Sunday, July 24, 2011

DETROIT

(includes Grand Rapids & Lansing)

BAKERIES, COFFEE, ICE CREAM, JUICE & TEA

Astro Coffee – 2124 Michigan Avenue (Corktown); 313-638-2989; astrodetroit.com or astrocoffeedetroit.blogspot.com; also serves breakfast.
Great Lakes Coffee Shop – 3965 Woodward Avenue; 313-831-9627; greatlakescoffee.com; coffee and wines.



BARS & NIGHTCLUBS
Café d’Mongo – 1439 Griswold Street (between Grand River & Clifford); cafedmongos.com; don’t let strip club across street stop you; wonderfully eccentric speakeasy that feels more like private party than bar; country music and live jazz alternate weekly; ONLY OPEN ON FRIDAYS and sometimes last Saturdays; some food.
Cliff Bell’s – 2030 Park Avenue; 313-961-2543; cliffbells.com; open since 1935; among city’s oldest “supper clubs”; Art Deco décor, vaulted ceilings, mahogany bar, and mirrored walls; live jazz.
Detroit Beer Co. – 1529 Broadway; 313-962-1529; detroitbeerco.com; 8 house beers, brewed on-site.
Sugar House – 2130 Michigan Avenue (Corktown); 313-962-0123; sugarhousedetroit.com; seasonal cocktail menu, house-made bitters, and pre-Prohibition look.
Tashmoo Biergarten – 1416 Van Dyke Street; 616-862-8834; facebook.com/tashmoodetroit; outdoor beer hall on east side; serves only Michigan brews.



HOTELS
Honor & Folly Inn – 2132 Michigan Avenue (Corktown); honorandfolly.com; 2 bedrooms; cooking classes.
Inn on Ferry Street – 84 East Ferry Street; 313-871-6000 or 877-784-6835; innonferrystreetdetroit.com; 2 carriage house and 4 historic home complex; 40 rooms.
Westin Book Cadillac Hotel – 1114 Washington Boulevard; 313-442-1600 or 800-937-8461; bookcadillacwestin.com; recently renovated.



RESTAURANTS
Astro Coffee – 2124 Michigan Avenue; 313-638-2989; astrodetroit.com or astrocoffeedetroit.blogspot.com; breakfast.
Atlas Global Bistro – 3111 Woodward Avenue (in Addison Hotel); 313-831-2241; atlasglobalbistro.com; great Sunday brunches in building designed by Albert Kahn.
Café d’Mongo – 1439 Griswold Street; cafedmongos.com; don’t let strip club across street stop you; wonderfully eccentric speakeasy that feels more like private party than bar; country music and live jazz alternate weekly; ONLY OPEN ON FRIDAYS and sometimes last Saturdays; barbecued chicken and ribs.
Cliff Bell’s – 2030 Park Avenue; 313-961-2543; cliffbells.com; open since 1935; among city’s oldest “supper clubs”; Art Deco décor, vaulted ceilings, mahogany bar, and mirrored walls; live jazz.
Good Girls Go to Paris Crepes – 15 East Kirby, Suite 115; 313-964-2023; goodgirlsgotopariscrepes.com; try Celeste Sandwich (brie, cranberries, and roast beef) and Fay (banana, brown sugar, caramel, and pecans).
Green Dot Stables – 2200 West Lafayette Boulevard; 313-962-5588; greendotstables.com; small plates.
Meat – 1224 Turner Street (Lansing); 517-580-4400; meatbbq.com; roadhouse-style barbecue joint.
Roast – 1128 Washington Boulevard; 313-961-2500; roastdetroit.com; reservations required 2 or 3 weeks ahead; meat-dominated menu.
Rub BBQ Pub – 18 West Adams Street; 313-964-0782; rubbbqdetoit.com; brisket and ribs, chicken, and pulled pork.
Russell St. Deli – 2465 Russell Street; 313-567-2900; russellstreetdeli.cm; breakfast served on all day on Saturdays; try raisin bread French toast.
Slows Bar B Q – 2138 Michigan Avenue (Corktown); 313-962-9828; slowsbarbq.com; must-visit destination; order mac & cheese.
Supino Pizzeria – 2457 Russell Street (Corktown); 313-567-7879; supinopizza.com.



SHOPPING
Detroit Eastern Market – 2934 Russell Street; 313-833-9300; detroiteasternmarket.com; open since 1891.
R. Hirt, Jr. Co. – 2468 Market Street; 313-567-1173; specialty good store open since 1887; sort-of eastern department store with imported food goods on ground floor; 3 stories.
John K. King Used & Rare Books – 901 West Lafayette Boulevard; 313-961-0622; rarebooklink.com; worth special trip.
Marketplace Antiques Gallery – 2047 Gratiot Avenue; 313-567-8250; antiques.
Pewabic Pottery – 10125 East Jefferson Avenue; 313-822-0954; pewabic.org; Arts & Crafts ceramicist’s Mary Stratton’s former establishment; now library, museum, and store.
Saturday Eastern Market – 2934 Russell Street; detroiteasternmarket.com; 6 blocks, 250 vendors; everything from bread and cheese to fruits and vegetables.



SIGHTS & SITES
Belle Isle Park – 6925 East Jefferson Avenue; 313-628-2081; fobi.org; 1K acre island park in Detroit River; designed by Frederick Law Olmsted; best way to enjoy this down-at-heels park is by taking paddleboat tour of canals.
Eli & Edythe Broad Art Museum – 344 Student Services Building (East Lansing, at Michigan State University); 517-884-3900; broadmuseum.msu.edu; designed futuristically by Zaha Hadid; contemporary art.
Detroit Institute of Arts – 5200 Woodward Avenue; 313-833-7900; dia.org; designed by Paul Cret (Art Deco); houses Matisse, Picasso, van Gogh, and Warhol works; open till 10 pm on Fridays; make sure to Rivera Court (Diego Rivera “Detroit Industry” fresco)); note, see Caravaggio’s Martha and Mary Magdalene (1598).
Detroit Opera House – 1526 Broadway; 313-961-3500; motopera.org; beautifully renovated.
Fisher Theater – 3011 West Grand Boulevard, #2250; 313-875-9670; broadwayindetroit.com.
Fox Theater – 2211 Woodward Avenue; 313-471-6611; olympiaentertainment.com; former 1928 movie theater; now live theater, including children’s shows.
Gem & Century Theater – 333 Madison Street; 313-963-9800; gemtheatre.com; 2 level theater with traditional aisle and row seating; intimate stage-level seating at cabaret tables; Gem Theater shares lobby with cabaret-style Century (built 1903); Spanish revival architecture.
Grand Rapids Art Museum – 101 Monroe Center Street NW (Grand Rapids); 616-831-1000; artmuseumgr.org.
Frederick Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park – 1000 East Beltline Avenue NE (Grand Rapids); 616-957-1580; meijergardens.org; 132-acre botanical garden and outdoor sculpture park.
Michigan Institute for Contemporary Art – 1210 Turner Street (Lansing); 517-371-4600; micharts.org; contemporary arts by local artists.
Model T Automotive Heritage Complex – 461 Piquette Street; 313-872-8759; tplex.org; Henry Ford’s meticulously restored 1st factory (1904); be sure to visit “secret experimental room.”
Motown Historical Museum – 2648 West Grand Boulevard; 313-875-2264; motownmuseum.com; tour guides nearly as entertaining as music.
Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit – 4454 Woodward Avenue; 313-832-6622; mocadetroit.org; housed in former Albert Kahn auto dealership.
Old Town – intersection of East Grand River Avenue & Turner Street (Lansing); 517-485-4283 (“I Love Old Town”); iloveoldtown.org; pedestrian-friendly boutiques, galleries, and restaurants district.

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