Marc and I took a day off together last Friday and we spent it in Detroit, ticking off places we’d wanted to visit for a long time. We started with breakfast at Rose’s Fine Food. It’s a sweet little spot with creative, seasonal food. Strangely enough, Marc had been inside this same building when he was a kid and it was a typical diner.
The star of our meal was Marc’s choice of Eggy’s Shrimp Boat. It was heirloom rice with kimchi, scallions, Michigan shrimp and a poached egg. It was incredible. The housemade toast was perfect on the side.
Our day off coincidentally fell on the day that Sister Pie opened their new shop. How lucky for us! They were the 2014 Hatch Prize winners, which earned them $50,000 toward opening their own pie shop. When we walked in, one of the sisters was taking a picture of the line that had formed. All hands were on deck, including mother pie, who helped us and was so sweet. We ordered 3 slices of pie (salted maple + chocolate coconut + lemon meringue) and a chocolate chip buckwheat cookie to-go.
Our trip to Detroit was planned around a visit to the Diego + Frida exhibit at the DIA. The exhibit mostly focused on Diego’s work on his mural at the DIA and Frida’s emergence as an artist while they were both in Detroit. Diego’s work is impressive and his murals at the DIA are one of my favorite things to see, but I was really interested in seeing Frida Kahlo’s work in person. Her artwork is on a smaller scale and I found myself, probably to the dismay of others, with my face as close to her art as possible. The color and the detail was lovely to see up close. No photos were allowed in the exhibit, but I bought the postcard above because it’s one of my favorite images of her.
After learning more about Diego Rivera’s history and politics in the exhibit, we had to revisit his mural, “Detroit Industry” and look closer at each panel. After seeing pictures of what the room looked like without the brightly hued fresco, it’s hard to imagine the DIA without this important piece of art.
It was such a beautiful day! Marc opened the sun roof and I loved feeling the sun on my shoulders.
I have heard so many stories from Marc’s family about their trips to Belle Isle as kids, all ending with what a shame it is that the park isn’t what it was. The 982 acre, city-owned park fell into disrepair for a while, but in 2013 the state signed a 30 year lease to manage the park and have been improving the grounds, intending to spend $20 million over 3 years.
The aquarium was closed, but we visited the conservatory and botanical gardens. Everything was beautiful. Architect Albert Kahn designed both the conservatory and aquarium while Eero Saarinen designed a pavilion on the property and Cass Gilbert, designer of the United States Supreme Court Building, designed Belle Isle’s James Scott Memorial Fountain. The park has a fascinating history and it’s wonderful that people can enjoy it again.
For lunch, we stopped by Gold Cash Gold in Detroit’s corktown neighborhood. Everything we had was fantastic! I’ll do a more in-depth post on our visit, but let me leave you with Marc’s lunch: a meatball sandwich draped in rich, red sauce and topped with burrata cream (!!!) Marc out-ordered me all day long.
Astro Coffee is just a few doors down from Gold Cash Gold and Marc had never been. We both ordered a pretty latte and reflected on our good day in Detroit.
We parked near Michigan Central Station, so I told Marc I wanted to hop across the street for a quick picture before heading home.
And for dinner we dipped into those Sister Pie slices! My favorite was coconut chocolate and Marc’s favorite was the lemon meringue, but everything we took home was fantastic. That buckwheat chocolate chip cookie? Incredible.
Rose’s Fine Food 10551 East Jefferson Detroit, Michigan
Sister Pie 8066 Kercheval Street Detroit, Michigan
Detroit Institute of Art 5200 Woodward Avenue Detroit Michigan
Belle Isle 300 River Place Drive Detroit Michigan
Gold Cash Gold 2100 Michigan Avenue Detroit, Michigan
Astro Coffee 2124 Michigan Avenue Detroit, Michigan
Michigan Central Station 2405 West Vernor Highway Detroit, Michigan