on their lunch menu, their weekend menu is not quite as extensive....just Hamburgers, Cheeseburgers and Fries.  :)  We visited on a Saturday night and the cheeseburger that we had were OK, not in the range of Miller's, Mason's, Howell's or the Red Coat Tavern, but very good for a bar burger.  Also, they feature mostly domestic beer so don't expect any craft beers.

Beyond the food, Nemo's offers an outstanding Sports Bar atmosphere and because of how long it has been around, very authentic.  Although most sports bars have various sports memobilia, Nemo's can say it lived the events shown on their walls.  

Nemo's provides shuttle service to Tiger's, Lion's and Red Wing's games, so I imagine they are still very busy during game days.

I recommend visiting Nemo's for the sole purpose of re-living the eras when the Tigers, Red Wings and Lions were dominant in their leagues.  Plus, one can walk down to the old Tigers Stadium filed and pretend you are Al Kaline from the right field corner throwing a runner out trying to take 3rd base or Willie Horton at the plate driving a ball into the deep center field bleachers.




 .  

Two James Spirits

2445 Michigan Avenue
Detroit, MI 48216
 (313) 964-4800

http://twojames.com/?age-verified=81d01d385c

Two James Spirits is located just west of the Michigan Central Train Station on Michigan Ave.  It opened mid-year in 2013 and is the first legal distillery operating within the city of Detroit since Prohibition.  Two James is located in a nondescript warehouse type building and it is easy to drive buy and not notice.  I think this is one of the attractions of Two James, a very understated facade sort of how one would envision a speakeasy from the '20's.

Once inside the tasting room you immediatly are focused on the circular bar made from poured concrete.  The decor also includes oak whiskey barrels and art work that is available for purchase.  Overall the decor is very warehouse loft looking.

The tasting room features cocktails based on the products that they produce:

28 Island Vodka

Old Cockney Gin

Grass Widow Burbon

Two James Rye Whiskey

Two James Bourbon

Two James 'Reserve' Single Malt Whiskey

 Of course you can order their products straight up.  The Vodka, Gin, Bourbon and I believe the Rye Whiskey are available for purchase by the fifth at the tasting room.  Two James features local ingredients in the production of their spirits.

The Two James drink/cocktail menu features most of the cocktail standards but it is not as elaborate of a drink menu that Sugar House offers.  Still I believe one will find something on the menu to their liking.  I myself usually order an Old Fashioned featuring Two James Rye Whiskey.  Overall, based on the four times I have visited Two James, they do change up their drink menu on a regular basis.  

Two James also offers tours for a nominal fee of their distillery that is located adjacent to the Tasting Room.  The tour includes tastings of four of their products.  Use their online booking system to register.

 Overall,Two James is yet another cool place to stop in Corktown, either as a final destination or as a starting point for other events/locales in the downtown Detroit area.  Their website also offers some interesting information on the production of their products as well as upcoming events. 

By the way, don't be concerned about the bikes in my photo above.  I took that photo during Two James opening celebration last summer.  The event featured vintage motorcycles as well as a very good Rock-A-Billy band.  :)