The Mitten.

As a Michigan Native, I can admit there there's nothing in Michigan that screams "VACATION". The weather here is unpredictable, our sports teams are in a rut, heck the last time a Michigan team won anything was the Detroit Pistons in 2004. But if you do happen to somehow wind up here on a road trip, family reunion, or if you're insane enough to plan to vacation to Michigan, here's a some of my favorite spots. Luckily for me, I'm a fat-ass and love to take photos of my food at restaurants before I dig in, so I'll provide photos of my own.

Starting with my favorite city to eat. Downtown, Detroit.

Mootz Pizzeria + Bar.

Now I can't say this is the best pizza you'll ever have in your life, but it's definitely the best Pizza in the state! Detroit is known for having their own pizza style. Deep-Dish, a thick-crusted pizza shaped in a pan like figure. Mootz Pizzeria decided to use New York Style pizza as their brand. Big slices but thin enough to where you can enjoy more than one! My mother and I have two favorites.

The Uptown And The Bronx:

Oh my goodness. This pizza. It's toppings is pepperoni, cheese, green onions and small sliced swiss cheese sprinkled on top. Sounds like every other pizza, huh? Absolutely not. It's "button" pepperoni, where instead of plain slides, they're smaller and curl up during baking, so the pieces taste crunchy with every bite. It's literally the BEST part of, and the char on each pepperoni gives the entire pizza this extra burst of flavor. I always stuff myself by eating three slices. Do I regret it? Absolutely not!

And then we haaaaaaave...

The Margherita:

Vegetarian? No problem! This pizza has no meat on it and I still can't decide which one is better between this one and Uptown And The Bronx. I thought it was just sliced mozzarella, tomatoes and basil, but the website lists that this pizza contains Filetto Pomodoro, Buffalo "Mootz"arella, Aged "Mootz"arella, Basil, Evoo, Pecorino, Shaved Parmesan and Garlic. Now I don't know what the heck half of those ingredients are, but all I know is that they work for my tastebuds!

Mootz doesn't just have pizza, though. They have salads and pastas as well!

With 16 different pizzas to choose from, if you ever want a slice, come on down to Mootz!

But if you want something that's more upscale that won't necessarily break the bank, you can head over to Lumen.

Lumen:

Lumen is an American Cuisine restaurant that isn't cheap but doesn't break the bank either, if it makes sense. This is a great place to go for a first-time date. Located in the center of Downtown, the place has a 4000-square foot large indoor and outdoor seating.

There's no specific theme at this restaurant in terms of what food you can find here, but I would describe it as a mix of bar food (Wings, Pretzel Sticks, Burgers) and upscale or "fancy" food, like Steaks, Crab Cakes, Salmon, etc. Something my mother and I like to do is come here when the weather is right and split Five things amongst ourselves.

Their Steak, Salmon, Quinoa, Mac n Cheese, and Asparagus.

If you order the pretzel breadsticks, make sure that you have someone to share them with. I made the mistake of ordering them as an appetizer for myself and eating all three, and I disrupted my appetite. The breadsticks are the softer than they appear, a perfect spin on your average breadsticks. The right amount of salt, they provide you cheese melted with some of their homemade sauce. They're very filling, so as difficult as it may be, try to only eat one of the three if you decide to order them for yourself.

Lumen's Blackened Salmon and Quinoa combination is to DIE for. Their salmon is so flaky that when you put your fork in it, it crumbles. You need the knife for assistance to keep it on your silverware. The salmon comes on a bed of sautéed quinoa, cooked in green onions and Lumen's sweet and soy sauce. This sauce is also provided as a side with the meal so you can drizzle this on top of the fish to give the dish an even tangier and sweetened flavor.

Now their steak, don't even get me started. Best thing at the restaurant.

My mother and I get our steaks medium rare or medium. Well done steak should be banned in our opinion, and any steak that's rare to the point where you see a solid red doesn't seem too appetizing to even enjoy. That's our personal preference, but however you prefer your steak, I can guarantee Lumen won't disappoint. The juices used to cook the steak are left on your plate so you don't have to question tenderness. The steak knife sinks right through the meat. The best thing to have this complimented with, is with their mac n cheese and asparagus. There is a layer of cheese baked on top of the mac, and when you dig in, you find that there's bacon and peas inside as well. Strange combination, I know, but the two together?

Last but certainly not least, Avenue American Bistro.

Some of the best bar food you'll ever have.

Now this place is a little out of the way from Downtown, Detroit. Located in Wayne, this place is right near the airport, so if you ever have a layover flight to get elsewhere, you can Uber to this place and grab a bite for way cheaper than airport food that costs an arm and a leg. This place is my dad and I's favorite food place to go to, and is a little drive away from where we both stay, but it's well worth the drive. It's typical bar food here. Burgers. Wings. Fries.

And that's exactly what I like to order.

Their jerk wings aren't spicy, but they have the perfect kick. They come dry but have a variety of sauces that they provide for you on the side, or you can get it on top. Your choice!

Those things in front of me, are their corned beef egg rolls. Whew.

These eggrolls are the best appetizers on the menu. It's corned beef and swiss cheese wrapped in one and fried. These things are so delicious that my dad and I find ourselves burning our mouths each time. The eggrolls are always piping hot and take so long to cool that we just risk our taste-buds just to take a bite. The food isn't what burns your tongue, it's the juice from the corned beef and melted cheese that bursts into your mouth that leaves the roof of your mouth burning for days. It's seasoned just right. Flaky. Crunchy. Trust me, it's worth the pain.

Then, I eat the best things on their menu. Their Swiss and Onion burger, coupled with their Gouda Cheese Fries.

It looks like the fattiest thing on earth, and it is. It's worth every calorie and even a possible trip to the toilet after railroading your stomach with a gas tackling. Their Swiss and Onion burger has exactly what the name says. Ground beef, swiss, and onions. But not just plain old onions, onion rings towered on top. When you take that first bite, the rings give the burger that perfect crunch. My favorite side, the Gouda Cheese fries, is coupled with bacon bits sprinkled on the top. The best part is they don't pound your fries with an unappetizing amount of cheese, but you can taste the cheese in every fry that the cheese didn't touch. The smokiness of the cheese and the bacon goes through and through. Combine these two and you're on your way to calorie paradise.

If none of the three above interest you, you can check out this 2-minute video of Anthony Bourdain's trip to Downtown, Detroit, where he visited the infamous Duly's Coney's near Southwest.

Before his death, Anthony Bourdain had filmed in Detroit, and was in the process of filming another documentary here after his desire to return to not only try other food in the city, but to film how Downtown Detroit is improving as a city, straying away from the "8-mile, abandoned houses" stereotype that the city has earned over the last two decades.

Or you could check out a more light-hearted and fun documentary of Detroit, created from the old host (Adam Richman) of the 2012 hit show, Man Vs. Food. The show covered nearly impossible food eating challenges that the host would take on, (Challenges like the hottest wings on the planet, the worlds largest omelet, tackling 50 wings in under 30 minutes, etc.) but before the challenge, Richman stops at the most famous Coney Dogs in Michigan, Lafayette Coney Island and American Coney Island, two restaurants side-by-side that have dueled for the number one spot in the city on who makes the best chili dogs. Which one did he decide?

Though I never suspect that you may never travel to Michigan, you never know when you may wind up here, so bookmark this in case you're here on an empty stomach and are wondering, "Alright, where am I gonna eat?"

Here's a list of professional photos from each of the restaurants I've listed and a variety of other things you may want to try. I figured these would be better looking, but wanted to provide my own to show one of my many frequent visits.

Mootz Pizzeria:

Lumen:

Avenue American Bistro: