Before downtown and Midtown gave birth to a cluster of new restaurants and bars, some of Detroit's best destinations were hidden gems off the beaten path.
After more than a century, the Polish Yacht Club, aka The Ivanhoe, is still one of those gems. Drive past empty fields and worn homes on a residential stretch of Joseph Campau in Detroit, about six blocks south of I-94, and you’ll stumble upon the restaurant-bar housed in a big red-brick structure with a flat roof -- almost like a little home on the prairie. Despite its name, it's landlocked, with no yachts to be seen.
Inside, there’s a hand-carved marble bar with a dark wood top, and dining rooms with little lamps on the tables and a menu full of comfort food: Kielbasa, pierogi, potato pancakes, fried shrimp, frog legs, creamy cole slaw and the house favorite, fish and chips, with a choice of walleye, perch or catfish.
Detroit DIgest host Carlos Parisi recently stopped by and worked his way through the tasty menu.
► Polish Yacht Club, 5249 Jos. Campau, (313) 925-5335. Limited Hours: Tuesday-Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
