Another "3Day Hard Target Adventure"
So, we went to Detroit. The hard target was the DIA, Detroit Institute of Art. People and publications say this museum is second only to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. And, THAT, it is. But before we dive into the DIA, let me say a few words of introduction. First, when I told friends I was Detroit bound, for the most part, they said "why" or "what's in Detroit?"
I do understand that negative perception of the city. We all know what happened when the financial crash turned the city into a mass exodus, defunct businesses, abandoned homes, in a word, a dump. And that is when most of us left Detroit for dead. But the city rallied. I don't know what I was expecting but it was not what I found! In summary, I came upon a forward thinking city, that respects its origins, that is, it's still the motor city, with a raw "ain't no mountain high enough" attitude that permeates the air and pulls you progress bound with it.
Yes, I get it, I was a tourist staying in the "good part" of town. And yes, not far outside the "greenzone," things deteriorate. But how is that different from any other US city? What
IS different is that this city, Detroit, has an above ground public-private effort monorail circling the downtown area giving the CBD a space age look (
https://www.thepeoplemover.com), transporting you all over town, and the ride is free. They are pushing the envelope and you can sense that as the concentric waves of DOING instead of just talking spread, Detroit will continue to push with determination, ENERGY, optimism, a one for all and all for one attitude, closer and closer to being-back.
The trip was meant to be on that day because Gladys Knight was on the plane! A woman with a much older version of that cute nose she had waltzed on wearing a black jacket with Gladys Knight in fushia glitter. Given the fact that, it is known Gladys lives around these parts, there is good reason to believe that the Motown star!! was riding my plane to Detroit!
With regard to Motown (Hitsville), I can tell you that if you have not been on location, you do not,
DO NOT, know what you are missing (
https://www.motownmuseum.org.
) The little 10 by 12 room where all this glorious, timeless music happened is, well, a little 10 by 12 room. You can feel the presence of Marvin Gaye and Diana Ross and David Ruffin and Stevie Wonder and the sheer genius of Berry Gordy soaking through your skin. And the stuff we did not know! Marvin Gaye started as the drummer! And Paul McCartney paid Steinway to refurbish the centuries old piano sitting in that little 10 by 12 room that was the backbone of the beat. Who knew?
But you read The Public Palate for wine and food insights, so let's go there. We stayed at the David Whitney. The hotel is a converted medical building. The glass paneled doors still line the hallways. You can imagine a lot of white coats and big outdated equipment behind those doors but you can also imagine detectives with hats and cigarettes. Cool. From my window, I can see a building about 4 blocks away that changes from turquoise to pink all night. Really cool.
I'm hungry. The bag of pistachio nuts on the plane from Charlotte to Detroit (only a little over an hour!) was long ago. The concierge recommends "San Morello" down the street, which is the restaurant for The Shinola Hotel. The place is spacious but cozy, lively, well done. And guess what, the special tonight, the server says, is Frappato! The wine menu is thick and full of promise. We roll through glasses of Frappato, Chenin Blanc and a bottle of Erbaluce that we shared with our server. The sommelier, Kyle, who is wearing a trendy tuxedo-esque suit, introduced himself to us and we chatted a good venti minuti about the wine business up north.
No doubt, we will return to Detroit and San Morello.
On to the DIA. After a day, from 9am doors to 4pm closing time at the Detroit Institute of Art, we headed to Vertical, a "wine centric" restaurant. The wine list was page after page of amazing bottles. Clearly, someone knows their stuff.
The someone is Jim Lutfy who, together with his daughter compiled this stairway to heaven. Jim started selling wine from his family’s small business, Cloverleaf Market, over 40 years ago. At Cloverleaf, he was recognized by several publications, including Market Watch Magazine, Wine Spectator Magazine, Detroit Free Press, and Crain’s Detroit Business, as an industry leader in the national retail wine business throughout the country.
Jim's daughter Rémy Lutfy, spent her summers in high school interning at different wineries in the Napa Valley, including Darioush, Spelletich Cellars, and Schweiger Vineyards. Remy attended the University of California, Davis! Oh yes she did!
We tell our server that we want a bottle of Nerello Mascalese, something that does not need much air, that is to say, ready to drink now. As there were three bottles of Nerrello Mascalese on the wine list, our server went the distance and called Jim to ask for just the right bottle. OMG! The recommendation from Jim, a bottle of 2018 Terre Nere Nerello Mascalese, was spot on. Without question, from our experience, one of the best bottles in country.
Definitely going back to Vertical.
Oh yeah, the DIA, the target. The art. The sculpture, the etc. Even the exposed brick cafe, which served quality wine BTW, was a European Church essentially turned inside out! The collection, from Tiepolo to Tintoretto to Rembrandt to Van Gogh to work from artists in 2022. I cannot say enough about DIA. We did not have time to visit the Detroit Public Library or Detroit Historical Museum or the art collection at Wayne State University* all within a few blocks but, as I said, we will be back.
* What's at Wayne State? Mel Rosas! A Panamian American, Detroit based, Wayne State University Professor, award winning artist. I first discovered Mel Rosas at The Columbia Art Museum in South Carolina where you can find two pieces of his work in their permanent collection.
Detroit is CLEAN, safe and populated with real nice folks. Detroit is the future.
That's what's in Detroit!
