Today I discovered Le Petit Zinc, a hidden restaurant in Detroit thanks to my good friend Tony. This now makes for two restaurants that I have discovered in Detroit this month.

I called Tony up for lunch after I was done with a photo assignment Sunday afternoon & we settled on meeting at Mudgie’s (recent favorite). I was looking forward to a great turkey sandwich, root beer & chips. Actually, I had been thinking about eating there for the past few days so I really needed to satisfy my appetite.

All of my food lusting came to a screeching halt when I pulled up to Mudgie’s & noticed that they were closed on Sunday’s. Why didn’t I call first?

With disappointment totally set in, Tony asked where to next & I said to somewhere where grease wasn’t on the menu. Tony then suggested going to Le Petit Zinc. I was like what? What’s that?

As it turns out, Le Petit Zinc is one of many new creperies popping up around Detroit & it was literally around the corner from Mudgie’s.

We enter the small & cozy dining area & I was struck by the lively & VERY French décor. The bright yellow walls, aroma of brewing coffee & scent of warm bread comforted me.

The menu was offerings were simply stated & reasonably priced making me want to try it all!

I ordered the “Jambon et Fromage” (ham & brie), which came with a small green salad flavored with a light but tasty oil & vinegar dressing. The crepe was filing & hit the right spot! The cost of $6.25 made it even better.

Good fresh non-greasy food @ reasonable prices is a major plus!

While I‘m totally digging Le Petit Zinc, Good Girls Go to Paris Crepes is my unmovable favorite creperie in Detroit.

I wonder what I will stumble upon next!?!?

Side Notes:
- I LOVE roosters. They are so cool
- I have always wanted to paint my kitchen yellow
- I ate my 1st crepe 8 years ago
- Tony knows where everything is

Last night I while working Melinda Anderson’s “Back To The 80s” event, I found myself in a conversation with this 20 something Canadian girl who asked me about other parties happening later. I shared with her the only other set that I knew about. A house music set called “Moist.”

After she giggled over “Moist,” she asked my name so of course I said “my name is Tafari.” She was like oh wow, “is that from ‘The Lion King.’”

I was like excuse me? Are you for real? All followed by blank stares. No my name has nothing to do with “The Lion King.”

Then she was like, it’s OK, “people call me “Nala” all the time because my name is Nelee and I like it.”

Well, that’s nice but don’t try to get me caught up in your Disney movie name mess!

Admittedly, I did laugh on the inside when she said this to me because I knew that my kids would get a kick out of it. They call me “the lion king” or “king of the lions” all of the time because of my mane of hair.

After telling my boy about this funny incident today over lunch, he was like, she must have been thinking about “Jafar” from “Alladin.” O_o Wow!

Side notes:
- My name is Ethiopian in origin
- I meet some of the most interesting people when out working events
- “Scar” is my favorite character in “The Lion King”
- I’ve never seen “Alladdin”
- I wish I could time travel back to the 80’s so that I could tell myself to be a better student

Melinda Anderson is not only a hot event designer & planner but a good friend & awesome client!

When I work for Melinda, I know what she expects in terms of quality. Her expactations become my goal to over deliver while knocking her socks off with awesome interior & party goer shots from her widely talked about events.

This Saturday, I will be under Melinda’s wing again photographing her “Back to the 80’s” party being held at the Detroit Yacht Club. I know this event like her others will not be one to miss!

Unfortunately for me, all of my 80’s outfit options were exhausted we attempting to find vintage wear. So now I’m forced to work & party 80’s style dressed as Teddy Ruxpin. Great! If I lose my nerves, I just bleach then slash some jeans & rock a mohawk.

If you’re in the city or nearby, you should be there!

I stopped eating beef a little over two years ago & it was a clean break with no regrets. That is, no regrets until I realized that I could no longer enjoy corned beef sandwiches or French onion soup; two my favorite dishes. Outside of those 2 treats it’s been all good.

Well, it’s been kinda all good! Since my self-imposed restriction, I have cheated 3 times with today being one of those times. From the image above, I’m sure you can see that I surrendered all for my undying love of corned beef sandwiches. I felt so guilty after it was all gone but so full & satisfied.

Today’s lunch was devoured at Mudgie’s Deli located in Detroit’s Corktown district. Shamefully, I have to admit that this was my 1st time @ Mudgie’s since Greg Mudge opened the much loved deli 2 years ago (almost to the day).

After I was seated, Greg asked me where I had been & I was basically like in Loserville for not being at his restaurant until today. Then he offered me on a Wild Bill’s Root Beer (made in northern MI & totally awesome).

Mudgie’s is located in the same spot where former favorite deli, Eph McNally’s existed, where Greg was also a server until they closed. Shortly after Eph McNally’s closed the Corktown location, Greg pulled some things together & before you know it, Mudgie’s was born.

Mudgie’s is one of few places near downtown Detroit where you can get an inexpensive, fresh, & fast meal that’s not packed in grease. The environment is refreshingly vibrant with bright orange walls & it has simply fun & funky décor.

Now that I finally have this place on my foodie radar, it’s on & popping! Especially since they are open through the dinner hour & SMOKE FREE.

Pictured above: Greg Mudge, some of the best “new” pickles in Detroit along with a “Barret” sandwich (corned beef, Mudgie-made creamy cole slaw, Swiss cheese and Mudgie-made thousand island dressing on an onion roll – $8.75)

With the EXPOSURE.Detroit Photography Exhibit Opening, I need to restock my promo cards! The timing is perfect because overnightprints.com has a half off sale on post cards. SCORE!!!

Last night, I played with my hair & came up with the style above. Suite Suzy called it a “Fuck Bun” & I said no, it’s a “Hollywood Fuck Bun.” How both names came about is totally random & somewhat private, so I will not go further into any details.

So, last night Suite Suzy & I had a child free date; dinner & a movie & I decided to wear the “Hollywood Fuck Bun.” The first & only concern about rocking the “Hollywood Fuck Bun” was if it would be obstructive at the movies. So…., it then became a social experiment. How would the “Hollywood Fuck Bun” fare at the theater???

Well, I’m happy to report that the “Hollywood Fuck Bun” was not obstructive at the movies but it happened to be an exotic conversation piece as people keep asking me about it. And trust me, I really got a kick out of seeing peoples faces when I told them that it was called a “Hollywood Fuck Bun!” Talk about blank stares & confusion.

Hours later…

We’re back home & I got Suite Suzy to take a few new portraits of me. Yeah, I know, I like a lot of photos of me. I’m an artistic narcissist; sue me!

After some coaching on the lighting set-up, shutter speed, aperture settings & composition, my boo was ready to capture my 1st photos of 2010.

I’m very excited about the results!

Anyway, so yesterday afternoon, I took a bunch nude photos of myself & the images made me throw up in my mouth. OK! Thanks! Bye!

Check out the remix here.

If you’re in or around Detroit, consider stopping my the Tweet Up. A guaranteed good time!

I visited the Richard Avedon exhibit at the Detroit Institute of Arts today & I’m totally inspired by his work. The pieces displayed at the DIA give a glimpse into his extensive career as a trendsetting photographer & his commitment to diversity.

His creative passion & technical expertise are clearly evident image after image. The sharpness, composition, & lighting on each photo was just breath taking.

I will definitely need to visit again, just to be sure that I didn’t miss anything.

Many of my favorite images featured Dovima, Veruschka, China Machado, & Donyale Luna.

Speaking of Danyale Luna; last week, I heard an interesting segment on WDET’s “Detroit Today,” which discussed the Detroit’s life & career. Totally worth checking out. Fast forward to 34:32

Also, check out Afrobella’s post on Donyale. This is where I was 1st introduced to the Black Super Model.

Photo Above:
Model: Donyale Luna
Photographer: Richard Avedon
Dress: Paco Rabanne

Last Friday I worked/attended my 1st masquerade party, the Masquerade Mystique, which was held at the Detroit Music Hall.

I was very excited about this event a) because my friend and client Melinda Anderson of MeMe Designs was the party designer (she always sets it out). b) I always liked Venetian masks but had no reason to buy one until now.

Once I was confirmed to work this party, I began my search for the perfect mask.

My initial thought was to get a “plague mask” but all the ones I liked were upwards of 200 bucks. So since I had my mind on this one particular style, I had to search hard for a reasonable alternative, which was not all that easy.

Searching for a true Venetian mask had me a little stressed after 3 days of tuning up nothing. It was starting to look like I was going to have to order a mask from a European seller to get what I wanted. When I was about to throw the towel in, I got a lead from my girl Brunsli via Twitter & stumbled upon www.magicofvenezia.com, a US seller.

My mask seeking drama was over & they had everything I needed to select from. Actually, I had my Twitter followers vote on a mask for me & the mask pictured above was the winner.

I wore the Zanni Ibiz mask with my Nigerian agbada. The pairing made for a very colorful get-up as my good friend Zana would say.

It was very fun seeing & hearing people react to my look, but I didn’t like the drink women pulling on my nose & saying “oh you have a big one.”

While this was my first masquerade, I was familiar with attire standards; I just chose to Africanize my look. Other obvious 1st timers had no clue how to dress. I was actually shocked to see so many pirates, Wolverine & other character themed looks. Maybe next year, I will issue a what not to wear warning. I’m just saying.

Looking past the costume follies gone wrong, Masquerade Mystique was just excellent! Great food & drink, burlesque dancers, half naked women doing bad bad things (“Eyes Wide Shut” style), midgets little people & a whole lot more. I’m already thinking of my mask for next year & hoping Melinda will hire me again!

Headed out to DC to hang out with my best friend Brion (BFB) & partake in some of Howard University’s homecoming activities. I think I’m too old for this but I was guaranteed a good time anyway.

When we were younger, BFB would always talk about how hype Howard’s homecoming was & it sounded exciting. When he was done with school, he would still go back & party & I never understood why. I guess this weekend, I’ll find out for myself.

On this trip, I’m also looking forward to meeting up with some of my Flickr/Twitter/blogging friends. As you know, I love meeting my online friends. Everyone that I’ve meet thus far has been totally cool. I guess I only associate with the non-creepy online people.

The very extended weekend trip will be wrapping with an engagement photo shoot with one of my new wedding couples. I’m really looking forward to that!