A rail line skirts the east edge of downtown Detroit. This rail line, long abandoned by humans to the vagaries of urban tolerant wildlife, cuts a deep swath. Nestled in its embrace is an urban canvas. Hobos, debris and the occasional dog walker all gathered on this pathway that ran from the Eastern Market to the Detroit river. That was until the MDOT, encouraged by the noble rails-to-trails, came up with something a wee bit more family friendly.

With a surprising quickness the construction crews toppled the foliage and replaced it with sterile woodchips and manicured rows of flowers. The artists stubbornly persevered. Each night every newly erected surface received a complementary coating of paint. Every day towering construction vehicles craft new surfaces and the spiraling dance goes on today. For a glimpse into the past of the cut, stand at the mouth of the Gratiot bridge and stare north.

The food was decently priced, as were the drinks. I got the Detroit Hipster burger, which comes on a ciabbatta bun, with a whole portabella mushroom cap, and a pesto infused mayonnaise sauce (I copied that part from the menu, I don’t even know what it means). It was delicious, if a bit messy. I can’t wait to get back and sample some more of the wonderful food!

 Since I am going to be writing for Detroit Metblogs I thought I’d take a second to introduce myself. I was born in Detroit. Before I was eight weeks old my fifteen minutes of fame was squandered in an article in the Free Press. Since then I’ve been wandering around the city in a semi-confused state of awe.

 This wandering has taken me, in a shifty chameleon-like manner, through scene after scene. I have skateboarded in Hart Plaza, and been rewarded for my efforts by having to flee angry cops on motorcycles. I have stood in the freezing rain on the front porch of Saint Andrews to ID the countless masses waiting to get inside. I have danced the night away in dingy warehouses manned by minimalist masters of techno. Now, for the most part, I wander the city in a compulsive manner, diving into decrepit buildings in search of elusive streetart.

 I am here now. And I am bringing vivid images of the city of Detroit, both verbal and visual. I hope to make you as interested, excited, and as passionate as I am about this wonderful urban environment. 

If Metblogs is a city, hub.metblogs is the playground. We kept hearing from people that one of their favorite parts of Metblogs was meeting and interacting with readers and writers from other parts of the world, as well as getting requests for more ways that readers could be involved besides just posting comments. We thought about this for a while and decided that with a network like this, a giant community area where folks from all over the world could hang out, post photos and videos, talk with each other, form groups, play games, send messages, and do about a million other things was probably a pretty fun idea. The Hub is that.

If you have any tech ideas or suggestions join this group and speak up. See you on hub.metblogs!

Interested? Read on for details on how you can become the newest member of our team.

So, here are the basics of becoming an author on our site:

- We’d like you to commit to writing three or more posts per week;

- All posts must be related to Detroit/metro Detroit in some way;

- This is a volunteer site, so you won’t get paid for your work. You will, though, have a great deal of fun, meet new people, and partake in a unique experience. And thousands of people from all over the world will read what you have to say each month;

- Blogging experience is a plus, but not mandatory.

Sound like something you’d be good at? Send an email including your name, a little bit about yourself, and any questions you have to this email address by November 21, 2007. Someone will contact you within a few days and with any luck, you’ll be up and posting about autos, local neighborhoods, suburban hangouts or whatever your local passion is in no time!

Food-fanatic or not, Detroit’s Eastern Market is a hidden gem – a unique city staple we’re lucky to have.

Located on Russell Street near Gratiot, Eastern Market’s vendors and shops offer nutritious, inexpensive selections, plus tasty meats and cheeses, homemade breads, wine, beer, flowers, antiques and so much more.

Sure, other cities have markets – DC even has its own Eastern Market – but how many have been around since 1841?

And how many are as big as the D’s Eastern? I’m not sure if this is still true, but the 2000 edition of The Detroit Almanac says Detroit’s Eastern Market is the biggest open-air wholesale-retail market in the U.S.

Friendly competition aside, Detroit’s Eastern Market is just a flat-out cool place, one I wish everyone could enjoy. There’s something about heading to the market on Saturdays, spending a few hours with 45,000+ locals in this unique pocket of Detroit that feels like another world. It’s an experience like no other.

For pictures of Detroit’s market, check out the Flickr Eastern Market Photo Pool

Tags: Metblogs7Gifts 7Gifts Metroblogging7Gifts

Each city has its own “gift list” and Detroit’s will be published on this site. If you’d like to see what other cities are offering up to the world, check out this post on L.A.’s site – it’s got a running total of them all.

Some of it’s members include owners and directors of the DAC, David DeQuiera of the Michigan Opera House, Cheli’s Chili Bar, the Gem and Century theaters, Harmonie Park restaurants, the Fox Theater and Comerica Park. Pretty impressive first string wouldn’t you say?

Plans include inhancing and adjusting the already successful Tiger Train. For $29 you recieve a train ride from the suburbs, a Tiger ticket and a snack. Five thousand people have already requested this package. Another improvement is to make the Music Hall an eclectic home for jazz.

“We think more can be done.” said Chris Iltch . . . and I encourage hoteliers and restauranteurs to create packages like we do. . .to expose more people to what exists.”

To pharaphrase a line in the movie “Aliens”, I only need to know one thing man. . .where do I sign up??

So, we’ve been posting about the party, but we haven’t really told you what went down Friday night. Thank you Rick for the use of Cobo Joe’s. All of you have passed it a hundred times on the way to a Wings game or a convention at Cobo. If you actually stop in you will find a great bar with some really tasty pizza. Thank you Baliad and MGal for all the planning and rockin’ gift bags stuffed with Detroit stuff. Why didn’t my Sander’s chocolate box come with a chocolate map? Thank you to everyone in the bar who helped us demolish the cake. The evening was topped off with a walk to Campus Martius for the 4th Friday festivities. For those of you who were lurking, make sure to join us next time.