Motor City Madness -- The Auto Show's In Town

By far the highlight of my trip to Motown was attending the Detroit Auto Show at the Cobo Center in downtown Detroit. I was covering it as a member of the press, so I got to go from press conference to press conference and see the unveilings of some of the hottest 2004 cars, and some pretty far-out concept cars of the future.

Since my trip centered around the Auto Show, let me share with you some of the awesome cars I saw! I sat in a VERY expensive Lamborghini concept car, I sat in the fastest SUV in the world--the Porsche Cayenne (ah, a girl can dream.) I saw the Cadillac Sixteen concept--the first car with a 16-cylinder engine that pulls an impressive 1,000 horsepower and has a crystal logo on the grille. And that's just to name a few!

As far as Detroit itself goes, I wasn't terribly impressed. Most of what I saw was in downtown Detroit, mostly Greektown. We did try to go to the Motown Museum, and took the 15-minute ride on our hotel shuttle, but it was closed for rennovations. As for things to do, if you're not into losing money at the incredibly smoky Greektown Casino, the only thing left to do is eat (unless you have time to rent a car and go to Ann Arbor or something). I did get lucky enough to find several yummy restaurants to eat dinner in. My favorite was probably Fishbone's Rhythm Kitchen Cafe. Its Cajun flair was definitely something different.

Quick Tips:

My only suggestion is that if you find yourself on a business trip to Detroit--consider renting a car. Cabs and shuttles will only take you so far--especially if you're staying downtown. There wasn't even a movie theater within 15 minutes of downtown. But, hey, maybe you'll be into the strip clubs and the casinos.

Best Way To Get Around:

My hotel shuttle was my major means of transportation in and around downtown Detroit. Most of my transportation was to and from the Cobo Center where the Auto Show was being held. We also relied heavily on cabs to and from the airport. While I never managed to find an entrance to the People Mover--I also didn't try very hard--I saw a brochure about it, and it seemed to have lots of downtown stops. If you're traveling further, I suggest renting a car.

The name of the hotel is pronounced "Ath-en-nay-um," and they will correct you any time you pronounce it "Ath-en-nee-um."

Our rooms were amazing. We had non-smoking rooms on the sixth floor--and not just smoking-covered-up-with-air-freshener non-smoking, but never-been-smoked-in non-smoking. Each room is a suite, with a living room/desk area and a bathroom on the "first floor," and then a bedroom a few steps below. My room was equipped with two queen beds, two TVs (one for each level), and a minibar (very pricy, as all minibars are--$2.50 for a soda, $2.50 for a candy bar, etc.) The beds were comfy enough, however, the pillows started out really fluffy, but turned flat once you laid down on them.

The staff was also exceptional. The bellman opened the doors for you, the front desk called with the nicest wake-up calls, and the shuttle-bus drivers were great conversationalists. One even drove me to the CVS and waited for me to run in and get some NyQuil for my Detroit-inspired cold. They also went way out of their way to drive us to the Motown Museum, which was, alas, closed for renovations.

The Atheneum is located in Greektown, downtown Detroit. It has an adjacent casino--the Greektown Casino--and a restaurant--Fishbone's Rhythm Kitchen Cafe. It was pretty convenient to the Cobo Center, where the Detroit Auto Show was in full swing, but other than that, I can't imagine what else would compel someone to stay in that location--except for business reasons.

I did have a few beefs with the place. First, the lobby had a bar which wasn't closed off, so the lobby and hallways were very smoky. Second, we had requested the hotel specifically because it boasted high-speed Internet access--invaluable for the job we were doing. That high-speed connection consisted of one connection to one lobby computer that we could never get to work.

The rooms were about $190 a night. Room service was a bit pricey (a $7 slice of cheesecake?) but what room service isn't?

I'd give the rooms themselves an 8 out of 10, the staff a 9 out of 10, convenience (for business purposes) a 7, convenience (for anything else) a 5, and finally, Internet-access a 1.

The entrance to the Grapevine Cafe is through the Greektown Casino, so I was a little hesitant, thinking it would be too smoky for me to be able to taste my food. But, once inside, the air was fine, and so was the food.

Everything but the pasta was fried in some way, so we went all out and ordered the fried chicken dinner. Thirteen dollars and ninety-five cents bought you a whole side of chicken, a starch (I had the yummy mashed potatoes) and some veggies, with soup or salad. The soup was a rich tomato basil ravioli soup. Pour on those oyster crackers, and it's quite the treat. The whole dinner was very good, but I made sure to save just a bit for dessert.

The apple pie a la mode came warm and topped with Haagen Daaz vanilla ice cream. The crust had these sugar granuals baked into it, which gave it a crunchy texture and a little sweeter-than-normal flavor. It was good--not stellar--but good.

For two people, the bill came to about $46. The service was mixed. The hostess seemed not excited at all to be seating us, and seemed a bit put out when I requested a booth rather than a cramped table by the wall. Our server, however, was a good waiter. The refils were 'a plenty, and the check arrived without us having to ask for it.

The cafe was interesting in that there are brightly painted murals on the wall, depicting what I can only guess to be Detroit scenes. It was a cozy cafe, and filled up quickly for the dinner rush.

On a scale of 1-10, I'd give the food an 8, the service a 7, and the atmosphere a 7. I thought for what the food was, it was also reasonably priced.

Monroe St. Cafe was something we just stumbled on as we walked through Greektown looking for a spot to eat. When we walked in, it reminded me of the bar on Cheers, but much smaller. I'd say there were about 12 tables in total, and the centerpiece of the place was the wooden bar. The waitresses seemed to know most everyone in the place, and I thought someone would come in any moment and the whole place would yell "NORM!" There were folks smoking (Detroit was one of the smoky-ist places I've ever been. Ugh. But, it was well ventilated, so I didn't feel like I would choke.

We chose a seat in the corner--that gave me a great view of the neon wall art, which was the word "Detroit" and art of the Detroit skyline. Our waitress was a real sweetie, and doted on us like we were the only people in the place.

While the menu mostly consisted of steaks and seafood, I chose a plate of Chicken Fetuccini Alfredo. It arrived in under 10 minutes and looked so nice I didn't want to eat it. It tasted delicious, but there was so much that I only made it through about a third of the plate. I wish I could've taken it home in a box, but I had no way of heating it up in my hotel room.

I really liked this intimate setting and, like I said, the waitress was wonderful. She talked to us and really wanted to find out more about why we were in Detroit, etc. The food was excellent, though maybe a bit pricy. The bill for the two of us came to around $50. On a scale of 1-10, my ratings are an 8 for food, 9 for service, and 9 for atmosphere.

Thanks to the recommendations I found on IgoUgo, I knew I had to dine at Fishbones. And lucky for me, the restaurant was attached to my hotel!

Our first night in Detroit, we met with some other journalists covering the Auto Show, and had a quick "how-to" session on covering the show, all over some great food.

We couldn't decide on an appetizer, so we went all-out and got the appetizer platter. We had Alligator Voodoo (deep-fried alligator), Catfish Beignet (catfish fritters), calimari, and two kinds of hot wings--one set sweet and another spicy. My pick of the litter was the catfish, but I tried each option--except the calimari. The platter was a $30 smorgasbord.

Believe it or not, we were still hungry after that, so we each ordered an entrée. I had a 6-ounce filet mignon and some redskin potatoes. With a little bit of cajun spice, the meat had an incredible taste. In addition, it was very tender, and was well-complemented by the redskin potatoes. That rang up another $16 on the bill.

The total bill for four people at the table, was $104. The service was good--our waitress was on the ball with refills and so forth, but was a little slow on the first approach to the table. The atmosphere was okay. We were not seated in the restaurant itself, but in the breezeway between the restaurant and the hotel, so I didn't feel like I got the full experience of Fishbones.

We also got to try Fishbone's breakfast menu--again because the restaurant was next to our hotel. The blueberry pancakes were pretty good, and there was also a continental breakfast offered. Per person, you could do a decent breakfast for under $10

Overall, here's how I'd rate Fishbones on a scale of 1-10: food an 8, service a 7, atmosphere a 7.

I was covering the auto show as a member of the press, so it was especially exciting since I was running from display to display to see the actual unveiling of some of the coolest cars you can imagine.

What happens is this: each car manufacturer has a display on the floor. Get yourself a floor map, or you could easily get lost! For the press, they have a big, bang-up revelation of their next-year's models with a lot of pomp and circumstance, and they also reveal some of their design concepts for cars of the future--some of which will get built, while others may not. This goes on for three days for the press, then there are three days for the industry folks to come in and check out the show while schmoozing; after that, the show is open to the public. This all happens at the beginning of January each year. I believe it starts the first Sunday in January. Some of the cars are very accessible--you can play with the remote-controlled doors, sit in the drivers seat, play with the buttons, etc. Others, like the Ferrari concept car, are under much security, and you're just allowed to ooh and aaah at them.

In my humble opinion, some of the best cars revealed at the Auto Show were the Cadillac Sixteen, the Dodge Tomahawk concept, and the Honda Studio E concept car. The Cadillac Sixteen was revealed at the Opera House in downtown Detroit, and was followed by a big shindig. The Sixteen is the first car with a 16-cylinder engine, which can pull 1,000hp. The Cadillac logo on the grille is decked out in crystal. The Honda Studio E is like a club on wheels; it has lots of musical innovations, and you can plug a PC, an electric guitar, and even a mixing board to mix your own tunes. You can maybe even show videos on the plasma-screen TV. The interior is mostly black, with a red velvet-like trim that definitely makes you feel like you could be in Studio 54 (its namesake.) The Dodge Tomahawk stole the show, however. Usually, the press has a general idea of what each of the manufacturers will show, though we may not know exactly what they'll look like. The Tomahawk was a complete surprise. It's a concept MOTORBIKE! It has four wheels and can go from 0-60 mph in 2.5 seconds. When asked if they'd produce it, Daimler Chrysler said "maybe."

You could easily walk some 15 miles among these amazing cars. Some of the other facts, according to the show producers include:
1. The electricity for all the displays and shows could power a 360-home subdivision for six months.
2. The carpet used at the show could cover 600 homes.
3. The value of the displays and cars at the show? Over $200 million!

I've been to Vegas, so I guess I'm comparing the Greektown Casino to what I know of the casinos there. This one can't hold a candle to the casinos in Vegas. When we first visited on a Saturday night around 9pm, it was so smoky that you could hardly see the neon and flashing lights of the slot machines, and it was really crowded. You couldn't find a blackjack table with a minimum bet under $25, and it didn't seem to have the variety of slot machines that I saw in Las Vegas. There were some nickel slots, but they were few and far between.

The casino occupies two floors, and the second floor is the same as the first. Nothing much different about it. So after a quick walk around and gasping for air, we left feeling kind of icky about the whole thing, and a bit depressed.

When we went back, just for kicks, on a Tuesday evening around 7pm, it was much less crowded, but still a smokestack. I made quick use of a $5 bill by playing a nickel slot--notably, the Frong Prince. I played 10 lines for 5 spins, and didn't match a single line. I made a quick look for a blackjack table, and again the minimum bets were $25 (hello? anyone ever hear of a $5 table?) so I took my leave of the casino--again, only after about 10 minutes.

Let's just say I wasn't impressed. But gambling isn't really my thing. I went in for a lack of other entertainment. It wasn't worth it for me, so I just headed back to the hotel room.