annarborfoodie

Actually they're not that bad on the weekends (as long as they're open) - but forget it during rush hour. It took me 1 hour and 45 minutes to get home from Bloomfield Hills on Friday. Another option is to take Telegraph south th 96 to M14, assuming M14 is open. I am finally getting a better idea of what my schedule will be over that weekend. I have my firm outing Saturday evening, so I am out for the big dinner. But I'm planning on doing the farmer's market outing, and perhaps the Zingerman's wine thing - depending on timing. If something materializes for Friday night dinner I'm definitely interested in that. Tammy let me know if you need any help with logistics for events other than Saturday night. I saw a post upthread about a ride for Fat Guy - I can do an airport run if needed. Candace

If anyone is looking for more offbeat accomodations, there's the Eighth Street Trekkers' Lodge: http://www.ofglobalinterest.net/trekkers.html (I know the innkeeper).

I don't think it's the Ann Arborites who like to pay too much - it's the people who venture down from the Detroit suburbs (particularly the Northwest side) and the out-of-town visitors who have read/heard about Zingerman's - and many of them (parents visiting kids in school) are New Yorkers who don't blink at the prices. I agree about Morgan & York - I love that place. It's great to go there when I'm having company and decide on a bunch of cheeses and have them help with wine pairings. If they're not too busy, they'll give you lots of samples, and if they're busy, they give you samples of what the person ahead of you is buying while you wait. Zingerman's Roadhouse has definitely aged for the better. On our most recent visit, we did it "chinese style" and got a bunch of dishes to share. We had lots of fun with it. I would never order the macaroni and cheese for dinner, but having a smaller portion was great. Our most memorable experience there was last year on Father's Day. My parents were eating there for the first time, and my mom was wondering why they picked a Roadhouse format. Ari came around to fill our water glasses, so I asked him. He ended up sitting down with us, talking for a long time, and then brought out some samples of things he wanted us to taste (including the above-mentioned grits). That's the kind of thing that makes the Zing empire stand out to me.

The bad thing about the Mayan Chocolate, is that I found myself eating more and more to get to the swirls of cinnamon. The pint did not last long in our house!

Last night's dinner was quesadillas. I had been wanting to make the recipe that was featured on America's Test Kitchen a couple of months ago. I had to buy tortillas and cilantro - but got them at the Mexican market so spent about $1.25 on both. I was able to use up some frozen fire roasted corn from the freezer, along with a packet of cooked chicken. From the fridge, I used sour cream, guacamole (TJ's premade), and three cheese blend. A can of black beans came out of the panty. Tonight is my husband's turn to cook, and he's planning on serving some foodsavered frozen sloppy joes from the last time he cooked dinner. I have some onion rolls leftover from last week, so I'll be glad to use those too!

Last night, I made "garbage" omelettes with as many vegetables as I could stuff into them, and my husband's also had some lox left over from the weekend. I also made an inventory list of the fridge and freezer contents. Tonight, we're having quesadillas. I'm going to have to buy the tortillas and some cilantro, but that's OK - the rest of it will come out of "inventory". And tonight I'm going to make an inventory list of the pantry.

I took this up as a challenge tonight and I'm going to try doing it for the rest of the week. We leave on vacation next week, and we're moving at the end of the summer, so I'd really like to clean out my fridge this week, and the freezer and pantry over the next couple of months. Tonight's dinner was spicy grilled shrimp with mango rice salad and sugar snap peas. I had all of the ingredients on hand, and it was really tasty.

We had a very fun dinner here last night with friends from out of town. We had reservations for 8:00 and were seated right away, downstairs in the funky bubble room - which was cozy and had a good balance between hubub and being able to hear each other speak. The gentlemen shared a flight of pinots (which was one of their featured flights) and the ladies shared a flight of two chards and two sauvignon blancs. Our server wrote up the features of each wine on a mat, so we were able to compare and contrast easily. We decided to order a bunch of small plates, and very much enjoyed our meal. We started with a cheese plate - we wished it had a few more pieces of bread or crackers, but the cheeses were all good, and served at the right temperature. We then had the jumbo shrimp (my least favorite), calamari (very good with the accompanying slaw) a, mini burgers (all of the red-meat eaters' favorite) and the gnocchi, along with salads. I like the fact that the square plates fit on the table easily for sharing. We originally thought we would end up ordering a few more dishes after the first round, but ultimately decided we had enough and wanted to save room for our two-stage dessert. I had my eye on the warm beignets, so we had those (with the rhubarb sorbet, but the berries weren't sugared), and then moved down the street to La Dolce Vita because the guys wanted to get scotch and cigars (they both just finished their dissertations so this was a celebratory evening). We really enjoyed our dinner and will definitely be back.

As a riff on the Jello idea, what about the Rainbow Jello mold? You could make it with sugar-free Jello. Not exactly a gourmet choice, but I'm sure the kids would love it.

Another birthday dinner to report on - last night we went to the Gandy Dancer to celebrate DH's birthday. Bleh. I tried to convince him to go to eve or Pacific Rim, but his fond memories of the Gandy Dancer clouded his judgment. We hadn't been there since the ownership change several years ago. My biggest complaint was that nothing we ordered had any flavor except for the rolls and biscuits in the bread basket. We shared the crab-stuffed avocado as an appetizer. It was on the specials list and it looked like it was going to be good but it just didn't taste like anything. I had the Shrimp Fresca, and the tomato sauce didn't even seem to have any garlic. I am allergic to fish, and everyone else ordered fish, so I didn't get to taste any other entrees, but my husband said that his just didn't have any flavor. I was also a bit critical of the service - our waitress was constantly trying to upsell us, and it got to the point of feeling uncomfortable. We won't be back.

Trader Joe's had a blurb about these in their "Fearless Flyer" magazine that arrived in my mailbox yesterday. They suggested using them anytime you would use shredded mozzarella - like for pizza.

I dined at the Earle Uptown last night for FIL's birthday. If you're looking for a spot for a quiet romantic dinner, this would be a great place. The food was very good, and the service was excellent. There's nothing avant garde about it, it's more along the lines of classic French dining.

There is an interesting variation on rice krispie treats in this month's Cooking Light that could work well for a hike. They have pepitas and dried cranberries, and I also threw in some chocolate chips when I made them the second time. They are really addictive and disappeared quickly in our house. Here's the recipe: http://food.cookinglight.com/cooking/recip...cipe_id=1185377

I have never heard of a Moroccan restaurant in Detroit. The closest I can think of would be Ayse's Cafe in Ann Arbor, which is Turkish. Clear across the Mediterranean Sea, but different from the usual Middle Eastern choices. I did a search in the Metro Times restaurant guide and the only restaurants that came up had Moroccan accents, but weren't Moroccan per se.

I thought of another place in downtown Detroit for you - Vicente's Cuban Cuisine: http://www.metrotimes.com/metropolis/resta...ace.asp?id=9537 Parking is easier over on that side of downtown. You could do a walking tour of downtown Detroit from there - assuming the weather is good. Go through the Renaissance Center, exit at their Wintergarden, go down along the RiverWalk, and then to the Guardian Building.

One is actually called "University Cafe" (it's actually on Church right off of S. Univ., if I'm not mistaken) - that's not the one. There's another one that's called "Coffee Shop" (not kidding) - that's not it either. The one I'm talking about has a very Anglo name - something like "J.D.'s" or "Mr. J.R.'s" or "Jimmy's," you get the point. You'll know it because it's literally a long deli counter. The only way you'd know it's a Korean resto from the outside is that the window is plastered with picto-menu of their dishes (as many Korean/Asian restos do). There's another good Korean resto on the campus - it's kind of awkwardly located. It's called Seoul Korner (yes, it's spelled with a "K"). It's on the corner of E. William and Liberty streets, I think. It's a tiny little hut, just down from Cottage Inn Pizza... they're good for soups. Otherwise, for something higher end with a LOT of options, try Seoul Garden. Located on Boardwalk (near the Briarwood mall). It's a little pricey - but actually not that much more than either of the other two - you just have to pay for service here. Other ethnic eats: sadly, can't recommend any that I've found satisfactory. I've been to Tuptim Thai out in Ypsi a couple of times, and they're okay... but nothing spectacular... but then again, I'm not the biggest fan of Thai food. Blue Nile: substandard Ethiopian fare at unjustifiably high prices... I've heard that Amadeus is good for Austrian food, but have never been. Haven't found any Indian places that have really pleased me either... u.e. ← U. Cafe (as it is known among students) was the favorite of a Korean woman I worked with in family housing's ESL program. Their portions are HUGE and food is good. I have been wondering about Rich JC lately - they are a couple of doors down from the above-mentioned No Thai. The exterior of the building recently got rehabbed and it is looking better. I think that will be the place we try tomorrow. Seoul Korner creeps me out for some reason, but I will eat take out from there. I boycott Seoul Garden, which is a shame because I used to really enjoy their BBQ. I had a dispute with their manager over fake crab that was in my spider roll... I am allergic to fish and specifically asked whether there was fake crab in the roll before I ordered it, and then she refused to take it off my check. I share your assessment of Tuptim - passable but not memorable. Blue Nile too - I can find better ways to spend my dining dollars. Amadeus is a favorite for the middle of winter, when we want something warm and cozy. It doesn't fit into the cheap ethic eats category, but it is worth a try sometime. Madras Masala is our favorite Indian spot lately. It's on Maynard.

Tammy - thanks for the heads up about the Z's Creamery event - I put it on my calendar! Does anyone have any good recent finds for inexpensive/ethnic restaurants? I am still loving our Vietnamese restaurant - MisSaigon on Ellsworth. We tried No Thai on S. University recently - I really liked it but my husband didn't think it had enough flavor. I am going out with my sister-in-law tomorrow night and she's on an artist's budget, so I'm hoping to try somewhere new (to me at least) and cheap - any recommendations? What are your favorite Korean spots?

Rowland Cafe is nice, but wouldn't necessarily be a "destination" restaurant. (I work across the street). The Guardian Building is beautiful though. We're excited to have good coffee downtown though that comes from somewhere other than Starbucks. What about Twingo's? I have heard good things about it since they re-opened, and parking would be easier there than Downtown. It's close to the DIA too. I tried the Breakfast House last week. I enjoyed my pulled chicken omelette, but the service was slow. It definitely isn't geared towards the business lunch crowd, but if you're just hanging out with a friend it shouldn't be bad. The big thing seemed to be fried chicken and waffles - I figured that out after I had ordered. Next time I know what to get!

I agree about Pacific Rim - I liked it much better when they were just Kana a long time ago. My inlaws like it so we seem to end up there at least once a year for some sort of celebration dinner. About Zenaida - it's in the Ashley Mews building on Main St., in the space where there was a short-lived sandwich shop. They seem to be giving it a middle eastern "vibe" but it doesn't quite work. Their gelato was fine, but Zingerman's gelato is better in my opinion. I do want to try their pink champagne sorbetto though!

My husband is in the process of finishing his dissertation (he defended today - yea!) so we have not done a lot of eating out at "nice" restuaurants lately. Last weekend, we revisited Prickly Pear, which is a favorite of mine mostly for the margaritas. It was my belated birthday dinner and I specified that I wanted to go there only if he would be responsible for driving... Afterwards, we tried the new chocolate lounge called Zenaida. It seems like if they get their act together it could be a fun place, but I'm not sure if they'll survive long enough to get to that point. I had the Belgian Bailey's Waffle, which was a so-so Belgian waffle with a scoop of gelato and a wonderful Bailey's flavored chocolate sauce. Next time I would just get the gelato with the sauce. My husband had a gelato milk shake that had a little kick (I can't remember the name). It was very rich.

Yes, Brian teaches there. In fact, when I took the 101 class, he had a ton of leftover charcuterie from a demo he had done in the day program, and he brought it for our class to sample. That was the first time I had ever eaten "homemade" charcuterie and it prompted me to request his restaurant, Five Lakes Grill, for my birthday dinner that year. It doesn't look like he's teaching anything this summer though. In the past, he has done a charcuterie & sausage making class.

Tammy, those truffles look absolutely fabulous! I had wanted to take that class but had another commitment that night. Hopefully they'll run it again. With regards to hands-on cooking classes, I am a big fan of the classes at Schoolcraft Culinary Institute's continuing ed program. My biggest problem is that I can't afford all the classes I want to take... Anything with Chef Gabriel is bound to be a learning experience. Of the hands-on classes, I have taken European Breadmaking, Grilling & BBQ, French Pastry (millefeuille and pate a choux), and a couple more pastry classes with Michelle Bommarito. You have to take the 101 class before you can take anything else, and that is coming up in a couple of weeks. I am pondering the Sauces class for this semester. I really wish I had the time and money to take one of Chef Gabriel's four day classes.

I got married last summer, and I'm figuring that you're limited to what is offered at Macy's and wherever else you're registering? So restaurant supply stuff is out. I registered for (and received) several pans from Chicago Metallic's Commercial line and I have been very happy with them. They are very sturdy - there is no chance those cookie sheets are going to warp. The cake pans have all been fine as well.

Marcie Cohen Ferris (author of Matzoh Ball Gumbo) visited Ann Arbor and Zingerman's Roadhouse did a dinner that featured recipes from the cookbook along with a discussion of the culture and food. I absolutely loved the signature matzoh ball gumbo, and I'm trying to convince my mother that we should have it for the first night of Passover this year. No luck yet, but I'm still working on it...

Many moons later, I got a response to the email I sent to Michelle. Here's what she said: "Candace... Thank you so much for your kind words....i tried getting on egullet a while back ...yet could not make it happen.....i would love to answer any questions that you still may have... Smile......" So - does anyone have either a really good basic guide for how to get someone up and running on egullet, or else, a question that they'd like me to relay?