Detroit Help Needed

Also, clarkston union & wood shop if you're out traveling. It's about 45 minutes from Detroit.

 

Some good suburb tips above, I'm going to keep mine city-focused. I know that best and also think it has the best to offer. I live and go out quite often in the city, so if you have any specific questions, feel free to ask!

Bars:
I'll lead with beer, since this is a beer board. Try to stop by at Motor City Brewing, Atwater and Detroit Beer Co.

• Atwater has the best beer and is a pretty neat taproom. It's basically a big warehouse full of kegs with a bar in the middle of it. Monday night is $3 pint night.
• MCB has some solid beer and a nice little bar. Their pizza is very good as well.
• DBC is my watering hole. The beer is good, but not great. The food is solid and the staff is awesome for the most part. Go there Thursday/Saturday night and sit at the bar if you can.
• Grand Trunk Pub is probably the other "go to" place when it comes to beer. Very good bar with nothing but Michigan taps.
• Jacoby's is a nice place as well with a good beer selection and solid German food. Nice atmosphere.
• If you want to just snag a cheap beer for the evening, my favorites are The Detroiter ($7 pitchers all the time, and great burgers), The Baltimore ($2 bottles of PBR, Stroh's, High Life), and Greenwich Time ($1.50 High Life/Miller Lite, good cheap food).
• A unique experience is Café D'Mongo's Speakeasy. It's a friendly place. Larry (the owner) is awesome. The Detroit Brown is their specialty, and a great whiskey/Vernors-based drink. Pretty reasonably priced as well. Only open Friday (5) and Saturday (8:30).

Food:

• If you can, get out to Buddy's (the original Detroit location if possible, I swear it's better). "Detroit style" pizza, so much better than Chicago or NY, but very heavy. Loui's in Hazel Park is very similar, and is my personal favorite, but most prefer Buddy's.
• I'm a fan of Slow's, but I'd honestly recommend skipping it. If you really want some BBQ, I think Redsmoke in Greektown is the best. I'm a sauce guy when it comes to BBQ, and their sauces are much better than Slow's. They also carry only MI brews. Slow's does have a great beer selection and their meat is delicious. The "Triple Threat" sandwich is always a winner. If you go there, try the fried Okra. Honestly, BBQ is not a Detroit specialty, so move it down on your list.
• Get a Coney at least once, and go to Lafayette (cash only) not American (unless you need to use a card). Late at night is the best for the atmosphere of it.
• Best food in the city is probably at Roast. Since you're on expense, definitely give that a shot.
• I'd also recommend going to Coach Insignia, atop the RenCen, either for dinner (pricey) or happy hour. It's worth checking it out just to see the top of the city.
• Best burger in the city is at Cutter's in Eastern Market. They also do stuffed burgers, if that interests you.
• Try to get a meal in Greektown. Santorini and Pegasus are the best options.
• Have a shwarma from Bucharest, unless you don't like garlic. You can also take a trip out to Dearborn for some delicious Mediterranean/Arabic food. Detroit has the largest Arabic population outside of the Middle-East. Al's Paradise Café downtown is another great option for Mediterranean.
• Another thing Detroit does well is deli, especially Corned Beef. Nathan's across Jefferson from the RenCen has great sandwiches. Steve's Deli is another good option.
• I'm not a huge fan of Green Dot Stables, but it's extremely popular (always crammed). The food is very good, and is a unique concept (they specialize in a large variety of sliders). Everything on the menu is less than $3 (except a few select drinks).
• Make a trip out to Mexicantown and have some Tacos Al Pastor (or other, if you prefer). The best places in Mexicantown are Taqueria Lupita (cash only), Los Altos, and El Rancho (in that order). Avoid the "touristy" area (Xochimilco, Los Galanes, El Zocalo) if possible.
• Third Street bar in Midtown is a pretty neat place. They have a place called "Dangerously Delicious Pies" that operates out of their location. It's a unique concept that serves meal pies (not just dessert), and the bar itself is pretty neat.
• Sweetwater Tavern is supposed to have the best Wings in town. I haven't been there myself, but I've heard so many things about it, I still recommend it to visitors. I have heard it's not the friendliest place in the world late at night if you are white (fwiw).
• Hudson Café has the best breakfast in town. Their Huevos Rancheros is fantastic.
• If you can make it out to Hamtramck, there is some amazing Polish food and some neat bars. Polish Village Café is the best option for food.

Sight-seeing and Entertainment:
If you have an opportunity, there is some pretty neat stuff to see and do in Detroit.

• The Guardian Building is right downtown. Go inside and take a look, it's absolutely breathtaking in the main atrium. You can grab a quick breakfast or lunch at Rowland Cafe as well.
• The Heidelberg Project is an absolutely unique experience that is worth seeing, if you have an opportunity. Some people love it and some hate it, but you'll never see anything like it again. Unfortunately, a few of the houses in it have been burnt down recently. Avoid this area at night, and be careful while you're there. It's pretty safe in the couple blocks of the project, but the area around it is dangerous.
• The DIA is a world class museum, if you're into that.
• If there are any concerts at the Fox Theater or Fillmore that interest you, they are beautiful venues.
• Baker's Keyboard Lounge on the outskirts of the city is the World's oldest operating Jazz club in the country. Worth a look if you like Jazz.
• If you'll be here for the weekend, stop by Eastern Market on Saturday. It's the largest open-air flower market in the country and one of the largest markets. A fairly unique experience you can't get in other cities. If you're a fan of Bloody Marys, Vivio's in EM is famous for theirs. Supino Pizzeria is also a very good NY Style joint.
• If you're in town this weekend (7-8-9), the Winterfest in Campus Martius could be fun as well to check out.

It's a great place, enjoy it.

 

good post, aside from you torpedoing it at the start by saying Atwater has the best beer.

 

yes these two are well worth the visit if you have the time. the union and the woodshop are owned by the same person and share some similarities but the woodshop is more focused on smoked meats and is better than slows in my personal opinion. the union is just a couple hundred feet away and has the bigger tap list and a little different menu.

 

Everybody has their own opinion man and I respect yours...Ive grown up and been in Detroit my whole life..So not all is "suburban" opinions... Atwater sucks, period! That is not just my opinion but 99% of the people on this site that is from here....Motor City BC is pretty good..My favorite Brewery in Detroit Proper, and right on about GREAT pizza....Detroit Brewing Co. is mediocre imo...Although, they have an Amarillo IPA that I really like when its on....

On the food your right on most things...I prefer Los Galanes over all the ones you mentioned with Mi Pueblo a close third..You can call Los Galanes "touristy" all you want..Fact is they have great food...St. CeCe's has great food too..Bucharest is also great! Best Chicken Schwarmas around, INCLUDING Dearborn....Also, no thank you on Red Smoke BBQ..I just dont think its very good.....

Sight seeing your right on...Great List....!! Like I said, everyone has their own opinion...I respect yours, just disagree a bit..

 

^ This x100

Doesn't hurt that the tap list at the attached Park Bar is decent as well. Crooked tree and a schwarma and I'm a happy person.

Hell, they could only have watered down grape kool-aid on tap and I'd still go for the schwarma.

 

The Sky Bar near Roast has a great view also, opens at 5 IIRC.

Rock City Eatery in Hamtramck was surprising good, but just got reviewed in the News so will be crowded.

 

Well, there aren't exactly a robust set of options when it comes to beer in the city. I can get behind MCB, but there are only a few options in Detroit proper. MCB is such a small place. The beer is usually pretty solid, but they only have a few options at a time. Strictly from a beer perspective, there are many better options out in the burbs when it comes to breweries (i.e. Kuhnhenn).

I forgot to mention Mi Pueblo, but that is probably third on my list ahead of El Rancho. Los Galanes is the best in it's "neighborhood" and it's pretty solid, but if you're looking for authentic Mexican, it's just not quite on that top level with the others. CeCe's is a great option as well. Another in Corktown I forgot to mention is Ottava Via.

Also, didn't mean the suburb comment to sound so absolute, there are a few good city tips too.

 

Again, 'tis all relative. Not many options in the city, unfortunately. I think all three are relatively even and wouldn't really argue one way or the other about all of them. They're all pretty average with a few good beers. Good news is, Atwater does currently have their best beer on tap (VJ Black).

 

The Dequindre Cut is a subterranean path (I believe a former railway), which runs parallel to Orleans St east of downtown has some pretty neat graffiti on it, and is pretty safe. Not sure how well maintained it is in winter though. Obviously, daytime is better and safer, but it is pretty well lit too.

 

good call

http://www.detroitriverfront.org/riverfront/dequindre-cut/dequindre-cut

 

go to lafayette coney island and laugh at all the fools that go to american

 

Right on man...Ive never been to El Rancho, so I really look forward to that...Also, forgot about Ottava Via too...Great catch!

 

TRUTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Maybe check out the new Z-Lot parking garage. It is behind the Compuware Building and was built by Dan Gilbert. They commissioned graffiti artists to come in and paint all the interior walls.

http://detroit.curbed.com/places/the-z-lot

 

Agreed.

 

There is a place by my work in Wixom called Farm Grill that I prefer to Bucharest. They are both very good, but I prefer this place.

 

Gald you had a great time, sorry about your experience at Traffic Jam, but I've pertty much sworn that place off.

I also want to chime in and say that the best Burger in Detroit is at Casey's, period, and make sure you get the bacon cheeseburger.