A Piece of History; A Piece of Detroit
In 1965, Nemo’s Bar opened right across the street from Tiger Stadium, the home of the Detroit Tigers since 1912, and the Detroit Lions since 1938. Nemo’s picked a prime spot for sports fans and Corktown locals searching for a beer, a burger, and a good time. While a lot has changed in the Detroit sports landscape, and Tiger Stadium closed in 1999, Nemo’s has adapted. When the Red Wings and Tigers moved downtown, they’ve provided shuttles out to Comerica Park and Joe Louis Joe Arena. With the addition of Ford Field for the Lions and Little Caesars Arena for the Wings and the Pistons, they have transportation, beers, and food for every game (not to mention some bigger concerts). As you can imagine, Nemo’s gets a lot of visitors.
Despite their reputation for sports, Nemo’s has been a part of Detroit forever, as a hangout, a gathering location, and a place to get a cheap and good meal while chatting with the bartenders and your friends. Serving both of those dual purposes has been a big part of Nemo’s staying power. New customers come and make memories, while old customers remember the good ones, and the cycle continues.
At this point, I’m not an old customer. I’ve been there plenty of times, for games and not for games, usually to grab a beer, sometimes to get a shuttle down to Comerica. Either way, I like coming, I like the feeling of excitement from the crowd and the anticipation of the game with a bunch of die-hards. I also like the off-hours when it’s mostly quiet and the bartenders have time to talk instead of serving everyone quickly. For these reasons, I knew that the time had finally come for the Burger Club to do a review.
Beyond the Nostalgia
Nemo’s is not a complicated place, especially on game days. Park in their huge lots, for free (convenient!). Buy a three dollar shuttle ticket for a game (round trip) and a beer. Grab a table if you can find one outside or in the front room, or sneak through the bathroom hallway and you’ll find another hidden room (seriously, this visit was the first time I’ve noticed it). If you do, there will be a busy but seasoned server to help out. They are used to the crowds, but forgive them a mistake here and there.
The beer list is not a terrible one, but it is also not great. It includes all of the domestic beers you might expect, plus a couple Michigan staples. You can expect to find an Oberon in the summer and a Two Hearted ale all year round, but not much else in terms of craft beers (luckily, Batch Brewing and Brew Detroit are nearby and have great beers). The biggest issue with this list is the price, at a premium due to the volume of customers. Five dollars for a 12 oz bottle of high life is almost as much as you’ll pay at Comerica Park. their draft pours for five or six dollars are more reasonable, but still ridiculous.
I imagine there are practical purposes for the prices too, to discourage drunkenness at their bar, on their shuttles, or at the game, but it feels disingenuous.
Their menu, like the beer list, is also simple, especially on game days. Their regular lunch menu board is not quite active during games as their kitchen is trying to move orders fast. You can order some pretty basic burger and grilled chicken sandwich combos, instead of the whole impressive-looking menu board. You also won’t get a choice of how well-done your burger will be cooked. Bummer.
There’s nothing bad about a simple menu. if your cooks are good, and the product is good, people will want to buy your food. For instance, we praised California Burgerz very highly, despite their simple preparations and tiny menu. Nemo’s is attempting the same thing here. For their burgers, they claim their secret to a good product is the meat, coming from Rex Packing on Miller, and containing the right blend of fat to lean meat for a juicy and flavorful burger.
A Burger for the People
Despite a good dose of nostalgia, and the good ol’ days, and memories of eating a burger with your old man, what was Nemo’s really offering?
A rather unremarkable looking burger. It has all the parts, for sure, raw white onion, pickle (singular, because there was one lonely pickle slice), tomato, lettuce, and a blanket of melted American cheese. It amounts to a serviceable visual experience. Those fries look crispy, though!
Put it all together, and cut it in half, and it’s looking less interesting. The meat was cooked all the way through, and that bun is very average. Luckily there are some pretty good quality ingredients to top it. The meat was fine, if a little under seasoned, and the patties managed to stay relatively juicy, which I would credit to the high fat content of the meat.
What it amounted to was a standard but pretty good backyard barbecue burger. It brings up more memories of summers with your parents and your uncles’ not great cooking skills, which for most people are still positive experiences. Nobody is going to complain about this burger. It does what it is supposed to do, fill you up and satisfy your burger craving. The price isn’t bad, either. It’s going to run you under 9 bucks. This burger doesn’t, however, make you stop and ponder the meaning of life, or pause and wonder what higher power blessed you with such a delicious morsel.
But those fries? They were good, Crispy, hot, soft in the middle. The ideal of an American french fry.
The Ins, The Outs, the What-Have-Yous
You’re making a choice when you come to Nemo’s. You’re going to get a simple meal from a limited menu. The prices are going to be okay, and the convenience can’t be beat. You’ll see the decades of history on the walls and in the patrons bringing their parents and children to share memories and a good time. There is no doubt this is a joyful place, and it would not only be wrong for me to bring it down, it would be incorrect.
I am thankful to share days like these with good friends, some pretty good food, and a good baseball game (even if the Tigers lost and it was raining all day). Nemo’s was part of that experience, and it will continue to be part of my experience whenever I want to go downtown for sports.
I will note that on days I’ve been here without games, the burger can be cooked to order, and I’ve had great experiences with an above-average burger (and other sandwiches). That patty CAN be good when seasoned and cooked correctly! It’s worth a visit on the off hours if you’re looking for a specifically good burger at a nice old dive bar.
I wish they could nail that experience consistently at busy times, but it’s harder to do a great burger in a large volume. When you’ve got to feed hundreds of hungry Tigers/Red Wings/Lions/Pistons fans, you might be making a few sacrifices.
Whatever you go for, you’re probably going to enjoy yourself and share in the happiness of the crowd that frequents Nemo’s. And if you’re anything like me, you’ll probably come away with a story or two to share when the day is done.
Ratings:
Music Report: Odd + Questionable.
Burger: 3.114
Service: 3.81
Atmosphere: 4.02
Value: 2.99
Overall Rating: 3.37
Alex P.- “I was the first one done because the dang thing fell apart in my hands. I took too many bites of just toppings. BIG disappointment. “ 2/5
Alice – ” No requests allowed!” 3/5
Carl “Hall” – “No special accommodations, game day prices increase? This was like a mediocre backyard BBQ burger. Not worth it. ” 2/5
Erik – “They are out of onion rings? They are propped up by the old school vibe and are clearly a big part of a lot of families’ histories and Tigers experiences. It’s a fun vibe and the staff are on their game. ” 3.5/5
Ian – “The atmosphere is quality despite the questionable music. The burger was well done despite my request for med-rare. If it wasn’t gameday I would have been more critical, but it was a good experience overall.” 3/5
Jeff – “The Game Day Burger
Has certain limitations
Fuckin’ Game day Bro!” 4/5
Lindsay – ” I liked the fries. It was a good “backyard burger” as Erik said. The pickles were fabulous. The game day effect was pronounced – the fact that they were all well done was understandable. It was still tasty. ” 3/5
Rachel – 3/5
Nemo’s Bar (website is currently down)
1384 Michigan Ave, Detroit, MI 48226
Open 11am-12am 7 Days a week
(313) 965-3180
https://www.facebook.com/DetroitClassic/
Motor City Burger Club 
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