Food & Entertainment in Ann Arbor

Iroh

To keep it short, I'm now a resident of the Ann-Arbor/Ypsilanti area in Michigan after being reassigned to a new facility for my co-op. I'm interested in knowing what the highlights are, be they restaurants, theatres, or bars, in and around downtown Ann Arbor so that I have a starting point while I get to know it better.

Thanks in advance for anyone who can give me some hints.

mugginns

If you can score tickets, check out a game at the Big House while you're there.

jkylefulton

One of my favorite fancy restaurants is Bella Cia - nice atmosphere, expensive enough to keep families away, great food.

Six

mugginns wrote: »

If you can score tickets, check out a game at the Big House while you're there.

My old roommate and I decided to hit up some college football games a few years ago after playing too much NCAA 2001. One of the games we saw was Purdue-UM in Ann Arbor.

Really a great time, I highly recommend it.

kaliyama

U Mich is the obvious response - I dunno ann arbor well but in the event nobody here goes to the country's second-best college sports franchise, ask your local college and grad students for advice. i'm sure there are guides for new umich kids, too.

DiscGrace

The Blind Pig gets some good shows in - I saw Mustard Plug there when I went to college in Michigan (I went to That Other School, though). If you're carnivorous, I also recommend Blimpie Burger for greasy burger goodness; try the fried veggies too. Yum!

lordthanda

Wow.... Things to do in Ann Arbor.
I think I will start off with


Food

Downtown Ann Arbor is a treasure-trove of restaurants, many of which are good in some way, shape, or form. Very few of them are "oh, my god" amazing all around.

Some of my personal favorite restaurants:

• Red Hawk
• Grizzly Peak
• Cafe Zola
• Mongolian BBQ
• Red Hot Lovers - Hot dog place. VERY good hot dogs and french fries.
• China Gate

There are MANY restaurants that I did not mention, and that is not to say that they are bad, only that they are not my favorite. Many of them are rather "high class." I use the quotes because Ann Arbor-ites tend to think they are more cultured than the general populace, and this is rarely the case. These restaurants tend to cater towards these people, although it says nothing about the quality of their food (usually it is pretty good)

"Ritzy" restaurants:

• Real Seafood Co.
• Gratzi
• Chop House - The Chop House has an attached desert bar called La Dolce Vita
• West End Grill (This used to be one of my favorites, but I have not been there in a long long time so I can not make a claim on their quality)

Note: Most of these are owned by Main Street Ventures. There is a lot of contention about this company as being monopolistic, among other things.


I should pause here to bring up a more specific type of food: Pizza.
Ann Arbor has 4 main pizzerias, all thinking that they are far superior to each other. I have listed with each my personal arguments for/against each.
Pizzerias:

• New York Pizza Depot (NYPD) - Brooklyn Style Pizza
  • Pros: Huge slices. Delicious taste.
  • Cons: Becoming very "main stream" and raising their prices
• Pizza House - Chicago Style Deep Dish
  • Pros: Wide variety. Medium pricing.
  • Cons: Not as much of a pizzeria as a restaurant that serves rather tasty (so I'm told) Pizza
• Backroom Pizza - Generic "pizza"
  • Pros: Cheap by the slice.
  • Cons: It's called Backroom for a reason. It's part of the kitchen attached to "The Brown Jug"
• Silvio's - Italian Style Pizza
  • Pros: The most delicious pizza in Ann Arbor. True Italian pizza, where the crust is the important part. Also, most of the ingredients are organic, which in a town such as Ann Arbor can be a big thing.
  • Cons: Probably the most expensive of the list
• *Cottage Inn

*Cottage Inn is included here because the Cottage Inn Cafe is located in Ann Arbor and it is now a large chain in Southeast Michigan (as well as surrounding areas)



Ann Arbor has several very very good bars, and each one tends to specialize in different aspects of "bar-hood".
Bars:

• Ashley's - A beer bar. Tends to be quieter than most of the others and prides itself on having well over 100 beers for you to choose from at any one time.
• Good Time Charley's - A bar more geared towards cocktails. HUGE cocktail menu. More popular with students.
• Arbor Brewing Company - Not too familiar with this one, like Ashley's they pride themselves more on their beer than their mixed drinks. I do recommend the Irish Sunday (I think that's what it's called. Ice Cream Sunday with Bailey's Irish Cream)
• Mitch's Place (1301 South University, 734-665-2650) - Student run bar. Was closed for many years but just re-opened recently.

There are MANY MANY other restaurants, and I tried containing myself to just Downtown Ann Arbor, to speak nothing of outer-town or Ypsi. If I did not, this post would be about the size of a small book. However, there is a good guide to Ann Arbor (sadly, not Ypsi yet) here.

lordthanda

I think I'm going to hold off at just food for now, but I'll try to get "entertainment" up sometime soon.

One thing I will say for entertainment, go check out Zap Zone Laser Tag. Laser Tag is good. And Fun.

jkylefulton

I use the quotes because Ann Arbor-ites tend to think they are more cultured than the general populace, and this is rarely the case.

Yeah, be prepared for high levels of pretention from some of the locals. Even with that, it's still a great place to live for a few years.

Drag

This "pretentious ann arborites" stuff is way overexaggerated.

Anywho, like lordthanda said, there are tons and tons of restaurants and bookstores all around the central campus area. The Main Library on Fifth ave has a pretty huge collection of books, music and movies, so if you're into that thing you should get a library membership as soon as possible.

The Michigan Theater is generally playing neat movies you wouldn't normally find in mainstream theatres like Showcase. The Power Center always has awesome shows

One place you definitely can't miss is the Kerrytown area (http://www.kerrytown.com/) near central campus. All kinds of neat specialty shops with a few restaurants and cafes around (most notably, Zingerman's). If you're ever looking to buy fantastic sandwiches, really expensive groceries, or if you just want to go to the weekly food tastings (generally $20 each), you owe it to yourself to check out Zingerman's.

bigpanda

Drag wrote: »

This "pretentious ann arborites" stuff is way overexaggerated./QUOTE]

Depends on what your used to dealing with. If you're coming from rural middle America, or a big time blue collar area (inside Detroit city limits, south Chicago, etc), AA will seem pretentious. If you're coming from a yuppified "International" city like some parts of NYC, Chicago, LA, SF, Seattle, etc. they'll seem like a bunch of rubes. Culturally speaking (art, music, etc.) it's probably the best area in Michigan to experience that stuff.

Either way, I miss the hell out of AA. Haven't been back in a couple of years, but if you're into Anime or Japanese Otaku type imports then check out Wizzywig if it's still around. Pinball Pete's and the Michigan Theatre were also staples when I was out there.

If you're into hiking, biking, etc. then you're also in a great spot as there's plenty of places to go just outside the city. Once the fall hits (after Labor Day) the cider mills are highly recommended. It's definitely a Michigan thing and if you can find the older historical mills, they're really beautiful.

bigpanda

Also forgot to mention it's a great place for CCG's, miniature wargaming and all that kinds of geeky silliness that I miss as well. I still haven't seen a state that has more quality game stores than when I lived in Mich.

jkylefulton

This "pretentious ann arborites" stuff is way overexaggerated.

Well, that's what I experienced in the 25 years that I lived in that area. I suppose my experience could be the exception.

Iroh

Thanks a lot for all the replies since I last checked in, especially to lordthanda. I will definitely be checking out some of this stuff during the coming weeks.

Qs23

Ok, Being born in Ann Arbor, Growing up in Saline, and now going to Eastern Michigan (in Ypsilanti) I can give you some added lowdown.

For Bars and Food in Ypsi, there are two places to look. Downtown and Depot town. Downtown is where Michigan Ave cuts through Ypsi, and Depot Town is right around Cross street from the Brick Dick to River Street.

For Downtown food, there are a couple of greasy diners. I would say that you would have to goto Abe's at least once. Heck, even Clinton stopped by when he was president. They are open 24 hours too. Note: Last time I was there, it was cash only.

And then there is Bombers down by the parks. If you want a big greasy breakfast to get ya going in the morning, that is the place. Note: they are only open for breakfast and lunch.

For Bars downtown, There is the Tap Room (I've never been) and the Club Divine complex. I say complex because Club Divine, Pub 13 and the Best Damn Sports Bar are all in the same building and owned by the same guy. Oh, there is also a Buffalo Wild Wings (known as B-Dubs) and Deja Vu (Known just as "The Vu") is around the corner if that's your thing. Note: no drinking in the strip club.

I'll update ya about Depot Town later, but their site gives ya an overview.

Side Note: If anybody from the PA forums is in AA / Ypsi or going to be. Drop me a line and I will gladly take you out and buy you a drink. Oh, And Thanda is just promoting Zap Zone because he works there.

DRxAndy

i can't believe how many posts it took for a zingermans rec
ZINGERMANS IS SO RAD
minus the expence, they're like the best deli in the midwest - it would be foolhardy to go to AA without a trip there

swooon


anyways, arbor brewing company is great too (i wish to visit corner in ypsi eventually) - michigan is loaded with brewpubs/breweries with delicious beers - a short trip from AA to detroit will yield about 10 or more other great places

if you ever come around the battle creek / lansing area, visit michigan brewing company in webberville, arcadia brewing in BC, and darkhorse brewery in marshall

mmmm beer