Detroit Skyline

Detroit is the largest city in the midwestern state of Michigan.  Near downtown, the neoclassical Detroit Institute of Arts is famed for the Detroit Industry Murals painted by Diego Rivera and inspired by the city's ties to the auto industry giving it the nickname "Motor City".  

Mural by Diego Rivera

Detroit is also the birthplace of Motown Records whose chart-topping history is on display at their original headquarters, Hitsville U.S.A.

Detroit is the most populous city in the state of Michigan.  It is the largest city on the Canadian border and the county seat of Wayne County.  The word "detroit" is French for "strait" and the French called the river "le detroit du Lac Erie" meaning "the strait of Lake Erie.  On July 24, 1701 a French explorer and nobleman by the name of Antoine de la Mothe, sieur de Cadillac founded Detroit.  

What do you call someone from Detroit?  Simply a Detroiter.  If from Michigan, you are called a Michigander.  Living in Detroit means coney islands; square pizza and corned beef egg rolls, lamp chops; baklava from Shatila Bakery in Dearborn, Faygo soda (Made in Detroit from 1907 to present) and Better Made which has been Michigan's favorite snack foods such as popcorn and potato chips for over 90 years founded by Peter Cipriano and Cross Moceri.  The name was changed in 2004 to Better Made Snack Foods.  Their slogan is "We just keep getting better!"

A drink named Boston Coolers are made with Detroit's original, Vernor's ginger ale and vanilla ice cream.  These coolers got its name from Detroit's Boston Boulevard.  The "Boston Cooler" originally meant a variety of concoctions ranging from a mix of sarsaparilla and ginger ale, to a scoop of ice of cream inside half a melon.  There are differing theories that credit Detroit resident Fred Sanders, who owned one of Detroit's first ice cream shops with first introducing the soda and ice cream combination to the Detroit area in the 1800s. If this actually was the case and Sanders did whip up this concoction himself, it seems only natural that his Detroit-based store would use a Detroit-made soda called Vernors.  Whatever its true origins Vernors eventually did trademark the term "Boston Cooler" in 1967 when it was preparing to launch its Vernors Boston Cooler flavored ice cream bar.  Whether the ice cream bar ever actually saw the light of day, the trademark tied Vernors and the Boston Cooler in our hearts and stomachs, forever! 

Dr. James Vernor, Michigan's first licensed pharmacist and the creator of Vernor's Ginger Ale. He was working on an elixir that would sooth stomach pains when he was called to the Civil War in 1862.  He, then, placed his project in a wooded barrel before leaving.  When Dr. Vernor returned from the Civil War, he tapped the wooden key he'd left 4 years earlier to discover a delicious new soda which he dubbed: Vernor's Gingle Ale. Dr. Vernor may not have known it, but he had created a Michigan stable that remains the United States' oldest pop produced today!

Dr. James Vernor

Another of Detroit's invented drinks is served at Mercury Burger & Bar called the Hummer milkshake.  It's a boozy concoction of rum, coffee liquer, vanilla ice cream and a swirl of fresh whipped cream.  

Lafayette Coney Island serves up chili fries.  If a single coney at Lafayette doesn't satisfy your tastebuds, order up a plate of fries topped with the house chili.  It's not fancy, but it's a staple in the Detroit diner diet.  In the dessert category, Detroiters and their beloved salted maple pie at Sister Pie in West Village serves up great pastries using Michigan ingredients.  While the flavors rotate monthly and seasonally, the salted maple pie is a standard-bearer that tastes great any time of the year .. especially with a dab of whipped cream on top! 

In the soup category, the Detroit area is known for their dill pickle soup (Polish Zuppa Ogorkowa).  The sharp dill flavor is complemented by notes of lemon.  Basically, it takes 10 ingredients, 30 minutes to make and doesn't require any cooking expertise.  

In other words, Detroit is filled with iconic ethnic dishes and drinks that speak to its global influence.