Mudgie's-Detroit, MI-Off to a Good Start

5/2/08-First stop, Mudgie’s, 1300 Porter Street, Detroit, MI. This spot is only open from 11-4 Monday through Saturday. This is not too far from the Downtown Bus Terminal and good ole’ Tiger Stadium (we did a drive by after lunch—sorry conservation fans—it is an eyesore and its time has come for a tear down). There is no “Mudgie’s” or any other sign whatsoever on the outside of the building. You better know the address or you will drive right by it as we did. Place does a very brisk lunch business. I was impressed that this non-descript but interesting restaurant was busy and had its act together. It’s a small place with a combination of 2 and 4 top tables close together holding about 50-60 people. Lively funky music plays in the background. Place has a nice urban vibe. Nice diverse crowd. A tulip in a small vase sits on each table. The floor is older hardwood and the seating is contoured creamy plastic chairs with white vinyl tablecloths. Flatware comes rolled in a cloth napkin. Come early as the wait staff starts to scurry when it gets busier. The inside theme is a cheery orange and white combination, heavy on the orange. CE said it looked like a creamsicle or an Orange Crush on the inside. Alas, there was an Orange Crush sign on one of the walls. Carry out and walk up service is also available. A large glass refrigerated case of Faygo, Dr. Brown and other beverages sit neatly in front of the carry out area.

I was pleasantly surprised by the business and the food. Our waiter was friendly and personable. The goal is always to split 2 sandwiches. One is the sandwich reviewed by the Freep and the other is a combination of what the waiter/waitress recommends and our own gut instincts. The Freep reviewed the Madill. The waiter recommended the Gutty. We ordered both. The Madill is described as roasted turkey, applewood smoked bacon, avocado, tomato, lettuce, garlic mayo and melted pepper Jack cheese on a sub bun served warm, open face. The Gutty is described as salami, pastrami, roast beef, corned beef, Cheddar cheese, lettuce and garlic mayo on a bagel. We started with a cup of Southwest Detroit Clam Chowder. Almost a bowl sized portion served with a piece of soft rye bread. Careful if you order the bowl, it is huge—trough like proportions. The soup was tomato based and full of flavor. Actually, quite spicy—almost gumbo-ish. Lots of chunks of vegetables and a few large clovers of garlic turned it up a bit. It was a nice change of pace from the mundane and predictable. My only complaint was the bread. I found it to be a shade short of being stale and bland. I would have preferred crustier bread. The kitchen split the sandwiches for us which was a nice touch without asking.

We agreed to tackle the Gutty first. It was served on an everything bagel. The plate had a nice crisp ½ of new dill pickle and a small fruit garnish (I had a sliver of watermelon; CE had a sliver of cantaloupe). I liked the Gutty but I am the Fussy Eater. It gets a 7.5 of out 10. No complaints on the portion or the freshness of the meats. However, I felt the sandwich was slightly overwhelmed by 2 things, the garlic mayo and the salami. I enjoyed the overall sandwich though and, again, something a little different from the norm. A few swigs of my Coca-Cola and time to try the Madill which the Freep voted as one of the best. No dice from my standpoint. It comes open faced on an onion roll/bun. Again, large portion. It’s meant to be eaten open faced with a fork and knife but I decided to roll it up and eat it as a sandwich. Didn’t do much for me. Sandwich had far too much garlic mayo which I kept scraping off with a knife. 6.6 out of 10.

Neither sandwich is for the dainty. Be prepared to make frequent use of the napkin. Not a bad place to stop on way too or from a meeting Downtown or before an afternoon ballgame or on the way to or from the casino. Overall, thumbs up for me. Looks like they got it right, they know their crowd. -The Fussy Eater-