Author: John

  • Zingerman’s Deli – Ann Arbor, MI

    Usually when I’m talking to someone about food in Ann Arbor, whether they live in the area or not, Zingerman’s will come up in the conversation.  It’s somewhat of the food landmark of Ann Arbor. Regardless of the fact that most people have to take out a second mortgage on their home to eat there, the deli is serving pretty ridiculously good food.  It’s worth it to make a visit and pay 14 dollars for a sandwich every now and then because everything is made in house and made incredibly well.  They don’t take any shortcuts at this place.  The bread is baked at Zingerman’s bakery, most of the cheese is made at their creamery, all of the sauces/toppings/condiments are made in house, and most of the ingredients are locally produced.  Ari (one of the owners) travels the world, searching for only the best varieties of each things they sell and it really shows in the food.  They really produce some special things here and it’s a treat every time I visit.

    On a side note, bacon is treated like an art at Zingerman’s Deli.  They normally have 5-8 varieties at any given time.

    Enough of the talk, what I really want to show you is what 70 dollars will get you at Zingerman’s Deli. Remember, this may be expensive but an occasional visit is worth every penny.  Seriously, I would like to write up a full review but you’re just going to have to trust me that everything tastes just as good as it looks.

    Zingerman's Reuben – Zingerman’s corned beef, Switzerland Swiss cheese, sauerkraut & Russian dressing on grilled, hand-sliced Jewish rye bread.
    Dinty Moore – Zingerman’s corned beef, lettuce, tomato & housemade Russian dressing on rye bread.
    Wayne’s Inheritance – Grilled Amish chicken breast, Vermont cheddar cheese, cucumber & Zingerman’s ranch dressing on grilled rye bread.
    Potato Latkes – Big, thick potato pancakes with homemade applesauce and Calder Dairy sour cream
    Zingerman's Potato Salad – Redskin potatoes dressed in a delicious roasted red pepper dressing.
    Potato Knish – Baked puff pastry stuffed with herbed mashed potatoes & onions.

    Do yourself a favor and check out the ridiculous menu posted on their website.  Seriously, if you can’t find something you like at this place then there’s something wrong with you.

  • Pizza Roll Stuffed Calzone

    From JUNK – PIZZA comes quite possibly one of the greatest pizza related creations of all time… A calzone stuffed with pizza rolls, AKA the Egg Sac. I have no words or sarcastic remarks, only that these images made me cry a little bit.  Don’t worry, they were happy tears.

    They even offer you a picture tutorial on how to make your own, and why wouldn’t you?

  • Cheesy Potatoes

    If you’ve been to some sort of party that hasn’t had cheesy potatoes as a food option then I’m not sure what’s going on with the people you know.  Every graduation party, wedding, or other social event should have cheesy potatoes.  If you aren’t a good enough host to have cheesy potatoes, then I’m not going to be a good enough guest to stay.  It’s just… not cool.

    What a lot of people don’t realize is how easy they are to make.  Seriously, 8 bucks and 45 minutes later you have yourself an enormous pile of cheese and potatoes.  Who doesn’t like that combination?

    Ingredients

    • 2 lb. bag of hash browns – Get the diced variety.  The ones that are cut into squares.
    • 1 bag shredded cheddar cheese
    • 1 cup sour cream
    • 1 can cream of chicken soup
    • Butter
    • 1/4 of a large, yellow onion, diced.
    • Salt, pepper

    Directions

    • Mix everything together, throw any remaining cheese on top, and bake for 45 mins.  Really difficult.

    Just for the record, I’m not really down with putting Cornflakes on top.  If you want a little texture, throw some breadcrumbs on it.  Don’t be crushing up breakfast cereal and putting it on food.  That’s just weird.