Rich Man, Poor City

BrooklynDodger(s), on various drives through Detroit in the fall, saw the pickets at the Chicago Beef Company, featured in this article. They were out a long time, and there was no news about either the strike or the settlement. The Dodger(s) has a bad feeling.

The other point about this somewhat breathless coverage, is that there are a lot of rich people in the Detroit metroplitan area. They aren't living downtown, but even today there are a few nickles to be made in the car business, the advertising agencies supporting the car business, the medical car providers for the car and advertising executives, their decorators, and so on.

Of course the Champagne and beef are trucked in. We don't grow the grapes or cut up the cows here.

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February 02, 2006

Caviar and Cristal for tony crowd

Max Ortiz / The Detroit News

An orgy of excess

Local merchants report that party planners and consumers are snapping up deluxe food and drink, while event organizers brace for the onslaught of thousands of fans and visitors. Here's a look at some of the provisions being made around town:

20,000 extra pounds of New York strip and tenderloin ordered shipped by Chicago Beef Co. to area hotels and eateries

Tulips jetted in from Holland. Chickens stuffed into ducks stuffed into turkeys. King crabs with 3-foot leg spans. Case upon case of Cristal champagne.

The challenge to show off Detroit as a world-class city brimming with luxury and high-class amenities has vendors and party planners trucking in the finest champagnes, the choicest cuts of beef, the freshest and largest seafood.