If you haven’t discovered any of the new and exciting restaurants and bars that are popping up all over downtown Detroit, it’s time to try a landmark restaurant that locals have known about for years, but have kept to themselves. The Green Dot Stables is located in the Corktown area, bordering Mexican Town, on West Lafayette (at 14th). You can see the Ambassador Bridge from one angle, and the old Train Station from another. It resembles a green stable, with a very obscure entrance. The Green Dot Stables has that fun, old school, tavern-like atmosphere. It was recommended to us to try their many variations of the popular “sliders” and the best fries around. So that is what we did!
We stopped by for lunch and first thing we noticed was how busy it was, with a wait of about 10 minutes (they told us 25). The area is a quiet, industrial, and parking is around the restaurant and lots of safe, street parking. Picnic tables outside were available to wait for a table and service inside. The wait was only 10 minutes, even though they told us 25. The menu was short, and to the point. Sliders for $3, and a huge selection to choose from. There were five of us and we tried just about everything.
Green Dot Stables had many different sliders on the menu, salads, etc. but everyone seems to order 3 or 4 of the sliders with a side or two of either french fries or mac and cheese.
We tried the Cuban (pork loin-ham-jack cheese), Philly Cheesesteak (ribeye-peppers, onions and squeeze cheese), Fried Chicken (panko, sage, maple syrup), Coney Dog (venison chili, onions), Corned Beef (kraut pickles, mustard aioli), and the Mystery Meat (pork belly). All but the coney were $3, Coney was $2. Each one of us ordered the Mac & Cheese side, with parmesan-mornay for $3, and it was the best. Truffle and herb fries at $3 were wonderful, too. There were soups, salads and a couple of desserts on the menu, which we may experience on our next visit.
Interior was dark, tables close together, but not uncomfortable, and the Green Dot Stables was well attended by the up-and-coming, 30 something office crowd. We had heard that service was slow, but didn’t find that to be the case. Even with customers waiting, they still managed to get people their food in a reasonable amount of time.
The food was delicious, service was much better than expected, (with a packed house) and servers were very helpful. The place was clean, no surprises with the bill since most everything was $3, and definitely good enough to visit again and again.
The Green Dot Stables is located just outside of the downtown area, at 2200 West Lafayette. Lots of safe parking, even on the street. It’s well worth a visit. They are open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner.
