<p><a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/tashweenali/best-restaurants-in-ann-arbor">http://www.buzzfeed.com/tashweenali/best-restaurants-in-ann-arbor</a>
Do you guys agree? Kinda disappointed that Angelo didn't make the list.</p>
<p>no… just no. Whoever wrote this probably lived in the boonies his whole life and has never traveled.
Ann Arbor food on the high range is non-existent, on the mid to low range is not too shabby, but nothing to write home about either.</p>
<p>I’m not much impressed by the restaurants in Ann Arbor. I’m not a gourmand, and I do like Zingerman’s sandwiches, but the rest of what I’ve had here is just so-so and overpriced. </p>
<p>Restaurants in Ann Arbor are for the most part not memorable. </p>
<p>I see on the link to Blimpy’s that they said they found a new location but didn’t say where. Does anyone know where it will be and about when it will reopen? </p>
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<p>It’s a hell of a lot better than where I live now. At least at the under $15 price point, you can do MUCH better in Ann Arbor than this new non-Chicago Midwestern city I live in. What cities are you all thinking of that are so much better (that’s not Chicago or NYC or something)? </p>
<p>Clearly not up to the sophisticated standards of Bearcats</p>
<p>Ann Arbor food is HIGHLY overrated, particularly by townies / professors. </p>
<p>I agree that Ann Arbor has great options for college students. College students need options that cost $10-$20, and the town is filled with such reasonable but I also agree with Bearcats that a city of Ann Arbor’s size, stature and proximity to major industry should have more options at the higher end.</p>
<p>Ann Arbor is scheduled to get a P.F. Chang and Ruth’s Chris in the near future. Here come the overpriced national chains! There just isn’t a strong enough demand or desire for very high end independent restaurants in the state. </p>
<p>I disagree rjk. If A high end restaurant opened in Ann Arbor, it would do very well. People travel for such restaurants, and with a regional population of 5 million living within a 1 hour drive and literally hundreds of thousands of alums who visit Ann Arbor annually for games, reunions, family visits etc…, I can imagine that such a restaurant would consistently be in demand.</p>
<p>Where are all the “high end” restaurants in the Detroit/Ann Arbor area Alexandre? I mean, really good ones? I respect your opinion. </p>
<p>You can find plenty of great meals in Ann Arbor for under $15. I don’t understand any demand for high end restaurants in the city. </p>
<p>rjk, there are very limited options for high end cuisine in the Detroit area. In my day, the Lark was good and the Tribute was ok. Both were in Bloomfield Hills/Farmington Hills area. I am not sure if those are still around and/or good. I also hear that the Rugby Grille at the Townsend Hotel is quite good, but I have never been there. </p>
<p>There is no reason why Ann Arbor cannot sustain an excellent restaurant. Smaller towns boast fine restaurants, and given Ann Arbor’s general proximity to a large population, it is perfectly reasonable to expect a restaurant like Maison Troigros or Maison Pic (both located in remote parts of France) to thrive.</p>
<p>Tribute is gone and The Lark is living off its past reputation from what I have read. I am not a foodie for sure, but even I know that the Detroit area has not supported “haute cuisine” very well. </p>
<p>I agree with Vlad that Ann Arbor is a good town for cheap eats. Two of my current favorites are TMAZ Tacos out on Plymouth Road, and Pilar’s Tamales on West Liberty. But it’s not just haute cuisine that’s missing; even the mid-range selections are a bit weak for a relatively affluent and sophisticated town. Seems like there’s a market opportunity there, waiting to be exploited.</p>
<p>I agree bclintonk. Ann Arbor can easily sustain a dozen mid-range restaurants and a couple of Michelin starred restaurants.</p>
<p>So shall we seize the opportunity, Alexandre, and open a restaurant in Ann Arbor? </p>
<p>You supply the capital (we’ll call it “Chez Alexandre”), I’ll run it. I’m thinking a simple little French bistro-inspired place with top quality oysters, creative salads, soupe a l’oignon, and staples like steak frites, moules frites, cassoulet, coq au vin, boeuf bourguignon, maybe an Alsatian choucroute garni (which also serves as a nod to Ann Arbor’s German heritage), a couple of simple seafood dishes (sea scallops a must,but also one or two simple fish dishes), a good bouillabaisse, and of course some vegetarian options, including a to-die-for ratatouille in the summer and maybe a vegetarian cassoulet in winter (challenging, but it can be done well). A hamburger, of course, with nothing but the best organic, local, pasture-raised beef, with a garlic confit and swiss-and-mushrooms as optional toppings, as well as a vegetarian/vegan burger alternative (maybe a black bean and quinoa veggie patty?) An optional cheese course featuring the best French and regional cheeses. A dessert menu featuring a stellar creme brulee, pastries, the finest of local ice creams (not sure what those are right now), Michigan apple and cheddar dessert crepes, and fresh seasonal local/organic fruits and berries, as well as some glorious seasonal Michigan fruit pies, cobblers, and crisps–apple, cherry, peach, wild blueberry, strawberry/rhubarb… A wine list featuring high quality but relatively affordable French wines, a few quality but high-value California and Oregon/Washington wines, and some of the best Michigan wines, coupled with a beer menu heavy on Belgian and Michigan craft beers/ales, as well as a few Michigan and French ciders. That’s the core. I’d also be tempted to add a Cajun/Creole side menu with dishes like New Orleans-style red beans & rice (with a vegetarian version optional), jambalaya, chicken gumbo, shrimp creole, and shrimp etouffee, and on the dessert menu beignets, pralines, and pecan pie. And since we’re going broader Francophone, maybe a couple of Quebecois dishes like a hearty pea soup, a meat pie, a top-of-the-line poutine, and on the dessert menu a torte au sucre d’erable (maple sugar pie). And on the broader Francophone theme, how about a Haitian dish like griot (fried pork) with a side of black beans and rice, and to go Francophone global, maybe a couple of North African savory couscous dishes, one vegetarian, one not, and a Vietnamese-French fusion dish or two.</p>
<p>Lunch menu: soups, salads, crepes, quiche, omelets, hamburger and veggie burger, muffaletta, po’ boys, red beans & rice, poutine, couscous, falafel sandwich, Haitian black beans & rice, and a Vietnamese dish or two.</p>
<p>Thing is, I cook about 90% of the dishes I’ve named, and if I do say so myself I do a fine job of it, though I’d have to scale it up to production level.</p>
<p>I think the concept sells in Ann Arbor. Done right, people flock to it. At the outset it doesn’t get a Michelin star–these ideas are all derivative, and it doesn’t deserve a Michelin star until it develops its own signature dishes–but I think the concept is a winner.</p>
<p>So what say you, partner? </p>
<p>oooohhhh brother bclintonk. I’m afraid that Alexandre’s tastes are a bit more sophisticated than that:</p>
<p><a href=“https://content.alinearestaurant.com/html/pages/menus/menu.html#”>https://content.alinearestaurant.com/html/pages/menus/menu.html#</a></p>
<p>Do you think you can do a “woolly pig?”</p>
<p>Hey bclintonk, I see you and I have similar ambitions. Who knows, we may one day colaborare and own/operate a high end restaurant in Ann Arbor. 
It is certainly a goal of mine, though I must confess that I do not currently have the time to give such a venture justice. </p>
<p>But to correct rjk, my vision is more along the lines of Maison Troisgros, Maison Pic, Michel Bras, Arnsbourg, Regis Marcon, Michel Guerard’s Pres D’Eugenie, etc… In other words, a high end luxury inns with 15-20 rooms complemented by a high end restaurant and spa. I definitely love Alinea, but my concept of cuisine is slightly different (more traditional), and I believe that in order to succeed in a small city like Ann Arbor, a restaurant must offer accommodation.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.troisgros.fr/”>http://www.troisgros.fr/</a>
<a href=“http://www.pic-valence.com/”>http://www.pic-valence.com/</a>
<a href=“http://www.bras.fr/”>http://www.bras.fr/</a>
<a href=“http://www.arnsbourg.com/”>→ L'Arnsbourg | Restaurant gastronomique & Hôtel 4 étoiles en Lorraine (Moselle);
<a href=“http://www.regismarcon.fr/”>Réserver votre séjour aux maisons Marcon - Hôtels, Restaurants Gastronomique, Spa - Les Maisons Marcon;
<a href=“http://www.michelguerard.com/”>http://www.michelguerard.com/</a></p>
<p>That’s just a small sampling of country inns in France. Germany, Italy and Spain have several equally good concepts. All of those inns are way more remote than Ann Arbor, and all of them are doing great. I have no doubt that Ann Arbor can easily support such a concept. </p>