Detroit: The Gritty Motor City
The Motor City of Detroit was birthed in the gritty automobile industry. The metropolis weathered a trajectory of boom and bust cycles, from the original Ford Motor Company regime, to the Great Depression, to the burst of the Internet bubble. With a storied past and bold urban culture, Detroit is a rising tourist destination. Downtown buildings emerge from the rubble of antiquity, with new construction skyscrapers giving way to historic Art Deco edifices shaping the skyline. The visage of downtown buildings meeting the Detroit River is best viewed at night, when glittering reflections of multicolored lights line the waterfront promenade, opening to a crescent-shaped bay complete with harbors beyond the nature conservancy island of Belle Isle Park.
Detroit © Lonely Planet
Various immigrants, from the original French settlers to automobile factory workers from across the globe, lent Detroit a diverse musical, culinary, and arts culture. These influences emerged in music as Motown and techno genres, as well as jazz, punk, and hip-hop.
A flourishing culinary scene provides everything from meat-and-potatoes steak houses to greasy spoon diners with all-day pancakes, gastropubs serving microbrew beer, and even Texan-Brazilian churrascaria. Vibrant murals by Shepard Fairey and local artists decorate downtown buildings and storefronts, while street art at Eastern Market is internationally renowned.
Detroit’s polarities comprise an utterly unique destination. With Art Deco buildings in stark contrast to modern skyscrapers and historic factories adjacent to tech companies, new industries emerge from the wreckage of financial ruin. The regal 19th century palatial homes of the Motor City belie the prosperity of the past and foretell that of the future.
Here are our top picks for destinations, galleries, restaurants, bars, and things to do in Detroit..
Restaurants
Located on the glittering waterfront in GM Renaissance Center, Andiamo’s resplendent views of the Detroit skyline are an unmatched location for a fine meal. With a menu featuring Italian classics such as red wine-braised short ribs with parsnip puree, shallot gremolata, and sage demi or olive oil-seared Branzino with artichokes and fennel—not to mention fresh pasta made in-house, Andiamo is a superlative destination for a fine business dinner or romantic date.
400 Renaissance Center | Suite A-403 | Detroit, MI 48243 | 313.567.6700
Bone marrow fritters? Beef tallow fries? Rabbit stew? Yes! Republic offers a wide variety of carnivorous delights self-described as “eclectic.” The exotic and colorful menu items such as “The Forest Floor” (oyster and lion’s mane mushroom, Michigan peas, onion soubise, and seared rapini) are perfectly matched for craft cocktail accompaniments such as “Half-Blind Dovetail” (reposado tequila, blood orange liqueur, lime, jalapeno, and ginger beer) or “Karate in the Garage” (1776 rye, Benedictine, carpano antica, nonino, and bitters). Equally inventive as they are thoughtful about ingredients, Republic sources meats from local, family-owned farms.
1942 Grand River Ave | Detroit, MI 48226 | 313.446.8360
According to their website, “Nestled between the historic Brush Park and Midtown neighborhoods, Grey Ghost Detroit was born of dedicated craftsmen, committed to the art of butchery, refinement of crafting cocktails and unparalleled hospitality. The name is a nod to the alias of the most notorious rum running pirate on the Detroit River during the Prohibition era. Although never identified, the legend of the Grey Ghost lives on at 47 East Watson.” The menu is haunting, in the sense that memories of the flavors and food combinations will likely remain long after your meal—menu items such as a fried chicken sandwich with a croissant waffle and lemon pepper mayonnaise or mushroom carpaccio with whipped thyme and black garlic biscotti are both inventive and flavorful.
47 Watson St | Detroit, MI 48201 | 313.262.6534
Grey Ghost. Image © TBD Magazine
Much as its eponymous title reflects, Texas de Brazil was born of ranching legacies from two distinct cultures: the cowboys of Texas and the rodizio ranching gauchos of Porto Alegre, Brazil. Today, the combined Texan-Brazilian churrascaria menu offers a divine array of carnivorous delights: bacon-wrapped chicken breast and filet mignon, traditional Brazilian sausage, parmesan-crusted pork loin, garlic picanha, and more. Arrive hungry!
1000 Woodward Ave | Ste 01B07A | Detroit, MI 48226 | 313.964.4333
This Americana-inspired spot in Hamtramck offers a tight menu of halal angus burgers, plus necessary accoutrements like shakes and massive orders of fries. Diners can find everything from a classic burger to the hulking “quad” with four patties, to friend chicken or veggie burgers.
12045 Conant St | Hamtramck, MI 48212 | 313.703.8000
The updated and expanded Flowers of Vietnam retains much of the “scrappy ingenuity and unpretentiousness” of the original Coney Island pop-up in an expanded and refurbished space on West Vernor. The Vietnamese-influenced restaurant now features a separate bar space with views of the main dining room and open galley kitchen. Order a bowl of pho for one, or share several dishes such as the extra crispy caramel chicken wings, whole fried fish, and egg cream coffee for dessert.
4430 Vernor Hwy | Detroit, MI 48209 | 313.554.2085
The Huron Room partners made a splash in mid-February when they abruptly announced the departure of their seafood restaurant in favor of their new international curry restaurant. The revamped restaurant sports a distinctly ‘70s-inspired interior with plenty of fringe and graphic wallpaper. Plates include curry fried cauliflower, Jamaican jerk brisket, and coconut crab curry, as well as vegan and gluten-free options.
2547 Bagley Ave Detroit, MI 48216 | 313.265.3325
With a casual taproom featuring 32 different beers and a large patio with drink rails and fire pits, Founder’s is an ideal spot for a lengthy, beer-infused lunch meeting. The brewery was started by co-founders and “a couple of college-buddies-turned-home-brewers, Mike Stevens and Dave Engbers,” who “dropped everything they had to chase their dreams. Armed with a shared obsession for beer, endless ambition, and not much else, they knew following their passion was the only way to ensure that they’d never look back on their lives and ask, ‘What if?’” Their inspiring YOLO story is beautifully captured in a series of artist posters. The menu features bar snacks to share (or not) such as beer cheese dip, bourbon smoked chicken wings, and a bourbon barrel-smoked pulled pork sandwich, the “Backwoods Bastard.”
456 Charlotte St | Detroit, MI 48201| 313.335.3440
Around Town
Detroit Street Art
Detroit has a vibrant assortment of murals and street art. A self-guided tour should include Shepard Fairey’s largest mural to date on the Bedrock commercial real estate firm building at 185 x 55 feet, the mural by Marka27 (Victor Quinonez) at El Asador Steakhouse on 1312 Springwell in Southwest Detroit, or the East-Coast-meets-West-Coast mural by LA’s Revok and New York’s Rime at 1501 Division, “A Man’s Threat & A Woman’s Pet.” Also of note is the massive and fierce lion mural at Russell Industrial Center on 1600 Clay by Kobie Solomon. Check Detroit Free Press for more info.
Image © Shepard Fairey
Known as the “Jewel of Detroit,” Belle Isle Park is a sprawling 982-acre urban island oasis located on the Detroit River between the downtown metropolitan area and Windsor with 7 miles of stunning shoreline. Various attractions are included with park admission: the Belle Isle Aquarium situated in a stunning architectural building designed by Albert Kahn in 1904, the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory with a collection of exotic plants, a nature center, giant slide, beach, golf range, and more.
300 River Place Drive, Suite 2800 | Detroit, MI 48207 | 313.331.7760
With everything from hardware shops to chocolatiers, produce vendors, streetwear shops, soapmakers, affordable wine shops, restaurants, and a circus school, Eastern Market is Detroit’s vibrant hub for community and commerce. The market’s legacy has endured centuries, as it was originally built in the 1800s. The website has a downloadable map of vendors and stores.
1445 Adelaide | Detroit, MI 48207
Detroit Institute of Arts showcases everything from mummies to modern art and African masks to Monets in its outstanding collection of over 65,000 works. Don't miss the General Motors Center for African American Art, showcasing 400 pieces by African American artists in various media.
5200 Woodward Ave | Detroit, MI 48202 | 313.833.7900
The Guardian Building is one of the most significant and striking Art Deco skyscrapers in the world. The building’s taller north tower and smaller octagonal south tower are connected with a nave-like block similar to the plan of a cathedral. The grandeur of its architecture was, and still is, unconventional. Visitors are awestruck by the explosion of color, craftsmanship, and blending of Native American, Aztec, and folk art influences.
500 Griswold St | Detroit, MI 48226 | 313.963.4567
The Ford Piquette Avenue Plant
Experience the Original Model T Factory Visiting the Piquette Avenue Ford, the oldest auto plant open to the public anywhere in the world. Almost unchanged since Henry Ford's day, the plant is a three-story New England-style mill building divided into sections by original metal fire doors, complete with the shadows of Henry Ford's "Positively NO Smoking" stencils. The plant is on the National Register of Historic Places, and is a designated National Historic Landmark and a Michigan State Historic Site. Walk the worn wood floors and touch the brick walls where Henry Ford and his team of automotive pioneers developed the car that led to an automotive and social revolution.
461 Piquette St | Detroit, MI 48202 | 313.872.8759
This old Detroit home belies the greatness that was born here: the Motown Sound. But one step inside Hitsville, USA, the original house where Berry Gordy lived and recorded the Motown hits, and you'll catch the beat and spirit of this booming music era. Photos, costumes, artwork, music and other memorabilia take you back to simpler times.
2648 W Grand Blvd | Detroit, MI 48208 | 313.875.2264
Originally opened in 1928, Fox Theatre remains the cornerstone of Detroit’s entertainment scene in the District Detroit neighborhood. Architect C. Howard Crane derived influence from a variety of patchwork sources, including Chinese, Indian, and Burmese design elements. The Michigan State Historic Site was originally built as a film theatre, but today boasts a wide array of musicians and other performers.
2211 Woodward Ave | Detroit, MI 48201| 313.471.3200
This blog was originally written for CannaCon preceding the Detroit conference in 2018.
Image © Francesco Ungaro
