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annarborfoodie

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Everything posted by annarborfoodie

  1. I can't remember the name of the huge cheap Asian place in Ypsi either but I can give directions - Go north on US23 - exit at Washtenaw towards Ypsi. The place will be on the right side about a half mile down. It used to be a Mazda/Toyota dealership and it looks like it. There is another one called Tsai Grocery that is near Target at Ann Arbor-Saline Rd. and I-94 but the prices aren't quite as good. For cheeses you can't beat Morgan & York (formerly Big Ten) on Packard. For groceries, I give Hiller's a slight edge over Busch's. I used to live across the street from Busch's but would still drive across town to Hiller's sometimes. Hiller's is at the intersection of 23 & Washtenaw in the Arborland shopping mall - get off Washtenaw towards Ann Arbor. I do my major shopping in Ann Arbor still - even though I live 5.5 hours away in east central Illinois. I can't imagine there's anything you can't find there if you know where to look. editing to add that I found the name of the huge cheap Asian place in kitchenchick's blog - it's called Hua Xing. Here's a link to her post about it. The address is 2867 Washtenaw in Ypsilanti.
  2. I think Dennisport is kind of a culinary wasteland. It's more touristy than the other places mentioned on this thread. Our cottage is in Chatham, and we tend to eat in Chatham, Orleans, and Brewster, with about one trip per week up to Wellfleet. We have friends who used to own a B&B in Dennisport, and I can't even remember where we went to eat when we visited them - that's not a good sign.
  3. This is my go-to recipe as well although I don't bother with splitting the ball. I find if I use a 1 oz disher they still turn out with a nice textured surface. Crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside. MMmmmmm... ← Ditto - I use the Thick & Chewy recipe but abandoned the blob technique many years ago for a disher. These are my go-to cookie - I have the recipe memorized and these are what I use for care packages, fund raisers, etc. I took a Foodsavered package of them in my suitcase to California last week and the TSA inspector was a bit perplexed when she pulled them out of my bag I Foodsavered them when they were still a bit warm so they got a little smooshed.
  4. My list of top KC BBQ spots is very similar. I love Oklahoma Joe's - and the ambience plays into that. It's just so cool that there's a really good restaurant at a gas station. It's also about ten minutes from grandma's house (she lives near Loose Park), so it's easy to run over there. I like the brisket at LC's but I can't handle the ambience there - I always get takeout. On my last trip, we tried the new Jack Stack on the Plaza, and I didn't like it as much as the Freight House location. Their burnt ends and beans are tops in my book. I liked Arthur Bryant's for the experience. I will never forget the look on my newly-reformed former vegetarian sister-in-law's face when they slapped a ginormous sausage on the cutting board to make her sandwich. I'm not a big fan of their sauce.
  5. I was brought up to not like vegetables - influenced by the fact that my father refused to eat them, and my mother steamed really stinky broccoli in the microwave every night. In recent years, I have really tried to up my vegetable intake. My new thing is to take a recipe that serves four, cut the protein (and starch if applicable) quantity in half, and add a few handfuls of veggies in its place. That way I have enough sauce to put over the veggies and make them a little more palatable.
  6. Another hit-or-miss bargain-hunting mecca is Kiwanis in Ann Arbor. It's open on Saturday mornings only. It's like one gigantic garage sale. Kitchen Port is a good kitchen shop in Ann Arbor. The prices aren't bargains but the selection is good and they are very helpful. Everyday Cook is in Kerrytown - last time I was there they were re-vamping their selection, so I'm not sure what their current status is. There are lots of ethnic markets in Ann Arbor - a bunch of Middle-Eastern markets on Packard between Stone School and Carpenter, and several Asian markets. Tsai Grocery is in the shopping mall just south of Target and across the street from Meijer - I think they are the biggest and the cleanest. There is another big one on Washtenaw towards Ypsi - I can't remember the name but it's in a former Toyota dealership. I've heard that there is a new Polish market on Main St. in the little shopping plaza near the train tracks. In Detroit, there is a really good Mexican market called Honey Bee Market. It's on Bagley at 17th St.. It's newly renovated, and very clean. They have excellent fresh tortillas for less than $1 a package. One more that might not be obvious to a new person in town - there are two excellent locally-owned grocery store chains in the area (west side of Detroit including Ann Arbor) - Busch's and Hiller's. I like Hiller's better - they have excellent produce and meats. Editing to add one more in Ann Arbor - Morgan & York, which was formerly Big Ten Market. Look for the CHEESE CHEESE CHEESE neon sign on Packard near Stadium. They have an amazing cheese selection. Sign up on their web site for their e-mail newsletter and find out about special events and sales.
  7. When we were there in December, a couple seated near us had an infant, and they were fine. I think they even had one of those stands to put an infant seat in. We got to the restaurant pretty late - like 8PM and weren't seated for about a half hour, and I remember those people arrived after us.
  8. A friend did honeycomb decorations on her wedding cake (it also had adorable gumpaste bees) and she used bubble wrap to get the texture. I'm thinking that the bigger bubble wrap might work for a golf ball?
  9. I have the Zyliss spinner and I like it because after you spin the salad, you can dump out the water and remove the basket and make the salad in the bowl of the spinner. It's clear plastic and is definitely fine for a family dinner but I've been known to use it for a casual dinner with friends too.
  10. If you want to go classic rather than eclectic, we had a great meal at Schuler's in Marshall a couple of months ago. The service was excellent and we enjoyed every minute of our evening there.
  11. I got married in August '05, and took the matter very seriously... The best places I registered were Amazon.com and Crate & Barrel. The loser was Marshall Fields (now Macy's), but my sister just got married and registered at Macy's and didn't have any serious problems. The Amazon registry was great because they carry a lot of items you don't find at an average department store (like Sitram cookware). The problem was that my parents' friends were hesitant to shop there. The Crate & Barrel registry was wonderful - we didn't get a single duplicate, and when I went back almost a year later with a martini glass that I had just unboxed and discovered it had arrived broken, they didn't flinch at exchanging it.
  12. I thought it was just the backwards town I live in that lead to the disappearance of Dawn Power Dissolver... I will start a hunt - I love that stuff and my current bottle is about empty. One more suggestion for crud on pans - Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. I recently took all of the blackened crud off the bottom of my Le Creuset with it. It's also especially good for removing adhesive residue on pots, dishes, glasses, etc. It works for a gunked up cooktop too!
  13. We love the BBQ beef shortribs at BeWon! That is a great little spot.
  14. Thanks for the recommendations! Due to the wedding, we want the simplest option possible and it looks like Rosie's fits that bill - they'll deliver to the restaurant so we don't have to worry about it at all. And their cakes look great!
  15. Finally someone who understands our pain! It is just really hard to like it here having lived in somewhere as wonderful as Ann Arbor. We are trying to embrace the prairie though and take advantage of our surroundings. We like to go down to the Amish area about a half hour South of Champaign. Back on topic - I just double-checked - the Wednesday Champaign market is the one I mentioned above - in a parking lot at the western edge of town. So it's not helping the downtown area, though that area is actually very much up-and-coming.
  16. awesome photos Joe! You're making me drool...
  17. I think that the proximity to Detroit helps Ann Arbor a lot. They get people with money from the suburbs eating at their restaurants, not just the locals and students. There is also better availability of ingredients (especially in the winter). I think one of the hardest things about living here is the lack of good produce during the winter, and anywhere other than the Farmer's Market, joining a CSA, or having a great garden in the summer. Champaign is just so isolated in the middle of a cornfield, and there are comparatively few people who know good food. Most people who are looking for a good dining experience head up to Chicago for the night. Champaign doesn't have a downtown Farmer's Market - there is something in a parking lot at the edge of town in the middle of the week (I've never been). Urbana has a Saturday farmer's market in the parking lot of their moribund downtown shopping center. Interestingly, Champaign's downtown area is further along in its redevelopment than Urbana's.
  18. My sister is getting married on my dad's birthday. I asked her months ago and she assured me she would have a cake at the wedding. Now she's planning on sticking a candle in a piece of wedding cake, and that's not going to fly. The wedding is at the Park Plaza, and my parents are hosting a lunch for their friends & family across the street at Maggiano's on the day of the wedding. I'd like to get a cake to serve at the lunch. Any recommendations for where to order it from? Maybe one of the North End spots? TIA for any advice.
  19. I moved from a place with many great independant spots (Ann Arbor MI) to a chain restaurant wasteland with a few good independent places (Champaign-Urbana IL). I think it's just a matter of people not knowing any better for the demand to be there for really good independent restaurants to make it. They really seem to think that Applebee's is a good place to eat (in fact it's the only full service restauarant in the smaller town south of Champaign where I live). Being a college town, I think we have a better selection of the campus pub-type places than we would otherwise, but the chains are showing up there too - such as Bar Louie.
  20. I made the Brrrr-ownies Thursday night to send to work with my husband, and to take to a meeting at my office. My husband screwed up and took the container meant to stay home to the office - and it was a big mistake, because I held back more brownies than I was sending to work! I think they were my favorite item from the book so far. I made the mistake of overbaking the choco-ginger crackles I made last week, so I pulled these from the oven at the beginning of the time specified, and they were perfect. I used peppermint patties that I got on clearance after Valentine's Day, and they were interesting because the insides were pink... I'm sure people were wondering what the pink stuff was, especially in the little bit that bubbled on the surface. These will be a definite repeater, probably as soon as next week.
  21. For anyone looking for a good deal on a Le Creuset who doesn't mind a big one - I spotted 8Q pots at Costco in Kansas City on Sunday for about $160. I know Costco's selection varies by location, but if you're looking for an oval dutch oven, it's worth a try.
  22. I made another escape from the cornfields to Kansas City last weekend, and as I did my shopping around town, I lamented the fact that one of the few things K.C. doesn't have is Trader Joe's. I love Brookside Market, though it's in a different league price-wise. It's 1000 times better than anything we have in Champaign-Urbana. I also hit Costco Sunday morning - which appears to be THE time to go to Costco - whole families were there in their Sunday finest. Trader Joe's has to come to Kansas City eventually... I waited so long for them to arrive in Michigan, and then moved away to another town where I have to live without. I am thrilled with the new store just off Michigan Ave. in Chicago though. They give you one hour free parking, so we can drive over there after we check out of our hotel, and stock up before we hit the road.
  23. One place not mentioned so far that fits your description (though a bit of a hike from the Metro area proper) is Ayse's Cafe in Ann Arbor. Ayse herself will serve you fabulous homemade Turkish food. The prices are very reasonable, and it's definitely out of the ordinary.
  24. We chuckled last night when we noticed "Chef's Prefix Menu" on the list of specials. I guess a Japanese restaurant shouldn't try to use French on their menu?
  25. So, we ended up at Tsuki. We were debating between Tsuki and Mirai, and decided to save Mirai for a time when my cousin who lives in Wicker Park could join us. We really enjoyed the food, but the service left something to be desired... We had an 8:00 reservation, arrived a few minutes after that, and were seated immediately. There did not appear to be anyone waiting for a table at that time, or when we left, and there seemed to be one or two open tables all night. We got the impression that they were running low on serving plates - they snatched ours away as soon as the last piece of sushi had been picked up. With our last plate, I had to stop them three times because we were still eating our last pieces and wanted the ginger. They also seemed to be short on menus - the server left one on our table in case we wanted to order something else, but it was later snatched away by a roving hostess. It felt more like a chain restaurant where they're trying to rush you through than a "date night" restaurant. We were out the door in a little over an hour, and we had drinks, appetizer, sushi, and dessert. Speaking of drinks - I had a ginger martini that was fabulous. I had never had anything like it - it was full of grated ginger, with a slice of ginger floating on top. The best part was the last sip, with a drop of liquour-infused ginger. We did enjoy our dinner, but we'll try Mirai before we return to Tsuki (at least on a Saturday night).
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