Keeping Your Head in (All) the Game(s): April 2021

Thursday, April 15, 2021

Thursday, April 01, 2021

Ann Arbor @ Curbside (March)

March reviews - Many more munchables to share as Michigan winter gives way to quickly warming spring.

JJ Crab House (2871 Carpenter Road, Ann Arbor) Back in July the same folks ran Naked Burrito at this location. Clearly they have changed their food focus. We had the Shrimp Hibachi, with soup, salad and rice. And an outstanding Shrimp dinner off the seafood menu. The don't really explain that the seafood menu items are served as a boil but that is not a complaint. Lots of potatoes, corn, sausage and lots of shrimp bathed in garlic butter. The boil is easily two meals Also offered are a deep-fried menu and half a dozen family big feast options.

Star's Cafe (2375 Jackson Ave., Ann Arbor) A repeat from just last month, we were and remain impressed by the menu at Star's Cafe. We went lighter this time with a Spinach Pie Plate and a Meat Pie Plate. Still a good value and really flavorful eats.

Cornman Farms (8540 Island Lake Road, Dexter) Another repeat, we had the fish fry back in September. This time we grabbed two yummy "Pie & Mash" options, the Wednesday weekly specials in March. Chickpea Tikka Masala and Chicken Tikka Masala. Both meals had outstanding, flaky crust on the pies, well season with truly memorable ginger/lemon carrots on the side. Look for more monthly popups at Cornman Farms. BTW, that's the pie&mash in the photo at the top of this month's post.

Monahan's Seafood (Kerrytown, Ann Arbor) Besides the best fresh fish in town, Monahan's has a great lunch menu (11-3). We went with the soup/chowder of the day, a saffron fish chowder and the deep-fried shrimp with fries, a standard menu item. On this day, we didn't stock up at the other shops, which is usually a good idea when venturing out to Kerrytown. We do suggest phoning in your order for easy pick-up in person or at curbside.

Leo's Coney Island (locations) Leo's is a local chain, though with nearly 70 stores, it ain't exactly Mom & Pop. I have an affinity for loose hamburgers with chili, onions and yellow mustard. Though I would rather be at the Lafayette Coney in Detroit, that's a long way to drive for nostalgia purposes and a ten minute lunch. The salmon burger, I know at a Coney restaurant with salmon? but it was good and the onion rings on the side were a large order for a standard price.

We've decided to expand our coverage to include several stores/deli's/food-to-go options available to us here in the Ann Arbor food cornucopia. This was prompted by a bread discussion, which came down to there simply being so many, too many bakery options. We begin this exploration with shopping spree at Argus Farm Stop.

Argus Farm Stop (325 W. Liberty St. or 1200 Packard Rd., both Ann Arbor) First, the breads. Argus receives bread from at least five different bakeries on a rolling weekly schedule. Our only complaint in this review is that the bread schedule is not on the website. We picked up a truly wonderful Olive Levain loaf from White Lotus Farms and a Potato Rosemary selection from Crust Bakery. Then there was the Fruit & Quinoa salad with mixed greens, toasted walnuts, goat cheese, shaved fennel, red grapefruit, pineapple with a white baslamic dressing. The salad comes from Juicy Kitchen here in Ann Arbor another stop/review for later. Add to that two slices of quiche (roasted pepper & manchego and butternut/shishito) for lunch the next day and some Kim Chi from The Brinery, also in Ann Arbor. I did say this was a shopping spree: we added Greek olive oil from Stamatopoulis & Sons (they have an outlet in Dexter). And finally, a bit of Mindo's chocolate, also a Dexter by way of Equador product.

Zingerman's Deli (Kerrytown, Ann Arbor) Yes a repeat,perhaps a re-repeat; Zingerman's in all its extensions is seemingly everywhere in Ann Arbor. But we had to try the olive bread, which is not always on the bakery menu, along with another favorite at our house, the scrumptious English muffins. While I was there, it felt only right to lunch on a massive pastrami sandwich and pickup a bottle of olive oil.