The Friday f.e.e.l 

(food. e. e. l)

 Mercury Burger Bar....Not your average Bar

At first glance you may pass by the Mercury Burger Bar that sits on the corner of Michigan and 14th in Detroit’s historic Corktown. On the outside it has a 60’s rustic vibe, however you would be doing your tastebuds a disservice by not partaken in the variety of flavors that await for you inside.

Owner, Dave Steinke lived in Corktown right after he graduated from college and returned back to start this gourmet, but not fluffy burger bar. “This is a iconic location and we wanted to do something to honor the location, but we didn’t want to compete with our neighbors.” Steinke continued,”We really don’t have a lot of overlap with the other restaurants, they support us and we support them.” Supporting Detroit is a very high priority on Steinke’s list. “Most of our vendors and produce comes locally, along with most of the employees are local.”

To create the diverse menu, Steinke enlisted Chef Ariel Millan to bring life to the culinary vision. The Mercury Burger Bar has something for everyone, from burgers, hot dogs and shakes to salads, fried green tomatoes and Chardonnay. Not into Beef? No worries, their handmade turkey burger or chicken sausage can meet your palette’s need. The hours are even accommodating to every type of customer, in a month they plan to introduce a breakfast menu to add to the existing lunch, dinner and late-night menu. There are too many items to list in one review of the burger bar.

However their best-sellers consist of the S.W. (Southwest) Burger, which I had the opportunity to try. Now, I would not normally opt for a Southwest anything, but upon the persuasion of General Manager, Kimberlia I bit right into the flavors of this burger. Topped with a chorizo slider, jalapeños, muster cheese, avocado and salsa on the side, there was not any sense that was not engaged in taste as I consumed each bite.

But WAIT, it did not end there, although the S.W. Burger is Kimberlia’s favorite, Steinke’s and Chef Ariel swore by the grilled bologna sandwich. However, I was beyond full at this point, so I had the late-night menu Ring bologna Slider to see what all the praise was about. Topped with spicy mustard, red onion marmalade on a sweet roll late nights in Detroit cannot get any sweeter. Combine great food, drinks, warm ambiance and great attentive service, there was no question that the Mercury Burger Bar gets my thumbs up approval.

Visit the Mercury Burger Bar at 2163 Michigan Avenue  Detroit, MI 48216, (P) 313-964-5000, (W) www.MercuryBurgerBar.com. Hours: Monday-Sunday 11 a.m. - 2 a.m.

The City of Detroit is operating like a rollercoaster. Every week is a new drama. Two weeks ago it was the state threateneing to withold revenue sharing funds if a lawsuit challenging the consent agreement wasn't dropped. Last week, a judge tossed the contoversial lawsuit and the city was able to move forward appointing the last memebers of the financial advisroy board put in place under the consent agreement. It seemed like the maybe the rollercoaster was slowing down a bit.

Then, last Friday,  Bing stormed out of a meeting with city council and blasted them for holding back the city by not agreeming to remove the lawyer who brought the lawsut against the consent agreement. City Council President Charles Pugh blasted back saying the mayor needed to show better leadership. This week, Bing wants to hire is own lawyer and not use the city's top lawyer, Krystal Crittendon because of the negative effects the lawsuit she brought had on the city. 

It seems that this week all niceties are out the window and now the familiar rift between the Detroit Mayor’s Office and the City Council is clearer than ever. 

But was Detroit Mayor Dave Bing himself who said the city needed to move forward without distractions. So why is he causing more?

 There seems to be reason beyond sinking bond ratings that Bing wants Crittendon out so bad. Is he afraid she will appeal the court’s decision to throw out her case that called the consent agreement void? Is the state privately threatening him with more cuts unless he removes the lawyer who could stand in the way? There has to be an better explaination for this one.

 It doesn’t take a genius to figure that out: He’d already asked the Council remove Crittendon two week before when the state threatened to hold back $80 million in funding if she didn’t drop the lawsuit and they flatly refused. In addition, less than the 2/3-majority vote needed to remove Crittendon voted in support of the consent agreement in the first place.

 This can be avoided. Crittendon hasn’t said she will appeal the decision to toss the lawsuit she brought, so, for now, this dramatic showdown should be over.