Say Nice Things About Detroit

Detroit is a great sports town, has a few top-rate cultural experiences, and many very good restaurants.

Quick Tips:

The city itself can be scary at night. Get a map and know where you're going when driving. If you want to go somplace and walk around, I suggest downtown Royal Oak or Birmingham. Royal Oak has plenty of restaurants and bars while Birmingham has lots of upscale shops. To find out about what's going on, pick up a copy of the Metro Times (on Wednesday) or one of the two Detroit papers (especially on Friday). The Metro Times can be found at coffee shops, bars, cafe's, etc.

Best Way To Get Around:

ALWAYS have a car when you come to Detroit. Public transportation is almost non-existant here. The attractions are spread out from the downtown to the suburbs. It's the ONLY way to travel.

D'Amato's is probably my favorite Italian Restaurant. The menu is somewhat small but changes daily. I've never had a bad meal here. The food is excellent and the portions are large. They have a large wine list as well. It has a beautiful interior, lots of wood with nice decorations. It is also connected to Goodnight Gracie's, a small but popular martini bar with live jazz music at night.

Legend has it that Louis is the father of the Detroit-style pizza. He apparently cooked it for two other restaurants before opening his own many years ago.

The menu has basic Italian entrees on it, but people come here for the pizza. It might best be described as upside-down pizza. From bottom-top: Crust-Pepperoni-Cheese-Sauce-Other Toppings. The cheese and sauce aren't like on other pizza's though. They're just a little richer and a little more tangy. For an appetizer, I suggest the antipasto salad. It's swimming in their own Italian dressing. Get a cold beer or a bottle of Chianti to wash it down.

This isn't a fancy place. It's a basic pizza joint filled with blue-collar folk who know good food when they taste it. The walls are covered with empty Chianti bottles bearing the magic marker scribbles of their consumers. It's a pretty nice effect!

The big weirdism about this place: CASH ONLY. No checks or credit cards accepted! Don't forget or you'll be washing dishes.

Louis' is located about a mile south of I-696 (Reuther Freeway) on Dequindre, past the race track.

This is my favorite restaurant in Detroit's Greektown. It seems to have the best food and you don't pay for a lot of foo-foo decor. If you can't decide what you want, try one of the combo plates (that's what I do).

A Detroit Greektown tradition (stolen from Chicago's Greektown) is to get the flaming cheese (kasseri) appetizer. Opa!

The location is excellent, on the corner of Monroe and St. Antoine. Try to get a window seat so you can watch the people go by.

Greenfield Village is, in my opinion, the best tourist attraction in Metro Detroit. It was founded by Henry Ford (who was probably a little crazy) way back in 1929. It is a collection of historic American buildings which have all been moved here. My favorites are the several Thomas Edison buildings, including the lab where the light bulb was perfected. I also like how much the employees get into historic "character". It really transports you back to a different time. The whole place is really impressive, and not to be missed while in Detroit.

Henry Ford Museum is right next door and can be visited for a seperate admission. I haven't been there in a long time so I won't comment further.

Their website: http://www.hfmgv.org

The Detroit Zoo is an above average zoo that is trying hard to become even better. In the last few years they've created a new ape exhibit (Chimps and Gorillas in their natural habitat) and Amphibiville (Frogs, lizards, etc.). The new Arctic Ring of Life exhibit will open in October 2001.

The facility is clean and well maintained. There is a train that goes from the front to back in case you're tired of walking.

The zoo is owned by the City of Detroit, but actually located in the City of Royal Oak. You can enter the parking lot off of the WB I-696 service drive or SB Woodward Avenue (M-1). Just watch the signs, you can't miss it.

www.detroitzoo.com

The new home of the Detroit Tigers is a nice place to catch a ball game. However, I miss the old Tiger Stadium and think that the CoPa is a bit too antiseptic for my tastes.

The amenities include cupholders at every seat, a huge scoreboard, a water fountain in center field that shoots off when the Tigers hit a home run, and a ferris-wheel and carousel for the kids.

The police have been pretty diligent about not allowing ticket selling around the park, so it's best to secure your seats before hand or go to the ticket booth. Sell-outs are rare. My one recommendation is do NOT sit in the upper deck. It's pretty far away from the field and feels like you're in a different ZIP code.

The Woodward Dream Cruise is an annual event that draws over a million people to drive, view, and enjoy classic automobiles. If you like classic cars, or even if you don't, this is one event that you shouldn't miss.

Woodward Avenue was a popular cruising drag for Detroiters in the 1950's and 60's. The cruise allows people to relive those bygone days by driving their well-preserved automobiles up and down Woodward again. Folks, this is arguablly the biggest event in Metro Detroit.

It's officially held on the third Saturday of August, but the cruising usually starts mid-week and continues onto Sunday. My advice: if you can get there early on Saturday (before noon) bring your lawnchair and camp out along the side of the road and watch the cars file by. If you can't, or like to keep moving, just walk up and down Woodward, stopping to view the thousands of cars that are parked along the side.

More info from their website at www.dreamcruise.org