‘University of Michigan’
Ann Arbor is home to a great many restaurants. Of course, I may be a little biased and assume that they are all amazing, but when I found myself at Taste Kitchen, I was in new territory. You, back when I was a student Taste Kitchen didn’t exist. Plus, if it did it was definitely beyond my onetime student budget.
Well, the time is upon us. College football has finally arrived, and if you know me, you you know that the past few seasons have not treated me too well. To say that my dear Wolverines of the University of Michigan have been performing below expectations would be like saying Hitler may have had questionable morals. But Wolverine nation can smell change for the better.
As a lifetime Michigan football fan, Jim Tressel has been a villain to me since I first heard his name. Finally, much of the world is realizing how much of a villain he truly is, and not just in football. His villainy transcends sports and reaches into something very dear to me: meat.
After an awesome Michigan Football game, I was a happy and hungry unvegan. Fortunately I had dinner plans outside of normal Ann Arbor at a restaurant called Carson’s American Bistro. Although it was still in Ann Arbor, it was far enough from the Big House that it wasn’t hard to get a table. The name, Carson’s, evoked thoughts of some sort of a cowboy steakhouse, but when I walked in, I found it was anything but. Also, there is no such thing as a cowboy steakhouse in southeastern Michigan. It was actually a pretty upscale place with a nice selection of food. I wasn’t exactly ready for something huge (having partaken in some cheap pizza while leaving the stadium), so I looked to the burgers.
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?
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.
As a lifelong Detroit Lions fan, come playoff time I really have very little allegiances. I do my best to root for former Michigan players on teams (Tom Brady, Chad Henne, Jake Long, Charles Woodson and Steve Breaston to name a few), which sometime results in those players playing against each other. Now, though, I may have a new reason to root for teams: How unvegan are they?
Every year, the University of Michigan alumni group of Los Angeles gathers together for the Taste of Ann Arbor. This year, it took place at a bar called South. To make the event work, they bring in foods all the way from Ann Arbor, Michigan, that people miss dearly. These include brownies from Zingerman’s, ice cream from Stucchi’s, pizza from Cottage Inn and special chapati dressing for salad from Pizza House. All of these are staples of the Michigan college student’s diet, but the biggest reason I go is for the Cottage Inn pizza. Opened in 1948, Cottage Inn takes credit for being the first place in Ann Arbor to serve pizza. That’s a pretty huge deal for a college campus and the fact that the restaurant has lasted so long is a testament to how good their pizza is.
Being a Michigan football fan, I always disliked Mark Sanchez. As he quarterbacked for USC, he was an easy guy to hate. Now that he has entered the NFL and plays for the New York Jets, any problem I may have had with him have gone away. Not only that, but watching him play on TV a couple weeks ago has elevated him to a level higher than just about any other athlete in the country. During a timeout, Sanchez was caught on film chowing down on a hot dog.
Check out the film below.
Perched on the corner of Detroit St. and 5th St. in the little town of Ann Arbor is the seat of an international empire. It is the Zingerman’s Delicatessen and the little nondescript building that houses it has spawned an entity known by lovers of good food and business everywhere.
When I went to college at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, I knew of Zingerman’s, just like everyone did. I knew it was good, too, but I really never comprehended the magnitude of it until I left Michigan. Since then I have learned that they are nationally renowned for their mail-order service, business practices, overall quality of their food and more. So when I returned to Ann Arbor recently, I knew I had to revisit the wondrous little deli and reacquaint myself with its delectable foods.