Zingerman’s Roadhouse

20 09 2009
  • 2501 Jackson Avenue
  • Ann Arbor, MI 48103
  • (734) 663-3663
  • Website
  • Menu
Zingermans Roadhouse on Jackson Avenue in Ann Arbor.

Zingerman's Roadhouse on Jackson Avenue in Ann Arbor.

Where to go to do dinner after a Michigan football game?  J had suggested Zingerman’s Deli, but we would have had to go north through downtown which I didn’t really want to do and I’ve always been told Zingerman’s Deli is nuts on game days. 

I started looking over the menu at Zingerman’s Roadhouse and while the prices all seemed a little higher, when I thought about it, dinner at the Roadhouse would have cost the same as dinner at the Deli.  We love Zingerman’s Deli, so I had no reason to think we wouldn’t love Zingerman’s Roadhouse….plus, Bon Appetite did call their BBQ one of the best in country….and I do love me some BBQ. 

Zingerman’s Roadhouse is on Jackson Avenue near the Westgate Shopping Center in Ann Arbor.  It’s near the Interstate 94 Exit for Jackson Avenue, so after leaving Michigan Stadium, I headed back to the expressway.  We left the game a little early to beat traffic since it was a blow out, so it only took a few minutes to get to the restaurant. 

Leaving early also allowed us to beat any sort of post game rush.  It was a little after three when we parked the car and there weren’t a lot of cars in the parking lot which was good news to me.  We were both pretty hungry having skipped lunch at the Stadium, so the quicker we could get food the better. Read the rest of this entry »

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Categories : Ann Arbor, BBQ, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

DiBella’s Old Fashioned Submarines

14 08 2009
  • 904 W. Eisenhower Parkway
  • Ann Arbor, MI 48103
  • (734) 997-9011
  • Website
  • Menu
DiBellas Old Fashioned Submarines in Cranbrook Village in Ann Arbor.

DiBella's Old Fashioned Submarines in Cranbrook Village in Ann Arbor.

Whenever I work in Ann Arbor, I get a request from J to make a Whole Foods run.   Since I’m going to be working a lot over the next week, I won’t be home to make dinner every night.  She’s a fan of one of the prepackaged salads from Whole Foods and she loves the pre cut fruit to snack on during the day.

After I got off work, I headed to the Whole Foods at Cranbrook Village.  Sure, I could have grabbed something for myself out of the deli, but where’s the fun in that?  I saw a sandwich shop in the same strip, so I grabbed the items for J then went to get myself a sandwich.

DiBella’s Old Fashioned Submarines is a chain out of New York, but the only Michigan location is in Ann Arbor.  In fact, there’s only five stores outside of New York….and in the state, they’re only in Rochester and Buffalo, so they’re not a large chain store by any means. 

The Ann Arbor location is on Eisenhower Parkway in the Cranbrook Village shopping center.  The shop sits right in the middle when you turn into the center from Eisenhower.  I found a parking spot then walked across the roadway.  The inside has sort of a throwback feel.  There’s a lot of red that accents the dark wood.  The employees all wear paper hats to add to the feel.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Maize and Blue Delicatessen

14 08 2009
  • 1329 S. University Avenue
  • Ann Arbor, MI 48104
  • (734) 996-0009
  • Website
  • Menu
The Maize and Blue Delicatessen on South University at Washtenaw in Ann Arbor.

The Maize and Blue Delicatessen on South University at Washtenaw in Ann Arbor.

I’ve mentioned many times on this blog that I’m a late sleeper.  Most days, it well into the late morning before I get out of bed.  In my defense, it’s usually after two a.m. before I go to bed.  That makes days when I have to get up even harder and nothing has been more of a challenge than I had this morning.  I had to be in Ann Arbor, ready to work, at five A.M.  That means, I was out the door at about 3:30…an hour after I usually go to bed. 

I was able to change my sleep pattern for the weekend and actually slept all day Thursday and got up around midnight and just stayed up.  When “lunch time” rolled around on the job site at a little after seven, I was starving. 

I work a lot of these gigs where we’re fed by University catering.  The food is fine, but it’s always the same bacon, dry scrambled eggs, and some kind of cheesy potatoes.  It’s not really filling and usually pretty bland.  On today’s job, the guy in charge did something different.  He had to make a last minute change to our meal plan because the job was supposed to be in the afternoon but it was moved to morning.  Some quick thinking got us a much better breakfast than anticipated. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Ann Arbor, Deli, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Ann Arbor Chef to be on Top Chef: Las Vegas

8 07 2009

I saw this story in the Detroit Free Press.

Chef Eve Aronoff — chef-owner of eve restaurant in Ann Arbor’s Kerrytown district — will compete this fall on Bravo’s “Top Chef: Las Vegas,” the sixth season of the top-rated cable series, the network announced today.

[snip]

Contestants are not allowed to discuss how they fared in the series, which has already been taped.

The season will begin at 9 p.m. Aug. 26, with 17 professional chefs from all over the country. Aronoff is the only current Michigan chef to win a spot on the show.


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Categories : Ann Arbor, Food News, Michigan

Quickie Burger & Dogs

11 04 2009
  • 800 S. State Street
  • Ann Arbor, MI 48104
  • (734) 222-4555
  • No Known Website
  • Menu

I’m going to be honest.  I had absolutely no intention of having a burger for lunch.  Hell, I was on my way to get “organic pizza,” but I got sidetracked by a sign in the window.  A sign that read “Voted Best Burger in AA 2009.”  They might as well have a 13 year old kid on the corner daring me to stop.  How could I pass up a chance to have Ann Arbor’s best burger.

Quickie Burger & Dogs is a really small corner shop on State and Hill near the University of Michigan campus.  I had passed the store a few times in the past, but I never gave it a second look until I saw the sign. 

The intersection at State and Hill is really busy on a Friday afternoon.  There is on street parking all around the area and I ended up going around the block to find a meter.  After popping in a few quarters, I walked back to my destination. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Ann Arbor, Burgers, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Ray Fisher Stadium

11 04 2009
  • 1114 S. State Street
  • Ann Arbor, MI 48104
  • (734) 647-2583
  • Website
The entrance to Ray Fisher Stadium on the campus of the University of Michigan

The entrance to Ray Fisher Stadium on the campus of the University of Michigan

Being a former college baseball player, I’ve always been jealous of the guys who get to play in the Big Ten.  When I was a Senior in high school, I went down to Champaign to pitch my case to “Itch” Jones.  I wanted to play Big Ten baseball.  Coach Jones told me in no uncertain terms that I wasn’t good enough to play in the Big Ten.  He suggested junior college and see if I got better. 

I didn’t take his advice.  I went to a NAIA Division I school, played a year and a half and got cut halfway through my sophomore season.  I could have went back to juco, but I gave up on a baseball and focused on my education and getting out of college as fast as possible. 

Even though we were one of the top NAIA teams in the country, we shared our field with one of the local high schools.  It was our field, but it was on their property.  The field was ok, but it doesn’t compare to the minor league ballpark the team plays in now. 

I tell you all this because I get chills every time I walk on the grass at Ray Fisher Stadium in Ann Arbor.  The field is part of the Wilpon Baseball/Softball complex.  It sits in the middle of the athletic complex on State Street.  The field is surrounded by Yost, Schembechler Hall, the track and field complex and Alumni Field.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Ann Arbor, Big Ten Tour, Entertainment Venues, Live Entertainment, Michigan, Reviews

Whole Foods Market – Ann Arbor (Cranbrook)

5 04 2009
  • 990 W. Eisenhower Parkway
  • Ann Arbor, MI 48103
  • (734) 997-7500
  • Website
The Whole Foods Market on Eisenhower in Ann Arbor

The Whole Foods Market on Eisenhower in Ann Arbor

A trip to Ann Arbor is not a trip to Ann Arbor unless you go to Whole Foods.  There are bloggers in Lansing (*cough*amy*cough*) who make special trips to Ann Arbor just to go to Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s.  Until J and I went to the Ann Arbor store on Washtenaw last fall, I had never been to one.  J used to shop at the store in Willowbrook, IL and would buy most of her meals there.  She actually went to the Washtenaw store on Saturday while I was working, but didn’t want to buy anything cold, so we made plans to go back on Sunday.  Since I needed to do some shopping, we went to the new store near Briarwood Mall.

This Whole Foods is on Eisenhower Street in the Cranbrook Village shopping center.  It’s in a strip mall so the exterior is pretty bland.  When we were driving by, I didn’t even realize it was a Whole Foods.  It could have passed for any random grocery store.

The inside of the store was also unexpected.  At first, J said she didn’t like it because it wasn’t like every other Whole Foods Market she had been to.  She was turned around and departments were laid out differently.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Ann Arbor, Grocery, Michigan, Reviews

Conor O’Neill’s Traditional Irish Pub & Restaurant

5 04 2009
  • 318 S. Main Street
  • Ann Arbor, MI 48104
  • (734) 665-2968
  • Website
  • Menu
Conor ONeills Traditional Irish Pub & Restaurant in downtown Ann Arbor

Conor O'Neill's Traditional Irish Pub & Restaurant in downtown Ann Arbor

One more day in Ann Arbor.  I was actually supposed to work another day, but the softball game I was supposed to work was moved to Saturday because of the threat of nasty weather.  J and I got a hotel to stay in Ann Arbor Saturday night.  Our plan was to go shopping on Sunday but before we could do that, we needed to find lunch.

We headed downtown to find the Prickly Pear after Amy suggested it to us.  When we got there, we found a menu outside and realized we weren’t really in the mood for Southwestern so we walked down Main Street until we found someplace to get sandwiches.

Conor O’Neill’s is on South Main Street in downtown Ann Arbor.  There are a lot of restaurants in the area and a lot of fancy restaurant in the area.  Conor O’Neill’s offers a more price friendly alternative. 

The outside of the building is painted in bright colors and really, it looks like a lot of other Irish pubs.  Inside, they have the typical decor.  There’s a lot of dark woods, old furniture, and Guinness signs.  The walls and ceilings are hand painted with words of wisdom.  We were shown to a table where one side was a padded bench an the other side had chairs that I thought I was going to break when I sat down.  It creaked pretty loud when I sat down, but the furniture really added to the overall look and feel of the bar.

The ambiance includes a lot of TV’s playing soccer games.  If watching soccer isn’t enough, the volume was up loud that it could have been heard over a live band.  It was obnoxiously loud for the one guy who was drinking at 11:30 on a Sunday morning and watching a Manchester United game because he probably doesn’t get the channel in his dorm room.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Ann Arbor, BBQ, Big Ten Tour, Burgers, Downtown, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Mia Za’s Cafe – Ann Arbor

5 04 2009
  • 615 E. University Avenue
  • Ann Arbor, MI 48104
  • (734) 555-1211
  • Website
  • Menu
Mia Zas Cafe near the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor

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.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Ann Arbor, Big Ten Tour, Cafe, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Alumni Field

5 04 2009
  • 1202 S. State Street
  • Ann Arbor, MI 48104
  • (734) 647-2583
  • Website
The backside of the grandstands at Alumni Field in Ann Arbor

The backside of the grandstands at Alumni Field in Ann Arbor

My very busy April of shooting baseball/softball continues this weekend in Ann Arbor.  I was actually supposed to shoot baseball yesterday in Ann Arbor, but the weather kept that game from happening. 

This isn’t my first trip to U of M for spring sports.  Right after we moved here last year, I got a call to shoot the very first softball game in the remodeled Alumni Field.  I shot a couple baseball games later in the spring, but this is the first time I’ve been back to Alumni Field since then.

The University of Michigan’s softball team calls Alumni Field home.  The field is part of the larger Wilpon Baseball and Softball complex which is part of the even large sports complex on the Ann Arbor campus.  The softball diamond shares a parking lot with the baseball diamond, Ooseterban Fieldhouse, the UM Indoor Track and Field Building and Yost Ice Arena.  The center field wall butts up to the center field wall of Fisher Stadium.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Ann Arbor, Big Ten Tour, Entertainment Venues, Live Entertainment, Michigan, Reviews

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