The quiet city of Wyandotte is known for many things. Be it their monopoly on electrical power, their myriad churches of every denomination, or their local cross-dressing shop, the city is many things to many people. Of course, it's probably best known for having a bar on every corner, each as character-filled as the last.
The nearly 150-year-old city has many an old building. Most don't get torn down unless there's a disaster like the Lions, Tigers and Beers fire of 2012. Because of that, the interiors of many bars are packed with cool decor, original crown molding, and an interesting architectural feature at every turn.
Dotte Pub, located on the ground floor of the Edinger Apartments on Oak Street, is one of these bars. It hasn't been Dotte Pub for long, maybe four years. Before that it went through a series of identity changes; spending some time as a karaoke bar called Oakie Doke (a very clever play on the bar's street name) and a few years as Somewhere Bar & No Grill.
Finally, however, the location seems to have hit its stride. When new owners took over, they did a phenomenal job cleaning the place up, playing to its strengths as a quasi-historic space. In fact, Dotte Pub was the name of a bar in the very same space that has been said to have served the Three Stooges. Rumor has it, the Edinger apartments were quite the celebrity crash pad back in the 1930s.
Nowadays though, Dotte Pub serves the locals faithfully. Their selection of beer is pretty standard, and their bar is fully stocked (and beautifully backlit) with bottles upon bottles of liquor. The interior is small, but it's also cozy. Our favorite spot in the whole bar is a table that's tucked in a little cove behind the front door. It's the biggest table and a lot of beer gets spilled there, but it's as private as it gets in this bar, and a good place if your company is rowdy and needs to be kept separate from the general population.
If, however, the company you keep is properly socialized, we recommend sitting at one of the bar's high top tables. Each one has a built-in game of shut box, which is as old-timey as it is entertaining.
The Pub doesn't have a kitchen, but you can order a burger and fries from Joe's Hamburgers, a little joint that's just down the street on Biddle Avenue, and have your food delivered to your table. It's a pretty sweet deal, really. If you're really only in the mood for some munchies, the pub always has a fresh batch of popcorn popping in their vintage machine, and it's free with the price of a drink.
Found next door to the newish Captain's, Dotte Pub is much calmer than its neighbor, and you can usually find a seat. One might say the pub caters to the more sophisticated bar-hopper, yet never shuns a beer-spiller. All-in-all, it's a joint worth visiting and getting to know a little better. mt
