detroit’s had a bad rap for a while. if you didn’t know better, you’d think it was just one giant wasteland. you’d be surprised to know that detroit has loads of little nooks + crannies of streets and neighborhoods with many great restaurants, shops, breweries and coffee houses. one of those areas is called corktown.
here are some key places to go in corktown.
1. eat: gold cash gold
a pawn store turned restaurant has a small but delicious menu. what they did to the 132 year-old space is incredible and i noticed all the details. stop here for lunch, dinner or soon – brunch.
2. coffee: astro coffee
i don’t think hipsters refer to places as a “hipster place” (that was me calling me a hipster…. ha) but this place is pretty damn cool. funky music + vegan food offerings, this place has great coffee made by cute guys with unusual facial hair.
3. eat: mercury grill
i took some girls on my team here for lunch last year and we had a blast. just a good ole grill with awesome food (look at that dog!).
4. see:central michigan train station
i don’t know where to start with this building. built in 1913 after detroit’s original train station burned down, this abandoned train station is one of the most beautiful building i’ve ever seen. even abandoned and destroyed with graffiti it’s unbelievable. in fact, it has been said that it is a premier example of ruins photography or ruin porn. i first fell in love with it when i saw it for the first time during a lunch break at work. here was my first sighting of this building. i think my mouth fell wide open.
now, i don’t recommend that you go in this building, but if you were, this is what you’d see:
5. eat: slow’s bbq
arguably better bbq than anything i’ve had in texas! (them are fighting words down here!) but this place is so good! it’s always crowded but eat at the bar if you can – it’s more fun. and buy a long sleeve tee like we did.
