The Burgers of Ann Arbor & Ypsi

Although there are some areas where Ann Arbor/Ypsi are lacking (there is an amazing dearth of Latin food), one food where there is no shortage is burgers. I make no apologies for being an all-out burger snob – if I’m going to use a day’s worth of calorie and fat allotment on some beef and cheese, I want it to be the real deal. While I would probably argue that the best burgers in the area are coming from my kitchen, there are more than a few solid options around town.

Sidetrack Bar & Grill

Tailgating Like the 1%

A couple weekends ago, Michigan played UMass in what no one referred to as the Mitt Romney Bowl. Nevertheless, it seemed like as good a time as any to buy some lobsters and tailgate like the 1% with some New England lobster rolls.

From the Range to Grange

(Editor's note: Apologies for the bad pictures, I try to not be That Guy taking flash photos in restaurants.)

Housemade charcuterie, poutine, Great Lakes perch. Grange had me at hello.

I have been to Grange a couple times, for brunch and for dinner. With my brother and his girlfriend in town for the weekend, it was a no brainer on where to go for dinner on Friday night.

[Up North] Northern Exposure: Off to the UP!

Our Up North series highlights good eats to seek out on your weekend roadtrips as you head Up North – that ambiguous, nebulous region in Michigan where everyone has, or has a friend that has, a cottage on a lake somewhere.

As a follow-up to last week’s post on the Lower Peninsula portion of our roadtrip, this will focus on the Upper Peninsula portion. While the UP portion of the trip was more about taking in the scenery, we did find some solid food spots along the way. 

 

Tailgating Recap - Alabama Smoked Chicken and Air Force Wings

It's after Labor Day, which means it's time to put away the white shoes and start getting the tailgate ideas ready. Here's a look back at what I cooked up for the first couple weekends of the football season.

[Up North] Eating Our Way Around Little Traverse Bay

Our Up North series highlights good eats to seek out on your weekend roadtrips as you head Up North – that ambiguous, nebulous region in Michigan where everyone has, or has a friend that has, a cottage on a lake somewhere. 

My end-of-summer hiatus is over. I’ve been on vacation, roadtripping through the northern part of the Lower Peninsula and then through part of the UP. Here is a rundown of some of the places we stopped on the first portion of our trip, which took us through Bellaire, Charlevoix and Petoskey before heading through the Tunnel of Trees en route to the Mackinac Bridge.

The Tunnel of Trees

The Search for Al Pastor Ends in Detroit's Mexicantown

When people ask me what I miss most about Chicago after moving back to Michigan last year, my immediate response is all of the great taquerias around town. I’m not talking about the places open until 4am in Lincoln Park that serve up gigantic burritos, or even the upscale taco joints in places like Wicker Park. I’m talking about the taco counters in the back of the Mexican grocery stores, places that use paddles the size of canoe oars to stir a huge pot of carnitas simmering in lard, places where your order is quantified not by number of tacos, but by pounds of meat. And every once in a while, you’d stumble across the holy grail of Mexican grilled meats – al pastor cooked on the spit.