ZIngerman's Roadhouse

It feels like eons ago when I first met Ms. H her freshman year of college. After some dillydallying after undergrad, she made her way to law school. Although I had promised to visit her in Ann Arbor, three years flew by and I never made it! So when her graduation rolled around I had no choice but to attend. My first night there we had an amazing dinner but I forgot my camera so it's as though that meal never happened.

Luckily, I was well equipped for the main event. A graduation dinner for Ms. H and a few co-graduates at Zingerman's Roadhouse. This one started out right because one of or appetizers was Sweet potato fries.

These are the biggest fries I've ever seen. They looked like the potatoes were cut into quarters, lightly fried (to the point that I was starting to think they might have been baked) and sprinkled with salt. I had to resist the urge to claim the shared basket as my own. I had a harder time digging into Ari's Pimento Cheese.

I mean you know how I feel about white stuff. This actually turned out to be pretty tasty. It was best when eaten with a combination of the celery and bread. after the graduates and their families arrived, it was time to place our orders. Some of the diners ordered the Cheddar & Ale Soup.

Beats me why anyone would order soup but they all loved it. Apparently the creamy goodness won them over. For my first course, I selected the Roadhouse Garden Salad.

It was pretty standard served with cider balsamico dressing. I was fine without it because I knew what the future held. Buttermilk Fried Chicken!!!

Spectacular! Whenever anything comes in a bowl or basket, I'm automatically excited. This hunkering basket of Amish free-range chicken was dipped in  buttermilk batter then deep fried. It was incredibly hot when they served it and I almost burned myself because I was so impatient. It was juicy and tender I couldn't contain myself. I did manage to take a few breaks so I could eat the mashed potatoes. 

They were fluffy and delicious. I was quite happy with my meal and I'm not sure why anyone would have ordered anything else, but quite a few did. Mr. N was very excited about the Pit-Smoked Spare Ribs.

From our table we could see the smoker where the Neiman Ranch pork ribs were cooked for 9 hours. He tore it up so I'm assuming it was delicious. Mrs. H ordered the Cornman Farms' BBQ beef.

The pasture raised beef was served with Alex's Red Rage Tomato BBQ sauce and a side of mashed potatoes and bacon-braised greens. Apparently the BBQ sauce was amazing and the greens had that extra happy flavor that only bacon can bring. The other Ms. H, my partner in fun for the weekend ordered the Pacific Gulf Red Fish.

It was sautéed and served with mashed potatoes and sautéed spinach. The fish was excellent. It tasted very fresh and the light seasoning was delicious. After stuffing myself silly and being unable to finish my chicken, my eyes got really big at the sight of cake...and my stomach made room! 

The carrot cake wasn't what I was after, though it did look good.

The chocolate cake and I were one by the end of the meal.

I mean look at it! Wouldn't you be in love too? It was fluffy and filing chocolate goodness. What's not to love?

It was such a pleasure to celebrate Ms. H's graduation with such a grand and delicious meal. The cake made it's way back to her apartment and we reacquainted ourselves again in the morning. Zingerman's you were wonderful. I didn't make it to the deli but if it's anything like the Roadhouse you can sign me up for next time! Hopefully my blazer will make it back, if not I'll be back in Ann Arbor sooner than I expected.

Hungry yet?

Kittichai

I’ve had my eye on Kittichai for quite some time.  I remember at the Malaysian Night Market all I wanted to do was get a small taste of something delicious.  I felt the same way during restaurant week yet I never made it down there.  Finally, last week my borella agreed to go with me J I was so excited, I must have memorized the menu by the time we got there.  It’s definitely quite the scene.  There’s something about the Thompson Hotel that makes me smile.

We were pretty quick to order and I must say the waiters were quick to deliver.  We started with the Coconut Chicken lettuce wraps with chili-lime hoisin glaze and mango salsa.

Umm wow.  This was the first time in a long time that food made me speechless.  Seriously.  The coconut chicken was a perfect blend of spices with a spicy finish.

I usually don’t order lettuce wraps but doesn’t that look amazing?  It was the perfect appetizer.  I really do wish we had ordered more.  It wasn’t long until our entrées arrived.  I ordered Duck two ways.

The duck breast was pretty good but I actually don’t enjoy the fatty part of the duck so that wasn’t so great.  The Spiced Orange Curry on the other hand was AMAZING! 

Fingerling potatoes added to the depth of the curry and left me feeling like I ate a very hearty meal.  The curry is definitely spicy. The orange was subtle which worked really well with the duck.  I will say that I didn’t appreciate the onions that I found in there because I bit into them thinking they were potatoes – blech.  My borella ordered the Coconut Braised Short Ribs.

They were dressed with kaffir lime leaf, mint and fresh coriander.  It was definitely a hefty portion.  It was the first time in a long time that he actually thought they served him enough food.  Of course, it helped that we also ordered the Jasmine rice sans pork sausage.

The cashews were better than I thought they would be.  They enhanced the flavor of the rice rather than serving as a distraction which is what I expected.  The dessert menu was lacking or perhaps I was just so satisfied with the meal I didn’t want to ruin it with a dessert I didn’t really want.

Kittichai is the truth.  I know many think it’s overrated, but I find it to be fabulous.  The service was stellar, the atmosphere was fantastic and the food was incredible.  I can’t wait to go back!

Hungry yet?