Recap: 24 hours in Detroit

Last week was a pretty rough week for me. It started with getting hit by my daughters’ stomach bug on Sunday, which had me the sickest I’ve been in a long time. It wasn’t until Thursday that I felt more like myself again. Then, it was also Stella’s spring break. Not having the routine of school and ability for her to get her energy out led to a lot of frustrations, especially when I wasn’t feeling 100%.

It was a rough week for a lot of my friends, too, between sickness, spring break, and job stress. Thankfully, we had a light at the end of the tunnel: a quick weekend getaway to Detroit to celebrate our friend Tessa’s birthday. How the group of us were all available and able to settle on a weekend of activities on two weeks’ notice was a miracle. The other miraculous component was the string of absolutely gorgeous spring weather, which always makes any situation better.

There are so many great things to see and do in Detroit, but often I find that I only make it there for a concert or special event. The opportunity to explore and spend the night in the city was long overdue, and we had the best restorative 24 hours ever.

Here are a recap and list of recommendations from our weekend in Detroit!

Saturday

Because there were seven of us driving down to Detroit and spending the night, we drove separately. I took my car with my friends Linda and Ellen. We left the Lansing area around 12:30 and went straight toward Eastern Market. I’m embarrassed to say that before last weekend, I hadn’t been to Eastern Market before. I know! Our mission was to get a slice of pizza from Suppino Pizzeria for lunch, per Ellen’s recommendation.

By the time we got into town, we were very hungry. Suppino was packed with people, which is always a great sign. We each ordered a pepperoni slice, and it was well worth the wait. It was so lovely outside that we ate our pizza outside on the sidewalk.

After lunch, we walked around Eastern Market where we picked up additional treats, such as pierogi and a miniature key lime pie. I asked if we could swing by Henry the Hatter, where my cousin Kt works; I didn’t expect her to be there because it was her birthday, but she was working that day. It was fun catching up with her and trying on some of the hats. Next door is a store called Mitten Crate, which sells great curated gift boxes of Michigan-related treats, but you can also purchase items individually.

There are also dozens of murals and pieces of street art on the buildings surrounding Eastern Market that were perfect for photos. Ellen and I joked that this mural encompassed both of our auras.

And this one we called “Ellen’s perfect man”:

After walking around and enjoying the beautiful day, we made our way to our hotel for the weekend, Trumbull & Porter. Located in Corktown close to old Tigers Stadium, this very hip boutique hotel was the perfect option for our group. The room rates were less than most other hotels, there was ample parking right by the front entrance, and we weren’t far from any of the places we planned to go.

The interior had a great industrial meets antique feel, and definitely paid homage to the Motor City. I loved that the little sundries shop inside had plenty of Better Made Chips and Faygo options.

The center courtyard of the hotel had a lot of yard games like corn hole and a large Connect Four, as well as a fire pit. I imagine it would be a lot of fun to be there again in the summertime.

After the other gals arrived, we got ready and made our way to the Siren Hotel to visit Candy Bar. While we had several bar ideas on our list, Candy Bar was our top pick. We learned that it would be quite a wait to get inside, but we could order drinks and sit in the lobby of the hotel.

We lucked out by finding an area near the front windows of the hotel to hang out and order cocktails. In many ways, it didn’t feel like we were sitting around waiting at all, even though it took close to an hour and a half to get inside Candy Bar.

The cocktail I ordered was called West of the Sun. I’m not the biggest cocktail person, if only because I like wine and feel bad ordering an expensive cocktail when I’m not positive how I will like it. But this drink was smooth, pretty, and so refreshing.

We finally were called into Candy Bar, behind a thick pink velvet curtain, and were transported into a whole new world. There’s a reason why Candy Bar was named the most beautifully designed bar in Michigan by Architectural Digest. It exudes a Hollywood glamour feel, with a gorgeous chandelier, huge disco ball, and pink everywhere. Everything is lush and velvety. We couldn’t believe our luck that they arranged to have the seven of us seated at the bar.

This place is so tiny and special, but completely worth the wait. It truly felt like being transported to another time and place.

After Candy Bar, we got rides over to The Apparatus Room for our 9:00pm dinner reservation. By the time we arrived we were all hungry, so all of the restaurant’s delicious offerings sounded amazing.

Our server Melanie was top notch. I loved her honesty about her favorite dishes and her sense of humor. She could tell we were a fun, celebratory group, and she joined in on that fun.

Several of us ordered the short rib, and it was nothing short of spectacular. Truly, it is a must-order. So tender and flavorful. The delicious meal also helped distract our group of Spartans from the disastrous Final Four game for MSU.

After dinner, we made our way back to the hotel for presents and night night.

Sunday

In the morning, I stopped by the cute little coffee bar inside of our hotel to grab something for myself and my roommates Ellen and Linda. This might be the only complaint I have about the weekend, but the coffee bar was a sub-par experience. The woman working there was very sweet, but struggled with remembering the details of my order and executing the drinks. A chai tea latte ended up having espresso in it, and I had to ask several times for the croissant I ordered. For the expense (over $20 for three small lattes and a croissant), I would have expected better.

That Sunday morning, we had plans to have brunch at Bobcat Bonnie’s in Corktown before heading back to the Lansing area. Bobcat Bonnie’s opens at 10:00am, so we were right there when it opened to get a table for our larger group.

I loved Bobcat Bonnie’s right away. The music was like listening to 95.5 or 93.1 back in the late 90s/early 00s and I loved everything about it. They featured a large Bloody Mary and Mimosa bar, as well as a serve yourself coffee bar with lots of add-ins and mis-matched mugs.

Our server Joey was great and very attentive. We ordered one of their large almond and cherry cinnamon rolls to split. Seriously, it was ginormous. With six people eating, we still had some leftover.

I ordered the smothered potatoes with over-medium eggs, a dish that was apparently featured on the Cooking Channel’s “Cheap Eats.” It was so good and I highly recommend it, although my friend Linda’s Cap’n Crunch crusted chicken on her chicken and waffles was also praiseworthy.

After our delicious brunch, we made our way back to the Lansing area, getting back by 1:00pm. A full 24 hours of yummy food, drinks, and wonderful friends.

I really hope that we can make a habit of making these types of plans together as a group. We can’t let jobs and kids and pups and obligations stop us from taking time to celebrate friendship.

I can’t recommend the places we visited enough and hope I get the chance to visit them again sometime… along with all of the other places we had on our to-do list.

Thank you, Detroit, for a great kickoff to the spring.