Mia Za's Cafe near the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor
Once again, I spent my Saturday working. Not complaining at all. I love it when I get a chance to work. However, it takes weekends away from J and I . When I work, my days are 10 hours and that doesn’t include travel, so I spend all day work and when I get home, I’m exhausted and don’t want to do much. Instead of sitting home by herself, J decided to come to Ann Arbor with me. We got a hotel room and she was going to do some shopping while I worked.
At lunch time, J came back to the Wilpon baseball softball complex to pick me up. I only had an hour so I wanted to stay somewhat close to campus. Last week while working in Champaign, IL, I stumbled upon a little cafe that served up really good food really quickly. One of their two other locations happened to be in Ann Arbor and I knew it was something J would like, so that’s where we went.
It was a really busy Saturday in Ann Arbor. There were people everywhere and traffic was slow going. We finally made it to Mia Za’s which is on University Street in Ann Arbor near the campus of the University of Michigan. There is street parking on either side of University so we started looking for a spot. I saw one going the other direction so I did a U-turn and made it back before someone else picked it up.
There is quite a bit of construction going on in the area including a massive construction project at the building next to Mia Za’s. The sidewalk is closed and the temporary sidewalk structures almost cover up the awning and front of the building. I almost missed it when we drove by.
The cafe shares a building with another business. As you walk up the steps, the door is on the right. The Ann Arbor location is much bigger than the Champaign location. There is a huge dining room at the front of the space. When you get in the door, you enter kind of a long hallway where the menu slips are. If you remember from my review from last weekend, Mia Za’s has a system in place where you actually fill out your own order slip and hand that to the cashier.
I clued J in on the ordering process really quick then grabbed the panini slip for myself. She did the same and we both ended up ordering the BBQ Chicken panini. I got just the sandwich, but J went for the half a sandwich and soup option. I tagged on some chips and we both got drinks.
Mia Za's Cafe on Univesity Avenue in Ann Arbor
We took our order slips to the cashier and paid the man. The total was just over $17. We were given our cups for drinks which are a hard plastic cup that you could actually keep and reuse over and over again at home. It’s a very durable cup for something that will most likely get thrown away.
There was a little bit of a line in front of us, but our sandwiches still came up in about five minutes. J’s came up first with mine right behind it. We grabbed the plates and headed for a table.
The BBQ chicken was just as good as the Buffalo chicken I got last week. The panini’s are more of a grinder than a panini. They’re served on sub buns that have been heavily toasted. There were big chunks of chicken covered in BBQ sauce on each side of the bread. The sandwich also come with both mozzarella and cheddar cheese. J’s half sandwich was served open face. It wasn’t a complete sandwich cut in half. It was one side of the bun topped and put on the plate. Really, you could eat a full sandwich as two open faced sandwiches if you wanted. She enjoyed the sandwich as well and really seemed to like the place.
Her soup was a roasted asiago cheese bisque which she loved. She said it tasted like she was eating a bowl of melted cheese. The soup came with a crusty piece of bread for dipping. She tried to get me to try it, but I wasn’t in a soup mood. I’ll take her word that it was delicious.
Mia Za’s came through for the second week in a row. Once again, it was a quick, cheap, but really good meal. They’ve only got three stores right now, but the concept is something that could really take off on college campus’ all over the country.
Mid-Michigan Dining 
sounds yummy! i need to check it out!