Ditch the guidebook and follow these famous locals as they show you around the ever-evolving Motor City. --Sean Baligian

“The simple joy of heading down to Joe Louis Arena for a Red Wings hockey game and then over to the famous Lafayette Coney Island for a legendary Detroit-style Coney dog -- or three -- can’t be beat. [Whether you like] watching the Tigers on a great summer night after a pregame drink at Cheli’s or drowning your sorrows at the Detroit Beer Company after yet another Detroit Lions loss, Detroit has something for every sports fan.”

Curtis Granderson
Detroit Tigers center fielder
“For dinner, I recommend Fishbone’s. Or you can make the quick trip up Woodward [Avenue] to Lily’s Seafood in Royal Oak. You can even mix food with nightlife and some great live music at two downtown hot spots, Asian Village and Seldom Blues.”

Gino Fanelli
Bandleader of the jazz-swing ensemble Gino Fanelli’s Red Hot Sugar Daddies
“One of my all-time favorite places is Baker’s Keyboard Lounge. The ghosts of Billie, Ella, and Duke are very present at Baker’s. And the high-end soul food is so delicious, it hurts. I also love Cliff Bell’s, a new jazz club with an art deco atmosphere right in the heart of the city. For pasta, nothing beats the Roma Cafe, Detroit’s oldest Italian restaurant. The waiters are older tuxedo-clad Italian men whose manners and panache almost exceed the quality of the authentic Italian fare.”

Rebecca Mazzei
Arts and culture editor of the Metro Times
“Take a drive through the beautiful historic neighborhoods and urban folk-art environments. The city is home to projects by visionary artists, like Tyree Guyton’s internationally recognized Heidelberg Project. Plus, the downtown architecture has recently been the topic of conversation among design aficionados -- from the ongoing renovation of the prized [Westin] Book Cadillac hotel to the recent photo book American City: Detroit Architecture, 1845–2005.”

Niki Johnson
Publisher of DetroitFashionPages.com and DFPBoutique.com
“I love to shop at the smaller boutiques in Royal Oak on Washington Avenue (Chaud Jeans) and on Main Street (Prodigy and Shapes). My ‘secret’ place for one-of-a-kind jewelry, accessories, and fabulous outerwear is the Grosse Pointe Collection on Mack Avenue. It is a must-see for antique collectors and fabulous people alike.”

Devin Scillian
News anchor at WDIV-TV and host of weekly news program FlashPoint
“Saturdays might mean a trip to the Eastern Market -- three square miles of produce, flowers, spices, bakeries, butchers, and barbecue. While you’re there, duck into Vivio’s for their Bloody Mary, with its tiny beer chaser. There’s also the Rattlesnake Club and Sweet Georgia Brown. A real hidden gem of Detroit is Pewabic Pottery, just a few miles northeast of downtown. They’ve been turning out amazing architectural tile since 1903. Best of all, their shop carries ceramic art in all price ranges.”

Norene Cashen
Poet and author of The Reverse Is Also True
“Detroit has a sort of broken past, which gives it a feeling of being under constant reconstruction. It’s a city of invention and renewal. You can see this in the new Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit. The space is elegant, with a sort of industrial edge. There’s a monthly poetry series at the Zeitgeist on Michigan Avenue. From there, head [down the street] to Slows Bar BQ and get the best pulled-chicken sandwich in the Midwest.”

Mike Roddy
Owner of Paesano’s Restaurant & Wine Bar
“My wife, Bridget, and I are the ultimate foodies … Sometimes we plan food-buying trips around a specific event such as a concert at the Fox Theatre or a world-class opera at the Detroit Opera House. Or we may trek to the north side of town [to visit] food emporiums such as Nino Salvaggio in Clinton Township and Papa Joe’s in Rochester Hills.”

Maureen Riley
Special-events director for the University Cultural Center Association
“Detroit has many world-class museums clustered together in the heart of the city. The Detroit Institute of Arts, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, the Detroit Science Center, and the Detroit Historical Museum combine to make the ideal backdrop for the Detroit Festival of the Arts, held annually in June.”

Global traveler that you are, you surely have favorite places in all the cities you visit. Why not share them with others? Send us an e-mail with your picks at favorites@americanwaymag.com, or go to www.americanwaymag.com/favorites and join in the discussion.