Date Night: Michael Symon's Roast

Last night, my husband and I dressed up and headed to Michael Symon's Roast.  It did not disappoint.  The atmosphere, food, and service were spectacular.  I had the lamb ragu and he had the rack of lamb while we split a side of fried brussel spouts.  Yep, that's right, deep fried brussel sprouts...delicious and fattening but we could still pretend to be eating healthy green vegetables.

The prices are what you would expect from a high-end downtown restaurant so be prepared to splurge. As a foodie, I think Roast is worth the extra money.  If you want to feel a little less guilty, make your reservation through OpenTable.com and earn some points towards $$$ off your next night out.

Roast could compete in Chicago or New York.  It is a true gem in downtown Detroit.

We walked around downtown for a little while after dinner.  The Lafayette gardens are just around the corner.  The gardens are open to the public during business hours.   We were a little late for that but peaked through the fence to check out the green space.  I don't remember the Lafayette building that once stood on the site, but I can appreciate the softening of the city that the green space provides.

Family Outing: Good Girls Go To Paris

In the spirit of exploring Detroit, we chose go to Good Girls Go To Paris for our Father's Day treat.  It is an amazing concept of wide variety savory and sweet crepes.  The kind of place that executed correctly could have lines out the door and down the block.  Unfortunately, this is not the case here.  The restaurant was dirty.  My husband and I found the two savory crepes we tried to be horrible.  The salmon was so salty that it was impossible to finish the crepe.  My husband's chicken was very unappealing.  Our kids both chose sweet crepes and they seemed better than the savory crepes.  Even so, we will not be returning!  Its too bad because it could have been an awesome treat.

We still managed to enjoy our Father's Day.  One bad meal can't spoil the entire day!

Photographing Detroit

Detroit is loved by photographers.  The decay, the revival, often side by side, provide countless opportunities for striking photographs. 

Reveal Your Detroit Opens today at the Detroit Public Library and will run through August 15th.  The photographs were taken by local Detroiters, including more than 50 Detroit-based community organizations.  I have been taking sneak peeks at a small sampling of the photo submissions online at the freep.com but can't wait to check out the exhibit.  If you make it before me, please let us know what you think.

This morning, I got up at 4am and headed to downtown to take a stab at revealing my Detroit.  I purchased a DSLR camera about a month ago.  I have always had a point-and-shoot so using the camera is a little like learning to speak for me.  With my camera, a large cup of coffee, and my newly gained knowledge from reading "Understanding Exposure", I managed to get the following pictures.  Both should have used a tripod so they aren't perfect, but hey, I had the camera in manual mode and managed to get a decent photo.  :-)

MGM Grand Detroit

Ren Cen from between Comerica Part and Ford Field

As I mentioned in my 'about me' intro when I started the blog, I was raised in a Detroit  suburb and almost never came to Detroit until about a 2 years ago.  Although, I am in Detroit a lot now, I still found being a woman alone a little intimidating.  I hope I get more confident (while remaining alert and safe) as my photography practice continues in Detroit.  I saw quite a few shots that I think could have been impressive but they either would have required me to park and walk alone for a ways or park in an area that seemed a little rough.  I was little too chicken to do it.  Rarely was there anyone on the street, but that is what made it so intimidating.  When I did see someone, I wondered why they were there.  Anyone else experience this?  How do you do it?  A photography buddy?

Rattlesnake Club

Last night, some out of town friends wanted to 'dress up and go out to dinner'.  I picked the Rattlesnake Club.  It was a first for all of us.  The location is nice and the atmosphere was fitting of an upscale downtown restaurant.  I am non-committal on the food,however.  It was good but not as good as I anticipated.  I am not sure how often they change their menu but I felt as though the food could have been spectacular with just a little refinement.  We will try it again but next time we will make sure it is a nice day so that we can enjoy the patio and river views.

Movement: Detroit's Electronic Music Festival

Movement, Detroit's Electronic Music Festival, had attendees dancing 24/7 in downtown Detroit last weekend.  My colleague, Nicole, stayed downtown at the Greektown Casino and Hotel so that she could soak up as much of the music, dancing, and excitement as possible.  Her take?  The event and surrounding parties were a lot of fun and full of energy.  Look below at some of the pictures she snapped and I am sure you will have to agree, even if techno isn't your thing. 

I have a little pride just knowing that Detroit was the birth place of the techno music genre.  I studied abroad for a year and was amazed that many of my European classmates didn't ask me about the auto industry, motown music, or drive-by shootings (my Mizzou classmates did even though St. Louis was fighting us for the murder capital title at the time); but instead, they asked me if I had ever attended a techno party in one of the abondonned warehouses of Detroit.  If techno music can help improve Detroit's image and draw in vacationers from across the Atlantic; I must thank the musicians and DJs for making it happen.     

 

Nicole and I both noticed something exciting last weekend.  The town was alive with people.  Movement, Race for a Cure, and Eastern Market drew huge crowds to Downtown Detroit.  The streets were alive with people walking, talking, and having fun.  It was a downtown showing its rivival.    

Date Night: Armandos in Mexican Town

My husband, Mike, and I take turns planning date nights.  It is free game to pull a heart off of the Valentine's Date Night map in order to get ideas.  Mike combined the map with a Living Social deal to take us to Detroit's Mexican Town last night.  We ate at Armandos on Vernor.  I was tempted to have ask him to write this blogpost since I must confess that I don't really like Mexican food and he loves it.  Remember that I made the Valentine's map and included Mexican Town so his date plans were not selfish.  The Mexican food was self-induced. 

Mike had never been to Mexican town.  He liked the experience but didn't think the food stood out as exceptional.  That being said, we will  probably go back and try another restaurant in the area.  My treat to him...and I do like Margaritas. 

Afterward, we drove around Corktown for awhile checking out the houses.  I was happy to see how many of the homes were inhabited.  If you aren't familiar with Detroit's neighborhoods, Corktown includes Slow's, the site of the old Tiger's stadium, and the train depot. 



Graffiti in Corktown



Detroit Bike Tour with Motor City Bike and Brew

Date Night #?  

(see date nights tab on blog for explanation of date night events)

Shortly after providing my husband with his Detroit Date Night Valentine's gift, I came across Wheelhouse Detroit Bike Tours.  I was so excited that instantly wrote my husband letting him know in bold large font that I really wanted to do a bike tour of Detroit.  My hubbie had secretly found a different bike tour company  and had been planning to surprise me later.  Romantic and sweet, yes...but let's talk about the tour that he still managed to surprise me with yesterday morning.

Motor City Bike and Brew:  Detroit Prohibition Tour

Entering the Dequindre Cut

Learning about a speak easy

The bike tours are led by the owner, Steve, with the aid of at least one helper (his wife, Laura, for our tour).  Steve obviously loves his job, people, and Detroit.  His enthusiasm combined with his research on the tour subject matter made the tour fun and engaging.  Despite the rain, we enjoyed biking Detroit and would definitely consider another tour.

The Prohibition Tour started at Motor City Brewing Works in midtown.  We wove through Wayne State's Campus, the River Walk, Dequindre Cut, and Belle Isle before taking a pass through Eastern Market and heading back to midtown for a lunch with local brews at Traffic Jam.  The entire tour was around 13 miles with several stops for prohibition history lessons.  The pace and length could be managed fairly easily by anyone in reasonable shape. 

Belle Isle

We will definitely head back to Detroit for some more biking as a couple and I will have my good camera in hand.  With the rain, I only brought my point and shoot.  I saw many great shots and can't wait to stop and try to capture them 'on film'.

I recommend Motor City Bike and Brew tours and suggest trying out urban biking in Detroit.