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Detroit
Ditch the guidebook and follow these famous locals as they show you around the ever-evolving Motor City. -- Susan Gallacher
Sean Baligian
Host at Sports Radio 1130 WDFN the Fan, Detroit
“The simple joy of heading down to Joe Louis Arena for a Red Wings hockey game and then over to the famous Lafayette Coney Island for a legendary Detroit-style Coney dog -- or three -- can’t be beat. [Whether you like] watching the Tigers on a great summer night after a pregame drink at Cheli’s or drowning your sorrows at the Detroit Beer Company after yet another Detroit Lions loss, Detroit has something for every sports fan.”
Curtis Granderson
Detroit Tigers center fielder
“For dinner, I recommend Fishbone’s. Or you can make the quick trip up Woodward [Avenue] to Lily’s Seafood in Royal Oak. You can even mix food with nightlife and some great live music at two downtown hot spots, Asian Village and Seldom Blues.”
Gino Fanelli
Bandleader of the jazz-swing ensemble Gino Fanelli’s Red Hot Sugar Daddies
“One of my all-time favorite places is Baker’s Keyboard Lounge. The ghosts of Billie, Ella, and Duke are very present at Baker’s. And the high-end soul food is so delicious, it hurts. I also love Cliff Bell’s, a new jazz club with an art deco atmosphere right in the heart of the city. For pasta, nothing beats the Roma Cafe, Detroit’s oldest Italian restaurant. The waiters are older tuxedo-clad Italian men whose manners and panache almost exceed the quality of the authentic Italian fare.”
Rebecca Mazzei
Arts and culture editor of the Metro Times
“Take a drive through the beautiful historic neighborhoods and urban folk-art environments. The city is home to projects by visionary artists, like Tyree Guyton’s internationally recognized Heidelberg Project. Plus, the downtown architecture has recently been the topic of conversation among design aficionados -- from the ongoing renovation of the prized [Westin] Book Cadillac hotel to the recent photo book American City: Detroit Architecture, 1845–2005.”
Niki Johnson
Publisher of DetroitFashionPages.com and DFPBoutique.com
“I love to shop at the smaller boutiques in Royal Oak on Washington Avenue (Chaud Jeans) and on Main Street (Prodigy and Shapes). My ‘secret’ place for one-of-a-kind jewelry, accessories, and fabulous outerwear is the Grosse Pointe Collection on Mack Avenue. It is a must-see for antique collectors and fabulous people alike.”
Devin Scillian
News anchor at WDIV-TV and host of weekly news program FlashPoint
“Saturdays might mean a trip to the Eastern Market -- three square miles of produce, flowers, spices, bakeries, butchers, and barbecue. While you’re there, duck into Vivio’s for their Bloody Mary, with its tiny beer chaser. There’s also the Rattlesnake Club and Sweet Georgia Brown. A real hidden gem of Detroit is Pewabic Pottery, just a few miles northeast of downtown. They’ve been turning out amazing architectural tile since 1903. Best of all, their shop carries ceramic art in all price ranges.”
Norene Cashen
Poet and author of The Reverse Is Also True
“Detroit has a sort of broken past, which gives it a feeling of being under constant reconstruction. It’s a city of invention and renewal. You can see this in the new Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit. The space is elegant, with a sort of industrial edge. There’s a monthly poetry series at the Zeitgeist on Michigan Avenue. From there, head [down the street] to Slows Bar BQ and get the best pulled-chicken sandwich in the Midwest.”
Mike Roddy
Owner of Paesano’s Restaurant & Wine Bar
“My wife, Bridget, and I are the ultimate foodies … Sometimes we plan food-buying trips around a specific event such as a concert at the Fox Theatre or a world-class opera at the Detroit Opera House. Or we may trek to the north side of town [to visit] food emporiums such as Nino Salvaggio in Clinton Township and Papa Joe’s in Rochester Hills.”
Maureen Riley
Special-events director for the University Cultural Center Association
“Detroit has many world-class museums clustered together in the heart of the city. The Detroit Institute of Arts, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, the Detroit Science Center, and the Detroit Historical Museum combine to make the ideal backdrop for the Detroit Festival of the Arts, held annually in June.”
Global traveler that you are, you surely have favorite places in all the cities you visit. Why not share them with others? Send us an e-mail with your picks at favorites@americanwaymag.com, or go to www.americanwaymag.com/favorites and join in the discussion.
SUSAN GALLACHER is American Way ’s senior research editor and a freelance writer based in Dallas. She’d love to spend a few hours each week shopping at Detroit’s Eastern Market.
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Information
Asian Village
521 Atwater Street
(313) 566-0000
www.myasianvillage.com
Baker’s Keyboard Lounge
20510 Livernois Avenue
(313) 345-6300
www.bakerskeyboardlounge.com
Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History
315 East Warren Avenue
(313) 494-5800
www.maah-detroit.org
Chaud Jeans
414 South Washington Avenue
Royal Oak, Michigan
(248) 399-3980
www.chaudjeans.com
Cheli’s Chili Bar
47 East Adams
(313) 961-1700
www.chelischilibar.com
Cliff Bell’s
2030 Park Avenue
(313) 961-2543
www.cliffbells.com
Detroit Beer Company
1529 Broadway
(313) 962-1529
www.detroitbeerco.com
Detroit Festival of the Arts
www.detroitfestival.com
Detroit Historical Museum
5401 Woodward Avenue
(313) 833-1805
www.detroithistorical.org
Detroit Institute of Arts
5200 Woodward Avenue
(313) 833-7900
www.dia.org
Detroit Opera House
1526 Broadway
(313) 961-3500
www.motopera.org
Detroit Science Center
5020 John R. Street
(313) 577-8400
www.detroitsciencecenter.org
Eastern Market
2934 Russell Street
(313) 833-9300
www.detroiteasternmarket.com
Fishbone’s Rhythm Kitchen Café
400 Monroe Street
International Center Building
(313) 965-4600
www.fishbonesusa.com
Fox Theatre
2211 Woodward Avenue
(313) 471-6611
www.olympiaentertainment.com/venues/foxtheatre.jsp
Grosse Pointe Collection
20155 Mack Avenue
Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan
(313) 884-2700
The Heidelberg Project
3600 Block of Heidelberg Street
(313) 267-1622
www.heidelberg.org
Joe Louis Arena
600 Civic Center Drive
(313) 396-7444
redwings.nhl.com
Lafayette Coney Island
118 West Lafayette Boulevard
(313) 964-8198
Lily’s Seafood Grill & Brewery
410 South Washington Avenue
Royal Oak, Michigan
(248) 591-5459
www.lilysseafood.com
Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit
4454 Woodward Avenue
(313) 832-6622
www.mocadetroit.org
Nino Salvaggio International Marketplace
17496 Hall Road
Clinton Township, Michigan
(586) 412-6000
www.ninosalvaggio.com
Paesano’s Restaurant & Wine Bar
3411 Washtenaw Avenue
Ann Arbor, Michigan
(734) 971-0484
www.paesanosannarbor.com
Papa Joe’s Gourmet Market & Catering
6900 North Rochester Road
Rochester Hills, Michigan
(248) 853-6263
www.papajoesmarket.com
Pewabic Pottery
10125 East Jefferson Avenue
(313) 822-0954
www.pewabic.org
Prodigy
306 South Main Street
Royal Oak, Michigan
(248) 544-2550
Rattlesnake Club
300 River Place Drive #1900
(313) 567-4400
www.rattlesnakeclub.com
Roma Cafe
3401 Riopelle Street
(313) 831-5940
www.romacafe.com
Seldom Blues
400 Renaissance Center
(313) 567-7301
www.seldomblues.com
Shapes Dress Design Studio
319 South Main Street
Royal Oak, Michigan
(248) 547-4990
Slows Bar BQ
2138 Michigan Avenue
(313) 962-9828
www.slowsbarbq.com
Sweet Georgia Brown
1045 Brush Street
(313) 965-1245
www.sweetgb.com
Vivio’s
2460 Market Street
(313) 393-1711
The Westin Book Cadillac Detroit (opening October 1)
1114 Washington Boulevard
(313) 442-1600
www.starwoodhotels.com
Zeitgeist Gallery and Performance Venue
2661 Michigan Avenue
(313) 965-9192
www.zeitgeistdetroit.org
Neighborhoods to See
Boston-Edison, located in the geographic heart of Detroit
Bounded by Glynn Court on the northwest, Woodward Avenue on the northeast,
Atkinson Street on the southeast, and Linwood Street on the southwest
www.historicbostonedison.org
Brush Park
Just northwest of downtown Detroit
Bounded by Woodward Avenue on the southwest, Mack Avenue on the northwest,
Beaubien Street on the northeast, and Fisher Freeway on the southeast.
Indian Village
Located on Detroit’s east side
Bounded by Mack Avenue on the northwest, Burns Street on the northeast,
Seminole Street on the southwest, and East Jefferson Avenue on the southeast
For a complete list of Detroit’s historic neighborhoods, see the Detroit Historic District Commission’s website:
www.ci.detroit.mi.us/historic/
Urban Folk Art Environments
The Heidelberg Project, on Detroit’s east side
Hamtramck, a very small inner-city suburb five minutes southeast from central downtown Detroit
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