Detroit is a place I have been wanting to visit for a really long time, admittedly a few years ago my main reason for wanting to go was to be an 'urban ruins tourist'. Thankfully I have matured and am much more compassionate and understanding of conditions that cause the demise of a great urban metropolis and simply going to photograph abandoned homes felt empty and callous to me.
Ryan and I decided to go on a trip to Detroit for his birthday, we planned the trip to make a stop at the Indiana Dunes and Ann Arbor while en route to D-town.
If you are driving from Chicago I highly recommend stopping at the Indiana Dunes, I was surprised at how pretty the park and the natural beach were. Plus it's really fun to go on the trails through the dunes, make sure you are wearing some type of sandal, the sand gets very hot. After our trip Detroit has definitely become one of our favorite places, we are planning on returning soon. There are so many hidden gems in the city and the food was impressively good. The roads are bad, a lot of street lights don't work but at the same time you can see how much is being built up and it feels like an exciting place to be. Below are my recommendations for places to check out if you're in town.
COFFEE
Astro Coffee had out the door lines both times we decided to go there. The first time we decided not to wait as I needed a quiet place to spend some time working, the second time we waited and I am so glad I did. They have an amazing selection of breakfast sandwiches and pastries, the selection was so good I was tempted to ask if it was made in house or if it came from another restaurant in town, which I would definitely want to go to. Unfortunately the line was just too long for me to wait through it again to ask, but hopefully I will next time.
Anthology Coffee was were we went when I wanted a quiet place to work and it was the perfect place for such a thing. It is tucked away in an industrial looking part of
Corktown and there is no sign anywhere. I actually peeking in and asked if they were open, they were! It is a very minimal set up, unlike anything I have ever seen before. They don't have many options for snacks but it doesn't matter because their coffee is so freaking good. Every cup is brewed to order, the barista was a super nice guy and the atmosphere was very calm. Loved this place and highly recommend it.
FOOD
Wright & Co was the place we chose to go for
Ryan's birthday dinner. Even though it was a pretty busy Saturday night we were able to be seated in 15 minutes, they serve tapas style new American food which is exactly what we were looking for. The decor is pretty cool, there are wrap around windows that let's you see the street traffic. We had steak, shrimp and pork sliders (which were my favorite). For desert
Ryan guilted me into sharing their chocolate moose, it was amazing, I still dream about this desert.
Slow's BBQ - We HAD to go here as it was on every top food list I looked up. The wait was long but we were able to grab a seat at the bar pretty quickly, Ryan had pork belly sandwich and I had an enchilada. It was really good, definitely a must go to place.
Dangerously Delicious Pies - This place was pretty surprising. We went in the middle of the day but it is actually a perfect place to go for dinner and drinks. The pie shop is inside a bar, you can either eat inside or in their outdoor sitting area. We had the gumbo pie and a berry pie - both were delicious.
DRINKS
Sugar House is a craft cocktail bar where the bartenders are really knowledgeable and can serve a stunning number of drinks. This was the only place we ended up going just for drinks but we would definitely go back next time we are in the city.
