OT: NY Times article on Zingerman's
Pretty interesting (and long) article on Zingerman's, and their unique business model. I had no idea about most of this.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/06/business/at-zingermans-pastrami-and-partnership-to-go.html?src=me
"And they started rolling out new businesses: A bakery that had been started to make bread for the deli became Zingerman’s Bakehouse. A training and consulting business, ZingTrain, would share Zingerman’s strategies and philosophies, especially its emphasis on customer service and staff training.
There are now six ZCoB businesses clustered on the south side of Ann Arbor, including the Zingerman’s Mail Order business, the Zingerman’s Coffee Company and Zingerman’s Creamery."
Good question ... I guess between Amer's and Jimmy John's. Tasty but expensive for what you get.
"Bo Burlingham featured Zingerman’s in a book called “Small Giants,” which is about companies that “choose to be great rather than big.” And the owners and employees of more than 1,000 companies have attended ZingTrain seminars to learn more about the Zingerman’s model."
If you've never read "Small Giants", it is a fascinating book and Zingerman's probably is one of the better examples of values-focused entreprenuership out there, focusing on a culture that drives engagement and strives to be the best in its class, but not at the expense of its people. There's something to be said for that, and it is one of the major reasons I will eat at Zingerman's whenever I am able. I've actually met some of the people who do the ZingTrain workshops, and although I have not yet been to one, the description makes me believe that even large corporations like the one for which I work need to hear at least some of this message.
Program covers Zingerman's, too. Our group spent time there and met Ari to discuss their philosoply and practices. My company prides itself on it's training and business model and Zingerman's shames us. Employee engagement is amazing.
workshops and consulting for many of the largest (and smallest), hippest (and staid) corporations in the country.
Zingerman's is a cool little place to stop by when the weather is warm and you have a couple of hours to kill. The sandwhich's mostly are good but they are stupid expensive. I prefer Dibella's.
I've never tried Maize 'N Blue Deli. Where is it at?
On South U almost to Washtenaw.
Maize and Blue is tasty, but I can make that at home after hitting a grocery store. You really cannot replicate a lot of the items at Zingermann's unless you are willing to spend a great deal of money and buy those items from around the globe.
You can go to the grocery store and buy the Sy Ginsberg corned beef. You can walk into the deli and buy their bread and any of the condiments they use. Pick your cheese, too. You could probably make ten Reubens for the price of what you'd pay for about two or three at the deli.
Whoa, whoa, whoa. You mean facilities and labor aren't free? I'm both amused and annoyed by the number of people who simultaneously 1) praise Zingerman's for its labor practices and advocate for more businesses to do the same (or be legally forced to) and 2) bitch about the prices, as if the two were totally unrelated.
Crazy how they've turned down multiple offers to franchise in high-rent locales like Vegas and Disney World to stay small but improve their brand...it shows. As an undergrad the Kerrytown location was never particularly close but I still went in for a sandwich and/or Mac N Cheese when I had time.
Would recommend Slows (in Detroit) before Zingerman's Roadhouse.
Fried chicken, no. However, they do have smoked wings.
but I mean that in the sense that some think it is the end all be all and it is not. However, if you're looking for an amazing sandwich that will fill all three meals . . . Go to Katz's.
Carnegie deli, however, is lame. Go to a concert! Don't get lunch there.
I don't think I know anyone from New York who has been to the Carnegie Deli.
15 years ago, when my office was in SoHo, there were still a handful of very good Jewish delis and 'appetizing' places on the Lower East Side. I believe they are all gone now, except for Katz, which survives only because it is/was the biggest and probably because they are stubborn. Katz will go, too, eventually, and be replaced by a condo tower with a bank and a chain cafe/sandwich place on the first floor.
Love Katz and Langer's, I find the pastrami at the two indistinguishable from each other and leaps and bounds better than anywhere else. I just wish Langer's wasnt in such a shitty part of town with horrible parking and, mostly, like 45 minutes away.
Horrible parking? I go to Langer's about once a month, for lunch during the week, and I've never not had a spot in their lot, and it's free. One of the main reasons my wife and I meet there for lunch so often is the parking situation. And I wouldn't say it's in a shitty part of town - it's just outside downtown. You might not want to be there at 2am, but Langer's isn't open then.
Now, if you don't ever go downtown, then sure it's inconvenient. But that can be said for any part of town you don't often go to.
I live in Long Beach, it's a bit of a hike so I can only go on the weekend and there has never been an open spot in their lot when I've gone. And that place is a ghetto, I feel like I'm in Tijuana with all the people selling crap on the sidewalks and cooking hot dogs on shopping carts.
Interested description coming from someone who lives in Long Beach.
Long Beach is huge and I never go to the ugly half, heh.
"I took my family to Zingerman's today after a walk in the Arb, as a matter of fact."
Because Zingerman's is affiliated with the University of Michigan, I'm not surprised MGoBlog would figure out a dozen reasons why it sucks.
Maybe associated was a better word? It's in the same city, that's all I meant. People here seem to find a reason to bash anything associated with Ann Arbor or the University.
I worked at zingermans while in college and to this point I can easily say they cared more about me as a part time undergrad than any of my friends or I at real jobs in a variety of fields. Beyond that thought comparing it to maize and blue is just dumb, I lived across from maize and blue and enjoyed it, it is a good sandwich, but if all you are doing when you go to zingermans is eating a sandwich you are doing it wrong. There are cheeses and meats that you can maybe get at one or two other places in the country that you can sample no problems, the people working the stations have spent hours training so they can talk to you with knowledge about these ingredients. They are two different places and shouldn't really be compared.
This thread always turns into an argument about who makes the best valued sandwich in town, but to me AK47's is the response that nails it. Zingerman's is about a lot more than grabbing a sandwich to a lot of people. If you're a foodie hater then you're not going to like the place. It's all about great food, and it's made for people who appreciate tasting 10 olive oils to find the right one or having a passionate employee educate you (and provide tastes to back it up) on cheese production as you look for the perfect one for a special occasion. If what I just wrote pisses you off, then Zingerman's is the wrong place to go.
I don't usually get a Reuben when I go to Zingerman's or to Maize and Blue or any other deli, but when I taste similar sandwiches at each place I don't detect a huge difference...except for the bread. Zingerman's wins there hands down in my opinion. If you disagree, more power to you. They aren't the only deli that deserves to be in business.
My favorite times at Zingermans are in the morning for breakfast, something I do every time I'm back in town. It's quiet. If the weather is nice you can sit outside. They have really, really good coffee.
For the record, I'm a big fan of Dibella's and love a good Wreck at Potbellys as much as the next red-blooded American.
Too bad there isn't a Way Back machine so we could all go back to Zingerman's in its infancy, when it was just the brick building with four or so tables in the front. It was less about the Zingerman's gestalt and more about the purity of the food. I love it now, but it was truly amazing back then. I've never had as good of a Georgia Reuben as I did when I was in school in the late 80's. The sandwiches are really good now but they were transcendant back then.
For using "gestalt".
+10 (if I could) for using "transcendant" in the same comment.
If you'd found a way to include "zieigeist", that would have easily qualified for a double-bonus.
I need to send a note to the mods or something. "+1" just doesn't seem like quite enough.
Corned beef with chopped liver, lettuce, Russian dressing on Jewish rye
I love Zingerman's, but last time I was there they put way too much hot mustard on my Montreal smoked meat, and the horseradish overpowered the rest of the sandwich. I really don't think this was a matter of personal taste, as it was literally causing my eyes to water, and I normally like spicy food and horseradish. Actually had to scrape some off to make it edible, and even then there was enough lodged in the bread to be too much. Meat and bread were, of course, fantastic, and the old pickle and magic brownie were still awesome.
....DiBella's overhype in this thread is ridiculous.
It's like people in A2 have somehow managed to catch the "DiBella's = Jesus!!!" virus so prevalent in Rochester, NY.