annarborfoodie

I have a Le Creuset that I love. I bought it in Switzerland, schlepped it through France for a couple of months, and was dismayed to see it available at Marshall's after I got home...

I have had these buggers more than once in Michigan. I think I finally have a system down to keep them out of my kitchen. After the last infestation, I invested in hard plastic containers for everything grain related (rice, flour, etc.). Whenever I buy rice or flour or other grain products, they go into the freezer for 24 hours. This will kill any larvae that are lurking in the package. That's usually how they get into your house - through something you buy in the market. I do the bay leaf thing too - figured it couldn't hurt. I got a bag of them at the Mexican market pretty cheaply and put them on every shelf.

We tried Quarter Bistro about a month ago. I wasn't that impressed; I think there are better options in Ann Arbor for that price range. We were there on a weeknight, and service was fine though a bit overly attentive. They were pretty busy - we had a short wait for a table and I think it was a Tuesday night. In Detroit though, I think one restaurant to try would be Atlas Global Bistro. They have made great strides since they first opened, and just got a really nice review in the Detroit News acknowledging their progress. I haven't heard much about Mosaic, which opened recently in Greektown. It is owned by two daughters of Jim Papas, who owns much of Greektown. Seldom Blues and Andiamo Riverfront are two nice additions to the Renaissance Center.

I'm making a Trifle from the November 2003 "Gourmet" - I'm not remembering the exact name right now, but it has a pumpkin caramel cream sauce, cinnamon pastry cream, roasted apples & pears, and ladyfingers. I did the caramel cream sauce last night and it is to die for

I give the same two food gifts every year - white chocolate peppermint bark (recipe from epicurious) and Ina Garten's Outrageous Brownies. People start asking me if I'll be giving them again right after Halloween.

I got the Griddler as a wedding gift a couple of months ago and I absolutely love it. We use it at least once a week. It works really well for sandwiches, but I've also discovered that in the panini mode, it is great for "grilling" vegetables - last week I wanted some eggplant to put on a pizza - I sliced it thinly, put it in the Griddler, and it was cooked in less than ten minutes. The removeable plates are easy to clean. I don't know that it's the best value, but in terms of versatility, it's great.

They're actually open most Tuesdays too - but they serve their International Dinners then, which are prix fixe. I have taken a bunch of classes in their continuing ed program and I'm always drooling over the stuff that is being served at the restaurant.

A few ideas - Sweet Lorraine's in Berkley (I think - if not Berkley then somewhere close to that) Vining's Bistro on Woodward Hong Hua on Orchard Lake - upscale Chinese Loving Spoonful on 12 Mile in Farmington Hills If the timing is right - American Harvest at Schoolcraft Culinary Institute - best bargain in town

Cousin's was on a long downward slide after changing ownership, and then had a "change of concept" and became an Italian restaurant specializing in banquet/private meals. I haven't heard anything about it lately and don't know if it's still open or not. It was/is called Tuscan House.

I just wanted to report on a new (to us at least) find for terrific Vietnamese food -MisSaigon - on Ellsworth at the corner of Stone School (same strip mall as Tios and Ahmos). They opened about a year ago, in a space that was formerly occupied by a Chinese/Sushi restaurant. We thought that it was the Miss Saigon restaurant that used to be on Ellsworth in Ypsi, but they're completely different. They have some Chinese food on their menu, because the owner said they get a lot of people in (especially at lunch time) who won't try Vietnamese and just want the old standards. He brought in a chef from San Francisco to do the Chinese dishes. His wife and her parents are in charge of the Vietnamese side of the menu, and that's all I can report on. So far, the biggest hit has been the Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup (Pho Ga). The broth is so flavorful that I keep finding myself thinking about it. I have never had such a flavorful broth. The first time we went, they had a papaya salad on special. It was completely different from anything we'd had before - the papaya was green and not sweet - more like a vegetable (it reminded me of jicama). The dressing was really light and tangy, with a little bit of kick from chili peppers. That visit, we also had a dish with beef and basil that was fabulous, and pan fried noodles in chicken. The beef was really tender and the dish had great flavor. The noodles were less of a standout, but still very good. This weekend, we were going to a concert directly from dinner, so we ordered less since we couldn't take home leftovers. We got the potstickers, which were good but not stand-outs, the chicken soup again, and the Mai's Delight - which is prepared with two sauces and was very good. Next time, we want to try the crepe. Prices are very reasonable - entrees are $8-12. Our tab this weekend was $26 for the soup, entree, potstickers, and two drinks. They don't have a liquor license, unfortunately. From appearances, business is a little slow, so I wanted to get the word out about this place - we want it to stick around! If you go, it is worth talking to the owner before you order to find out if they have anything special, and get his recommendations on what to order. He's really pleasant to talk to - he has very good english skills, and is really interested in making sure you have a good experience.

It seems like these items on your list could be skimped on less painfully by way of a trip to Trader Joe's. Their chocolate chips are awesome and about $1.50 a bag. Vanilla is $5 for a bottle (I'm not sure how many oz - maybe 5?). And Cabot butter is about $3.50.

Today's Free Press reports that the restaurant is reopened and is in the process of being bought by Frank Taylor and other investors.

I'm glad La Shish will work for you. I realized while driving home today that there's another location that's even less of a detour off of I275; get off at 6 Mile and turn right, it's through the first intersection, in a strip mall on the right.

I think some of the best low-carb without being deliberately low-carb can be found at Middle Eastern restaurants. Just skip the bread and rice, and you can have some really nicely seasoned grilled meats and veggies. (Though the bread is hard to skip when it's fresh!). If you get off I275 at the 12 Mile Rd. exit, and turn right, there is a La Shish about 2 miles down on the left side. Check their web site for exact location - but it's not too much of a detour and the food is fabulous.

In that case, I'd recommend Annam in downtown Dearborn. It's upscale Vietnamese. The food and the atmosphere are fabulous.

I still think it was Mon Jin Lau. I haven't been there in a couple of years, but I could swear I remember the waitress writing her name on the table with a flourish. I am tempted to call them and find out... Tammy - about lunch in Downtown Detroit - I have recently had two nice business lunches at Andiamo Riverfront in the Renaissance Center. Sweet Lorriane's is less upscale, but good, though they can sometimes be slow during the lunch rush, especially on Thursday and Friday. Opus One is a classic business lunch spot and consistently good. Finally, I've been to Sweet Georgia Brown once for a business lunch, and it was pretty good, but I'd put Andiamo and Opus One ahead of it. Further away from downtown proper, good choices would include Small Plates and Atlas Global Bistro. Just remembered one more high-end choice - Seldom Blues in the Ren Cen. I'd put them third after Opus One and Andiamo.

Any words of wisdom on which mid-level All-Clad line is best? I am getting married next week and wanted to register for good cookware. After reading the eG course on cookware, I decided to register at Amazon.com, so that I could get pieces from the Sitram Catering line. Well, apparently my parents' friends are afraid of the Internet, so two weeks ago I changed course and added All-Clad to my registry at the local department store. I chose the MasterChef 2 line, based on what I know. Was that the right way to go, or would I be better off with the Stainless? (I don't like the anodized exterior of the LTD line).

I think you're talking about Mon Jin Lau, which is one of my all time favorite restaurants. I frequently picked it for my birthday dinner when I was a teenager and in college. They were doing Asian fusion before fusion was a word.

For us, the clue that we're in the wrong place is when we sit down, there are a bunch of un-bussed tables around us. We've finally learned to get up and leave when that situation arises.

For Trader Joe's in particular, the issue is most likely the geographic location of the state, rather than the "respectability" of the city. I did some research on the company for work (I'm a corporate librarian). They position their stores to match their distribution channels. They have a distribution center in California, and another in Massachusetts. They tend to open new stores along the highways that connect their existing stores. For example, after they opened in Chicago, the Detroit Indianapolis, and Cleveland areas were logical next steps. The furthest South they go currently is Virginia. So it would be a stretch for them to open in Georgia. They keep their costs low because their is no middle man - which means they have to be their own distributor. I have no complaints about my food-buying options though - we have Trader Joe's, one of the largest Whole Foods in the country, Zingerman's, Big 10 Market (run by guys who used to work at Zingerman's), a great farmer's market, and a couple of good produce and butcher shops. All we're lacking in the immediate vicinity is Costco - we have one about 20 miles away and they've been talking about building one here.

I have been lurking on this thread for ages, but I'm getting married in a month and I just knew that I wouldn't be able to participate in the full event. I might be able to sneak in the morning's Zingerman's tours though. Anyway, I was taking photos at the farmer's market and Zing's last Saturday for a different project and thought I'd share a few here to give you all a preview of what you're going to experience in Tree Town this weekend! Zingerman's outside Bread Counter Line! The market

I have checked back a bunch of times in the last couple of days just to see if you posted your pictures yet, so I'll try to help with basic directions. First you have to upload photos to a place like Imagestation. If you go on the site, they have good directions for how to do it. It's not too complicated. My mom can do it Open up a new Internet Explorer window and bring up eGullet and your thread. Click "add reply" (not fast reply). Above the text box, there are a bunch of "buttons". One of them says "IMG". Click IMG. That should bring up a box that says "Enter URL". Now go back to your photo, and right click on the photo and select properties. In the window that pops up, there should be an address that looks something like this: http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid1...72/f39ce54c.jpg highlight the address, and then right click on it to copy. Then go back to egullet and paste the address in the IMG box. Then you should get something like this: (this is the cake I made last weekend for a friend's daughter) It all sounds very complicated but once you get the hang of it, it's not too bad.] Hope that Helps!

There is a Vietnamese hybrid place (I think they also do some Chinese and Thai) at the corner of South University and South Forest. It's called Saigon Garden. It's not stellar, but not bad either. One of our favorite quick dinner spots is Paradise Restaurant - it's further from downtown/campus but not as far as Ypsilanti. It's on Eisenhower in the Collonade shopping center. It's also hybrid Chinese and Thai.

I third the recommendation for Sabor Latino - it was the first place that I thought of when I read that you wanted cheap ethnic food. I also agree with Dalat for Vietnamese. For inexpensive Korean, we like U. Cafe on Church St., across from Pizza House - we were introduced to it when I had a Korean conversation partner. Speaking of Pizza House - they have the most consistently good American-style pizza in Ann Arbor. For BBQ - there aren't many choices. Smokehouse Blues is good but not great; Zingerman's Roadhouse is good but not enough smoke for my tastes; ribs are good at Carson's on Plymouth in the NE corner of town. But this is coming from someone who goes to Kansas City a couple of times a year and eats BBQ four meals out of six while there... Great cheap mexican food can be found in Ypsilanti - at La Fiesta Mexicana. For the true Ann Arbor experience, you really have to go to Zingerman's deli. Crowds shouldn't be too bad right now - I'm not aware of any big events in town. You could combine it with a visit to the Farmer's Market Saturday morning and have a very nice experience.

Here are my recommendations - mostly repeats of what are above. I work in Downtown Detroit so these are mostly places I've been for business lunches. - Andiamo in the Ren Cen; their "Pronto" cafe is good for a quick lunch too - I'm not sure if that part is open for dinner. - Seldom Blues in the Ren Cen; I was just there yesterday. Service was a bit slow but the food was good and the presentation was beautiful. - Sweet Lorraine's in the Courtyard Marriott across the street from the Ren Cen - Zoup in the Ren Cen food court has excellent soup if you want a quicker meal; they have some good healthy options too if you're getting sick of heavy restaurant meals. - Small Plates (five minute cab ride) is my favorite downtown restaurant - For a bit of an adventure, go across the river to Windsor for chinese; we like Shin Shin but it was just written up in the Detroit News today so it may end up swamped. (you need a driver's license and birth certificate or a passport to get across the border). - While in Detroit, you must try Middle Eastern food. The East Michigan Ave. location of La Shish would be about a fifteen-minute cab ride. - I agree about Agave - not that great. But they have good margaritas and a nice outdoor area if the weather is good. Atlas Global Bistro is passable.