Michigan – Food Woolf

A Culinary Vacation in Michigan

It’s hard to get back into the swing of things after you’ve been on a good vacation. The brain struggles to crest the bumps of daily life. I can almost hear the tick-tick-ticking of my mind as it processes the basics: Where do I put the groceries? What should I say in this email? Where are my car keys?

Vacation is over, but my mind is water-logged with vacation memories. There are juicy mental-snapshots: family gatherings, sandy beaches, barefoot soccer matches, food adventures, inspiration from Zingerman’s, my two-year-old niece “making cakes” with empty pots and pans, and humidity-induced thunderstorms. The memories clog my synapses as I attempt to get back to work.

Other vacations to my husband’s family home in Michigan haven’t been as relaxing as this, since in the past I allowed myself whole chunks of vacation time for my freelance writing work. But this time was different. I vowed that this vacation would be for nothing more than relaxing and celebrating my parents-in-law’s 50^th wedding anniversary*.

Our holiday in Michigan started in a rural commuter outside of Detroit. Plymouth is the kind of town where kids can play ball in the street without fear of speeding cars and play on their front yard with a lo-fi water sprinkler. Our first few days were dedicated to napping and shopping for ingredients in Ann Arbor—which meant an obligatory visit to the incredible food emporium at Zingerman’s, and buying lots of great bottles of vino at Every Day Wines for the upcoming wedding anniversary celebration.

Continue Reading for Great Food Tour Recommendations for Michigan! »

October 29

Culinary Tour of Michigan

I’m more than a little fixated on food. I work in the restaurant business. I write about food. Personal photo albums are dedicated to meals and ingredients. My wallet brims with receipts from restaurants. So it should be no surprise that my travel itineraries are structured to maximize breakfast, lunch, and dinner plans. When I hit the road, I’m always sure to go with an empty stomach, an open mind, and a stack of research on where to find the city’s best food. Give me a new city and I will give you a list of the top ten places to get food within just a few Google searches.

Over the past few years, I’ve had the great pleasure of becoming part of my husband’s Michigan-based family while eating my way through the south-east part of his home state. Lucky for me, my extended Michigan family appreciates my food-centric leanings and affection for culinary fact-finding missions. Thanks to my Michigan family and friends, I have discovered much of Michigan’s diverse food scene with nary a Google search.

After coming back from my fall trip to the Ann Arbor area, I decided to backtrack a little, to see what other people had to say about my favorite Michigan food destinations. After a good deal of research, I was surprised by the lack of comprehensive listings for such a culinary rich state. In hopes of making other food lovers aware of Michigan’s food traditions, I offer you this food tour round up.

Keep Reading for My Michigan Food Tour »

July 4

God Bless America

I might not say it much, but I really am proud to be an American. Proud to live in a democratic country where freedom of speech is treasured and issues of ethics are weighed and decided by many–not just one supreme leader.

It’s true, I’m not really a flag waving kind of girl, but I do have moments of civic pride. The night Obama was sworn in had me wishing I could bang a drum and sing that hokey tune they always sing at sporting events about being proud to be an American. When I hear my mother and father in-law talk about how lucky they feel to have immigrated from Guatemala and become citizens in a country so beautiful, safe and full of opportunities my heart swells with appreciation. And early one morning in September of 2001, I cried tears of pride and humility when I heard about the courageous American men and women that helped bring their own plane down, in order to save hundreds–if not thousands–of others.

Beyond the philosophies, declarations and laws that make up this great country, the thing I’m most proud of are the American people. Once I get past the stereotypical personas and bone chilling ignorance of some, I am struck by the fact that this place celebrates believing in yourself and the freedom to pursue The American Dream.

I recently heard a political comedian say this of Americans: “We’re not a thinking people. We just do it.” And though this behavior often gets many of us Americans into quite a bit of trouble at the dinner table, international events and war zones, I do find this American trait endearing.

Fearless Passion

The fearless passions of the American people can sometimes be a scary thing, but the juxtaposition of brilliance and ignorance is what has made me become a writer, journalist and story teller.

I raise a glass to the American people. Here’s to our differences and the freedom to express ourselves.

June 28January 4

Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: Zingerman’s Guide to Good Eating

“I’m craving American food!” said no one, ever.

I’ve lived in the US my entire life and never have I heard anyone exclaim such a thing. But now that I’ve eaten at Zingerman’s Roadhouse—an Ann Arbor, Michigan restaurant that celebrates the culinary traditions and artisan food makers of the United States–I’ll be saying that phrase a lot. Zingerman’s Roadhouse makes me proud to be an American and hungry for its regional specialties.

Where else can a discerning food lover enjoy tasty buttermilk fried chicken, savory Southern Carolina BBQ, sweet Hawaiian Pineapple Chicken Salad, meaty Maryland crab cakes and earthy-sweet Pennsylvania Dutch Creamed corn in one glorious location?

One trip to the Roadhouse and you’ll save yourself a three thousand mile cross-country culinary tour. The masterminds behind Zingerman’s Roadhouse studied the nation’s gastronomic traditions with the care of scholars and created a menu that celebrates the nation’s best dishes all in one central locale.

Zingerman’s puts Ann Arbor on the culinary map

Zingerman’s may have started in 1982 as solitary delicatessen dedicated to serving great sandwiches, but it has since grown to include six other establishments that consist of a bakehouse, creamery, training branch, culinary press, and an impressive mail-order artisan food company. The Roadhouse—the seventh establishment in the Zingerman’s Community of Businesses—is a tour de force where elements from all of the culinary outposts can come together.

Welcome to the Roadhouse

Enter the Roadhouse and Zingerman’s friendly staff is always happy to help. Past the blur of the busy open kitchen, beyond the colorful signage announcing daily specials and the glass cases filled with vintage salt and pepper shakers, you’ll find diners tucked away in backroom booths, bellied up to the bar or lounging outside at tables adjacent to the barbecue pit.

My husband and I sat at the bar so that we could study the names of the Michigan-local brew taps. We were impressed by the extensive selection of rare Bourbons, jars of house made maraschino cherries and containers filled with freshly squeezed juices. Unlike many restaurants across our fair country, no mixers are used and only fresh ingredients are stocked behind the bar.

Our barkeep, Adam, greeted us with an uncommon enthusiasm and excited menu descriptions that had us wishing we could order everything. Adam told us how Roadhouse Chef/Partner, Alex Young had such a commitment to fresh ingredients he started a three-acre organic farm to supply the restaurant with all its seasonal produce. Located in Dexter, Michigan, the Roadhouse’s dedicated farm produces lettuces, radishes, scapes, morels, asparagus, and almost thirty different heirloom varieties of tomatoes for the restaurant. Roadhouse food wastes are composted and trucked to the farm to improve the health of the earth.

While still mulling over the menu choices, Adam presented my husband and I with a sample of the Roadhouse’s famous barbeque. On the plate were mouthfuls of pulled pork topped with three different sauces: earthy, eastern North Carolina vinegar, sweet Memphis tomato, and spicy South Carolina mustard. Adam explained how Ed Mitchell, a North Carolina native and pit master, moved to Michigan to teach the Zingerman’s crew how to smoke free-range, heirloom-breed hogs over oak for over fourteen hours and prepare the meat southern-style.

To drink, we ordered the Jolly Pumpkin “La Roja, a sour amber craft beer that gets its tart, food friendly acidity from naturally occurring yeasts found in the brewery. Within seconds of sampling the beer, a smiling server named Brian dashed over to enthusiastically approve of our beer choice.

“Cool!” the young man with the long side burns exclaimed with unsolicited enthusiasm. “You guys picked the best beer we have!”

We paired our sour beer with Zingerman’s Chesapeake Bay Crab Cakes ($12.50). More Maryland jumbo lump blue crab meat than anything else, the cake’s sweet flavor was enhanced by a dollop of Zingerman’s ultimate tartar sauce*.

While waiting for our next course, the bartender poured us a sample of Zaison, a Belgian styled beer Jason Spaulding, the Roadhouse’s bar manager (and former New Holland Brewery’s brewmaster), created for the restaurant. As we enjoyed the beer’s zesty flavors and light style we had the good fortune of meeting Jason, and happily listened as he explained how he came to make the food-centric, single-batch brew with orange peel and black pepper.

If it isn’t clear yet that the Roadhouse isn’t your typical restaurant, it’s time to point out an important aspect that many people don’t realize is a key to Zingerman’s success: an unrivaled commitment to service. From the minute you walk through the door, every employee goes out of their way to make sure that they can help give you the best possible experience. Want to have creamed corn instead of coleslaw on your entrée? Sure. Want a behind-the-scenes look at what’s going on inside Zingerman’s Roadshow (a free standing take out “trailer” designed for speedy breakfast, lunch and dinner to-go orders)? Come on inside! At Zingerman’s, “no” is not in the employee’s vocabulary.

In preparation for the arrival of our entrees, we ordered the Dragon’s Milk Beer. This gloriously dark and hoppy beer from Michigan, gets its vanilla and mocha flavors from being aged in bourbon barrels.

The beer paired perfectly with the sweet, Niman Ranch pork ribs ($19 for a half rack). Cooked for nine hours in Alex’s Red Rage Tomato BBQ sauce, the ribs were served on—thanks to Zingerman’s yes-we-can attitude–a generous portion of South Carolina corn grits and mustard coleslaw. The sweet and meaty ribs were fall-off-the-bone tender and chewy from the long, slow cook. The grainy texture of the grits and the sweet crunch of the coleslaw made the title “side dish” seem like an insult—these were must-have bites that required our full attention.

We enjoyed the Southern Carolina mustard BBQ pork entrée ($11.50) with Pennsylvania Dutch Creamed Corn and Southern-style braised collard greens. The mustard vinegar sauce (a favorite in western South Carolina) enhanced the moist and flavorful pork without overpowering the meat’s natural flavors. The earthy sweetness and playful texture of the creamed corn played perfectly against the tart collard greens.

Had we more room for food, we would have ordered the Buttermilk-fried free range chicken with mashed potatoes, gravy and coleslaw. But we had enjoyed that dish and many others on a previous visit, and thought better to save room for dessert.

Thank god we did, because the Roadhouse brownie sundae is not to be missed. Zingerman’s bakehouse brownies are crave-worthy on their own. But served warm, with the Creamery’s fresh vanilla ice cream, a perfect amount of hot fudge and a house-made maraschino cherry—we were in heaven.

As a fan of one of America’s greatest liquors—Bourbon—I decided to try a Roadhouse specialty cocktail. . A perfect American cocktail to end a perfectly American meal, the Kentucky Bed Warmer is made with Knob Creek and Blenheim ginger ale. It’s a delightful tippler that aids digestion and makes you smile.

It’s only been a day since I visited the Roadhouse, but I can already feel a new kind of craving coming on. I turn to my husband with a smile.

“Hey honey, guess what I’m craving…”

Kentucky Bed Warmer
From Zingerman’s Roadhouse

2 ounces Knob Creek
1 ounce Orange Curacao
2 dashes Orange bitters
Blenheim ginger ale
Orange zest

Add Knob Creek, Orange Curacao and bitters to a Boston shaker filled with ice. Stir until chilled. Add to bucket glass and fill with Blenheim ginger ale. Top with orange zest and serve.

*Zingerman’s Tartar Sauce is a delicious blend of mayo, Dijon mustard, minced cornichon, minced red onion, diced plum tomatoes, Quebec cider vinegar and sugar. Try making your own version at home!

NOTE: Thank you so much to the generous people at FoodBuzz.com for their support of this blog and helping fund this food adventure.

August 12March 14

Dearborn Michigan, How Could I Forget You?

If you’re a foodie on vacation, sometimes the place you travel to ends up being secondary to the food that’s eaten while you’re there. Sure there are pretty vistas, gorgeous wild life, interesting art to admire—but aaaah, the food! When vacations become culinary journeys, sometimes it’s difficult to take a detailed accounting of every great meal. If you were to witness the more than one thousand pictures of every meal I had on my Italian honeymoon, you’d get and idea of what I’m talking about.

After my trip to Ann Arbor, Michigan, I unpacked my bags, downloaded the hundreds of pictures of food I snapped, and perused the menus from all the restaurants I ate at. Originally I hoped for a few good stories out of the experience. But after the posts about Zingerman’s started piling up, I realized I had a bit more than just a few words to say. Because of this never ending rant, I thought it would be best for me to “step away from the mike”, as it were, and go back to my usual business of posting about Los Angeles food. Continue reading “Dearborn Michigan, How Could I Forget You?”

July 14November 14

Zingerman’s: The Service

“Zingerman’s is the only deli-and-service nirvana I know” –Eating Well

When it comes to eating out, I’m obsessed with finding good food and great service. It’s hard for me not to, since I work in the restaurant business. In the words of my sweet, generous husband, I tend to “go all Norma Rae” on service issues. When I see bad service and poor management, I want to stand up on a table and say “It’s all about great customer service!” But then my husband reminds me that maybe that kind of behavior will either get me carted away by the police or fired. I take this stuff very seriously. Maybe a little too seriously.

When I find great food, I’m elated. When I find a passionate server or bartender, I clap like a giddy school girl. When I find both great food and great service (which, unfortunately, is rare) I become a volunteer spokesperson for the joint.

Unlike many diners, I always walk into restaurant ready to love it. Based on my numerous years in the restaurant business, I know my eagerness to see a place succeed is just not the norm. Call me the optimistic pessimist. When it comes to dining out, I always want to believe that something great can happen.

The thing is, so few restaurants want to put in the time and effort to create a great experience for the diner from the front of the house (the service staff) to the back of the house (the kitchen staff). The food may be well thought out, but the service staff is neglected and left to their own (bad) habits. Or the service could be impeccable and the food is sub-par. Getting both parts of a restaurant right is very, very hard.

Can I get a drum roll please

Which brings me back to Zingerman’s. I know. I’ve been writing a lot about that place this week. But after all the writing (okay, I’ll say it, cheerleading), I would be short changing the place if I didn’t take a moment to express how impressive Zingerman’s trademark service is.

Beyond the incredibly delicious hand picked heritage foods and their artful presentations, Zingerman’s well-trained staff is always attentive, ready to help, knowledgeable and prepared to go the extra mile for the customer.

On a recent trip, my mother in law was presented with a handful of balloons (that had to be painstakingly filled up on-the-spot) when she mentioned it was her son’s 40th birthday. Sandwiches were hand delivered with a smile by an employee that that had to search the two floor dining room in order to find us. Our Roadhouse server, seeing that I was an information hungry foodie, answered all of my food related questions and offered historical background for many of the dishes. Ari Weinzweig, owner of Zingerman’s, went out of his way to make myself and my family feel welcomed and appreciated. He even took the time to find and read my blog after I mentioned it to him. At the Roadhouse he even filled our water glasses while telling us the story of the Pennsylvania sweet corn.

Every time I visit Zingerman’s, I’m blown away by their can-do attitude.

How do they do this? By dedicating huge amounts of time and effort into their people. To borrow the words of Ari Weinzweig, my service hero and author of Zingerman’s Guide to Giving Great Service, in order to give great service one must:

1. Teach great service
2. Define great service
3. Live great service. The management staff spend enormous amounts of time walking the walk of great service by actively showing their staff how to give good service.
4. Measure it.
5. Reward it.

If you’re in the service business and take your job seriously, you ought to buy yourself a copy of Zingerman’s Guide to Giving Great Service. It will teach you everything you need to know about getting successful results for great service.

July 13November 14

Zingerman’s Roadhouse: Proof That American Food Is Delicious

Up until recently, I’ve never considered myself a real fan of “American cuisine.” Granted, I love apple pie and hamburgers, but when it comes down to great cooking, I tend to look to other countries for inspiration.

And I’m not alone. Even in the finest kitchens in the United States, American fare isn’t exactly heralded as high cuisine. This country may have some amazing, world-reknown chefs, but more likely than not, these stand-out culinary stars are cooking a hybrid of gastronomic styles. Take for example Alice Water’s Cal-French, Mario Batali’s Americanized Italian, David Myer’s Cal-French-Japanese, or even David Lentz and Suzanne Goin’s Baltimore-French-Japanese. When it comes to being an American chef, it’s all about expressing your local ideas and borrowing from the culinary masters of other cultures.

When you come from a country known to the world as the great American melting pot, it can be difficult pin-pointing the truly American dishes. But if you start to ask around, you’ll find there are a number of dishes that American’s clearly call their own.

A Culinary Education

After my recent trip to Michigan (and multiple trips to Zingerman’s and all of its many incarnations), I’m starting to understand what makes American food great.

The Roadhouse, the seventh in the family of Zingerman’s food-friendly ventures, offers diners a chance to eat their way through many of the culinary traditions and regional cooking styles of America.

Diners can grab take out from the cleverly re-tooled and permanently parked silver bullet camper for drive-through, or may linger at a table in the spacious restaurant that offers bar seating, multiple dining areas, a back patio and a private dining room.

Main dining room

back patio — Zingerman's Roadhouse Back Patio

The ever-friendly and well-trained Zingerman’s staff seem as if they’ve been waiting all day just to happily guide you to your table or barstool. The dining room is open and inviting with its kitchy salt-and-pepper displays, open kitchen and hand-printed music posters lining the walls.

Drink Menu at Zingerman's Roadhouse — The Roadhouse Drink Menu

In the tradition of Zingerman’s, the drinks are handcrafted and are made with the local produce, freshly squeezed fruit juice and house-made marachino cherries. The bartenders smile as they muddle and mix handcrafted cocktails like Mojitos or their signature cocktail the Knickerbocker, made with Brugel Dominican Dark Rum, Bol’s Orange Curacao, fresh raspberries and freshly squeezed lemon juice.

The education begins

The first course in American cuisine begins with Chef Alex’s appetizer sampler.

Sample Plate at the Roadhouse — Appetizer sampler

In this one dish, diners get a cross-country tour of flavors. Starting with the South and its hush puppies (made with organic yellow and blue corn) and the moist and tender roadhouse ribs, our palates travel to Baltimore and its sweet and salty crab cakes. The appetizer plate tour ends at the Tex-Mex border with a cheesy, wild mushroom quesadilla. Other not to be missed appetizers are the hand-cut sweet potato fries with a spicy mayo and Ari’s Pimento Cheese, a classic southern starter of celery “chips” served with a dip of aged Vermont cheddar, mayo and chopped pimentos.

Sweet potato fries and spicy mayo — Sweet Potato Fries and Spicy Mayo

Getting an advanced degree

Instruction in American culinary appreciation is taken up a notch at the Roadhouse with its entrees. The North Carolina pulled pork is moist and rich with salty sweet flavors from almost an entire day’s worth of roasting. The meat is hand-pulled, chopped and blended with a spicy vinegar sauce and served with Michigan-grown mashed potatoes and served with Southern style braised greens. The Texas Cabrito, a slow-smoked, hand-pulled, free-range goat, with a special basting sauce, is both earthy and moist.

After eating the Roadhouse Buttermilk-Fried, Free-Range Chicken, I really began to appreciate my nationality.

Buttermilk fried chicken — Zingerman's Roadhouse Buttermilk Fried Chicken

Fried chicken nirvana is discovered once it is delivered to the table in a paper-wrapped picnic box. Thanks to the local, Amish farm-raised, free-range chicken, the meat tastes more real than any fast food chain’s ever could. The meat is moist and plump while the buttermilk batter is crispy and light–offering the perfect counterpoint to the delicate earthiness of the meat. Sides of local mashed potatoes, brown gravy and yellow mustard slaw make the dish an American inspiration.

My husband was silent—with the occasional moans of culinary happiness–as he savored every bite of his full rack of Neiman ranch pork ribs. Served on a generous portion of creamy grits, the long cooked ribs are so moist and tender it doesn’t take much more than a gentle nudge of your fingers to get the sweet and savory meat to fall off the bone.

The side dishes are equally impressive as the entrees they support. Take for example the creamed corn made from John Cope’s dried sweet corn, made from John Cope’s dried sweet corn, a classic staple in Pennsylvania since the 1900’s.

Picked at the peak of sweetness, the dried corn not only imparts sweetness to the dish, but also gives a playful texture that works well with thin bath of cream. The macaroni and cheese, an American staple, gets its proper respects with an assortment regional takes on the classic idea. Our favorite was the Roadhouse Macaroni & Cheese, made with a 2 year old Vermont raw-milk cheddar and the Martelli family’s artisanal macaroni from Tuscany.

Rounding out the regional education in American fare, are the decadent desserts.

Trip to Zingerman's Roadhouse — Ari's Donut Sundae

Ari’s Original Doughnut Sundae, is a donut smothered in a bourbon-caramel sauce, vanilla gelato, whipped cream and Virginia peanuts. The Magic Brownie Sundae, a quintessential American classic, is a Bakehouse brownie drowned in chocolate sauce, vanilla gelato, whipped cream and toasted pecans.But it was the pecan pie, a pile of toasted pecans surrounded by a rich brown sugar custard made from unrefined Mauritian brown sugar, that made me want to stand up and sing the national anthem.

A trip to Zingerman’s Roadhouse is not only a great place to eat, it also offers the observant guest an education in quintessential American food and what makes it great. Suddenly, I’m really proud to be an American.

Zingerman’s Roadhouse
2501 Jackson Ave.
Ann Arbor, MI 48103
(734) 663-3663

July 12

Culinary Mecca: Zingerman's Deli

Almost everyone has their favorite place to eat when they go home. If you’re from New England it could be the down-the-road clam shack with its towering fried seafood plate and fresh-from-the-sea lobster rolls. Maybe it’s the pizza joint that’s been making pies for generations. If you’re from the South, your first meal might be at the mom and pop BBQ joint with the fall from the bone ribs, or the railroad car diner that serves the greatest fried chicken and grits.

If you grew up in the Midwest, more than likely, Zingerman’s in Ann Arbor Michigan is not only on the top of your list of places to visit, it IS the list.

Started on the ides of March in 1982, Zingerman’s began as a small, brick faced delicatessen. Zingerman’s quickly became a local favorite for their reuben, hand-made sandwiches, and unbelievably impeccable customer service. Since its opening, Zingerman’s has continued to grow in popularity, spurring Zingerman’s growth into a culinary mecca.

Rather than letting its popularity propel the business outside of Michigan, Zingerman’s has remained fiercely loyal to the locals. Zingerman’s continues to grow and currently has numerous well-run eateries that include a creamery (for home made gelatos, ice cream and cheeses), a bake house (for freshly baked bread and sweet treats), a coffee shop (for gourmet coffee and bake house treats), a Road House (for delicious, regional American food and handmade cocktails) and ZingTrain, a consulting and training branch that teaches business the successful business and training models of their business.

Ever since opening day 26 years ago, lunch customers can still be seen braving the elements to line up around the block to wait their turn for a Zingerman’s sandwich. Everyone has a different strategy to finding the best sandwich. Some never stray from the classics (the #2 Ruben, the #11 Pastrami special, the #48 Binny’s Brooklyn Reuben, the #73 Tarb’s Tenacious Tenure), while others adventure beyond the usual and try to sample all the newest staff-created sandwiches.

What you should know before you go:

Culinary mecca: Zingerman's Deli — Study the menu. There are lots of great choices!

Get a hold of the deli menu and study it before you arrive. Ruminate. Plan. Know what you’re getting before you step through the front door.

Get in line at Zingerman's Deli and get inspired!

Zingerman’s award-winning signage, eye catching food packaging and delicious aromas can easily distract a person.

The Zingerman’s food counters are to any foodie, what sirens were to seafarers. Planning ahead will allow you to leisurely peruse the cheese and bread counters, rather than sweating your choices as you furiously struggle read the small print on the sandwich boards.

If you’re only visiting once, try a few things. Get a pastry. Sample some cheese. Splurge and get two sandwiches.

Eat half and save the rest for the drive (or flight) home. Drink a delicious coffee handpicked by the owners from a far away coffee plantation.

Buy something from the retail area. Olive oil, jelly, cookies and cookbooks travel well. Zingerman’s Guide to Good Eating will teach you how to find all the foods you’ve been longing for.

Zingerman’s Deli
422 Detroit Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48104