Detroit, MI — It was bright and warm on the last day of May. So, with summer vibes in full swing and a friend wanting to get lunch, I decided to pull the trigger on a food adventure I had been putting off until warmer weather arrived. It was also time to kick off the barbecue series for this blog, which meant it was time to pay a visit to Slow’s BBQ!

With so many culminating motivators at work, this quest was destined to be a great one. And in many ways, it was!

After I moved back to Michigan, I conducted some food and restaurant research into various cuisines around the Metro, including barbecue places. Of the several lists I found, and after reading dozens of reviews and speaking to a lot of friends across the Metro, one establishment definitely emerged as the frontrunner of the Detroit BBQ scene: Slow’s BBQ.

My friend Rachel was working on a project at Central Station in Corktown amid its restoration and renovation and happened to text me about getting lunch. I was committed to going down to Corktown at some point in the week to check out Slow’s, so yet again, the croissants (stars) aligned for another foodie adventure with a friend! Rachel was enthusiastically down to check out Slow’s BBQ as well, and it helped that the restaurant is quite literally just across Roosevelt Park from the station. I rolled out around noon with my sights set for Corktown!

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For those who may live elsewhere or not near enough to know, the Corktown district has played an important and integral role in downtown Detroit’s rebirth over the last couple of years. As the city continues to revamp and renovate, certain areas contributed significantly early on to attract people back into the city, including Corktown. The area experienced a commercial boom and significant investment from the city, resulting in tons of great new restaurants, the Central Station restoration project, and businesses galore. Slow’s BBQ opened at the corner of 14th Street and Michigan Avenue in 2005 and was along for the entire revitalization ride.

Detroit is not historically known for being a barbecue destination. While being known more for things like Detroit-style pizza or coney, barbecue has still always had a presence. Clearly, I have a lot of barbecue ahead of me!

I parked along eastbound Michigan Avenue around 12:30 p.m. in front of Summertown Fresh Bar, a newly opened juice bar with sweets, snacks, coffee, and more. From this establishment to the others I passed just walking a few hundred feet over to Slow’s BBQ, it was clear what was being done in Corktown was working. From pizza shops, burger joints, taco shops to new bars and breweries, there’s a lot to explore and enjoy around Corktown these days. The construction around Central Station looked busy but efficient. Once Central Station has been fully restored, that will certainly be a site worth seeing!

I walked into Slow’s BBQ and met up with my friend Rachel, who was sitting at the bar. It was a Slow’s first for us both, so we soaked up the environment and decisively ordered barbecue staples and Slow’s iconic sandwich that started it all: The Reason. I also ordered The Big Three, a plate featuring beef brisket, apple barbecue chicken, and pulled pork. And then, of course, we split a basket of waffle fries.

When trying any new barbecue establishment, my rule is always to sample a little bit of everything! Because why say no to more barbecue? So, I tried the brisket first and was admittedly a little underwhelmed. While there was nothing necessarily wrong with it, it just came off as a very standard brisket slice, not quite reaching the levels of hype others had set for it. I moved on to the apple BBQ chicken, and this, I will say, hit the meal like an uno reverse card because I was digging that chicken! The North Carolina-style sauce applied to this chicken leaves it sweet and vinegary, with a bite of apple crisp in there. The sauce felt light, as most of it had soaked into the chicken well, really culminating in a well-rounded flavor delivery.

Lastly, the pulled pork. A barbecue staple that I enjoy so much, I’ve established my own recipe for it!

I really enjoyed the pulled pork at Slow’s BBQ, and it was my favorite out of everything I tried. It had a great saltiness and juiciness to the meat, and it fell and pulled apart well. Next time around, I’m doubling down on the pulled pork and maybe a half pound of the chicken, and I would be a very happy camper! I’d be willing to give the brisket another try, though.

Meanwhile, Rachel had been chipping away at Slow’s iconic pulled pork sandwich, The Reason. The sandwich comes with smoked pork, pulled and bathed in North Carolina-style sauce, topped with coleslaw and pickles (quite a generous amount too)! I tried a fork-worth of the pulled pork that was dripping in sauce, and when considering what a full bite of that within a sandwich might entail, it’s certainly worth another trip back to live that full experience. By the time she had already worked through most of her sandwich, Rachel gave me the two-step verification that the sandwich was indeed delicious and that she enjoyed it very much! Another foodie friend adventure success!

And before you think I’m crazy, no, I didn’t just eat all of that barbecue WITHOUT any sauce! I figured I would focus on the food first before giving a shout for the Slow’s sauces on deck.

The sweet was, as you would expect, for the most part. This sauce wasn’t actually as sweet as one would assume, and it sort of came off as a more regular barbecue with a few sprinkles of something extra. Unfortunately, the spicy was a similar experience, just ultimately not coming off as spicy as what would be expected but still holding a good flavor with mild heat. The SC mustard was quite tasty and actually paired very well with the pulled pork, and it gave some life to the brisket with its zesty vinegar twang. The NC might have honestly been my favorite, and it stood out for its thinner-desired consistency while packing a unique kick. Rachel and I weren’t sure if the NC and spicy bottles got mixed up by chance because the NC brought the desired heat and spice blended into a light and sweet sauce. And lastly, the apple BBQ sauce, which was enjoyed on its own accord via the chicken. This was a highlight for the sauces and overall experience; I must say that sauce was excellent on everything, especially the pulled pork. It brings out the meat’s richness and pairs perfectly with the trifecta of barbecue staples. Rachel and I got boxes for our leftovers and paid our bill. We chatted outside for a few minutes before parting ways, as Rachel had to get back to work back at Central Station.

While walking back to my car, I took extra time to enjoy the scenery of Corktown around me — a neighborhood serving as an exemplary beacon of things to come for a city on the rise. A piece to an even bigger puzzle being put back together with the grit that only a Michigander knows. As Detroit’s puzzle continues to come together, foodies are fortunate in that places like Slow’s BBQ were early pieces holding down the corners of the city as pillars in their communities. It’s poetic justice that, while not being known for it, something as unifying and community-driven as barbecue would find itself at the center of the city’s rebirth.

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If you haven’t checked out Corktown yet, Slow’s BBQ is a great place to start or drop in for a beer and some barbecue. There are a lot of highly reviewed and recommended restaurants throughout that neighborhood and off Michigan Avenue. It’s definitely worth the adventure to witness Detroit on the rise and enjoy some pretty good barbecue!