The 20% was already included. At least the waitress was nice enough to point that out. I am not sure if this was because it was football Sunday (see Bills vs. Lions: From No Tickets to the Front Row). If not, is this the new trend? Can we opt out? Does it apply to alcohol?
Pay Through the App
The worst is when the waiter comes around with the credit card payment machine and asks, “Do you want to leave a tip?” (see Pressured Into Tipping! I Hate Credit Card Processing Tablets). A nice substitution for this is paying through the app using a scannable barcode.
Using this method of payment, I receive a breakdown of my (overpriced) bill and a handy built-in tip calculator that lets me know exactly how much gratuity is. Having the space to analyze the bill and the lack of pressure from the hovering waiter has me more inclined to leave more than my maximum 10%.
Overall
I hate tipping. Just charge more for the food and drinks and leave me the hell alone.
Detroit is famous or infamous for its pizza because it is the birthplace of Little Caesars and my go-to delivery place, Domino’s (see TPOL’S Food Guide Nairobi). Cottage Inn is also from Michigan but is not known around the nation. What a shame. Hungry Howie’s, where I worked for a week before being fired when I was 16, is native to Michigan as well. Their pizza is terrible and so was management!
But this post is not focused on franchises. It is focused on a particular type of pizza called Detroit style. For my money, I don’t know if it gets any better than when he sings When a Man Loves a Woman. For my money, I don’t know if it gets any better than square pieces of pizza, tiny pepperonis, and a crispy crust.
Following the Lions Game (see Bills Vs. Lions: From No Tickets to the Front Row), I went to Buddy’s Pizza, the Original Detroit Style since 1946, to see if it could rival another Michigan pizza franchise, Jet’s.
Here’s what I found:
Like Lou Malnati’s in Chicago, I believe that ordering a bigger pie is better than a smaller one (see Post Lockdown Dream Fulfilled? Deep Dish Pizza in Chicago). There’s more surface area for the flavors to cook and soak into the crust.
TPOL’s Tip: We could only finish 3/4 slices, but I would still order a larger pizza. It’s worth the extra excess for the true Detroit Style experience.
An honorable mention goes to Buddy’s ranch dressing, which is some of the best I have had in a long time (see I Found Hidden Valley).
TPOL’s Tip: The salad for two is more than enough.
TPOL’s Tip: Buddy’s is located at 1565 Broadway St Detroit, MI 48226
Overall
With recency bias, I will declare Detroit Style the best pizza. While Buddy’s was scrumptious I will also declare that Jet’s is the best of the best in terms of Detroit Style franchises.
I have already written about how I procured $200 standing-room-only tickets to the Lions-Bills game (see Bills vs. Lions: Ticket Scalping When No Tickets Are Available). Now, let me tell the story in pictures of how I went from standing to sitting comfortably in the 4th row.
Tailgate
I went to the Eastern Market for the tailgate. If you love Vancouver or Brooklyn, you’ll like this enclave of Detroit. Needless to say, I did not enjoy it.
What I did like was Vivio’s Detroit Eastern Market’s take on a Bloody Mary.
TPOL’s Tip: Vivio’s is located at 2460 Market St, Detroit, MI 48207, United States
TPOL’s Tip: Vivio’s has a shuttle to Ford Field.
The Motor City
I am not a fan of the Big Three. I don’t care for GM because I was unceremoniously fired (read Everyone’s Advice Is Wrong . . . Including Mine). I do not care for Stellanttis, formerly known as Daimler Chrysler, because they produce the most boring cars in the world (Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroën, Dodge, DS, Fiat, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot, Ram Trucks, Vauxhall), second only to Ford. And speaking of Ford, I do not like Ford because they have owned the Detroit Lions since 1961 and have delivered nothing but misery to their fans. The doom and gloom is not exclusive to Lions fans. Players feel it too. Barry Sanders, the greatest running back of all time, quit in his prime. Calvin Johnson, one of the greatest wide receivers, did as well. Both were ostracized from the Lions family. Calvin Johnson actually had his signing bonus clawed back.
Ford Field
But now that we are winning, the family has come back together, meeting at Ford Field.
Seats
I don’t know how they get away with selling rectangles of tape as ‘seats,’ but I found the best spot.
Started from the middle #drake
The Lions family did not stay together long. By the middle of the third quarter, the Lions unfaithful started to leave. I seized on this opportunity by taking their seats.
Grit? Or Stupidity?
With twelve minutes in the fourth, the Lions’ coach decided to go for an onside kick. This was promptly run back by the Bills resulting in a touchdown. It was one of the dumbest calls I have ever seen. Many Lions fans love Campbell’s grit. I fear his stupidity will come back to break our hearts which have been broken in countless, indescribable, inconceivable ways many times before.
On the bright side, Campbell’s obliviousness resulted in even better seats for me.
Result
In the end, the Bills won. But I can say that these aren’t the same old Lions. They have a chance to do something special.
Seat resultsNow we here!
Overall
Growing up my two favorite teams were the Bills and the Lions. Both have found ways to ruin my Sunday. When I went to this game, I was torn as to which team I would support. Call it self-preservation, but I ended up going with the Bills. It remains to be seen whom I will support if they both miraculously make it for the Super Bowl rematch.
To begin, here’s who I didn’t have: Michigan. Who thought they could beat Alabama without playing starters?
Here’s who I have advancing:
Penn State vs. Boise State: Penn State
Notre Dame vs. Georgia: Notre Dame
Ohio State vs. Oregon: Oregon
Arizona State vs. Texas: Arizona State
Semifinal
Arizona State vs. Oregon: Oregon
Notre Dame vs. Penn State: Penn State
Final
Oregon vs. Penn State: Oregon
Overall
There are no great teams this year besides Oregon and unless today proves to be a wonderful day full of magic, I would consider these playoffs to be a flop.
Two towers of the Ren Cen are being demolished. While they are doing that, they should also fix up this place. Like General Motors, it’s well past its prime. #yourefired
One of the most unique airports in the world is Koh Samui Airport. It an open-air terminal with shops, restaurants, and, most importantly, a Priority Pass Lounge.
By now, you should know that my favorite hobby is bargaining. I have written extensively on how to procure tickets to the most obscure events (see Ticket Scalping Guide). Here are some examples:
With online prices for the game out of control (see Super Bowl Preview: Bills vs. Lions, Me vs. Myself), I decided that the best way to get tickets was at the stadium. Braving the elements, I walked around Ford Field with two fingers in the air, the international sign language for, “I need tickets.” I became a little concerned when I saw the scalpers asking if anyone was selling tickets instead of the contra, “Does anyone need tickets?”
As time went on, I began to accept the possibility that I would not be going to the game.
The chaos.
TPOL’s Tip: For those who refuse to be exploited for event tickets, you must go in with the mindset that you may have flown all the way from Puerto Rico to Detroit only to watch the game in a bar. If you don’t have the ‘Detroit Grit’ to accept that reality, this game may not be for you.
TPOL’s Tip: NFL games do not have paper tickets. Attempts to obtain those would be a great souvenir of your naivety.
Persistent and patient, I finally encountered a gentleman who said he had ‘standing room only’ tickets. I told him I would rather pay for a seat. He was adamant that there were no tickets. His colleague had one electronic ticket for sale for $500. I needed two.
I asked how much the standing room tickets were. He told me $200 each. My goal was to spend $400 total but for actual seats. I tried to bargain but he said that was the final price. I went online to see if the ticket prices had dropped from the resellers. I was surprised to find that there were next to no tickets available. My theory that those who had tickets who were not going would dump them at the last minute proved incorrect.
TPOL’s Tip: Online, prices go up, not down, as the game approaches. The cheapest I found tickets were 3 days before the game.
TPOL’s Tip: I withdrew $600 from the ATM. It is best to put a cap on how much you would spend before hysteria sets in when you arrive at the venue.
Out of options, I told my new friend that I was in for standing room only. He told me to follow his colleague through security and into the stadium. But first, he required the money. I thought to myself, “Worst case, the tickets were not real, and I would be out $400.” Given my string of luck in the past, I rationalized that I could accept this defeat.
To my joy and surprise, the tickets worked and we were let in! To my amusement, other people in standing room had paid $400 per ticket.
Stay within the taped areas.Can’t beat this view.
Overall
With e-tickets, the job of a scalper has almost been eliminated. Some may say that this is for the best as some scalpers sell fake tickets. I disagree. The new crooks are the third-party brokers who charge extortionate ‘transaction’ fees for the privilege of electronically sending your tickets to your inbox.
With this changing landscape, I cannot say how useful my scalping guide will be in the future. There are some events like the Super Bowl (see Who Can Afford Super Bowl Tickets?) where it certainly will not work. For those events, I wouldn’t go at all. The sad reality is that major sports events are for the rich. Corporations own too many of the seats, leaving the rest of us at the mercy of online resellers. As a points traveler, I am glad that points have allowed me to attend major sporting events without being gouged for airlines and hotels. As a sports enthusiast, I am glad that I have been able to attend so many great games. Adopting a sports analogy, I am not willing to throw in the towel on either hobby. But it sure has become more challenging.
If you know the greatest running back of all time, you may be able to get cheaper tickets.
Read about how I went from standing room only to the 4th row in the follow-up post.
