The largest city in Michigan, Detroit is synonymous both with America's automotive industry and Motown's early years. Several theaters, opera houses and live music clubs are found throughout the city, making it an entertainment hot spot. Cultural points of interest include the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Charles Wright Museum of African American History. As a major metropolitan center, Detroit is also home to some fine five-star restaurants.
Tucked inside the five-star MGM Grand Detroit hotel, Saltwater serves dinner and late-night fare to patrons under the watchful eye of its executive chef, Kevin Hee. Earning a Four Diamond rating from AAA, it offers a large variety of seafood-based dishes like lobster pot pie, peekytoe crab salad, and grilled Pacific ahi tuna. A small selection of beef and chicken is available if anyone in your party isn't in the mood for seafood. A separate oyster menu offers shellfish from both the East and West coasts, and desserts include specialties like rum-roasted banana bread pudding and chocolate molten lava cake. Saltwater is closed Sundays and Mondays.
Saltwater
1777 3rd St.
Detroit, MI 48226
313-465-1777
mgmgranddetroit.com
Found in the heart of downtown Detroit, Opus One is within walking distance of both Greektown and the Renaissance Center. Its cuisine focuses on French and American flavors, with a menu that differs each season. Lunch, dinner, and brunch menus are available, but its fame comes from the various signature dishes such as shrimp Helene with potato gratin, and pan-seared Chilean sea bass with gaufrette chips. Specialty desserts include butterscotch crème brulee and the "Opus One Hummer" with vanilla ice cream and various liquers. AAA has given Opus One the Five Diamond award twice, and its extensive wine list has earned annual recognition from Wine Spectator magazine every year since it was founded in 1989.
Opus One offers a package that includes a four-course dinner at its restaurant, a ticket to one of several nearby theaters, and free shuttle service to and from the venue. The restaurant is closed on major holidays, but is usually open seven days a week.
Opus One
565 E. Larned St.
Detroit, MI 48226
313-961-7766
opus-one.com
Located in Detroit's MotorCity Casino Hotel, Iridescence seems like an unlikely candidate for a five-star dining experience. Yet the restaurant has earned Mobil's five-star rating, AAA's Four Diamond award every year between 2003-2009, and was the 2009 winner of OpenTable.com's "Diner's Choice" award. The cuisine is described as Modern American, with some influences from Europe, Asia and the Mediterranean. Entrees like the Kobe strip steak in peppercorn sauce and seafood lasagna carbonara with poached duck egg are featured, along with an inventive dessert menu including the chocolate sampler and the "Lantern"--pumpkin cream and poached pears with vanilla bean crème brulee. A three-course prix fixe menu is available individually, while a larger five-course tasting menu is offered for your entire party of up to six guests. Iridescence is open for dinner every evening but Monday.
Iridescence
2901 Grand River Ave.
Detroit, MI 48201
313-237-6732
motorcitycasino.com/Dining/Iridescence/
