Bourdain ended up at the Cadieux Cafe in Detroit, one of my favorite places:
The Cadieux Cafe (pronounced Ca-dgoo )in Detroit boasts "America's Only Feather Bowling", a Belgian oddity that probably only exists in the old Belgian neighborhood and not in the homeland.
Aside from the hybrid bocce-curling-bowling game, this Belgian cafe really is an old school bar. Back in 2005, their beer menu exposed me to life beyond the swill of PBR. It launched my ongoing lust for Duvel, the King of Kings. "The Devil" holds an 8.5% punch and pours a ridiculous head if not done correctly. Most of the beers on the menu are relatively common at specialty beer stores, only one or two may be hard to come by.
The third interesting finding at the Cadieux is the year-round mussel offering on the menu. Prices remain fixed throughout the year. I have yet to find a place that prepares and serves them this way in America.
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I went to Belgium for the beer and food, as well as the new flight route from Detroit. Chez Leon caught my eye. The variety of mussel preparations is worth noting. Interestingly, the mussel price in Belgium is higher than in Detroit (~$15 US vs ~20 EU). I ended up at the Leon twice, as they know how to prepare a mussel.
And yes, I tried the Leon beer. It wasn't remarkable.
For "remarkable", walk around the corner of the Leon to the Delirium Cafe. 2000+ beers. The menu they hand to you is essentially a bible. I'm not sure how much money I spent there, and I can't recall everything I sampled.
Two stories that came from my venture to the Delirium:
