Restaurant Reviews

Katoi

What’s pop-up, what’s practice, what’s temporary, what’s permanent? New, experimental business models are giving chefs and entrepreneurs opportunities to test different service avenues–great for us...

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Jerusalem 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...

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Blank 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...

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Casablanca

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...

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Robin 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...

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Cheap Eats III

For meals that please your doctor and yourself, it’s nearly always cheaper and healthier to make meals at home, and in our family, my husband depends on me to keep us bright-eyed and happy. Sometimes, though, I’m not...

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Happy Hours

My continuing search for bargain eats has brought me to the sad realization that my husband and I, tethered to jobs with unconventional hours, have spent years missing out on the cheapskate’s best source for budget food:...

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Brillig Dry Bar

Low lights, a jazz trio, tables packed with people socializing, and a line waiting out the door to get in. All that’s missing is the booze.That’s the point at the Brillig Dry Bar, Nic Sims’ twice-a-month pop-up...

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Salads UP 2015

Walking by the big window of the new Salads UP on Liberty this winter, I wondered why it’s so often so crowded. Wasn’t this the warm soup, roasts, and potatoes time of year?After a couple of early February visits, I...

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Zoup!

I usually tag along with minimal gusto when friends and family suggest franchise restaurants. Even the new “fast casual” places like Chipotle or Five Guys usually feel formulaic, devoid of novelty and charm.But...

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Detroit Vegan Soul

With so many restaurants in Ann Arbor, you don’t have to leave town for good meals of most varieties. But if you seek a change of urban scenery as days get longer, there’s an unusual new option near Detroit’s...

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Centsible Eats

Whoa! Once I toted up the numbers, I realized the holidays had seriously thrown our household food budget out of whack. The new year demanded financial restraint. Polling acquaintances brought me a boatload of cheap eats...

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Argus Farm Stop

A visit to the Argus Farm Stop can feel like you’ve stepped onto the set of the TV show Portlandia, but if you overhear conversations about “nice” cheeses and “lovely” tomatoes, have faith: the aura...

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Two Slider Shops

Drive past Blimpy Burger’s new location on Ashley next to the Fleetwood Diner, and you might see a line of people snaking outside the front door, as it was almost every day of the frigid Thanksgiving break. It’s a...

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Eata Pita

Main and William has a history of world cuisine in an unleaded milieu. A decade ago, Marnee Thai opened with picture windows affording diners a great view of cars refueling at the BP gas station next door. Now there’s a...

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