Detroit Day 4: Welcome to Detroit
Rise and Shine: 7:35am
Today’s Forecast: Still hot. Raining.
Fitness: I’m sorry, what is this?
I finally recovered from my sleep deprivation from Tuesday/Wednesday. Nine hours of sleep was all I needed to reset my batteries since I normally only sleep six hours. After a lot of work the first half of the day, I got started around 3pm.
First Stop: Avalon International Breads
Although I had a green smoothie for breakfast, along with about two liters of water, I was absolutely famished when we headed to Avalon. Avalon is a Detroit staple and they are actually celebrating their 16th birthday this year. On my way there I was dreaming of a hot sandwich with avocado, but unfortunately the grill was down so that was not an option. I opted for the Momma Mia Foccacia and it was really really good. Even though I am supposed to be staying away from dairy, I cheated with this one. So glad I did. 
Besides the awesome breads, sandwiches and pastries, I love Avalon because of its community engagement. I often see Avalon at small neighborhood markets and I also love there wall space which is used for flyers and posters of upcoming events and small businesses. A few things caught my eye that I will be joining in on. So if you are looking for delicious food or just some bread, head on over to Avalon.
422 W. Willis St.
Detroit, MI 48201
(313)832-0008
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| Coming back through the tunnel |
Second Stop: Canada!
After driving Anka around and showing her a bit of Detroit, a Dutch girl also staying at the house, I dropped her off and headed over the border to pick up my friend Katie from the Windsor airport. She was flying in from Montreal.
I am super excited about her being in town for the weekend because she has never been Detroit and she will get to interact with my life here which is very different from my life in Rome, where we met. So please stay tuned to our adventures on Instagram and this blog all weekend.
Third Stop: Centaur
Tried and true. The first place that I took Katie was to Centaur which is one of my favorite bars in Detroit. I have held many hello goodbye cocktails here. The drinks are always good, the bartenders are fun and the happy hour is worth beelining it from work at 5pm to get in as many $5 martinis and 1/2 off food as possible before 7pm. But to be honest, the full price food and drinks are worth the money.
Centaur Bar
2233 Park Ave
Detroit, MI 48201
(313)963-4040
Forth Stop: Anita’s Kitchen
After one glass of wine and lots of laughs, my friend JQ suggested we head to Ferndale for drinks, but before that we needed to put some food in our bellies. I didn’t take any pictures of the food because I was starving and just dived in. JQ and I shared the chicken shawarma dish which came with rice, hummus and tabouli. One word: AMAZING! The black bean soup was also delicious. Katie had the falaffel sandwich that she said was good, not great. What she did like is that you can choose to have your falaffel baked or fried. If you love Lebanese food as much as I do be sure to head over to Anita’s. You will not be disappointed.
Anita’s Kitchen
22651 Woodward Ave
Ferndale, MI 48220
(248)548-0680
Fifth Stop: The Oakland
This was my second visit to the Oakland and as I did the last time I loved it. It is a very low key place that many people do not know about it. The good thing is even if a lot of people find out it still will not disrupt the mood because if there are no open seats you will not be allowed in.
Our waiter’s name was Shane and he did a very good of understanding what we like and finding a cocktail to match. I had the 100 year war and the La Antoinette (a drink he named after his wife). The latter was better than the former though it was still good in its own right. Katie had the French 75 which was yummy and I still can’t remember the name of JQ’s drink, but it was too strong for me.
The Oakland
201 W. Nine Mile Rd.
Ferndale, MI
(248)291-5295
http://theoaklandferndale.com/
Sixth Stop: Debauchery
I wish I could expand on this, but unfortunately there were confidentiality agreements involved that do not permit me to divulge what happened. I will just say we got back home around 7am.
