My Sister doesn’t get out much, but what I actually mean is….she has two kids, one is doing every activity imaginable for a 5 year old and the other is a food throwing 18^th month old.  Needless to say, she is busy.

So when the stars aligned and her mother-in-law offered to take the kids for the weekend, Gretchen was looking for a day away.  She called me up and asked if I wanted to go to Ann Arbor for a shopping day and dinner. I am never one to turn down shopping but I really didn’t want to drive all the way to Ann Arbor….Plus Detroit is cooler. I suggested instead she head up to Detroit and I would take her out and about.

Gretchen brought a few friends and we began our day at Johnny Noodle King. A relatively new establishment, the ramen joint was packed, but well worth the wait. I have not seen someone struggle with chop sticks as much as she did. Also, she hates spicy food, so she told the waitress she would like “negative spicy level of spice” …as if that’s possible.

Our next destination was Two James. Again, a relatively new establishment focusing on craft cocktails. Two James distills many of their own spirits and offers tours to anyone interested in the process. After a few pretty and tasty drinks we were off again.

In the midst of this all, our group developed a “hashtag” for the day. #gretchensdayout. We needed to make sure the day’s events were captured!

We spent an hour, or so at Casey’s Pub off of Michigan Ave in Corktown, playing giant Jenga and Connect Four. This is definitely not a ‘relatively new” bar. Casey’s is a Corktown mainstay…Always Important to mix in the old with the new.

From there we moseyed to Batch Brewing. A newcomer to the Corktown area, they will serve you up some delicious micro brews and have a kitchen that will keep you satisfied. Board games of all kinds can be found at Batch as well, all integral to #gretchensdayout.

We finally decided to leave Corktown and finish out the…err, I think it was the evening… at one of my favorite places in Detroit, Honest Johns. A Detroit Classic, Honest Johns is located on the corner of Selden and Cass. Open for breakfast lunch and dinner you will never go wrong here.

#gretchensdayout was a success! Sufficiently fed and hydrated with a few great pictures and stories to take back home to that busy life.

My sister that doesn’t get out much but, in one day was able to patron 5 new establishments. What could you experience with a day out in Detroit!