A Day in Detroit // 313 Link Up {beautiful places}

I am so, so excited that 313 Day is finally here! For those of you who don't know, 313 Day, March 13th, celebrates Detroit (area code 313).  Allie and I thought that we could get in the spirit and spread some well-deserved Detroit love by linking up with some other Detroit area bloggers to show how much the Motor City offers.  If you have some Detroit love in you, feel free to join in and share some of your favorite Detroit things!  The more 313 love, the better! 

Some of my favorite . . .

Detroit Eats

Mudgie's || aka the sandwich shop of all sandwich shops. Name an ingredient and they have it on a sandwich.  Okay, that's a lie, but many of their sandwiches are so unique that I would have never come up with them on my own.  I've only eaten here once, but I definitely want to go back and try the dozens of other sandwiches that sounded so, so delicious.  The amazing food + the small, hipster-ish atmosphere makes for the Best Deli five years running. 

I wish that I could say more about this place, but it's seriously so, so cool and you need to add it to your Detroit bucket list (and then promptly get to crossing that off!).

Also, I am not a food photographer, so just trust me when I tell you that something tasted good. 

The Kenna! Well, I think it is.  Whatever this masterpiece was, my tastebuds certainly enjoyed it! 

Slows || You may have heard of this one.  Even though it's not very old, Slows BBQ is making a huge impression all over the country. I wrote a more detailed post on Slows about a year ago, but here's a basic rundown: The building is really cool, the service is supah speedy, you should not step out of the restaurant without trying the mac&cheese (you'll like it possibly become obsessed with it), you'll find your favorite BBQ sauce, and make a mess in the process.  Slows is super trendy and that's where you'll find the cool kids.

Yum. Pure yum.

We're not calling this a mess. It's modern art.

Detroit Places

Fox Theatre || Built in 1928 as a movie theatre, the Fox is more like the throne room of a palace than any AMC that I've been to.  I absolutely love coming to the Fox, even though it's not for movies anymore. Whether I'm seeing the Rockettes, Hunter Hayes, or even eating breakfast with Santa, getting dressed up to see a show at the Fox is such a fun time.  No matter how many times I enter through its doors, I don't think that I will ever stop gaping at the detail and beauty that it possesses. 

What the Fox looks like from the stage! I was able to take a tour last Christmas and seeing all the signatures of everyone who has ever preformed there on the walls backstage was pretty darn cool.  

John K. King Bookstore || This place is seriously stacked. With books, upon books, upon books, that is.  There are literally one million books housed here.  The former warehouse turned used bookshop has such a cool atmosphere that's hard to describe. Maybe it's just the intense book nerd inside of me, but if you love reading/vintage/hipster/old/cool, then you would like John K. King.  It's constantly rated in the tops of lists deeming it one of America's coolest, largest, and most beautiful bookstores. 

Detroit Traditions/Culture

Thanksgiving in Detroit || For the past three years I've spent at least part of my Turkey Day in the D.  From attending my first Lions game on Thanksgiving in 2012, to running in the Turkey Trot 10K in 2013, and watching the parade with my family last year, I would say that I have fully experienced a Detroit Thanksgiving.  Spending time downtown on the holiday has quickly become one of my favorite traditions and I look forward to hopefully running up and down Woodward for the 10K again next year. 

Being sidelined for this year's Turkey Trot was hard, but getting to cheer on and high-five thousands of people breaking a sweat wasn't bad.

Oh, well, hey there, Big Sean! Fancy seeing you here! 

Detroit Sports || There's a reason that Detroit is ranked the #1 sports city.  Detroiters love Detroit sports, and that is a fact. Take the Lions, for example.  Maybe one of these days a Super Bowl winning team will come from Detroit, but in the meantime, Lions fans will keep on cheering, even when their beloved team comes out 0-16.  Between the Tigers (baseball), Red Wings (hockey), Lions (football), Pistons (basketball, even though this team isn't located directly in Detroit.) and the Indy 500 track, the Detroit sport experience is unbeatable.

Sorry, this picture section is biased because the Red Wings have a huge place in my heart followed distantly by the Tigers.

Joe Louis Arena is one of the oldest stadiums in the NHL and is going to be replaced in the next few years by a brand spankin' new arena. Although I'm sad that JLA is going, the new development is huge for Detroit! 

Comerica Park!

Detroit is truly wonderful.  Growing and developing, the city is emerging and reaching its full potential.  I cannot wait to hear all of your favorite Detroit places and hopefully get some good suggestions on where I should take my Detroit explorations next!  I know that there is so much more to Detroit than what I have experienced and I would absolutely love to get a better feel for the city and all that makes it what it is.

Happy 313 Day, everyone!  Show Detroit a little love and head into the city to try some new things out.

If you're here for the link up, grab the button HTML and stick it in your own post and then link up your blog using the InLinkz tool below.  I can't wait to see what you love about Detroit! 

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Spread the love!
 - Allison

An InLinkz Link-up

313 in the D // Link Up Announcement!

I'm really excited to announce to you all that I am co-hosting my very first link-up (along with Allie!) The idea for this all started when I was feeling some serious Detroit pride one day and texted Allie to see if she would want to co-host a link up dedicated to all the great things that Detroit has to offer.  Thus, "A Day in Detroit: a 313 Day link up with Allie & Allison" was born!

313 Day, otherwise known as Detroit Day, is celebrated on March 13th, when the date matches Detroit's area code of 313.  So, this Friday, March 13th, we and some other fantastic Detroit bloggers are getting in on the 313 Day spirit by giving the inside scoop on our favorite Motor City things.  Be it food, attractions, sights, experiences, or tradition, as long as it has to do with Detroit, it's welcome!

If you're living in/around Detroit, have lived there in the past, or have some pretty fond Detroit experiences, we would love, love, love if you would join us and share what you think are some of the best things about the D.

Here's what you do:
1. Write a post including some of your favorite Detroit things - you can have as many or as few as you want, be detailed or general, include mainstream or out-of-the way places - as long as they are within Detroit and the immediate surrounding area, you're good! If you add in a few pictures, even better!

2. Come back on Friday, March 13th and link up your post with either Allie or me.  We'll be launching the link up pretty early.  Grab the button at the bottom and include it in your link up post so others can see all the great things that make Detroit what it is.

EDIT: You can link up by adding your link to the bottom of one of our posts.  There will be a link up tool that you can put your name & post URL in and it will add you to the list! Let us know if you have any questions!

3. Share the Detroit love!  Invite others to participate in this link up and check out the other posts that have linked up.  The point of this is to see how great Detroit truly is, and maybe even find your new favorite downtown restaurant in the process.

I can't wait to see all of the Detroit love this Friday & I hope that if you have a great Detroit experience, you would join in on all of the fun!

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<a href="http://www.blogsomethingbeautiful.blogspot.com" title="Something Beautiful"><img src="http://www.image-maps.com/m/private/0/kia94bp8l3f3tltghisvv3je17_313-link-up-2.jpg" alt="Something Beautiful" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Any questions?  Email us at somethingrecklessblogs@gmail.com.

xx,
Allison

How I Made BBQ Modern Art

Any Michiganders out there? More specifically, any Detroiters? Have any of you heard of this littleee place called Slow's Barbecue? Yeah, I thought so.

For those of you who aren't fortunate enough to live in the snow banks for six months out of the year, Slow's is nationally recognized for being one of the best BBQ joints in America. After what my tastebuds experienced last night, I can soundly attest to that! 

I've tried to eat at Slow's multiple times, but was always deterred by a long wait list. With a little time to spare before the Red Wings game last night, we could afford to wait. 

The restaurant itself is so gorgeous. Playing with a mixture of textures and hardwood colors that you would never imagine to combine, it's upscale while still maintaining the atmosphere of a BBQ joint. Sorry, no pictures. You'll just have to go yourself to see!

I split a slab of the highly awarded ribs with a friend and we used the two sides that come with entrées to both order the famed mac&cheese. I was super hungry, so as soon as the waiter brought our drinks (get the lemonade; it's delicious!), we asked if our sides could be brought out first so I wouldn't die of starvation. I mean, it had been around two whole hours since I had last eaten. I know, crazy that I made it that long, right? 

When we asked him, it actually turned out that our food was on its way to our table at that moment. It had to have been less than six minutes from the time we ordered to the time we got our food. It takes longer than that for my family to order at Jimmy John's! Take that Freaky Fast! 

First things first, I dug into that mac&cheese. It.Was.So.Good. Like, I can't even describe it and since pictures are worth a thousand words, I'm sure this picture will do it more justice than any of my stammering will. 

Shhh! Do you hear the angel choir serenading? It was that heavenly. So obviously, I recommend it. 

Next came the star of the show (as if the mac&cheese wasn't good enough already): the ribs. Slow's is very unique in the aspect that they don't put sauce on the meat for you. They put the sauce on the table and allow you to experiment how you wish. 

Since this picture isn't going to win any prizes anytime soon, if you can't tell, the flavored are apple, North Carolina (NC), spicy, and sweet.  And yes, I arranged them in alphabetical order because that is how I roll. 

I set up a taste test with my naked ribs (that sounds wrong . . . awkward) and the contestants that I thought I would like the most: apple and sweet. 

And I was so right. Apple BBQ sauce is one of the very best sauces that I have ever had. Sweet was also great, but apple was something more unique and I loved that. I eventually did try the spicy and NC, but my original suspicion that they wouldn't be up my alley was right.

After devouring some of the most tender, flavorful ribs that I have ever had, I became an artist. Behold my modern art! 

                                                                  

No one has ever accused me of being a neat eater. 

Love, 

Allison