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Exploring Chelsea
Being fairly new to the Chelsea community, earlier this month at the Sounds and Sights Festival gave me a chance to stretch my wings a bit in an informal setting and explore the downtown area for myself. I have to say, Chelsea is a fun city!
Since I arrived downtown on July 30 around 5 p.m., my first destination was to find some source of sustenance. Eating out can be tricky on a journalist’s salary, especially when there’s rent and bills to be paid.
A quick check of the ol’ wallet yielded a brand new crisp $10 bill, so I decided the best use of my money was to head down to Jolly’s. For those of you who don’t know, Jolly’s is the newest sandwich and hamburger joint located inside the Gourmet Chocolate Café. Their freshly baked bread and hot grinders are to die for.
My favorite sandwich is their club. The meat is warm, the bread melts in your mouth, and the bacon is actual bacon, not that skimpy grease-soaked imitation bacon you get on your hamburger at fast food restaurants. These sandwiches are the real deal, and at $5 apiece, you definitely get your money’s worth. Since I still have change left over after the sandwich, I decided to sample some of the Gourmet Chocolate Café’s selections as well.
I’m a huge chocoholic, so shopping for just the right treat to satisfy my sweet tooth is a mission in and of itself. I’m sure I annoyed the young woman behind the counter who so graciously put up with my antics –– mainly how much something cost and how much would $1.25 yield?
Finally I settled on something called “sea foam,” which I never heard of in my life. It looks like a chocolate covered marshmallow but its texture is similar to the crunchy goodness of malt balls combined with the chewiness of Butterfinger peanut butter. The result is a delectable ball of melty chocolaty goodness.
Satisfied, I ventured back out to Main Street entranced by the sounds of the Howling Diablos coming from the entertainment tent behind the Common Grill. The Diablos music isn’t usually my cup of tea, but after listening to a few of their tunes, these master musicians roused even the toughest wolves in the crowd with their funky jam blues and Detroit rock and roll.
On Saturday, the afternoon started off with steady rain that kept many visitors huddled under tents or umbrellas. It was fun to watch the Cirque Amongus show on the Chelsea District Library lawn as real performers tried to balance their act while staying dry and keeping dozens of children entertained in the process.
After about 20 minutes and no sign of the rain letting up, my brother and I decided to chance it and make a mad dash to the social tent to listen to the Chelsea House Orchestra perform while drying off and indulging our appetites with various selections from the food tent.
The CHO was impressive. These young musicians had me hooked from the minute they started. The violinists were absolutely amazing. You would be hard-pressed to find talent in this area or even the state that could rival the CHO.
Making our way down Main Street, we spoke with many local merchants and visitors, who all had positive things to say about the festival. Our second stop was at the Mission Marketplace, where the folks at Mindo Chocolates were busy demonstrating how to grind cocoa nibs into chocolate liquor. A brief demonstration was all it took to hook my brother, who decided to buy several bars to take home (with the help of his big brother). I also picked up a few pieces of jewelry to take home to my girlfriend. We both agree that the Mission Marketplace is unique.
Our final stop was to see Toppermost perform at the Gourmet Chocolate Café. My brother and I are huge Beatles fans, and any chance to see a band perform the music of the Beatles is a treat. Usually you can’t get anywhere near the stage when a Beatles tribute band performs, but we got close enough to Toppermost to take a few photos and talk with the band before the show. It was, as the Beatles might say, “fab.”
Though there is still plenty more to see and a lot more people to talk to in Chelsea, my goal of exploring the city was accomplished. I can see why a lot of residents cherish their small town. It’s like an undiscovered gem waiting for others to find.
I look forward to attending many more festivals and events in the coming months and years while working to serve the residents of Chelsea and Dexter. My next venture will be exploring downtown Dexter for the city’s annual Dexter Daze events. Let the fun begin!
Since I arrived downtown on July 30 around 5 p.m., my first destination was to find some source of sustenance. Eating out can be tricky on a journalist’s salary, especially when there’s rent and bills to be paid.
A quick check of the ol’ wallet yielded a brand new crisp $10 bill, so I decided the best use of my money was to head down to Jolly’s. For those of you who don’t know, Jolly’s is the newest sandwich and hamburger joint located inside the Gourmet Chocolate Café. Their freshly baked bread and hot grinders are to die for.
My favorite sandwich is their club. The meat is warm, the bread melts in your mouth, and the bacon is actual bacon, not that skimpy grease-soaked imitation bacon you get on your hamburger at fast food restaurants. These sandwiches are the real deal, and at $5 apiece, you definitely get your money’s worth. Since I still have change left over after the sandwich, I decided to sample some of the Gourmet Chocolate Café’s selections as well.
I’m a huge chocoholic, so shopping for just the right treat to satisfy my sweet tooth is a mission in and of itself. I’m sure I annoyed the young woman behind the counter who so graciously put up with my antics –– mainly how much something cost and how much would $1.25 yield?
Finally I settled on something called “sea foam,” which I never heard of in my life. It looks like a chocolate covered marshmallow but its texture is similar to the crunchy goodness of malt balls combined with the chewiness of Butterfinger peanut butter. The result is a delectable ball of melty chocolaty goodness.
Satisfied, I ventured back out to Main Street entranced by the sounds of the Howling Diablos coming from the entertainment tent behind the Common Grill. The Diablos music isn’t usually my cup of tea, but after listening to a few of their tunes, these master musicians roused even the toughest wolves in the crowd with their funky jam blues and Detroit rock and roll.
On Saturday, the afternoon started off with steady rain that kept many visitors huddled under tents or umbrellas. It was fun to watch the Cirque Amongus show on the Chelsea District Library lawn as real performers tried to balance their act while staying dry and keeping dozens of children entertained in the process.
After about 20 minutes and no sign of the rain letting up, my brother and I decided to chance it and make a mad dash to the social tent to listen to the Chelsea House Orchestra perform while drying off and indulging our appetites with various selections from the food tent.
The CHO was impressive. These young musicians had me hooked from the minute they started. The violinists were absolutely amazing. You would be hard-pressed to find talent in this area or even the state that could rival the CHO.
Making our way down Main Street, we spoke with many local merchants and visitors, who all had positive things to say about the festival. Our second stop was at the Mission Marketplace, where the folks at Mindo Chocolates were busy demonstrating how to grind cocoa nibs into chocolate liquor. A brief demonstration was all it took to hook my brother, who decided to buy several bars to take home (with the help of his big brother). I also picked up a few pieces of jewelry to take home to my girlfriend. We both agree that the Mission Marketplace is unique.
Our final stop was to see Toppermost perform at the Gourmet Chocolate Café. My brother and I are huge Beatles fans, and any chance to see a band perform the music of the Beatles is a treat. Usually you can’t get anywhere near the stage when a Beatles tribute band performs, but we got close enough to Toppermost to take a few photos and talk with the band before the show. It was, as the Beatles might say, “fab.”
Though there is still plenty more to see and a lot more people to talk to in Chelsea, my goal of exploring the city was accomplished. I can see why a lot of residents cherish their small town. It’s like an undiscovered gem waiting for others to find.
I look forward to attending many more festivals and events in the coming months and years while working to serve the residents of Chelsea and Dexter. My next venture will be exploring downtown Dexter for the city’s annual Dexter Daze events. Let the fun begin!
posted by Erica McClain at
1:21 PM
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