VKitchen
My first memory of Vietnamese food has a dateline of Paris in the 1980s. Narrow stereotypes about what was tasty in Europe’s cities had been crumbling, all for the best. Nothing could have tasted fresher than that first...
Read MoreDine
Yee Siang Dumplings
When reviewing a Chinese restaurant, I’m usually baffled about where to start. Most menus are so vast it’s almost impossible to test a representative sample. Moreover, everyone has his or her favorite dishes,...
Read MoreGrizzly Peak
In fall 2015, Grizzly Peak Brewing Company marked several significant milestones in interesting ways. Aficionados celebrated the 4,000th batch of beer brewed at the Washington St. pub with a hoppy but balanced “4K”...
Read MoreCookie Exchange
For M.L. Slater, a sixth-generation Ann Arborite, getting ready for Christmas has always meant baking “her” cookies. She’ll whip up some delicate cinnamon stars, but it’s springerle she’s most...
Read MoreChristmas Shopping
For my husband’s family, conversation–even the exchange of trivia–is highly prized, so dinner with the in-laws is always a lively, animated affair. The actual meal, though, might be less inspired. My own...
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Back2Roots Bistro
If you dine out with vegans, you know that ordering a meal often involves more questions than an episode of Jeopardy. Is there meat in the soup or its broth? Butter in the cake? Lard anywhere? I’ll never forget a harried...
Read MoreTaste Kitchen
What’s a new restaurateur to do once it becomes clear the public isn’t interested in their enterprise? Changing concepts is hard and expensive and often means forfeiting a dream. Naturally enough, many instead try...
Read MoreSalt Springs Brewery
Michigan has become a craft beer hot spot, and its southeast got another pin on the map when Salt Springs Brewery opened in Saline in July. A local partnership, backed by fifty citizen investors, built the brewery and artisanal...
Read MoreMacheko Grill
Having worked in restaurants for years, I knew why Macheko Grill’s entire crew was sitting down at the end of the night to a staff dinner of Jet’s pizza. No matter how wonderful the food, or enthusiastic the crew at...
Read MoreIt’s Food Truck Season
As it turned out, June 17 wasn’t the best evening for the Ann Arbor Farmers Market’s first food truck rally of the season. Like much of the spring, the weather was rainy and cool, and with the trucks spread out...
Read MoreRuth’s Chris Steak House
In my first visit to Ann Arbor’s new Ruth’s Chris Steak House, our foursome meandered past a stylized portrait of Marilyn Monroe into an elegantly appointed dining room. As we settled into our seats of...
Read MoreJerusalem Garden
For nearly three decades, Jerusalem Garden’s food and fellowship kept loyal fans ducking into its hobbit hole of a storefront on Fifth Ave. across from the post office. I’d pop in mainly for carryout, because the...
Read MoreRicewood Barbecue Truck
You’re going to feel like you’ve walked on the set of last year’s uplifting movie Chef, about guys getting in touch with life’s meaty matters via a food truck, when you track down the new Ricewood...
Read MoreBlank Slate Creamery
Blank Slate Creamery marks its first anniversary in early July with reasons to celebrate–like frequent lines out the door for little scoops of its distinctive deep-freeze creations. Could this spell the end of turnover at...
Read MoreCasablanca
My husband retired this spring, and after throwing a party for 150 colleagues, friends, and relatives, we’re planning to go to Morocco this fall. He went to Morocco once, more than thirty years ago, after a month of...
Read MoreRobin Hills Farm
Robin Hills Farm of Chelsea may be coming late to Southeast Michigan’s crowded market for community-supported agriculture (CSA) crop shares, but it’s arriving with a few interesting twists. Vegetable manager Mitzi...
Read MoreWolverine State Brewing Co.
Hard to believe Wolverine State Brewing Co. has been hidden away in the parking lot behind Big George’s for nearly a decade. It has not only survived but thrived as an ultimate townie watering hole, in recent years adding...
Read MorePicnics, Past and Present
Early in our long courtship, my husband and I frequently stowed the dogs and a few supplies in the back of the van and headed out for a picnic. Sometimes, with a destination in mind–one where we could savor both food and...
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