a michigan foodie adventure
Inspired by the Southeast Michigan food tour on www.michigan.org, we decided to make Saturday a mini-roadtrip foodie adventure. We set our gameplan: support local growers, cafe’s and artisans. Split meals. Enjoy the sunshine. With our iphone’s GPS and camera we embarked south to Detroit.
Located in the heart of Corktown, across from the beautiful landmark train station, Astro Coffee greeted us with java made with love and attention. I am a self-proclaimed coffee aficionado, and this cup was like a glorious gift from heaven – it reminded me of a European coffee experience. Each cup is ground and made to order with 6 blends to choose from – not to mention the espresso beverages. The atmosphere is sophisticated – with gorgeous simple urban design, great music and enthusiastic crowd. I think I found my new favorite coffee spot in Detroit.
Fully caffeinated, we steered our GPS towards one of the best farmer’s markets in America.
Eastern Market– 2934 Russell Street // Detroit, MI 48207
Perhaps one of the largest farmer’s markets in the country, Eastern Market has 3 central sheds with hundreds of vendors surrounding the area. The atmosphere is electric. Sounds echo of different cultures, languages, laughter and calls of deals to be had. Doug and I hit the market with our list in hand. Our strategy: complete a walk through to scope out the best deals and freshest produce – then get to deal making. We visited our “pork guy” – J&M – he knows us by name and has the best bacon I have ever tasted. Ever. We stocked up on produce from some of the urban farming communities of Detroit and even picked up some locally roasted coffee from the guys at Great Lakes Coffee Company.
After we completed our weekly shopping, we packed up the cooler and headed northbound on Woodward Ave.
Rust Belt Market– 22801 Woodward Avenue // Ferndale, MI 48220
I heard about the Rust Belt Market from a friend at work and thought I would have to check out an analog Etsy. Located in the heart of Ferndale (an eclectic downtown well worth an entire day trip), the market feels at home in this community. We mingled with artists, drooled over Detroit inspired t-shirts and listened to some live acoustic music center stage. We will definitely be back.
Inspired and ready for some lunch, we headed Southeast towards Ypsilanti.
Sidetrack Bar and Grill – 56 East Cross Street // Ypsilanti, MI 48198
Listed by GQ as the one of the 20 Hamburgers You Must Eat Before You Die, Sidetrack ‘s famous burger did not disappoint. We ordered a burger to split (with goat cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles and onion). We enjoyed the atmosphere of eclectic mooseheads and railroad memorabilia while watching an Amtrack go by bound for Chicago just few feet away from the window.
After a quick bite, Doug was ready to try some craft beer in the heart of Wolverine country.
Arbor Brewing Company – 114 East Washington // Ann Arbor, MI 48104
Located off of Main Street in downtown Ann Arbor, the Arbor Brewing Company offers an atmosphere representing the spirit of this college community. They are dedicated to locally sourced ingredients and are proud to serve a large selection of craft beer. Doug enjoyed their sampler and we split a caprese salad and beer marinated chicken sandwich. Some of the best people watching can be found in Ann Arbor, so we sat outside and listened to street performers, students and families. Afterwards we wandered the downtown galleries, boutiques and novelty stores (great comic book store on Main Street).
As the sun was starting to set we headed further West to Dexter.
Terry B’s Restaurant and Bar – 7954 Ann Arbor Street // Dexter, MI 48130
Sometimes you have a food experience that builds lasting memories. We weren’t expecting this from a small restaurant in Dexter, but each course brought a smile and “oh my gosh, this is incredible” moment. As seen above, we started with a strawberry melon soup with prosciutto. Splurged on homemade potato chips with gorgonzola and finished the meal with a shrimp, goat cheese and pesto pizza (which was more like a work of pastry art than pizza dough). We chose to sit on the deck, watch the sunset and reflect on the day full of adventure, laughter and food to remember for a lifetime.
Krystle Rose
Man, I need to get out more. Astro Coffee looks amazing. Good coffee, giant chalkboard, pretty signage … count me in. Of course Eastern Market is a great choice and I still need to check out Rust Belt Market. We of course love Seva when we go to Ann Arbor, but a brew sampler sounds delicious too.
admin
Thanks for the comment – I know you would love Astro – can’t wait to hear about it when you get the chance.
John Mac
Beautiful. Well done. As in, the Sidetrack burger and UU&A.com. 😉
Oh, and the drool-worthy shirts you captured in your photo are the brain-children of a friend of mine and many: Chris Gorski. DetroitGT (DetroitGraphicTees) knocks out great design, all the time. The sticker on the back of my car? Yup.
Jerry Graham
Sounds like you and Doug had a great time. My kind of trip food food and food. Miss you guys, hope to see ya soon.
brandon
loved astro. when I was in town. love the blog!
Heather Caughel
I LOVED reading your blog! Very well done. Makes me want to head out this weekend on the same trip, BUT then again not with 3 kids
Miss ya…Hope all is going well
steve swartz
Great post! Thought of you today when I passed Astro Coffee. Almost stopped but was low on time. Anna and I will be down there Saturday. Must. Stop. By.
Susan Healan
I loved every part of your pictures and discriptions of your experience. Wonderful! Hope to see some when I come. Your Granfather would have loved sidetracks with the train going past.
free iphone 5
GREAT REVIEW! I agree with all your thoughts you said in your article, especially at the end of your article. Thank you, this info is very valuable as always. Keep up the good work! You’ve got +1 more reader of your blog:) Isabella S.
Pitty
Great comments! Sounds great, I love to visit great small eating places when I traveled. I spent quite a bit of time searching for good restaurants in Detroit. I will be there next week. Now I am searching for a great small dinner place.