So you're driving down Woodward through Ferndale and you notice a tiny green building. On the front, it says "The Fly Trap: A Finer Diner". You're intrigued. So you pull in to the public parking behind the place ( I always put in an extra quarter or two in the meter; Karma, you know) and go inside. More often than not, you'll have to wait a few minutes, because the customer to seat ratio is somewhat unbalanced in this very small but extremely popular establishment. So you take a minute to look around. It's charming. Brightly colored walls, vintage novelty salt and pepper shakers at each table, bar towels for napkins, a friendly staff, cute fly-themed accents to go with the name (including posters for the 50's B movie, The Fly, in the bathroom). You expect to sit down and get a nice greasy burger and maybe some onion rings. Usually, you don't have to wait too terribly long, so you sit down and peruse the menu.
That's when you realize you're not in any normal hole in the wall and you're not going to be getting a greasy burger and onion rings.
Not that there's anything wrong with greasy burgers and certainly nothing wrong with onion rings, but when the folks at The Fly Trap say they're a "finer diner", they're not kidding. You can start off your meal with coffee from a local company that sources fair trade, organic beans from all over the world. Or perhaps you'd rather have some fresh squeezed orange juice? Do you want breakfast? How about their egg scramble specials that change daily? Like the one I had with smoked salmon, cream cheese, and dill? Top it off with whole wheat or sourdough toast with one of their house made jams, which also change daily (I had quince). For lunch, you can get a salmon burger with ginger lime aioli. Or maybe you do want that burger, which is a half pound of perfectly seasoned beef on an onion roll. They also have a steak sandwich which is literally a rib-eye on bread that is to die for.
If you want, you can smother your eggs or fries with their house made hot sauce, cheekily called "swat sauce: a habanero concoction" and served in glass apothecary jars. This stuff tastes like heat and spice and everything nice. Let's put it this way, I'm not a huge fan of hot sauce, but I actually bought my own jar to bring home.
For me, this place is a reason to be excited that I'll be in the city twice a week to go to school in the Fall (though not the only reason). I'll be about twenty miles closer from school than from home. It's a reason to take Woodward instead of the expressway whenever I'm going downtown and have time to stop. Hell, it might be a reason to move to Ferndale. If you live anywhere in Southeast Michigan, it's worth the trip to check out this unexpected, quirky little joint. Be sure to buy yourself a bottle of hot sauce.
You can also head over to their website and check out the menu.
