Michigan Part 6: Ann Arbor

Michigan Theater

About 45 minutes west of Detroit, you will find the city of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Ann Arbor is known for its parks, its art scene, and great restaurants, but is best known as the home of the University of Michigan (more on that to come).

Zingerman's Delicatessen

 Zingerman's Delicatessen

My first stop in Ann Arbor was at Zingerman's Delicatessen, an Ann Arbor institution that serves up specialty sandwiches, using the highest quality ingredients.

Zingerman's began as a modest deli in 1982. Today, they have a store, (video above), a bakehouse, coffee house, creamery and a full service restaurant. This place is popular!

It is so popular that the wait was 80-90 minutes, even though I got there when they opened. Zingerman's has many a fan including locals, tourists and famous people alike. In fact, former President Barack Obama is counted among them. To honor his visits to the deli, Zingerman's even created the “Baracky Road Gelato,” which they offered for a limited time.

Zingerman's Reuben

After the long wait for my sandwich, all I could think was, "this place had better be as good as everyone claims." Oh, was it! The reuben sandwich, their most popular, was made with corned beef, using premium Black Angus to be specific. Layered on top of the meat was Swiss Emmental cheese, The Brinery sauerkraut and Zingerman's own Russian dressing. All of these ingredients were placed between hand-sliced, grilled, Jewish Rye bread from Zingerman's Bakehouse.

I know that's a mouthful and so was the sandwich, of which I was only able to consume a quarter. That's ok, the remainder made for a great breakfast the next day.

After eating a small portion of my Zingerman's Rueben, I wandered around for hours, in downtown Ann Arbor.

Found

I found the cutest bookstore, like many others have presumably, because the store is called "Found." Clever name, right?

I also visited the farmer's market, which was in full swing on this sunny Saturday.

Miss Kim

Miss Kim

Nearing late afternoon, I met a friend for lunch at Miss Kim, a farm-to-table, Korean restaurant. Miss Kim began as a food cart and even though the restaurant is now in a beautiful building, you will still find a selection of street food on the menu ...

Suntory Time

... as well as great cocktails. I ordered a Suntory Time made with Suntory Toki whiskey, rice syrup and orange bitters.

Carrot Salad

Lunch started with the restaurant's complimentary, carrot salad, seasoned with scallions and garlic, ...

Fried Chicken Wings

... and continued with lightly battered and fried Amish Miller chicken wings, dressed in a sweet and spicy chili glaze.

Tteokbokki - Street Style

Our final lunch item was the most popular on the Miss Kim menu, the tteokbokki. Tteokbokki is made of rice cake batons smothered in gochujang. The batons are sautéed with scallions and crispy pork belly lardons.

Finally, a poached egg is laid on top of it all. You are meant to break the yolk and dip the rice cakes in or mix the runny yolk all around. Either way, it creates a nice creamy and rich flavor.

University of Michigan

The Diag

On a full stomach, I walked over to explore the University of Michigan, the crown jewel of Ann Arbor. University of Michigan is a public research university and the oldest institute of higher learning in the state.

The original name of the university, founded in 1817, was Catholepistemiad and it was located in Detroit. In 1821, the school changed its name to University of Michigan. (Shockingly, Catholepistemiad wasn't taking off.) Then, 20 years after its founding, the university moved from Detroit to Ann Arbor where it has been since.

Clocktower

Today, University of Michigan is home to approximately 53,000 students, including both undergraduate and graduate students. Speaking of graduate students, the school has more than 100 top ten graduate programs.

All that is very impressive, but I didn't come to learn about the academic programs. I came for the football. To be specific, I came to watch the University of Southern California (USC) play the University of Michigan in USC's first game against them, after their move from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten conference.

The game was played at University of Michigan's football stadium, nicknamed "the Big House," because it is the second-largest stadium in the entire world and the largest stadium in the U.S., boasting a capacity for more than 113,000 people. That is almost twice as many people as USC's home stadium, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, can hold.

I showed up to support the Trojans with many other USC fans, only to be engulfed in a sea of blue and gold. Undeterred, we took our seats and tried to take in the magnitude of the stadium amidst the Michigan fan's cries of "Go Blue!"

My Trojans played well and almost won. In the last 37 seconds of the game, Michigan pushed forward two yards for a fourth and goal touchdown. I almost cried. Hopefully, we will beat them this year. Fight on!

Gallup Park

After the game, I headed to Gallup Park to watch the sunset and lament the loss.

The 69 acre park, Ann Arbor's largest, is located along the Huron River and Geddes Pond. I recommend a walk on it's scenic paths during sunset, if you are in Ann Arbor.

Bellflower

On my drive back to Detroit, I stopped at Bellflower, located in Ypsilanti, Michigan for dinner. I started with a blood orange and vodka cocktail to continue nursing my wounds.

(Yes, USC's loss, exacerbated by a good friend's jabs, was still bothering me. As a University of Michigan MBA recipient, he was savoring the victory in general, but truthfully, I think it tasted sweeter because he got to sprinkle some salt in my wounds. You know who you are, P.J.)

East Coast Oysters

After my delicious cocktail, I moved on to some seafood.

 I had oysters from New Brunswick and St. Simon with mignonette and lemon and one, large, succulent shrimp dipped in cocktail sauce.

Fried Perch

For my main course, I ordered the perch.

 The fish was panko-crusted and topped with a small amount of pecorino cheese. It was served with cream of kale, toasted bread and sliced apples.

The meal was excellent, as was my entire trip to Ann Arbor (minus the USC loss). Next, I will share about another day trip I took from Detroit to a place known as Michigan's Little Bavaria.