Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Hrecommended: My Best of Ann Arbor Food for 2006

The alphabetical order by venue is intentional. All of these places have more going for them than just the items I've chosen to highlight.
  • Amadeus -- Cheapest Trip to Europe
  • Argerios -- Best Pasta, Salad and Bread
  • Cafe Zola -- Best Desserts (try the Nutella crepes)
  • California Pizza Kitchen -- Best Pizza, Best Entree Salads
  • Corner Brewery -- Best New Bar
  • Dimo's -- Best Burger
  • Earthen Jar -- Best Health Food
  • Eve -- Best Chef (Eve Aronoff)
  • La Shish -- Best Middle Eastern
  • Kozmo Deli -- Best Bi Bim Bap (try the Doggy Fried Rice too)
  • Los Tres Amigos -- Best Mexican Food
  • Lotus Thai -- Best Thai
  • Northside Grill -- Best Breakfast
  • Madras Masala -- Best Indian
  • Paradise -- Best Asian (tie)
  • Quizno's -- Best Subs
  • Red Hawk -- Best Bar Food, Best non-Beer tap (try the hard ciders and root beer), Best Smoke-Free Place to Have a Beer
  • Red Hot Lovers -- Best Hotdogs (try a Serious Dog)
  • Szechaun West -- Best Asian (tie) (still the benchmark Hunan Chicken in town)
  • Totoro -- Best Sushi (tie with Yotsuba)
  • Vinology -- Best new concept (please keep working on execution)
  • Yotsuba -- Best Sushi (tie with Totoro)
  • Zingerman's Bakehouse -- Best Bread, Best Pastries, Best Bagels
  • Zingerman's Roadhouse -- Best Chili (try the Ancho Beef), Best Haute Cuisine (tie with Eve)

Sadly, no winners for: Best BBQ, Best Home-style Desserts, Best Fish and Chips, Best German, Best Tapas, Best Cuban, Best Diner, Best Chain Fast Food, Best Cajun, Best Service

Gone but not forgotten: American Spoon Gelato, Manali, Mr. Rib, Latdior, Philly's, Original 60's Sub Shop, Rio Bravo, Zydeco, chef Takashi Yagihashi, chef Mark Pruitt

2 Comments:

At 2:47 PM, Blogger Paul Hue said...

I read your comment at:

"a tag by any other name"
http://blog.del.icio.us/blog/2007/03/a_tag_by_any_ot.html#c63338376

about a post that references:

"del.icio.us / help / tagdescriptions"
http://del.icio.us/help/tagdescriptions

I am writing because I am trying to use this new feature, "tag descriptions", which your comment indicates that you have figured out how to do this. The reference post includes the following instruction:

"To use Tag Descriptions simply go to your tag page."

Can you explain how to "go to your tag page"? I have spent about an hour trying to figure out how to do this. I am a UNIX admin and mac nerd, so I am confident that I have given it a good shot and that I can usefully utilize any assistance that you can spare me

 
At 2:48 PM, Blogger Paul Hue said...

I live in Westland, MI, about 20 mins to the east of you, roughly halfway from AA to Detroit. Also I am a food fanatic, so I can provide at least some useful comments for you, though I sadly have not explored AA nearly enough; I will use your suggestions for my next foodie foray. Here are some thoughts:

# Cafe Zola -- Best Desserts (try the Nutella crepes)
I also love this place, though I would never eat Nutella, composing as it does unnatural ingredients.

# California Pizza Kitchen -- Best Pizza, Best Entree Salads
Yikes! AA's best pizza & salad is a national chain? I hope you are wrong about this! I have eaten at CPK a few times, always in desparation, such as at an airport, when no authentic options exist. But I have had pizza and salad in AA various times, many excellent and better than I recall at CPK, which I regard as mediocre.

# Corner Brewery -- Best New Bar.
I'll give this a try.

# Dimo's -- Best Burger.
I'm a vegetarian....

# Earthen Jar -- Best Health Food.
Certainly will give this a try.

# Eve -- Best Chef (Eve Aronoff)
Curious based on your view; never heard of it.

# La Shish -- Best Middle Eastern.
I've eaten many times at its flagship Dearborn post, which is the original site. Up till about 5 years ago I rated it as unsurpassable. Now I rate it mearely as very good, with a few one-of-a-kind Lebanese joints in Dearborn now surpassing La Shish. I think that it's name has become big enough that it no longer has to be as excellent as before.

# Los Tres Amigos -- Best Mexican Food
I will put this on my list to try. I'm from Austin, TX and a mexican fanatic. The best place I've had here in the Detroit area is in Ypsilanti, La Fiesta Mexicana 529 W Cross St. I rate it as equal to any of Austin's best. If you've heard of Detroit's "Mexican Town", a block that contains about five Mex restaurants, I rate them all as uneatably horrible; do not waste your time. They are wretched.

# Madras Masala -- Best Indian
Agreed; this is great.

# Quizno's -- Best Subs
C'mon, dude! Another national chain tops your list! In the food heaven of AA, you can't do better than *QUIZNO's*? No way!

# Red Hawk -- Best Bar Food, Best non-Beer tap (try the hard ciders and root beer), Best Smoke-Free Place to Have a Beer


# Totoro -- Best Sushi (tie with Yotsuba)
Eager to try.

# Yotsuba -- Best Sushi (tie with Totoro)
Eager to try.

# Zingerman's Bakehouse -- Best Bread, Best Pastries, Best Bagels
Agreed! Internationally renowned! The NYT rates this as the world's best deli.

# Zingerman's Roadhouse --
Oh, how I love!

 

Post a Comment

<< Home