DOWNTOWN. Occupying a gracious building from the turn of the century, this accomplished restaurant mixes tradition and innovation to great effect. Its menu is also an amalgam, unifying flavors from around the globe and allowing them to transcend their usual roles. This tendency is evident at brunch, which offers a host of à la carte options. Choose from a variety of egg dishes and omelets, or go simple with fruit-studded oatmeal. Favorites include crabmeat eggs Benedict, French toast, and chorizo with scrambled eggs. Salads and sandwiches can also be had.

SOUTHFIELD. Soul food dishes, both sophisticated and down-home, highlight the menu here. Try meatloaf and gravy, or Baby Sister's Backyard-Style Baby Backs with a side of collard greens or black-eyed peas. Alternatively, sample salmon croquettes drizzled with roasted red pepper sauce or a Harlem burrito ­ collard greens, tomatoes, black-eyed peas, and rice rolled in a flour tortilla and served with Spanish Harlem salsa. Top it all off with a slice of sweet potato cheesecake.

TROY. The flagship of restaurateur Chuck Muer's fleet, Charley's Crab has been a Detroit-area favorite for more than a quarter of a century. Nautical decor ­ complete with sea-blue carpeting, smokestack light fixtures à la the <i>Queen Mary</i>, wood-paneled walls littered with seafaring artifacts and oddities, and even a few trees made from coral, shells, and sea urchins ­ lets you know immediately that you're in for a seafood feast. Indeed, Charley's features Maryland soft-shell crabs, California pink abalone with Mediterranean rice, and a delicious San Francisco-style cioppino ­ a shellfish stew with mussels, clams, shrimp, scallops, and lobster.

GREEKTOWN. An adventuresome Cajun and Creole menu spices things up at this popular restaurant, whose ambience is all Big Easy. Treat yourself to a delicious Sunday brunch, and be sure to ask for a table near the waterfall. In keeping with the laid-back atmosphere of a Louisiana-style brunch, treat yourself to one of their perfectly mixed Bloody Marys too.

BIRMINGHAM. Open, light-filled, and peppered with yacht-evoking accents, Mitchell's serves fantastic seafood in a polished setting. Fish is flown in daily to ensure freshness, and the effort is much appreciated by diners. They contentedly tuck into ginger-crusted salmon, Chesapeake Bay crab cakes, New Orleans seafood stew, and hoisin-glazed yellowfin. Combination plates give tastebuds a flavor workout, and varying fresh catches can be grilled, broiled, blackened, or given a signature Asian kick. Great raw bar options too.