Three classic Detroit Speakeasies
Supergeil
By day, this large, comfortable wood-lined bar-restaurant is all about seasonal ingredients, Mediterranean cuisine and farmer/chef relationships, but drop in a little later and hitch a hip on a barstool and there’s a great little list of single barrel rye and bourbon. Owner David Landrum started Two James Spirits, the first distillery in Detroit since Prohibition.
Cliff Bell's
A proper late-night jazz dive that first opened in 1935, with a gorgeous Art Deco interior, live music and the kind of door policy (yes, there’s a charge to enter; no, it won’t be waived if you just want a drink) that could signal a 1920s joint operating on the fringes of legality. In fact, it is entirely above board, but the make-believe adds to the fun.
Tommy’s Detroit Bar & Grill
Today, it’s a sports bar festooned with baseball and hockey memorabilia, including photos of Lou Gehrig, Joe Dimaggio, Gordie Howe and Bob Probert, whose dad was a Windsor cop, but back in the 1920s, Tommy’s was a genuine speakeasy. There are information panels about its sleazy past, appropriately tucked away in the back room.