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Detroitblogger John, who was doing this long before Charlie LeDuff rolled back into town, again shows the value of going where few journalists venture.

His original Detroit Blog today visits the six-stool White Grove Restaurant, on Second near Charlotte since 1948, and introduces a character Damon Runyon could've used as source material. Hunter S. Thompson, too.

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“What’s the problem, punk?� she barks back, facing him square. “You think you’re a real pimp now ’cause you got that new truck, right?� Outside the window is a battered, used pickup he just drove up in. She threatens to shoot him. “I can kill you, and then you’ll die,� she says.

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John wraps ups with this piercing observation, sharp as a stiletto:

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Attack as defense. It’s how you have to be here, in maybe the craziest neighborhood in town, where nearly everyone preys on everyone else but nobody’s got anything worth taking.

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Damn, that place is still open? I used to go there back in my bad old days of hanging out in that neighborhood. It was bad, nasty, rather scary, and mostly empty back then, so I'm kind of amazed that they managed to stay in business all these years. Especially now that the neighborhood barely exists at all anymore. Even more amazing is that it looks to be staffed by the same people, who I remember [[through the haze of substance-altered memory) as mostly highly unpleasant.

I guess I don't get over that way much anymore, or the place just melts into the background of my past existence in the city, but I was truly surprised to see this piece on it.

Love that man's writing. There should be a Pulitzer for blogs.

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Originally Posted by EastsideAl

Damn, that place is still open? I used to go there back in my bad old days of hanging out in that neighborhood. It was bad, nasty, rather scary, and mostly empty back then, so I'm kind of amazed that they managed to stay in business all these years. Especially now that the neighborhood barely exists at all anymore. Even more amazing is that it looks to be staffed by the same people, who I remember [[through the haze of substance-altered memory) as mostly highly unpleasant.

I guess I don't get over that way much anymore, or the place just melts into the background of my past existence in the city, but I was truly surprised to see this piece on it.

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How was the food? They neglected to say in the article. :)

Terrible.

And I say that as a person who was, at the time, pretty damn drunk, and simply in search of very cheap greasy sustenance. The White Castle on Woodward and Sproat was better. Hell, the sardines and crackers they used to sell in the bar around the corner on Charlotte and Cass were better.

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Originally Posted by Pam

How was the food? :)

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Good one, Pam. I actually had the same thought, briefly, 'til I read the handwritten signs and plastic menu board.

No doubt $3 omelets and $6 "roast sirloin of beef" [[!) taste about how we'd expect.

Still, it's not often that patrons have the option of a 40-cent "side of cheese."

Wow! I had never read DetroitBlog before. I remember some of his articles from the Metro Times. I loved his articles when I read them. Maybe they are about the only think I like about the Metro Times. Thanks for the link!

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Originally Posted by Pam

How was the food? They neglected to say in the article. :)

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I had a take out cup of coffee from there once, tasted kind of funny.

I enjoyed the hog huck there.

What a great blog -- I might have visited a time or two, but this is the first that I've read several entries in a row. Thanks for the link.

I understand that Blogger John, he of DetroitBlog, peruses these entries on DetroitYes.

John, if you read this entry, you are brilliant. I pride myself on being a decent writer, but I can't hold a candle to your genius. Thanks so much for being such a bright spot in Detroit.

This is a resurrected thread. Here's a direct link to the story discussed: Land of the lost.

Reminds me of a small lunch counter which still exists in Vancouver; Wing's Cafe on Carrall street. I used to go eat there and get a full meal; soup, buttered bread, a hamburger steak and pudding for dessert, and a coffee for a bucka and a quarter. Mind you that was in 1980, but still that was pretty cheap back then. The place still exists but I cant imagine the old chinese owner who was always joking and had a nervous facial tic still runs it. Bums used to hang around there and a lot of fights would occur and the owner who worked the place alone just settled as best he could. Nowadays it's heroin city and not as easy going in spite of the accompanying gentrification..

BloggerJohn is one of Detroit's geniuses. :-)

OMG, what a life they must live running that place... but, it looks clean and well-kept so they're doing something right. The next time that I visit Detroit I'm going to head over and grab something to eat. It's people like those two who need the support of others to keep them going... god knows the bums and thugs won't help her.