As you roll down the steep hill heading northbound into downtown Rochester, something funny happens. Maybe it has to do with leaving the superstores and mini-malls of Troy in the dust and entering a fairytale Main Street where lovingly cared for buildings date back to the mid-1800s and people wander about purposefully on foot.
Suburb envy? Perhaps. But all for good reason. Rochester is an archetypal bedroom community. It's highbrow, but friendly. Fancy, yet wholesome. It's filled with beautiful people who like to jog and bike, dine and shop, and partake in all the upper-middle class activities that make life so sweet.
Now, it's your turn to sample that sweet life, and here's metromode's 48-hour sampler.
Friday afternoon
Lunch like a local at Lipuma's Coney Island, where the line for Coney dogs is often out the door. Seating inside is cozy, though limited, but there's ample room on Lipuma's deck overlooking Paint Creek. Or, grab a picnic table along the famed Paint Creek Trail, where zealous ducks will vie for your last bite of hotdog bun. This 40-year-old establishment is best known for its killer Coneys, but the Chicago-style dogs, tacos and homemade soups are also townie favorites. Look for the top-hat wearing hotdog on the door.
Spend the remainder of the afternoon in downtown Rochester on a mini gallery crawl. Don't miss Paint Creek Center for the Arts for their always curious and compelling exhibits. During November and December both floors will transform into a Holiday Objects boutique with glass, ceramics, painting, jewelry and mixed media artwork at affordable prices. But, be sure to catch Tom Carey's "Scary Monsters" exhibit before November 9 when it comes down to prepare for the holiday hoopla. Upstairs, installations by Andrew Thompson and cool Letterpress work by Amanda Hatch will also wow you for another week.
Cary Gallery generally hosts Michigan artists at all levels of experience and professional development. Cary's personal forte and favorite exhibition fodder is water color, but the exhibit starting November 15 is color photography by a couple of traveling sharp shooters: Nancy Stocking and Ron Teachworth.
Friday evening
The romantic, dark wood-paneled walls and comfy leather seats at 4th St. Grill will encourage you to slow down, relax and melt into your meal. Start off with tender calamari filets, then move toward the steaks on which 4th Street banks its reputation. The Chateaubriand presented tableside for two is a mouth-watering tenderloin treat. If seafood is your preference, the grill's plethora of options, including of Chilean sea bass and Dover sole, won't disappoint. End the night with a Spanish coffee, flamed with a cinnamon-sugar rim, at 4th Street's mellow bar or dance to live music with other revelers at Rochester Mills Beer Company.
Saturday morning
Your breakfast should be driven by one word (prepare yourself): Zwetschgenkuchen. These Bavarian plum-prune delicacies from Give Thanks Bakery & Café must be the pastry chef's version of divinity on earth. A seasonal delicacy, made from a special plum, means you ought to get 'um while you can. Give Thanks pastries are created with such care, you can't go wrong with anything behind the glorious display cases, from almond croissants to apricot-walnut tarts. Grab a baguette (the closest to a Parisian baguette you'll find in these parts) and a loaf of Swiss multi-grain bread for sandwiches and out-of-this world toast. All of the hand-crafted breads, which take three days to make with natural starters instead of yeast, are amazing. Next month, the bakery will start making Dresden Stollen bread for the holidays.
For a complete 180 degrees from a mall-shopping experience, take a stroll through Rochester's four-by-six-block downtown district, chocked with historic buildings and funky, independent boutiques. Visit Jo'Lyn Fashions, Janet Varner and Flirty Fashions for women's wear; Elements and Firebrick Gallery for home décor; and Talulah Belle for gifts and trinkets. Another cool stop: Haig's of Rochester Fine Jewelry has a second floor gallery of Asian antique art, with Paul Haig holding one of the largest collections of Asian artifacts in the country.
Whoo R U, an upscale resale shop staffed by volunteers, is a jim-dandy place to wile away an hour while feeling good about every dollar you spend. Profits from the volunteer-run shop assist families and women with cancer-related financial issues through the Rainbow Connection, a local charity. Whoo is a proverbial den of secondhand items, brimming with housewares, furniture, men's and women's clothing, books, linens and other treasures rescued from estate sales. Find the perfect vase, evening gown or overcoat – maybe even a new set of dishes.
Saturday afternoon
For lunch, dive into a burger and fries at Red Knapp's Dairy Bar, the 58-year-old storefront diner. Inside, retro chrome stools surround two horseshoe counters dotted with red Tidynap holders. The dreamy chocolate milkshakes, made with hand-dipped ice cream, are served in a fountain glass, with the naught-to-be-left leftovers presented in a gigantic, metal cup. Piped in 1950s music adds to the ambiance.
After lunch, take a stroll along the Paint Creek Trail, which heads north from downtown along a busy, but serene, pathway. Once trafficked by trains on the old Penn Central Railroad, the trail is now frequented by Rochester's nature lovers and athletes who enjoy walking, biking, jogging and skiing the wide trail that runs up the Paint Creek Valley to the village of Lake Orion. Stop at the plentiful bridges, side trails and benches for creek-side daydreaming.
Saturday night
Let the eco-buzz commence! Tasty organic vegan meals, sodas flavored with Agave nectar, sustainable seafood, and dinner tables formed from compressed, milled sunflower seeds make Mind Body & Spirits much more than your Saturday night dining choice, but a destination for learning and awe. Almost every feasible green option you can conjure has been built into this two-story sustainable masterpiece opening October 30 – even a "bio-digester" that turns restaurant waste into fertilizer for herbs growing in the onsite greenhouse.
At Mind Body & Spirits you'll find a year's supply of broken booze bottles artistically reused in the flooring and trim, walls made from recycled milk jugs, and mod, sustainable cork and bamboo flooring in the dining rooms. Even the journals for sale in the second floor Higher Ground Lounge are made from elephant dung paper. Dine downstairs for dinner, and relax in the lounge afterwards with coffee, organic wine, and desserts like the Michigan apple rose, a baked petite apple with caramelized cider sauce over homemade ice cream. (Editorial prediction: the couch in front of the second floor picture window will soon be the most coveted seat in town.)
Not quite ready for bed? Take a stroll along Rochester's incredibly quant Main St., where starting December 1, all buildings are covered with holiday lights from sidewalk to roof, making for quite a spectacle.
Sunday morning
Don't miss a morning visit, sans the afternoon crowd, to Yates Cider Mill in Rochester Hills, commencing the day with fresh donuts and cider and a stroll around the historic cider mill and grounds (open through Dec. 21). A circa-1894 water turbine still powers the cider operation and has attracted generation after generation of local families. Part of the tradition is meandering along the Clinton River on a half-mile trail adorned in Michigan hardwoods. It's a fine path to dawdle along, especially this time of year when the low, late-autumn sun and bare trees paint the trail with abstract designs.
Continue your morning sojourn at Bloomer Park, just a few miles from Yates. Where John R Road dead ends, Bloomer Park, a bit of natural bliss plopped in northern suburbia, begins. Behind the 1930s timber and granite stone shelter a 183-step staircase leads to a circuit of narrow trails that snake through dense woods. Here, you can escape car noise and exhaust fumes, and recharge along the park's miles of hiking and biking trails. After your trek, check out Bloomer's Velodrome, a steeply banked wooden bike track where bikes can reach up to 42 mph. It's pretty cool to watch the cyclists fly by. If you dare, the special bicycles required on the track can be rented.
After working up a healthy appetite frolicking about the great Michigan outdoors, end your Rochester weekend at the Royal Park Hotel, a five-star fortress with a gray slate roof and a notorious Sunday brunch. Entering the Royal Park is a spectacle in and of itself, and you'll be surrounded by finery – like Murano glass chandeliers with their magical, milky sparkle and Sahara Gold marble flooring from a Pakistan quarry.
Brunch is served at the Brookshire Restaurant, which has a long outdoor patio paralleling a stretch of Paint Creek and an inside dining area that mixes contemporary styles with old-world elegance.
If you're in the mood for breakfast, let Maurice the omelet maker create a masterpiece for your plate. Coffeecake, scones and eggs benedict are part of the mix. Other action stations along the buffet rotate – and you could find stir-fry Thai, pasta, or fajitas on any given week. The salads, including a perfectly seasoned black bean-asparagus salad, are remarkable, but you'd be truly crazy to not save room for dessert. The Bananas Foster is so buttery and delightful – a perfect accompaniment to the whimsical melodies of the Brookshire's pianist.
Having sampled the sweet life through Rochester's mélange of food, natural landscape and intriguing art, you ought to depart this bedroom community with a sense of warmth and overindulgence – and, more than likely, a yearning to return soon.
Melinda Clynes is a metro-Detroit-based freelancer and a regular contributor to metromode and Model D. Her last article was 48 Hours In Dearborn.
Photos:
Yates Cider Mill
A couple walking through a colorful canopy of leaves
Art installation at Paint Creek Center for the Arts
Whoo store front
Burgers, Fries, Milkshakes = Red Knapps Dairy Bar
Brew Kettles at the Rochester Brewery
A young couple pass the time while waiting in line for cider and donuts at Yates Cider Mill
All photographs by Marvin Shaouni
Marvin Shaouni is the managing photographer for Metromode & Model D.