Detroit’s famous Slows BBQ has made forays into Ann Arbor, but they have mainly been exclusive or fleeting: catering for sports team dinners, a booth at the art fair, a tailgating stand on Hoover before home football games. Now, thanks in part to the relatively new Cass Corridor Slows to Go, it’s a featured guest restaurant at the U-M Ross School of Business every Thursday starting at 11 a.m. As at Westside, there’s no predetermined end time–it’s whenever the supply runs out.
If a comparison is to be made between Slows and Westside, I’d say the latter is both more flavorful and less confused by flavoring add-ons. Slows’ “Pit-Smoked Baked Beans” had the same hearty complement of meat chunks as Westside’s, but a cloying molasses-like sweetness made them less appetizing. Some of Slows’ sauces had almost artificial flavor–including one the manager said was flavored mainly with Honeycrisp apples. And the mac and cheese was already dry before noon.
The main courses, on the other hand, were fine. The rubbed, marinated, and smoked wings had a lot of smoky flavor partly because they had a lot of meat. Zingerman’s buns made the sandwiches a little more special. There was no brisket the day I was there; based on the number of B-school students who pivoted and left the minute they found that out, the brisket must be pretty special.
Parking on Central Campus at lunchtime on a Thursday is probably not much less hassle than driving to Detroit, but if you’re in the area, it might be worth a try.
