My parents rejoiced the day my first tooth came in. From that day on, I was a jerky eating girl. They would buy me little plastic baggies of homemade beef jerky from the dime store in Elkton, MI. I have fond memories of that jerky and I still consider it the gold standard of desiccated smoky cow goodness.

Ok, desiccated cow is disgusting. Norm, however, is a jerky connoisseur. Jerky is a major component of Norm’s Zone Diet food pyramid. Upon crossing the Michigan border, we saw a Beef Jerky Unlimited billboard. For the rest of the weekend, Norm was having Jerky fantasies.

We decided cutting off the "Y" would be funny.

On our way out of Ann Arbor, I had Norm query BJU on his Jesus phone to be certain we wouldn’t blow by. We hit the jackpot when we found BJU in Dundee, MI. It’s a short distance from Massacre Central-Cabela’s. This was very smart on the owner’s part…because placing a Beef Jerky Outlet next to a tofu factory just didn’t seem to make sense.

I’m tough Midwestern stock, so I rolled in to Beef Jerky Unlimited just so I could see how excited Norm would be in the midst of more jerky varieties than one normally encounters in a lifetime. The first thing I noticed was the sign that stated “NO PHOTOGRAPY”. Apparently, dehydrated cows don’t feel photogenic because of their deep wrinkles.  We found the staff to be very friendly and they explained how to sample and bag our meaty treats. I glanced at the sauces and dead trophy animals hanging on the wall, inhaled the meat-locker/slaughterhouse aroma, and proceeded to bail.

Norm continued the hunt for the perfect jerky. In a flash he stepped out with a hefty bag of meaty deliciousness. He said it was a bit pricy, but worth it for tasty high quality meats. On the cow breath scale, I give Beef Jerky Unlimited a 10!

Zingerman’s is the last stop on this extraordinary food tour of Ann Arbor. The brand now offers two locations in Ann Arbor, and with the line that usually wraps around the corner, I can say that the opening of the second location was probably justified.

Zingerman's Deli

Jen and I were luckiliy enough to visit the Sunday afternoon after a football game, so while most normal visitors were still nursing hangovers, we were on our way to just barely miss breakfast and having to pick from the lunch menu, and this is the only positive aspect of having to wait a tad bit in line. The sammich menu is HUGE. Sammiches are broken out by type of meat (or meatlessness, as a certain girlfriend would prefer it) and come in a large array of unique and strange names. The arbitrary name convention seems to suit Zingerman’s, with a caprious sense of humor that can be found all over the place.

Inside Zingerman's

Jen ordered ‘Leo’s Friendly Lion’, an amalgamation of ingredients that seemed to complement each other very well. The only complain she had was that she wished the green chiles in the sammich were a bit more evenly distributed. She opted for the original dill pickle, which had a mildly sweet flavor to it.

"Leo's Friendly Lion" - Fresh avocado spread, spicy fire-roasted New Mexico green chiles, Wisconsin muenster cheese & tomato on grilled farm bread.

I was fascinated by sammiches listed in the beef section that included “Montreal smoked meat” in the ingredient list, so I ordered the ‘Where is Deveaux, Anyways?’ (Deveaux is Toledo, Ohio) and honestly couldn’t tell you what was so Montrealese or so smoked about this meat. I declare shennanigans on this specialty meat, much in the way that Rocky Mountain Oysters are not a mollusk favorable for consumption.

"Where is Deveaux, Anyways?" - Montréal smoked meat, Switzerland Swiss cheese, Russian dressing & homemade coleslaw on Jewish rye bread.

I ordered the pickled cucumber that has a better crunch, but loses all the sweetness.

Jen keenly ordered the Jalapeno Peaches, which were a big hit with the both of us. The jalapenos are barely noticeable, nothing too overwhelming. Most definitely does not taste like burning. I’m guessing it’s Zingerman’s version of the spiced peaches recipe, which I award them full points for.

Jalapeno Peaches

So the downside? Expect DC prices (see also: where the hell did this markup come from?) for everything you order here. Fresser (large) sammiches can run you upwards in the neighborhood of $15, which is something that’s normally expected around DC, but a bit of a shock after being spoiled with Ann Arbor prices for so many meals. Yes, the ingredients are top notch, but there are better values to be had elsewhere. The lack of a long line around the block was also a bonus. Jen and I somehow managed to dodge waiting in line for pretty much any place all weekend, which I take as a sign of good luck. I wouldn’t be sticking around for a smoked sammich if I had to stand for 30 minutes outside in the middle of a Michigan winter. Eating here is half about the experience, half about the food, and half about the, ah crap, I’m out of halves. A good place to eat if you’re in the neighborhood, but otherwise, you could find a comparable meal for less elsewhere.

View a map of Zingerman’s here.

Angelo's

Angelo’s is my pick for the best bang for your buck in Ann Arbor. The diner sits right at the west corner of the University of Michigan Medical Center, which is probably for the best with the likelihood that you’ll overstuff yourself with the food here. I know I almost did just that.

I’ve come to the conclusion that diners/greasy spoon type establishments are my favorite types of restaurants. The fact that you can get a good breakfast any time of day without some crap rule about switching to a lunch menu at a “reasonable hour” is good by me.  So Jen made it a point for us to stop by Angelo’s during our weekend visit.  Wow.  The servers are quick to take your order, likely serving regulars who know exactly what they want, and coming time after time for just that.  But don’t fret, they’ll still show you a little Midwestern compassion and give you some time without the usual East Coast Scowl you’ll get around DC for dilly dallying a bit longer than it takes to open the menu.  (Shout out to my boys at Pho 75…What’s up!)

Deep Fried Raisin French Toast with Fresh Berries and Whipped Cream

I loved the fact that I could really taste the freshness of the ingredients while adding in the fact that Angelo’s doesn’t try to skimp you on portions.  The bread is homemade, so the Deep Friend Raisin French Toast comes fully loaded and will satisfy the hungriest of foodies.  Jen and I split the french toast along with an order of the Spinach and Feta Omelet, which came secretly filled with enough feta to sink a small island off the coast of Greece under its weight.  Sweet merciful Jebus, so much feta!

Spinach and Feta Omelet

Normally Jen doesn't like the taste of eggs in an omelet, but I heard no such complaints here.

In retrospect, it was likely a poor choice for me to order the Raspberry and Chocolate Chip Pancakes for a side dish (it even came with a mini side dish of Turkey Sausages, how could I lose?!). Jen swears that these were Michigan raspberries, and with her being a vegetarian, I don’t really doubt that her sense of taste is really that good. That being said, I’m still not giving up my studies in meatonomics.

Chocolate Chip Pancakes with Michigan Raspberries and Whipped Cream. A perfectly rational side order.

Secretly, these Turkey Sausages are plotting your demise.

We were so stuffed from our meal here, Jen and I were barely able to split a dinner several hours later.  If you know me, you know I'm constantly hungry, unless I've just recently exited a fine buffet establishment.  So to say I still wasn't ready for dinner by the end of the day, well, that's a huge accomplishment.

Get your starve on for Angelo’s, and view a map of them here.

If you go to Pizza House in Ann Arbor, all you need to do is make sure you order two things. Start it up with one order of Chipati bread with your choice of sauce on the side, and one order of pizza, preferably either the Chicago Deep Dish or the Chicago Stuffed Pizzas. These are what put this place on the map.

Chipati Bread and Chipati Sauce

The Chipati is actually named after an Indian griddle fried flat bread that tastes like something you’d get from a wheat bun and a fresh pita bread doing it on prom night.  TWO TIMES.  I never thought a plain plate of bread could be so satisfying, and likely doubly so on a cold winter Michigan night.  The Chipati sauce tastes like a mix between Thousand Island and Ranch dressing, but I preferred the tart taste of the house Ranch on my bread instead.

Chicago Stuffed Pizza

Jen and I split a small Chicago Stuffed with spinach and onions, half with tomatoes for her, and half with ham for me.  The stuffed pizzas take a while to make, so make sure you’re savoring every bit of that Chipati.  Luckily for us, we caught the restaurant in between dinner and bar closing hours, so the place was empty enough for us to get our food into our mouths quicker than Sally Struthers with a feedbag strapped to her face. 

The pizza has a delicious soft wheat crust, stuffed with the toppings of your choice, coated with fresh Michigan mozzarella cheese and filled with fresh chopped tomato sauce.  It’s then covered with ANOTHER wheat crust and then covered one more time with a layer of fresh chopped tomato sauce.  The ingredients in this deep dish behemoth are nothing but quality.  Jen didn’t care must for the crust after eating the main part of the pizza, but I happily gave them a good home for her. I can honestly say that this was the the best pizza I’ve had in years, if not ever.  Nothing tastes like it comes from a can, a bottle, or as if it was mixed with high fructose corn syrup to save a few pennies for the house. To me, the Chicago Stuffed was almost a little overwhelming, but I’d venture to say that the Chicago Deep Dish is spot on what I’m looking for. Guess there’s only one way to find out.

For me, this makes an absolute must for foodies. View a map of Pizza House here.

Bellanina B&B

Jen and I spent the weekend staying at a B&B (Bed & Breakfast, although there was an evident lack of “& Breakfast”, so it was actually a weekend stay at a giant B) called the Bellanina Spa and Institute. The place is situated over the Bellanina Day Spa (the storefront having moved just a block down the street to larger digs) in a great 100+ year old Michigan House in Kerrytown.

Kerrytown in Ann Arbor

Kerrytown, well known for its trash hobo and patchouli dippin’ hippy population, is actually a nice part of Ann Arbor that I doubt many but the patchouliest of hemp wearers would venture into (the Co-Op Organic Market’s lavender-infused-soy-hot dogs are mad heady, brah) if they were a student at the University of Michigan. That being said, it’s nice that the location is just far enough off the beaten path to be fairly peaceful at night, but within walking distance of campus by the morning. I highly recommend staying here if you get the chance to randomly be passing through Michigan on your way to, oh I don’t know, let’s say, a Beef Jerky Outlet or something.

The empty parking lot right across from us has a nice little farmer and crafts market on the weekends when the weather’s nice, and the dreadlock rasta are in full effect. There’s actually a lot of good stuff for sale here. I ended up picking out some monkeybread to snack on and some chocolate bell peppers to bring back home with me that I had never seen before. I was told that they have a slightly sweeter taste than red bell peppers, but don’t hold your breath that they are even to close to a bar of chocolate. Notably absent were the henna tattoo artists and hemp jewelry artists, although I wouldn’t have been surprised to see them running shop here.

Chocolate Bell Peppers

I could really see the appeal of living right there, shopping out for fresh produce that’s likely grown within a 50 mile radius. DC has their own farmer markets, and is rated as one of the best places in the country for farmer’s markets, but there was something that was super alluring about talking to friendly Michigan people and the laid back atmosphere of the Kerrytown Farmer’s Market that just complete appealed to me.

MmmBread

Michigan Tomatoes

Hippy Honey and Jams

Take your time and check out the vendors if you stop by through here. There are a ton of things to buy, and you get to help support one of the most economically distressed states in the country.

Kerrytown Farmer's and Crafts Market

Oh, and apparently the school has a killer football team or something. Go Blue?

Just as a non-food side note, the game against the Western Michigan Broncos was actually pretty good. As Jen and I were getting to our seats during the game, there was a high school marching band out on the field putting up a pretty good performance. I genuinely admired the University of Michigan for being so charitable and letting one of the high school bands open up as the pre-game entertainment.

That is, until I later found out several hours that it was actually the marching band from Western Michigan.

Whoops.

Ah well at least I didn’t feel like I offended anyone. From what I understand, it’s a school full of drunk idiots, anyways. Not to be confused with my former home Virginia Tech, which is also school full of drunk idiots.

At least our mascot at VT isn’t the Drunk Brunco. Wow. Talk about classy.

Western Michigan's Mascot, Hoofy, doing what he does best.

Jen and I are on a quick trip to Ann Arbor for some football and food. She’s heavily pushing the latter on me and has made no promises of giant turkey legs being sold at the game like they do at Virginia Tech, but I’m sure it’ll still be a good time. We’ll be back on Monday with some new restaurant reviews showcasing some of her favorite food haunts up in Michigan, and I’ll come back with a belly so big, commuters will be offering me their seat on the Metro.

The weekend starts… NOW!