Short weekend in Detroit

April 13, 2015 11:04 AM

Heading to Detroit the first weekend in May to see the Diego Rivera/Frida Kahlo exhibit at DIA - would love any recommendations for food (hot dogs through high class) and we would dig some "shopping local" recs, too. Thanks!
posted by ersatzkat to Travel & Transportation around Detroit, MI (11 answers total)

Best answer: Duly's for coneys.

Go for a drink at Tom's Tavern, friendliest bar around.

Detroit style pizza at Buddy's.
posted by Cosine at 11:17 AM on April 13, 2015 [2 favorites]

Best answer: I agree with all of Cosine's recs (but really, virtually any coney place downtown is worth a go), plus RUB for barbecue.

John K. King if you're a fan of secondhand bookshops.

Check the casinos (including Caesar's Windsor, if your passport is up to date) for shows.

If you're into burgers and will have a car, I highly recommend either Basement Burger Bar or Freakin' Unbelievable Burgers.
posted by Etrigan at 11:47 AM on April 13, 2015

Best answer: Eastern Market is an especially fun scene on Saturdays. http://www.easternmarket.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Market,_Detroit

One of the largest public markets in the USA

Tons of people/people watching. Not far from the DIA. I took my parents to Frida/Diego and to Eastern Market and we had a very nice day.
posted by gavtaylor at 12:56 PM on April 13, 2015 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Bert's near Eastern Market is fun for live music. It's jazz for locals, not jazz for tourists (a la franchises like House of Blues) - as long as you're cool with that you should have a good time.

Roma Cafe is an Italian restaurant in the same area. It's old fashioned Italian-American food and ambiance, and it's been maintaining this style since forever (my great-grandparents ate there!). It might not be the best meal you'll have, but it's solid food & for me the tradition makes it someplace special.
posted by kanewai at 2:41 PM on April 13, 2015

Response by poster: Love, love, love, love!
posted by ersatzkat at 3:35 PM on April 13, 2015

Best answer: Oh, one more thing. Even though you didn't technically ask for other cultural things, the Motown Museum is one of the best "little museums" I have ever been to, regardless of whether you're a Motown fan per se. It'll take you an hour or so for the tour (which they do for everyone rather than letting you wander around looking at stuff), but the tour guides are phenomenal and fun.
posted by Etrigan at 4:25 PM on April 13, 2015

Best answer: When I was visiting friends in the Detroit area a few years ago they took me to Slows for BBQ, and it was one of the best damn meals I've ever had. Maybe I was just really hungry. But it looms large in my memory.
posted by swheatie at 4:26 PM on April 13, 2015

Best answer: A new restaurant by an old standby is Sweet Lorraine's Mac & Cheez in the Renaissance Center plus two surburban locations.
posted by megatherium at 6:48 PM on April 13, 2015

Best answer: Nthing Buddy's and also Slows. If you're up for something different, go to Greektown and get the flaming cheese.
posted by getawaysticks at 6:22 PM on April 15, 2015

Best answer: I second Motown museum. One friend has been 7 times, because she loves the museum and to bring her family/friends there (and she's not even a fanatical Motown genre fan) I know it's easy to get burned out on museums, so probably just do one museum per day and the Motown museum might not fit into the weekend
posted by gavtaylor at 8:41 AM on April 18, 2015

Response by poster: we went to Buddy's, Slow's, the Eastern Market, had a coney from Lafayette, and two breakfasts at Hudson Cafe. I would have eaten at Buddy's twice but was outvoted. We went to the used bookstore and we left money to feed the shop cat (her name is Davis). Also went to Rust Belt and the Shinola store. It was an AWESOME weekend, and the DIA was totally worth the drive. Thanks everyone!
posted by ersatzkat at 7:17 PM on May 13, 2015 [1 favorite]