 
> Buddy’s Pizza, 17125 Conant, Detroit; buddyspizza.com. Beginning as a blind pig in 1936, Buddy’s became a legitimate tavern in 1944 and began serving its signature square pizza two years later. Today, there are seven Buddy’s locations (and two carryout sites), but the original at Six Mile and Conant is still kicking.
> Caucus Club
150 W. Congress (on the first floor of the Penobscot Building), Detroit; caucusclubdetroit.com. A Detroit institution since 1952, the Caucus Club is renowned for many things: the Bullshot (beef broth, vodka, and spices), which has been on the bar menu since the restaurant opened; menu staples, such as the sautéed perch, the Penobscot Salad, and Jim Beard’s Hamburger Steak; the dimly lit, clubby atmosphere; and for its pedigree: brothers Les and Sam Gruber also owned the London Chop House (regarded as one of the nation’s top restaurants), which was across the street. But the Caucus Club’s biggest claim to fame was a little-known singer who was hired for a gig in the back room in 1961. Her name was Barbra Streisand. She was young, inexperienced, and was just getting her sea legs in the entertainment world. “Watching her was like watching the first brush strokes in a picture. She was creating herself,” Les Gruber told the Detroit Free Press in 1966.
> Cadieux Café, 4300 Cadieux, Detroit; cadieuxcafe.com. In addition to its reputation for feather bowling, Belgian beers, and specialty mussels, Cadieux Café has been the social core for metro Detroit’s Belgian population since the Prohibition era. The Devos family, who have owned the Cadieux since the 1960s, maintain the classic aura while appealing to a younger (21-35 year old) demographic, partly because the beer is $8 a pitcher after 10 p.m. Monday through Friday. |  > Dakota Inn Rathskeller
17324 John R, Detroit; dakota-inn.com. It opened Aug. 1, 1933, by Karl Kurz, grandfather of current owner Karl E. Kurz. The founder wanted his restaurant to look like an original German-style rathskeller from his native Wiekersheim, Germany. After all these years, the restaurant maintains the old-country feel, thanks to trophy animal heads on the wall, polished dark-wood furniture, and a lederhosen-clad wait staff that delivers schnitzels.
 > Checker Bar & Grill 124 Cadillac Square, Detroit; 313-961-9249. The signature Checker Burger is still prepared using the original recipe, which dates to 1973, but the restaurant has been in operation since 1955. The atmosphere has been compared to the tavern in TV’s Cheers sitcom. It’s closed on the weekends.
 > Diamond Jim Brady’s
26503 Town Center Dr., Novi; djbistro.com. Opened in 1954 by James Brady in Detroit, this family-owned restaurant now calls Novi home. Burgers are a menu mainstay, with versions that include the Original Diamond Jim Brady or the Charlie Brown. Another staple is the Chicken Isabella. |
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