Our final day in Detroit was rainy and cold. The perfect day for a big ole brunch and a trip to a museum. We started the day with American breakfasts at The Apparatus Room. The restaurant is located in the Foundation Hotel and has a gift shop, live DJ, and a sweet lounge with a floating fireplace and modern grand chandelier. The vibe was fun and lively and a great place to get us out of our "15 minute walk in the freezing rain funk".
On our way back from the restaurant, we stopped at one of the most incredible displays of art and architecture in the Art Deco style. The Guardian Building is a true masterpiece of design, now and when it was built in the late 1920s. Nicknamed the Cathedral of Finance (a nod to NYC's Woolworth Building which was known as the Cathedral of Commerce), the Guardian Building has an impressive vaulted lobby complete with ornate domes, a Monel metal screen with a Tiffany clock, and murals by Ezra Winter depicting Michigan's various industries. It's an overload for your eyes, both inside building and out.
Seeing the Guardian Building put me in the mood for art and lucky for us, Detroit has a fantastic art museum, Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA). Themes of the museum include, Asian Art, American Art before 1950, Automobiles, African Art, Cats (yes, cats), Contemporary American Art after 1950, European Art, Sculptures, and Decorative Arts and Impressionism, just to name a few. We walked through a few halls on our way to the Impressionist Paintings and European Decorative Arts and then caught the incredible Exhibit by Detroit native, Tiff Massey. DIA is a brilliant art museum and a perfect way to spend a rainy and cold afternoon.
If we had more time, I would have loved to explore the Museum of African American History, The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit and the Detroit Historical Museum. We had about an hour to kill before dinner so wandered past Wayne State and into the Cass Corridor neighborhood of Midtown. The few block radius houses a couple of adorable gift shops, a record store owned by Jack White, and a local brewery. Thanks to the multiple museums, the university, and the historical old houses, the Midtown neighborhood of Detroit was right up my alley.
Another plus of Midtown Detroit, was our last, and maybe the best, meal of the trip at Seldon Standard. We snagged a chef's table and were able to see all the food being prepared for the entire restaurant. Matt and I were completely enthralled and it was definitely worth the cost of dinner and show! I loved how the menu was separated into vegetables and meat and we had a hard time choosing just a few options as they all sounded interesting and delicious. We started with the Roasted Carrots with harissa oil, yogurt, sesame, and walnut and the Oven Roast Squash with delicata, date jam, and goat cheese. Both were incredible. Next we nibbled on the Grill Octopus with sofrito, heirloom beans, and marinated peppers. Maybe the best octopus we've had outside of Greece. The following course was Roasted Cauliflower with tahini and pistachio dukkah. Chef's kiss! As our main course, we enjoyed the Grilled Michigan Pork with kohlrabi, coriander vinaigrette, seasonal fruit. Even though the chef's were extremely busy they still often checked in on the patrons at the bar and kept us all in good spirits with their lively conversation between the two of them. One chef manned the wood fire oven while the cooked over the open grill. It was incredible to see how the menu items came together. We have always been big fans of sitting at the bar or a chef's table. We like to see how the magic happens!
We've come to the end of our Detroit weekend. Such a fun way to check Michigan off my list of states to visit.
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