A No-Frills Guide to Detroit Food and the Rooms That Stay Open Late

A No-Frills Guide to Detroit Food and the Rooms That Stay Open Late

Order two Coney dogs, one from each side of the street. That is the single most useful thing you can do on your first trip. American Coney Island at 114 W Lafayette Boulevard and Lafayette Coney Island at 118 W Lafayette Boulevard sit side by side in downtown Detroit, and the disagreement between them defines the city’s food culture better than any tasting menu. American claims the original recipe dates to 1917. Lafayette counters that the founding brother split off in 1924. The dogs themselves cost $3.50 to $5.00 each and both are served on the same type of steamed bun with chili, mustard, and onions. The distinction is in the snap of the casing and the spice level of the chili. Eat both, then pick your camp. The failure case is ordering only one: you will always wonder about the other.

These two rooms are your best late-night option in the city. American Coney Island opens Monday to Thursday from 08:00 to 04:00 and runs 24 hours on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Lafayette keeps shorter weekend hours: Monday to Thursday 08:00 to 04:00, Friday and Saturday 08:00 to 05:00, Sunday 10:00 to 04:00. If you are leaving a show at the Fillmore Detroit at 2115 Woodward Avenue, both are a 0.3 mile walk south on Lafayette. If the show ends after 01:30 and you are near Saint Andrew’s Hall at 431 East Congress Street, your alternative is Sweetwater Tavern at 400 East Congress Street, 0.1 mile away. It opens daily from 11:00 to 02:00 with its kitchen running until 01:30. Entrees run $12 to $22. For a cheaper post-show option near Saint Andrew’s, walk 0.6 miles to Bucharest Grill at 2684 East Jefferson Avenue. It is open 11:00 to 03:00 daily, with items from $7 to $12. The failure case for Bucharest is the line: it backs up after concerts and you might wait 20 minutes.

Skip Downtown, Head To Hamtramck

Skip the downtown dinner detour for Hamtramck instead. The neighborhood is a four mile drive from downtown. Two Polish restaurants sit on the same block of Yemans Street. Polish Village Cafe at 2990 Yemans Street operates Monday to Thursday 11:00 to 21:00, Friday and Saturday 11:00 to 22:00, Sunday 12:00 to 20:00. Entrees run $10 to $18. Order pierogi and a bowl of white borscht. Polonia Restaurant at 2934 Yemans Street serves Tuesday to Thursday 11:00 to 20:00, Friday and Saturday 11:00 to 21:00, Sunday 12:00 to 19:00. It is closed Monday. Polonia’s menu overlaps but its cabbage rolls and potato pancakes have a following. The failure case is arriving on a Monday: Polonia is shut, and Polish Village Cafe is open but draws the entire crowd. You will wait for a table.

When Both Polish Spots Are Packed

If both are full, walk two blocks to the Yemeni strip on Joseph Campau Avenue. Yemen Cafe at 8740 Joseph Campau Avenue is open daily 10:00 to 23:00. Sheeba Restaurant at 8752 Joseph Campau Avenue runs daily 11:00 to 22:00. Both serve lamb and rice dishes in the $8 to $16 range. Neither is well lit in the dining room, and both are louder than the Polish spots. That is the point.

Eastern Market on Saturday

Eastern Market at 2934 Russell Street runs its main market day Saturday from 06:00 to 16:00 year round. Vendors set up in the public sheds: Shed 2, Shed 3, Shed 4, and Shed 5. Prepared food vendors concentrate in Shed 2 and along the Russell Street perimeter. Arrive by 08:30 to avoid the worst of the foot traffic. Buy a breakfast tamale from the vendor near the south end of Shed 2, then walk the perimeter for a soft pretzel or a pasty. The failure case is coming after 11:00: the lines at every prepared food stall run 15 to 25 minutes and the aisles are too packed to move quickly. The market is not a dinner destination. It closes at 16:00 and the neighborhood empties.

Pre Show Dinner Near Fillmore and Saint Andrew’s

Eating Near The Fillmore

For a show at the Fillmore Detroit, your closest sit-down option is Townhouse Detroit at 500 Woodward Avenue, 0.1 mile north. Entrees run $18 to $45. It is open Monday to Thursday 11:00 to 22:00, Friday 11:00 to 23:00, Saturday 10:00 to 23:00, Sunday 10:00 to 21:00. The failure case is a Saturday 8pm curtain: the kitchen closes at 23:00, which is fine, but the bar crowd arrives around 21:30 and service slows. Central Kitchen + Bar at 660 Woodward Avenue, 0.2 mile north, runs Monday to Thursday 11:00 to 22:00, Friday and Saturday 11:00 to 00:00, Sunday 11:00 to 21:00. Its menu overlaps Townhouse in price and format.

Eating Near Saint Andrew’s Hall

For Saint Andrew’s Hall, Sweetwater Tavern at 400 East Congress Street is the default. It is open 11:00 to 02:00 daily, its kitchen closes at 01:30, and it is 0.1 mile from the venue. Order the wings. The failure case is a concert that sells out Sweetwater’s bar: you then face a 0.6 mile walk to Bucharest Grill or a ride to Lafayette or American Coney Island.

When to Plan Around the Calendar

Three annual events shift the food landscape. The Detroit Jazz Festival runs Labor Day weekend from Friday to Monday, and every sit-down restaurant within a mile of the festival stages will be booked by Thursday. The Movement Electronic Music Festival takes place Memorial Day weekend from Saturday to Monday. Late-night spots like Sweetwater Tavern and both Coney Islands see 45-minute waits all weekend. Hamtramck Paczki Day is Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, in February or March. The bakeries on Joseph Campau Avenue run out of paczki by 10:00. Detroit Restaurant Week happens in the third week of September. It is the one time to consider the tasting-menu places you skipped. The failure case is arriving during any of these events without a reservation or a backup plan. You will stand in line or eat a gas station sandwich.