The tyranny and the bullshit had gone on for far too long.  One week ago we assembled and decided that Tios would not receive another accolade that they did not earn.  The people decided it was time to rise up and end this fable of a “world famous wet burrito”.  The people decided that it was time to recognize a brave and saporous establishment for their hard work and determination.  Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the best Mexican restaurant in the area:

You did it.  You responded to my battle cry in full force.  You’re the best around.  I dedicate this video to all of you that voted and/or posted a battle of your own on Facebook.  Special thanks to the Ypsilanti businesses who also helped support the movement.  You are also the best around.

Hello Faz Pizza has a dear place in my heart because I grew up around Faz and his family.  Faz was an incredible guy but I will come back to that at a later date.   When it comes time to order pizza in Ann Arbor, 99% of the time I’m probably going to recommend that we call them up.  Yesterday was one of these times.

The reason I write this is not to tell you how much I love Hello Faz Pizza.  It’s to give you a heads up on probably the best pizza deal in the entire world.  Forget about five dollar Hot and Sweatys, Dominos’ three for five dollar special or any other pizza coupon you’ve seen.  Hello Faz Pizza took all of those deals and gave them the middle finger.

Hello Faz will give you a large pizza with unlimited toppings for just nine bucks. That means you can order a large pizza and click every single topping they offer, and you still only have to pay nine bucks for it.  That is incredible.

Shaya and I tried this out last night to mixed results.  My half contained feta, spinach, chicken, steak, bacon, and garlic. Her half contained sausage, bacon, tomatoes, and broccoli.  As you can see,  I got the better end of the deal and she wasn’t too happy about the amount of toppings on her half.  Special price to anyone who can find an actual piece of broccoli.

Regardless of the Shaya broccoli debacle, you really can’t argue with a large pizza and ten toppings(or 7 1/2) for only nine bucks.  That’s a solid deal.  When you throw in that the pizza is absolutely delicious as well, that’s.. Well, it’s just a solid deal again.

Hello Faz Pizza
2259 W Liberty St
Ann Arbor, MI 48103
(734)741-7777
http://www.hellofaz.com

This is based on a true story…

Shaya and I were sitting around the other day when the hunger pains began to hit.  It had only been 45 minutes since the last time we had eaten, and we had plans for a serious tennis battle, so we knew our stomachs meant serious business on this one.  We put our heads together and tried to decide which local establishment would do the best job at battling these pains.  Burgers?  OCB?  This was going to be an extremely important decision that would determine exactly how many more times we would need to eat that day.

So I’m like “Hey Shaya, I saw this article in AnnArbor.com about this little BBQ place in Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti started but this guy who’s never owned a restaurant before.  He just really likes BBQ so he was like “Oh hey I’m going to start a restaurant”  It sounds good.  Let’s go there.”  And Shaya was like,  ”Bananas.  Let’s go there.  Hooray!”  So we both jumped into Danger Ranger and headed off for this BBQ joint we knew nothing about that was started by a guy who had no restaurant experience.  It sounded promising.

I pull into Satchel’s, which is right next to Whole Foods, and I see the smoker sitting right next to the road.  Who needs some fancy sign when you have a metal contraption smoking large pieces of meat and preparing them for my consumption?  I’m not saying that because Satchel’s doesn’t have a sign, because they do.  I’m just saying it’s good advertising.  Nice work, guy who’s never owned a restaurant before.  The inside of Satchel’s  pretty much looks like a backyard picnic that had to be moved indoors due to inclement weather.  Everything is simple, from the menu written on a large chalk board to the wooden picnic tables which would probably fit a little league baseball team.

I stepped up and ordered the pulled pork, mac and cheese, and baked beans.  That’s pretty much my go to BBQ order.  Shaya went with the brisket, greens, and mac and cheese.   I’m now going to list my 6 favorite things about Satchel’s BBQ.

1. BBQ Baked Beans – The beans are made in the smoker.  They are incredible.  By far my favorite part of the meal.
2. Smoke Raaaaaang – All of the meat has a beautiful smoke ring.
3. Burnt Eeeeeeends – Beautiful burnt ends on the brisket and the pulled pork.  My favorite part.
4. Unlimited Sweet Tea - And it’s good too.  Diabities in a cup.  The way it’s supposed to be.
5. Simple – No bullshit.  You eat on paper plates and bus your own table.
6. SAUCE – This should be higher up but whatever.  There’s about 8 different sauces to choose from.  Whats up options?

Ok, but seriously.. The pulled pork comes undressed(allowing for consumer meat application), and is actually pulled from the bone.  Often pulled pork is simply shredded chunks of pork but Satchel’s serves you large chunks of pork meat that is obviously hand pulled after coming off the smoker.  The  meat itself is incredibly tender and tastes of a delicious peppered rub even without any sauce.  I had a small amount of fat on a couple chunks of my pork, but If found it to be the perfect amount.

As I mentioned before, the BBQ baked beans are out of this fucking world.  I have never in my life had anything like them.  They are smoky but sweet at the same time.  They are, by far, the best baked beans I have ever had in my life.  The mac and cheese was great, but wasn’t anything incredibly special.  Just solid BBQ joint mac and cheese.

Satchel’s is combination of legit and delicious.  If you like food that is both legit and delicious than it just may be for you.

Satchel’s BBQ
3035 Washtenaw Ave
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
http://www.satchellsbbq.com

I can’t remember the last time I asked anything of my readers.  Actually, I don’t believe I have ever requested anything of you.  That’s all about to change.  On June 12th, AnnArbor.com will begin the voting for Best Place for Mexican/Southwest Food in their “Best of” series.  I’m not bringing this to your attention because I simply want to promote democracy within the local food community.  I’m dedicating a post to this portion of the series, as well as the next 18 days of my life, for a very important reason that I feel you should pay some attention to.

Tios Mexican Cafe is nominated.

Not only are they nominated, but having won Best Mexican Food in several local publications over the past few years I would say that they are one of the favorites.  The reason for these victories is certainly not attributed to them serving delicious and authentic Mexican food.  To be completely honest with you, it’s because people are stupid.  I can’t think of any other reason why someone would waste their time promoting an establishment that has done everything in their power to destroy Mexican cuisine.  I like to think of Tios as the Kwame Kilpatrick of Mexican food.

In case you are not familiar with my hatred of Tios Mexican Cafe, or if I haven’t done enough in that last paragraph to make you aware already, I urge you to visit the Tios Battle Archives:

If you are completely unfamiliar with the food that is being served at Tios, here is a small preview:

I urge you to register with AnnArbor.com, if you haven’t already, and aid Epic Portions in this battle to promote quality and authentic Mexican food over “Southwest style” bullshit.  I personally will be voting for La Fuente but if it becomes apparent that another restaurant is leading the pack I will throw my support at them.

Have you ever wanted to make a difference?  Now is your chance.

On June 12th, Epic Portions and you will save Mexican food.

]]> http://www.epicportions.com/2011/06/01/tios-mexican-cafe-a-call-to-arms/feed/ 2 http://www.epicportions.com/2011/05/27/blacked-out/ http://www.epicportions.com/2011/05/27/blacked-out/#comments Fri, 27 May 2011 23:17:05 +0000 John http://www.epicportions.com/?p=5762

I figured I should probably post something to let you all know that I am still alive.  Well, if anyone really CARES!  I’ve just been listening to way too much OFWGKTA and that doesn’t really leave a lot of time for eating.  I’ll have some very important news posted later on this week.

But now.. Crabcakes Benedict for that ass. Thanks Angelo’s.

I wanted to write a little something about how delicious Cheddar Ale Soup is simply because I have had several good bowls of it lately.  I had the idea of doing one of my “way too much information about something you’ve never really wondered about” pieces, but there’s really not much information available on the stuff.  It’s popular in New England and Vermont?  See, not very interesting.

The soup is a perfect blend of creamy and cheesy, without tasting like a bowl of melted cheese with some milk added to it.  Good cheddar ale soup has a perfect blend of cheese, cream and spice creating a subtle, yet rich soup.  When I speak of this perfect blend, Grizzly Peak’s Cheddar ale soup immediately comes to mind.  Their soup is seriously killing the cheese soup game.  During my soup research, I actually found the recipe.  Goldmine.

Grizzly Peak's Cheddar Ale Soup

I’ve been on a Sidetrack soup kick as of late.  For some reason I never really got into their soups and I’m now realizing that was a mistake.  This past Thursday, they just happened to be serving Cheddar ale soup.  A little richer than Grizzly Peak’s, but good nonetheless.  I ate half of the bowl before I realized that I should probably document the experience with a photograph.  That’s what you call a compliment.

Cheddar Ale Soup at Sidetrack Bar & Grill

I end this semi-pointless tribute to Cheddar ale soup by requesting that you comment and tip me on where to go for Cheddar ale soup.  I need more of it.  Please, help.