Union Street Saloon - Detroit

Several weeks ago we went to the Union Street Saloon in downtown Detroit before going to the symphony, and I realized that I still haven't written about it. (Hmmm - guess I wasn't overly excited by it, if I wasn't in a hurry to share.) Pardon the pictures - it is so hard to take good food photos in a dark restaurant!

Union Street is a classic bar with old decor with lots of woodwork. It is located a couple blocks north of Orchestra Hall and we had a brisk walk in the rain to get to it. It seems to be quite popular - it was packed on a Friday night. It has a big menu with a variety of offerings. Lots of burgers, salads, but a bit of everything.

I think it is the kind of place where you should order your basic "bar food." A couple of my fellow diners ordered burgers and fish and chips - they seemed to like it.



I ordered the barbecue chicken meal. I chose it because it came with a lot of side dishes - mac and cheese, barbecue beans, peach cobbler - so I thought I could try several things. Way too much food! The chicken was just ok. It tasted like they simply baked the chicken without much seasoning and then plopped the sauce on top when it was done. The skin was rubbery - if I'm going to bother eating chicken with skin on it I expect it to be a bit crispy, else why bother, right? The sides were pretty good - I really liked the mac and cheese. The cobbler was nothing special.

Ah, and the restrooms are pretty grim and in dire need of a remodel. Classic and old is fine for the bar, but a bit scary in a bathroom!

I'd go back again, the menu was big enough that there were other things that I could order, but I'd probably go for a burger next time!

Snow Shoveling Reward

The best part of clearing the snow off the driveway is the reward after you are done:

So I snowblowed (is there such a word?) 6 to 7 inches. Already the drive is all covered over and white again. It still seems to be coming down fast and furious. I think it might be a 3 cup of hot chocolate day.


I added some white chocolate raspberry coffee creamer to the hot chocolate and a Hershey kiss to make it extra chocolately! Mmmmmmm!

Stay warm everyone!

Snow Day out my Window

Our last day of school before Christmas was canceled due to the heavy snow that is falling right now. They are predicting a good 6 inches. A wonderful treat to put on the fuzzy socks, turn on the tree lights, light the candles, and look out the window.


The cat might even get some lap time where there isn't a laptop on my lap.


Guess she doesn't like having her picture taken.


Soon I need to go out and start clearing the walks and driveway. My little snowblower doesn't handle large amounts, so I'll need to do 2 installments of snow blowing, I think. Then I hope to wrap some presents and do some fun clever things. But for right now, I will sit in the warmth and just enjoy the view. Ahhhh....


Maybe even an extra blog posting or two. See you later!!

Hanging Around Clever Karen - Episode 14

Glass Christmas Tree Bead with mixed Christmas colored beads
Snowflake effect via Photobooth

Trader Joe Orange Cardamom Star Cookies

The spice cardamom always reminds me of my grandma. She sometimes would make butter cookies with cardamom seeds in them. As a kid, I thought it was such an unusual taste and I could never quite decide if I liked it or not. But now as an adult I love that flavor, so when I saw these "Orange Cardamom Star Cookies" at Trader Joes I had to check them out.


Of course they come in the cutest tin! Who could resist?? I was disappointed that the lid on the tin doesn't fit tight, so if you aren't careful, the lid will come off and they will all fall out on the floor, so beware. And the size of the tin is deceptive, because when you open it you will discover that the plastic bag of cookies fills only the center of the tin!


But do they taste good?? Yes, they taste addictingly good. The kind of buttery good with that slight cardamom aftertaste. They are so tiny that you quickly can eat one, two, four, or fourteen before you know it. So I do recommend them. Just hold on tight to the lid!

Cluster Map

I just noticed that the map that I have on the blog to track the locations of my visitors did an annual reset. It looks empty now. When I went to check on the stats, it said that in my first year of blogging, Clever Karen has had over 10,000 visitors. Interesting.... at least to the geeky side of me!

Christmas "Candy" Jewelry

I made this necklace and bracelet several years ago. Don't you think it looks like big chunks of Christmas candy?? It is one of my festive favorites!