Detroit drinks well. Cocktails are taken seriously: the Sugar House in Corktown was a pioneer, the Oakland in Ferndale follows that tradition, and Standby downtown serves modern cocktails in a moody downtown room. The Old Miami in the Cass Corridor is a rougher, beloved dive frequented by Vietnam veterans and the regulars who treat it as a living room.
For beer, Atwater (riverfront), Eastern Market Brewing, Brew Detroit (Corktown), and Founders' new Detroit taproom in Midtown all brew on site. Cafés have multiplied since 2010: Astro Coffee in Corktown, Anthology in Midtown, Always Brewing in Old Redford, and the original Great Lakes Coffee on Woodward.
The historic anchors still matter: Baker's Keyboard Lounge, the world's oldest continuously running jazz club, has been open since 1934 on Livernois.