College Student Dinners in Ann Arbor
I am currently a sophomore here at UM and loving every minute of it. Amid the pandemic evening activities are notably limited with parties at a minimum and many bars closed. In response, my two roommates and I have taken to weekly dinners out on the town on Friday or Saturday nights. I was curious as to the board's opinions on what restaurants should be added to our list of places to hit.
I have the luxury of being able to spend a little bit of money on these dinners, but at the same time I am a college student so a Friday dinner at Knight's likely isn't going to happen. We are big fans of all types of cultural foods and are open to pretty much any recommendations.
Hit me with everything you've got!
October 11th, 2020 at 9:50 PM ^
Morgan & York/Ricewood. They done some work and have a pretty nice Covid set up considering limitations. Good food, beer, wine. And you can get some awesome meat and cheese to start with. Also, tommy is a good dude and is always around.
October 11th, 2020 at 9:53 PM ^
Sounds like you're a bit too young to partake in the brews, but go to Grizzly Peak and get a hangar steak sandwich (loose usage of the term sandwich). It is my favorite dish I've found in Ann Arbor.
October 11th, 2020 at 10:07 PM ^
I remember when I was in high school and I went with my parents and got this and it came and I looked at and went wtf? Then ate it and was like omg wtf!
October 12th, 2020 at 9:57 AM ^
We'd go to Grizzly Peak, order a few plates of mussels and eat that, soaking up all the juice with bread. That was dinner more than a few times, lol.
October 12th, 2020 at 10:18 AM ^
With cheddar and ale soup!
October 11th, 2020 at 10:05 PM ^
Apparently Antonio's Coney Island (2896 Washtenaw) in Ypsilanti has great Honduran food. Easy Uber or bus ride from campus. Should be within the budget easily and a good cultural food experience.
October 12th, 2020 at 4:03 PM ^
Yes, Antonio's is fantastic and inexpensive; definitely worth a stop. That said, it's on a pretty ugly stretch of Washtenaw, and I'm not sure I'd take the bus all the way out there just to go. OTOH, if you're of drinking age it would be a great stop on your way into Ypsi, you could stay on the 4 until it ends and then hit either Depot Town or Downtown (or both.)
8.5.1October 11th, 2020 at 10:07 PM ^
CincyBlue9, I was going to refer you to an area of the blog just for this ( https://mgoblog.com/content/guide-ann-arbor-eating-drinking ). It's really old but still somewhat relevant.
Why? Ann Arbor has an amazing number of restaurants that have been in business forever. IMO that's generally not a good thing. It says less about the quality of the restaurants (which you'd expect to be great if they've been open so long) than it does the low standards of Ann Arborites.
Have fun!
October 11th, 2020 at 10:21 PM ^
I forgot the place and couldn't tell you if it still exists, but E. Williams St. had an Indian restaurant that was pretty amazing. I was 18 or 19 when I went, so lack of culture could have been the issue. But, I know Ann Arbor used to have a very cultural diverse selection of eateries. Try anything non-American out, you'll be surprised. Fuck, I'm drunk and rambling.
October 11th, 2020 at 11:39 PM ^
Rajarani? I think that I misspelled it.
October 12th, 2020 at 7:28 AM ^
Well, that's the one I remember. It was probably my first experience with Indian food (which was definitely love at first bite). I grew up in a rural town with nothing of that type available.
This is the last place where I had Indian food in Ann Arbor: https://www.madrasmasala.com/
I remember Ann Arbor's Indian places being at least decent and there were several of them.
October 12th, 2020 at 10:19 AM ^
Raja Rani is long gone, the building still has another Indian restaurant, Namaste Flavours. Cardamom, which is next to the No Thai at North Campus, IMHO is decent in regards to Indian food.
October 12th, 2020 at 1:19 PM ^
Their fried muskrat was to die for. Literally.
October 12th, 2020 at 1:29 PM ^
You must be a muskrat.
October 12th, 2020 at 8:44 PM ^
Muskrat love???
October 12th, 2020 at 9:42 AM ^
"the low standards of Ann Arborites."
This is one of the great things about America—you can grow up in a rural food desert with few culinary options and still become a condescending food snob.
October 12th, 2020 at 10:01 AM ^
Outside of college-student type fare, food in Ann Arbor WAS for a long time extremely mediocre and bland. It’s gotten better in recent years, though.
October 12th, 2020 at 1:32 PM ^
Condescension? Maybe.
There are some good places in Ann Arbor, but if standards were higher those mediocre MSV places on Main Street wouldn't draw big crowds year after year.
I don't consider myself a seasoned traveler, but it didn't take many points of reference to get a clear view of Ann Arbor. It could be done easily from Chicago alone, where, come to think of it, there are hundreds of mediocre restaurants that draw big crowds. Maybe it's a Midwestern thing? :)
October 12th, 2020 at 1:36 PM ^
Pretty sure it's still there--there's a Korean joint on the far eastern end of South U. It used to be called Steve's Lunch (not called that anymore), which was funny as hell because by looking at it the place looked like a typical urban diner where you would get the meat loaf platter. But instead they serve great Korean food like Bulgogi and Bi Bim Bap. However my faves especially on chilly days are the soups, like Kimchi Jigae (spicy tofu soup) or Yook Gaejeng (spicy broth with pork and noodles). Most of these dishes come in large bowls and cost around $10.
October 12th, 2020 at 4:36 PM ^
I’m an Ann Arborite from away back and I love the variety you can find in such a small area. My low standards be damned.
October 11th, 2020 at 10:11 PM ^
Red hawk
October 11th, 2020 at 10:11 PM ^
Fleet wood. Hippy hash
October 12th, 2020 at 3:48 PM ^
Or Krazy Jim’s next door for a triple (oh, wait, that would be a quad or quint for me as a college student) with Hoffman’s salami and provolone on an onion roll. Have the fried veggies while you’re at it.
October 11th, 2020 at 10:13 PM ^
Dinner at your parent's home. Not too many of those after college. But I'm sure it's not a quick drive, so I can't help you out. The last place my family and I ate, in Ann Arbor, was at Casey's Tavern before the Michigan vs. Minnesota hockey game last year. Again, not helpful. Everything has changed since I lived there and the normal spots aren't there. Stay away from anything owned by Amers.
October 11th, 2020 at 10:25 PM ^
Downvoted for mentioning Amer's? Or the whole parents house? I'm getting old, there's nothing I wouldn't give to be able to eat dinner at my parents house with them. So, eff you buddy.
October 11th, 2020 at 10:15 PM ^
McDonald's?
October 12th, 2020 at 8:20 AM ^
Yep, McDonalds. They had only sold 298 hamburgers when I first started eating there.
October 11th, 2020 at 10:20 PM ^
I remember the days of going to White Castle in Ypsilanti after drinking. Good times.
October 11th, 2020 at 10:23 PM ^
you were the guy that took the pickles off your burgers and threw/stuck them to the windows, weren't you?
i think when i was there it was still .25 cents for burger, maybe .29 cents for a cheese burger.
October 11th, 2020 at 10:27 PM ^
Xtra, you know pickles destroy a good slider.
October 11th, 2020 at 10:41 PM ^
respectfully disagree. pickles are part of what makes a slider a slider, and i don't even like pickles.
October 12th, 2020 at 8:33 AM ^
This is correct. The only time a pickle doesn't belong on a burger is when it's a mushroom & swiss burger. Or when the 'burger' is a chunk of chicken (looking at you two, CFA & Popeyes). What kind of imbecile wants a pickle with chicken?
October 12th, 2020 at 9:23 AM ^
I agree with you in that I never want pickle on a chicken sandwich, but apparently there are plenty of imbeciles out there who want it. Otherwise they wouldn't be selling them.
October 11th, 2020 at 10:40 PM ^
Must have been around the same time. I seem to remember those prices. My roommate who played. football at Michigan came back to the table with 25 burgers one time. He ate them all.
Nobody threw pickles but some punches were almost thrown in drunken insults going back and forth with other people a few times.
October 12th, 2020 at 4:57 PM ^
And even better the Michigan Daily used to print coupons to get a bag of 10 for $2. That way you could really destroy your digestive tract for very little money
October 11th, 2020 at 10:25 PM ^
Was going to suggest Prickly Pear for their fajitas, but I just noticed that they permanently closed their doors.
Getting fajitas after footballs games was a tradition my mom and I have been doing for 20+ years. :(
October 11th, 2020 at 10:26 PM ^
And now, for something completely different...
"But I'd rather eat Johnson, sir!"
October 11th, 2020 at 10:30 PM ^
Backroom after a double shift at Charley's.
October 11th, 2020 at 10:52 PM ^
Jerusalem Garden, frita batidos, the earle for happy hour friday, jolly pumpkin, or pacific rim if you want to spend more than a college student should.
October 11th, 2020 at 11:12 PM ^
Agree with Pacific Rim. Pricey but good!
October 12th, 2020 at 1:34 AM ^
Yes to Jerusalem garden. Best falafel I've had.
October 12th, 2020 at 7:32 AM ^
Here's another Middle Eastern place on Washtenaw:
https://www.pitapitaonline.com/
That (Middle Eastern food) is the best of what SE Michigan has to offer IMO. It's usually underrated.
October 12th, 2020 at 1:42 PM ^
Hold on now. There are likely dozens of better middle eastern joints in Dearborn alone. But I do remember Jerusalem Garden, a great little falafel joint off Liberty.
October 12th, 2020 at 7:35 PM ^
A little clarification: I think SE Michigan does Middle Eastern better than any other food. I don't think Pita Pita is the best M.E. place in the area.
October 12th, 2020 at 12:11 AM ^
turkey pastrami reuben
October 12th, 2020 at 12:57 AM ^
Not sure if you have a car to get around, but I've gotten tired of the Ann Arbor restaurants and now generally look for restaurants outside of AA. Last time I was there I went to a place called Casablanca out on Washtenaw in Ypsi and it was great. Not expensive and it's very good Moroccan food.
Detroit also has a lot of great restaurants for all budgets but that may be further than you want to go.
October 12th, 2020 at 7:49 AM ^
Another vote for Casablanca! My daughter came back from a semester in Morocco and thought everything we sampled was authentic and tasty.
October 12th, 2020 at 2:00 PM ^
Down Washtenaw and across the street from Whole Foods is Bigalora, where they serve authentic Italian and wood-fired Neopolitan pizza. Super fresh with lots of healthy options. And I'm told it is a favorite of the old ball coach and his wife.
October 12th, 2020 at 1:36 AM ^
Buddy's pizza. Haven't been to the Ann Arbor location, which has only been around for a few years. But the original Detroit location basically invented Detroit style pizza, which is now a nationwide phenomenon.
October 12th, 2020 at 8:22 AM ^
When I was a student back in the 80s, Drake's was the best place to pick up something that felt like mom had made it and at a great price. It was old-fashioned even then, but I guess it reminded me of the local sandwich shops from my small home town, especially with a Kresge's at the corner. Of course, Drake's and Kresge's are long gone now. There also weren't nearly as many interesting choices in those days.
In my category of interesting yet student-priced and also close to campus, I would recommend Blue Nile which focuses on Ethiopian.
Best of luck in your studies!