A Taste of Mexico In “The D”
One of my our favorite places in Detroit is Mexican Town. It consists of about one or two blocks on Vernor and Bagley, but once there, you kinda feel like you’re in Mexico (or what I would imagine Mexico to be as I’ve yet to visit in person) – but certainly NOT Detroit 🙂 Brooke, my daughter at MSU, came home for a quick visit, and we headed down there. I wanted to leave before dusk so I could take a few pictures. Brooke, so impatient with my hobbies, was more interested in getting the menu (although she has the menu memorized) and ordering the “combo” at El Zocala. On the way down to Mexican Town, we passed the old Detroit Train Station. I whipped out my camera and was able to capture a few shots, while driving f course, through my windshield, while Brooke literally freaked out. I love doing things like that because it drives her crazy when I don’t focus on the road. She scolds me as though I’m the daughter and she the adult. That’s OK. I’m a kid at heart. Here’s what I found this evening…
Our last stop after dinner is always the Bakery on the corner. Shelves and shelves of apple turnovers, cookies, pastries, all housed behind wooden oak doors. You grab a tray and tongs, and fill the tray. Most items are 50 cents to a dollar. It’s so much fun!! Here’s Brooke and her friend Marcus, who joined us for dinner tonight.
Monarch Musings 
Tell Brooke to put her earbuds back in and leave you alone so you can take more great pictures. As a lifelong Detroiter–OK, metro-area Detroiter–I am familiar with Mexican Town. We call it Mexican Village, but I think that’s just the name of the area’s best-known restaurant.
After all this time, I find it painfaul to look at any photo of the now-defunct train depot, including yours. The desolation and broken windows mingle with childhood memories of going with my mother to that monumental, cavernous place. Three or four times a year we would drop off and then two days later pick up my father when he took the Twilight Limited to Chicago on Business. It was a magical space, and its destruction can’t be anything to me but personal.
These are great, Cath. Wouldn’t it be fun to get inside the old train station and take some shots of urban decay? Can’t imagine what we’d find!!
Brooke cracks me up, as always.
L.
Thanks Lis!! We will have to take a little field trip to the train station this summer…I wanted to get more shots, but alas, Brooke ruled the ride 🙂