Michigan – Page 6 – The Unvegan

9/16/2010 Reviews Detroit

The Original Coney Dog at American Coney Island

Just before my last visit to my Detroit homeland, I happened to watch a TV show called Food Wars. This show goes all around the country and pits local restaurants against one another. In this particular episode, Detroit’s Lafayette Coney Island and American Coney Island faced off. The two Coneys were founded in the early 1900s by brothers from Greece and both claim to be the originator of the Coney Dog, a Detroit staple. On the show, American (powered by their sweet Vidalia onions) edged out Lafayette by a vote of 3-2. But how would they fare with the Unvegan? Fortunately an impromptu tour of Detroit with a last-minute visitor brought me to the corner of Lafayette and Michigan Avenue. Wondering which Coney Dog was the unvegan king, I stepped into American Coney Island.

American Coney Island Chili Coney Dog Coney Island Detroit Food Wars Hot Dogs Michigan Restaurants Travel

9/16/2010 Reviews Detroit

The Original Coney Dog at Lafayette Coney Island

Chili Coney Dog Coney Island Detroit Food Wars Hot Dogs Lafayette Coney Island Michigan Restaurants Travel

7/13/2010 Reviews Commerce charter Township

Getting Chili on Top at Lulu’s Coney Island

With nearly every visit back to Michigan (time permitting), there is a requisite stop at a Coney Island. You can’t drive more than a few miles in the metro Detroit area without hitting a Coney, and I’m pretty sure they are all awesome. My go-to Coney growing up was Leo’s, but sometimes convenience outweighs loyalty. So last time I was back in the homeland, we went to Lulu’s Coney Island in Walled Lake.

Burgers Chili Commerce Township Coney Dog Coney Island Greek Hot Dogs Loose Burger Lulu's Coney Island Meat Michigan Restaurants Travel Walled Lake

7/12/2010 Reviews West Bloomfield Township

Going South at Zoe’s House of Pancakes

For some brunch before my annual photo shoot with my grandparents, we headed to Zoe’s House of Pancakes in West Bloomfield, Michigan. Zoe’s didn’t exist before I moved out west, so going here wasn’t exactly a trip down memory lane, but I was glad to see a new business doing pretty well. Even on a Monday for brunch, they had a pretty good number of people, so I assumed they would have some pretty great food. I took a look at the menu and found some of the most inspiring breakfast food I’ve seen in a long time, with everything hovering around the $5 price range. They had tons of different pancake varieties, including one enticing option called the Fruit Explosion. Despite pancakes being the namesake of the place, my eyes drifted to the waffles section.

Breakfast Brunch Chicken and Waffle Meat Michigan Restaurants Roscoe's Travel West Bloomfield Zoe's House of Pancakes

7/9/2010 Reviews Grosse Pointe

Thinking Outside the Box at Village Grille

Although I grew up in Michigan, I can’t remember ever setting foot in Grosse Pointe. I guess it was just too far outside the bubble of Farmington Hills/West Bloomfield. Fortunately, my buddy decided to marry a Grosse Point native, giving me my first chance to see what food was like on the other side of Detroit. We headed to the nice little downtown area of Grosse Point and got ourselves a table at the Village Grille.

American Bar Food Bars Beer Burgers Detroit Grosse Pointe Hamburgers Labatt Blue Meat Michigan Nachos Pizza Restaurants Travel

7/1/2010 General Thoughts

To the Salt Stick, With Love

It may be phallic, but it’s the best kind of phallic.

To many people, the bagel is the king of breakfast. It’s like an evolution of toast, similar, yet greatly superior. And the best of those who love the bagel bow down to the salt bagel, the king of all bagels. It adds a perfect amount of flavor that goes great with cream cheese, especially strawberry cream cheese. But why strawberry cream cheese? Well, combining the sweet of the cream cheese with the salt of the bagel creates a perfect balance unparalleled by any other food in the world. Ever.

But is the salt bagel perfect? No, far from it. While bagels are delicious, they have one major flaw. That flaw is obvious to anyone who has ever attempted to shmear cream cheese across the surface of the bagel. The hole. This hole sucks up perfectly good cream cheese, rendering the bagel an imperfect medium for shmearing. Enter the Salt Stick.

Bagels Breakfast Detroit Detroit Bagel Michigan New York Bagel Salt Stick

6/28/2010 Reviews Ann Arbor

Going Nuts at Krazy Jim’s Blimpy Burger (RELOCATED)

EDIT: Blimpy Burger has moved due to a rent dispute, but it is reputedly as good as always.

After four years of living in Ann Arbor and countless other trips to the city of my alma mater, I have finally made my way to Krazy Jim’s Blimpy Burger. Although I always knew of the place while I lived there, I didn’t realize just how big of a deal it was until I saw it on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Since that time, it has been my goal to eat at Blimpy Burger and I can finally cross that place off of my list. But is it any good?

Ann Arbor Beef Burgers Hamburgers Krazy Jim's Blimpy Burger Meat Michigan Restaurants Travel University of Michigan

6/23/2010 Reviews Ann Arbor

Drunk Pizza at Backroom

After failing to grab a late-night snack at Red Hot Lovers (if your damn sign says you are open til midnight, I better be able to show up at 11:57 and get a hot dog), we headed to Backroom Pizza. As a college student, this place was the best. Slices of cheese pizza were a buck and pepperoni ran 1.50. No one would ever claim it was great pizza, but at 2:30 am, you don’t need great pizza. Now that I’m no longer a poor college student, I was wondering if it would still have the allure it once did.

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6/22/2010 Reviews Ann Arbor

The Peak of Brew Burgers at Grizzly Peak

Everyone in LA seems to know that the place has no good beer culture, yet no one has really done anything to fix that. Sure, there’s BJ’s (no good) and a couple other microbreweries that are difficult to get to, but come on, LA is a huge city that deserves more. So when I left LA for Ann Arbor for a bit of a bachelor party, we headed to the Grizzly Peak Brewing Company. I’ve loved the Grizzly Peak for a long time, even dating back to before I could drink their beer and drank their micro-brewed root beer. I have a lot of great memories of the place and hoped that my most recent visit wouldn’t be a disappointment.

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6/21/2010 Reviews Ann Arbor

Being Un-White at Pizza Bob’s

After a fruitless attempt to grab lunch at Blimpy Burger, we had to think fast and find ourselves another quick place to eat in Ann Arbor. We decided that Pizza Bob’s would be a great option. Pizza Bob’s has been in Ann Arbor forever, but for some reason I never went while I was a student. Once inside, I decided I didn’t really need any pizza for lunch, but the calzone looked awesome. For $7.08 (wait, how much?), I ordered a calzone stuffed with pepperoni, sausage and meatballs. No need to order without veggies since I got to choose the toppings (innards?) myself. The guy at the counter asked if I wanted white or wheat dough, and I chose white.

Ann Arbor Calzone Italian Michigan Pizza Pizza Bob's Restaurants Travel

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