Motown

Visiting cities like Atlanta, Killington, and Greenport, we have seen a sampling of the palette of flavors this sweet country has to offer. From friendly farmers in New York's Northfork to rock n' roll city-dwellers in Cabbagetown this duo thoroughly enjoys the spontaneity and adventure that each new destination affords us. One would imagine growing up just a mile outside of the Detroit City limits would have offered plenty of opportunity for adventure. It was the city's poor reputation for misadventure that kept me from coming too close. Detroit's notoriously-bad reputation along with its yearly murder numbers has long deterred suburbanite Millenials like myself from exploring the uniqueness that is Detroit-- until recently. My wife and I recently moved from New York City to the heart of the midwest. During our move, we spent some quality time with my family in the suburban setting of the Greater Metropolitan Detroit area. With the (albeit slow) resurgence of Detroit city happening in front of my face, I decided it was finally time we discover what made my city so special.

Sandwiching my favorite sports teams between a full day of activities it became evident that this bankrupt city wasn't going anywhere. The atrophy surrounding the city which once was a sign of the devastation and poverty is now a living urban art exhibit. The ruins tell the sad story of a city once torn apart by color and race. Burnt-out homes, stores, and office buildings litter Woodward Avenue (The first paved road in the US) reminding us that the past is visible and living just across the street. Locals have begun to embrace the urban blight as something believed to be a sign of better times ahead. Poets, musicians, chefs, and all forms of artists have found inspiration within the crumbling walls of Detroit.

Our outing started in the oldest neighborhood in Detroit and is named after the Irish settlers who came during the famine. Since most of the Irish who settle in Detroit were from County Cork, Ireland the area became known as Corktown. Astro Coffee was our first and only stop in this cool area of Detroit. A hip place to grab an espresso if you enjoy an extremely acidic espresso. Corktown, recently experienced a resurgence thanks to Slows BBQ, an outstanding barbecue joint right down the block from Astro Coffee.

Midtown was our next stop on the trip and Motor City Brewing Works was where we chose to grab a beer. If you have read my posts in the past, we really enjoy tasting beers from all over the world. MCBW brews their own beer but its not the coolest thing they do. MCBW has a unique green initiative to help make the alleyways in Detroit greener.Traffic Jam and Snug. Armed with an herb and veggie garden on the roof, the chef pumps out different things everyday. After glancing at their ever-changing menu and tasting the products it becomes clear to us that the owners understand the importance of fresh, high quality food. They also brew their own beer, bake their own bread, create their own sauces, and make just about everything in-house and from scratch. Acting as host to a number of up and coming boutique shops, Midtown is becoming a pretty fun and hip place to hang out. Among those unique shops is Shinola, a truly Made in American shop that features anything from handcrafted leather goods, high performance bikes, and a fleet of wrist watches that have been garnering national attention from publications like GQ and Esquire.

Fresh green shrubs and flowers adorn the once decrepit alley connected to the brewery. Just across the street from MCBW is another wonderful restaurant that was on Diners Drive-ins and Dives called the

With beer in our belly, we headed to the Rivertown-Warehouse District of Detroit to drink more beer. Our beer came from the tanks at Atwater Brewery this time, and what a freaking cool place to drink beer this was. Imagine yourself sitting at a medium sized bar in the middle of a brewery's production process, during production. The smell of toasted wheat and barley float up to the warehouse's high ceilings, a hi-lo with pallets of wort whiz past us to the loading dock, the warehouse manager jokingly yells at one of his employees for slacking off.

We observe all of this quietly, trying not to ruin a perfect moment, sucking down the fruits of their back-breaking labor. It was a nice day outside, so they opened both ends of the warehouse to get a breeze off of the Detroit River which clanked into view with the opening of the back warehouse door. It was perfection and can never be replicated.

We took a stroll along the Riverwalk to cap off a perfect day, talked about what made Detroit so special, then took in a Tigers victory over the rival White Sox. We concluded that its the people of Detroit that make Detroit City such a unique, and happy place. A few years ago, the people living in Detroit were viewed by the suburbanites as renegades living a dangerous life. Similar to the people chasing dreams of gold in the Wild West. In fact, the old west and Detroit have a lot of similarities: they were both lawless (to an extent), dangerous to travel through, and ultimately lead to America's rebirth as a unified country. Maybe the new Detroit won't change the fabric of 21st century America, but the people who live here will continue to work hard, play hard, and make every effort possible to ensure their Detroit keeps its unique flavor and continues to attract the unique people that make Detroit City their home. Since I too call Detroit home, I hope one day I will be able to contribute to Detroit in a positive way and assist in making it a city to be modeled after.