Updates

A few new places have been ticked off the list.

Bagger Dave's Uh, in a word. Meh. Many have raved, so I will have to try again, but the first visit was a DUD! Two patties on a pretty good bun. My burger, my son's burger and the burgers of the people next to us all were wayyyyy over cooked. My medium was a well done. I know what the peoples burger next to us was, because the water swapped our orders and theirs, and I bit into one of theirs, before we realized the switch. The fries were over cooked and the sweet potato chips were bland. I have never had a sweet potato with less flavor. I dunno? 1 of 5

Don's of Traverse City What a diner burger should be pressed to the grill to give it crunchy edges juicy in the middle. Slightly pricey for a diner, but it is Novi... 3 of 5

Places for me to try?

Not that I am running out of ideas, it is just that I love when someone is passionate about a place and wants me to try it. I have a student that wants me to try a couple of his favorites; The Full House in Ypsi and the Wheat and Cheddar in Romulous. Where do you think I should go?

Sandy's by the Beech

Nice bar, nice burger. A good old fashioned alley bar that grew, Sandy's has plenty of tables and probably needs them. The burger is good. I went on a weekday around 11:00 before the lunch crowd came in. There were about 6 regulars bellied up to the building length bar, myself and one other customer at a tables. The staff was nice and the bar itself is nicely upgraded with plasmas scattered around a second room and a patio that looks like a great place to hang when the weather improves.

The menu was simple and they had a daily soup and a dinner special. Of course I wanted the burger. Sandy's burger is about a 1/3 pound, nice size with a side of fries for $5.95. The table has the bar stack of fresh pickles(maybe homemade, at worst deli quality) pepperoncini, relish, ketchup and mustard. It came with onion, tomato and lettuce. I order mayo on the side. One of the best I have had in a while. Nice and juicy good white onion, plentiful tomato blending together with the melted American cheese perfectly. I just had arthroscopic surgery and I could barely eat it with one hand. 4 and half out of 5.

I went back on a Saturday to try it again and this place could sneak into the 5 out of 5 territory. The Saturday special was 50 cent coney dogs...

Sigh

To renew or not to renew. I hope in a year or two that we are happy with the talent that came to the Tigers. I think the trade will be a plus for the team on the talent side, but losing Granderson hurts. He is(was) the face of this team and is an ambassador for the sport(literally). He will do very well in New York, and that town will love him. Jeter will continue to be their favorite, but Granderson will be their 1A,

I will probably renew, but it will be a rough year.

Anybody need tickets? $40 a pair.

Goodbye Polanco

The Tiger's did not tender an arbitration order to Placido yesterday, which means the end of Polanco as a Tiger. The Phillies have had some interest in him as a 3rd baseman and I am sure other teams will send him some offers on the cheap. He was my favorite Tiger for many reasons. The way he wore a scuba suit in April and October(November of 2006, too). I mostly like his approach to batting. Short stride, short swing hit it where it was pitched. Not a lot of guys like that these days.

I hope to be able to have Granderson as my favorite Tiger for next year. We'll see how the Winter meetings go...

632 Games, 2589 AB, 393 Runs, 806 Hits, 139 Doubles, ,13 Triples, 37 Home Runs, 285 RBI, 26 Stolen Bases,146 Walks, 162 Strike Outs, .311 Batting AVE, .355 OBP, .418 SLG% and a .773 OPS.

http://www.detnews.com/article/20091203/SPORTS0104/912030466/Placido-Polanco-back-with-Phils---never-wanted-to-leave-


Well that didn't take long...Why didn't we offer him arbitration to get the bonus pick???????

Update Time

The best(in order so far) A mix of chain and locals. locals always get preference.

Lindell AC(RIP)
Howell's
Sandy's by the Beech
Red Coat Tavern
Mr. Joe's
Poole's
CheeBurger CheeBurger
Five Guys
Fuddrucker's
Miller's
Nemo's
Cutter's

The Good

Grenwich Time
Mason's
Fatburger
Jaws
Lakepoint Yacht Club
Harry's
Blarney Stone
Bar Louie


The Not So Good

Bagger Dave's(1st try)
Balloon Saloon
Checker Bar
O'Charlie's

CheeBurger CheeBurger/Five Guys

CheeBurger CheeBurger.Great burger. Lots of choices. They have out Fudded Fuddruckers on the free toppings. You get a 5.5oz. burger all the way up to a 1lb. burger. The burgers have a nice flavor and good texture. I put onion rings, onion, lettuce, tomato and mayo on mine. The buns taste homemade and the rings might be the best I have had. $6 for the 5.5, 7oz. goes for a buck more. With the stuff on it, the 5.5 was plenty. Good stuff, great rings 4 and a half napkins.

5 Guys does a nice job of self advertising. They will have you convinced that they invented the hamburger. It is a little over the top. The burgers and fries and quite good. The fries are amazing similar to Cheeburgers. They have skins still on the end and they are deep fried in peanut oil. The quantity they serve them is ridiculous. The small could feed 8. The burgers are made fresh, served hot. They offer about 12 toppings, all are free. Free peanuts abound as well. Very good chain burger. 4 napkins.