9:30 a.m. Brunch downtown
Beloved for its creative eggs Benedict and all-day breakfast, the Dime Store is a downtown brunch favorite. Fill up on a classic benny with Canadian bacon, poached eggs and Hollandaise, or go for something less traditional like the veggie benny with local mushrooms, roasted Roma tomato, spinach and avocado with eggs and hollandaise ($15 to $16). Other go-tos include omelettes ($15 to $17) and a spicy Cuban rice bowl with pulled chicken and an over-easy egg ($17.50). The restaurant occupies the ground floor of one of Detroit’s oldest skyscrapers, built in 1912 to house the Dime Savings Bank of Detroit. The upscale diner’s interior features portraits of Lady Liberty, the image on the American dime as it appeared from 1916 to 1945, and a portrait of President Dwight Eisenhower, whose financial policies were once dismissed as a “dime store New Deal.”
10:30 a.m. Photograph Detroit’s best public art
From the Dime Store it’s a 10-minute walk to the Detroit River. Along the way, pop into the Guardian Building, a 40-story Art Deco gem inspired by the designs of Native American and Aztec artists and adorned with tiles from Detroit’s Pewabic, one of the nation’s oldest pottery makers, as well as stained glass and Numidian marble from Africa. From there, walk along Woodward Avenue to Spirit Plaza and some of the city’s most iconic public artworks, including the bronzes “Spirit of Detroit,” by Marshall Fredericks, and “Monument to Joe Louis” (colloquially known as “The Fist”), by Robert Graham. Across the street, Hart Plaza offers its own art collection, most notably “The Gateway to Freedom” by Ed Dwight, which memorializes the enslaved people who traveled the Underground Railroad through Detroit on their final step toward freedom in Canada across the river.
11 a.m. Rolling on the river
The paved, multiuseDetroit RiverWalk trail measures 3.5 miles (and counting) and has transformed the city’s waterfront into one of its favorite green spaces. Rent wheels fromMoGo Detroit or walk the riverfront to reach a dozen attractions: theCullen Family Carousel, with sturgeons, egrets and other real and mythical Detroit River characters;Milliken State Park, with a small lighthouse and wetland; andAretha Franklin Amphitheatre, which fills with music all summer long. The trail is bordered by flowerbeds and public art and leads past cafes, picnic facilities and playscapes before ending atBelle Isle, a favorite oasis for generations of Detroiters. The island park is home to the century-oldBelle Isle Aquarium andAnna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory, a marble Art Deco lighthouse, bike paths, a kayak launch and a swimming beach.
1:00 p.m. Lunch at Baobab Fare
Take Detroit’s QLine streetcar from the riverfront to the New Center neighborhood for a lunch of East African food at Baobab Fare. The restaurant is owned by Nadia Nijimbere and Hamissi Mamba, Burundian refugees. Driven by a desire to bring the flavors of their homeland to Detroit, the couple opened Baobab Fare in 2021 and have succeeded in winning the Food Network’s “Chopped” competition and in becoming three-time semifinalists for the James Beard Award. Try the restaurant’s signature dish, nyumbani, beef slow-cooked in tomatoes and served with plantains and spinach ($21) or mbuzi, slow-roasted goat served alongside corn salad, plantains and stewed beans ($26). The coco mango makes a refreshing dessert: coconut cream topped with mango and a sprinkling of toasted coconut flakes on top ($9).
2:30 p.m. Learn the story of Motown
TheMotown Museum is set within houses that once served as the headquarters and recording studio for Berry Gordy’s music label. Mr. Gordy followed techniques he learned in Detroit’s auto industry, bringing in unpolished young performers, honing their music skills, teaching them poise and stage presence and sending them out the door as accomplished singers and musicians; think, the Supremes and the Temptations. Exhibits at the Motown Museum include album art, music and video clips, stage costumes and memorabilia from some of America’s most iconic performers: Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson and many others. A visit also takes you through the studio where Motown’s hits were recorded, the linoleum in the floor worn through from years of tapping feet ($20, reserve tickets online).
5 p.m. Enjoy shopping and drinks downtown
Detroit’s best shopping lies along Parker’s Alley, behind the Shinola Hotel. Check out Rebel Nell, a company that creates jewelry from colorful pieces of paint that have peeled off aging works of graffiti, or Bon Bon Bon, selling fine handmade chocolates and truffles (six-piece mix for $21). The Lip Bar sells cosmetics for all skin shades and Shinola’s flagship store offers luxury watches and accessories. A block away is the Belt, once merely a blasé alley, now a colorful, mural-filled space lined with fun watering holes. In summer, warm weather and strings of fairy lights encourage bar owners and their patrons to spill outdoors. Sip a cocktail at the Standby, with inventive boozy and non-alcoholic beverages; the Skip, with frozen drinks and a tiki theme; or Deluxx Fluxx, with a punk and hip-hop vibe.
7 p.m. Have dinner and drinks in a Detroit landmark
In the 18th century, Frenchmen named Détroit (“the straits”), so why not add a Parisian-inspired brasserie to your weekend? Le Suprême sits within the 1926 Book Tower and serves escargots à la Bourguignonne ($19), a melt-in-your-mouth wild mushroom tart ($19) and trout amandine ($36) made with Michigan rainbow trout, all delivered in a dining room of oxblood leather banquettes, imported art nouveau tiles and a zinc bar. The building’s nightcap options are worth checking out: Sakazuki, a casual pub with sake and anime graphics; Aladdin Sane, an upscale Japanese-inspired cocktail bar in the basement; or Kamper’s Rooftop Lounge with cocktails and bird’s-eye views of downtown. Whatever your evening plans, make time for a peek at the Book Tower’s lobby, a polished pink marble rotunda topped with a massive stained-glass and crystal skylight dating from the ’20s.
Source: Music - nytimes.com
