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Thursday, October 29, 2009
Pack Your Eating Pants for a Taste-Full Tour of Ann Arbor
Did you know there are over 200 restaurants in Ann Arbor's downtown area? Deciding where to eat can be daunting, but Savor Ann Arbor can help! Savor Ann Arbor provides custom walking and driving tours of the Ann Arbor area for groups of all sizes. Tours can be arranged around your schedule, and tailored to suit your needs.
Tours are led by Ann Arbor resident Marcie Greenfield, who has been eating her way through town since 1974. She'll feed you with interesting facts, history, and insight - and some of the best food Ann Arbor has to offer.
"Ann Arbor is a great foodie mecca," she says.
To schedule a tour or for more information, contact Marcie Greenfield at Savor Ann Arbor.
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Thursday, October 29, 2009
An Epicurean Adventure in Ann Arbor
What makes the Ann Arbor Area a dining destination? For one, there's variety: from brew pubs to ethnic eateries to elegant restaurants and comfort foods, the area offers something to please any palate. So where do you start? That's for you to decide, but in case you need more direction, read on to find out how Chicago Tribune reporter Christopher Borelli spent three days gorging in Ann Arbor.
Day 1
8 a.m. I begin my gastronomic Ann Arbor weekend with a light breakfast at Zingerman's Delicatessen, a warm-up breakfast to my actual breakfast later that morning. A spacey young guy who talks extremely slowly and wears a tweed hat takes my order: a bowl of polenta with golden raisins and honey and a house-baked bagel covered in fennel seed with a light smear of the tangy cream cheese from Zingerman's Creamery. The deli has the crowded feel of a club that has welcomed too many into its fold; I am wedged between the artisan pretzels and the smoked-salmon case. I break free and read descriptions of sandwiches for a few minutes -- smoked Montreal meats, variations on New Orleans' muffuletta, Berkshire pork shoulder on an onion roll -- then head next-door to Zingerman's coffeehouse (an actual house) and read the newspaper and eat a golden mountain of polenta.
10 a.m. Having had my warm-up breakfast, I walk a few blocks to Cafe Zola for the real breakfast. On the way, I stop to look at an example of a local phenomenon, the Fairy Door -- miniature doors built into random buildings. At Zola, I ask about them. The rumor is that real fairies built them, my server says, her eyes wide. A 2-second Internet search on my iPhone reveals it's the work of a local artist named Jonathan. Still, the challah French toast at Zola is to be worshiped, made from Zingerman's braided challah, charred, eggy and sweet.
11:30 a.m. Students are huddled in the windows of every coffee shop. The day is overcast. I pick Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea and nuzzle into a mug of ginger lemon tea. It has a spicy burn, but the dab of honey mellows my harsh. There's a high school across the street. A woman stands outside the gates at lunchtime and puts down her bags and slips into a sandwich board. It reads, "Talk to me about socialism." Remarkably, when class breaks for lunch, a number of students stop and ask her about socialism.
2 p.m. In the Kerrytown Market, a block from Zingerman's, I have lunch. I begin with a Seoul Dog at Kosmo. It is a hot dog wrapped in bacon, deep fried, covered in mozzarella and grilled kimchi. I take a bite and put it down, sparing my aorta. Two feet away is Monahan's Seafood, a market within the market but with tables. Mike Monahan, one of the founders of Zingerman's (but no longer a partner), is behind the counter. His fish and chips are rich and crisp, but the oyster poor-boy -- on a baguette from a local Japanese bakery, with pickled veggies at the bottom -- is as delicately fried as a New England clam roll.
8 p.m. I head back to the deli for a Montreal Reuben, which is peppered, hot, on house-made rye. My cider is the color of squash. My pickle is big and perfect. I consider that it might be wax.
Day 2
11 a.m. After a morning walk through the farmers market -- organic everything, basically -- I head for Zingerman's Bakehouse and my afternoon Italian cookie class, which is in a non-descript office park. I learn a few things: They make better Boston Brown Bread than my grandmother; I'm incapable of using a pastry bag; and Gail, my cooking-class partner, has taken "more baking classes than anyone on Earth." Our instructor, his face frozen in a look of amusement, his jackboots covered in a Rorschach of flour and anise seed, walks us through biscotti and amaretti. Gail gets on my nerves.
4:15 p.m. Shouted down by the burger people.
5:30 p.m. Let me tell you about Dominick's. The restaurant's dark wooden-beamed porch and stained-glass windows and posters of old hippies past recall a time when Ann Arbor was the Berkeley of the Midwest. On days when the University of Michigan football stadium ("The Big House") is bursting, when its 100,000-plus attendees spill into the streets and snarl traffic for miles, you can hear the distant roar at Dominick's, which is miles away. I've been here a few times over the years, and each time a large man with beady eyes sits in front and sips beer and wipes sweat from his head. Beside him is a stack of books with titles like "The War of the Austrian Succession." I nod to him, then get in line. Built into the floor is a tiled sign reading "Wait Here." I wait, then order a Constant Buzz ($21.04). It is truth in advertising, a strawberry slush that includes tequila, triple sec, gin, rum and vodka.
7 p.m. For dinner, we drive a couple of miles out of downtown and find Zingerman's Roadhouse, whose chef, Alex Young, has become a multiple James Beard Award nominee. I spend 10 minutes examining the menu, which reads like a roll call of traditional American cooking, every corner of the country covered: oyster hash and deep-fried pork chop and Sprecher's root beer from Wisconsin and buttermilk-fried chicken and Texas cabrito (goat) and six kinds of macaroni and cheese. The hush puppies (in a nod to UM) use blue and yellow corn. Ari Weinzweig, the owner, in a black T-shirt, sleeves rolled, pours water.
Day 3
11:30 a.m. We head back to the Roadhouse. Ari is there again, pouring water, weirdly attentive for a guy worth a gazillion. I order Hangtown Fry, a variation on oyster hash, made with bacon. It's not on the menu; it's a northern California dish, a mining tradition. But they bring out something very close and full of smoke. The extent these people go to attend to your wishes is nuts. I am eating a bagel when the server comes over to give me a black napkin. The white one might flake on my black sweater. We joke and ask her if they will do anything. Yes, says the server, not joking. She explains that they once ran out and got beer and Red Bull at a supermarket for someone. My friend is allergic to potato, yet his plate has a potato. The server steps back in horror and grabs the plate, then asks him: Do you want to nibble on the part not touching the potato while you wait?
2:30 p.m. We drive to Zingerman's Creamery for a tour. It is as hot inside as Washington in July. The cheesemaker pops fresh mozzarella into his hand, squeezes it through his fingers until a ball forms, then snips it off and holds it aloft. Everyone sighs .
4 p.m. Nine miles away is the Dexter Cider Mill, which is 123 years old, the cider press made of a dark oak stained by hundreds of thousands of apples. Behind the wooden barn, a wheelbarrow holds the apple mash, squeezed of its juices. We grab a bag of hot sugared doughnuts and a couple of foam cups of hot cider and sit on a log, watching the Huron River hustle past.
9 p.m. We wrap up with a Zingerman's Roadhouse special dinner. Once a month, a theme is chosen, a guest chef selected. These dinners are fascinating, and huge -- a $45 dinner based on the history of Greek-Jewish food in America, a $45 dinner about the little-known story of black chefs in the White House. This night I attend a Vampires Ball. The food is Irish, every dish a play on a spooky Celtic legend, Chef Alex telling of sauces "churned with a dead man's hand," stepping from his kitchen to remind us that the butter on our Irish soda bread should be so thick that it "touches your gums before the food does."
At the end of the night, my stomach distended, I fall into a coma. Irish folklorist Kevin Danaher, large and smiling and bleary-eyed, sends the guests off with a proverb. It doubles as a nice reminder of the lure of Ann Arbor -- and of comfort food itself:
"Easy to halve the potato where there's love."
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Ann Arbor’s South Main Street: One of the “Ten Great Streets for 2009”
The American Planning Association has named South Main Street in Ann Arbor "one of the 10 Great Streets for 2009." American Planning Association Great Places exemplify exceptional character and highlight the role planners and planning play in creating communities of lasting value.
“Anyone who has visited South Main Street can tell you what a unique and energetic place it is to walk, shop or eat—it is the gathering place of the Ann Arbor community,” said Main Street Area Association Executive Director Maura Thomson.
The American Planning Association singled out South Main for its forward-looking planning and development aimed at helping lower the city’s carbon footprint. Among other things, the city is increasing housing density, preserving historic buildings and increasing transportation choices along South Main Street.
When you visit Ann Arbor, make sure to check out South Main Street, just one of the many great places in the area.
For more information accommodations in Ann Arbor, click here. To begin planning your trip, click here.
Friday, October 02, 2009
Hollywood Stars Give Ann Arbor Area Rave Reviews
Last summer, the Ann Arbor area was full of stars: Drew Barrymore, Ellen Page, and Jimmy Fallon, just to name a few. They came to make the movie Whip It, and they left with a lasting impression.
Says Barrymore, "I felt like it was a blessing we got to shoot there." She was particularly fond of the area's after hours scene.
"On Saturday nights, I would go to the 8 Ball in Ann Arbor and have a cold PBR (Pabst Blue Ribbon) and I loved that . . .We went to see rock bands or we'd go to bars or play pool or bowling."
Whip It''s star, Ellen Page (Juno), also gave the area glowing reviews: "I'd live there in a second," Page said. "I'd go shoot there in a second; I'd encourage a film to go shoot there."
Page was particularly impressed by the area's options for recreation.
"All over (the area), you drive 15-20 minutes and there's some awesome place to hike," she says. "From the bottom of my heart, I absolutely loved it, and I say this all the time."
Whip It, in theaters now, is Drew Barrymore's directorial debut. The film also stars Juliette Lewis, Saturday Night Live's Kristin Wiig, and hip-hop artist Eve.