Blackstone's: A great new restaurant in downtown Flint

With my career at the Flint Journal over I haven't been downtown much in the last 18 months. We have a geezer lunch every couple of weeks, but I haven't been down near the Mott Building for some time.

Tonight, with my wife out of town, some friends invited me to go to the new Blackstone's Pub & Grill next to the Mott Foundation Building.

For more than a decade the abandoned building where the new Blackstone's is had a fake name on the front, a decoy designed to fool no one that the building was empty.

It's nice to see good things happening downtown (although the Rowe Building is still not done across the street from the new restaurant).

Food was good too. I had the New York strip (rare) with really good mashed potatoes and salad. Corn bread and french bread (could have been Italian I can never tell) came with the meal. My companions seemed to enjoy their food too.

At the restaurant I saw attorney Mike Manley, simply one of the best defense attorneys I ever watched at trial. Not only that, but Mike is just a very nice guy. He and I spent many hours together in courtroom hallways discussing cases, other attorneys, legal strategy and just shooting the bull during court recesses and jury deliberations.

I've told my wife that should I ever find myself in serious legal trouble, I want her to hock everything and hire Mike Manley.

One example: Several years ago, Mike was hired to defend a man who shot an unarmed man, through a locked door on the defendant's porch. Now there was a little more to it than that - a history of trouble between the two neighbors - but I don't think anyone gave Mike much of a chance of getting this guy off.

Consider that the man had loaded guns stashed by two doors, waiting for the neighbor to come.

Mike skillfully turned the case into a trial about a demented neighbor who was terrifying another and before you could say "Not Guilty" the jury said it.

When he walked into court he was always prepared, always polite and had a presence that resonated with judges, juries and even prosecutors. Plus he was good with a quote and always returned phone calls.

Anyway, good to see Mike. He asked about the blog and I gave him the address for the blog and hopefully he will stop by. There's a guy who could write a book.

Not long after that, Joel Feick, a Channel 12 reporter and anchor who I have known for many years also came into the restaurant and we talked for a few minutes.

All that to say, that Blackstone's looks like it's going to be a happening place. Check out the link above to see the menu.