Baker’s Keyboard Lounge

Some bars have history; Baker’s has a piano bar shaped like an actual grand piano and nearly a century of it. Open since 1934 and widely billed as the world’s oldest continuously operating jazz club, this Art Deco room near 8 Mile has hosted Miles Davis, Cab Calloway, Nat King Cole, and Dave Brubeck — and still books live jazz alongside a full menu of soul food.

Crispy fried chicken, collard greens, peach cobbler, and a set of standards in the middle of the afternoon: that’s a very Detroit kind of luxury. It’s the place locals send out-of-towners when they want them to understand the city, not just see it. Owner Eric Whitaker keeps the lights on and the music going.