Tag: ypsilanti

West Coast Sandwiches & Grill

A new sandwich shop, West Coast Sandwiches & Grill, opened up down on Cross st. in Ypsi so I had to go let them know who runs the food blogging circuit in this area. The owner greeted me on my way in and spoke for a few minutes about his business and food prep. He stressed that all their meat is purchased daily and marinated on site. It’s always nice to see an actual sandwich shop open up and take on Subway, which slangs compete crap on bread. West Coast Sandwiches has four categories of sandwiches, chicken subs, steak subs, cold cuts, and seafood, and all sandwiches come in your choice of a pita or toasted bread(for real toasted, not that Subway imitation toast bullshit). They keep it simple but have a lot of interesting touches to their menu items. Many of the sandwiches contain potato sticks, which are similar to little dried french fries. They add an interesting touch. The seafood section of the menu includes tuna, shrimp, wild caught salmon, and a crab mixture that makes up the seafood sub. All the guys in there are friendly as hell and will hook your sandwich up the way you want it. Every sandwich is under $5.00, and you can get some great sides such as potato salad, hommous, breaded mushrooms, and zucchini stix.

My first visit, which is documented here, consisted of a delicious buffalo chicken sub with marinated chicken breast, Frank’s red hot, potato sticks, and ranch. I was a little disappointed with the size, but the chicken breast in this thing is incredible. The potato sticks are a nice touch, and the Frank’s is delicious as always. Not an amazing sandwich, but very good. I actually went back the next night and got the exact same thing, but asked the guy to load it up and add some cheese. He obliged and I got a MUCH bigger sandwich than this one. Don’t judge. Go and pay these guys a visit if you live in the area.

West Coast Sandwiches & Grill
505 W. Cross St.
Ypsilanti, MI

September 20, 2009
Metro Detroit’s Best Pizza

Detroit is full of great food, and it’s nice to hear some recognition that isn’t talking about Kwame Kilpatrick macking some beotches, or people laundering money from the public school system. GQ magazine recently rated Detroit the number 3 best pizza city in the U.S., only behind New York and San Francisco.

3. Detroit. No city has more consistently satisfying pies than Detroit. No city executes its particular style, in this case the square Sicilian, as flawlessly as Detroit. Hard to go wrong wherever you eat, although a hopeless local peculiarity is burying the pepperoni under the sauce.

To follow that up, The Detroit Free Press compiled a list of the 25 best pizza joints in Detroit. Tops was Supino Pizzeria, which isn’t much of a surprise at all. This place makes lovingly crafted, dare i say artisanal, pizzas that can stand up with some of the best in the country. The Dough is perfect, paper thin (5mm, i kid you not), crisp with a bit of chew, and a few char marks on the bottom. The sauce is a perfect balance of flavors and just melds all the other ingredients together. Toppings are all first class and fresh. You can just taste the love and care.

Supino Pizzeria's Bismarck pizza with fresh mozzarella, prosciutto, tomato sauce and a sunnyside egg

Also included is Buddy’s Pizza, which is a Detroit institution. The pizza here is on my short list of last meal requests, should I ever happen to end up on death row – no joke. If Detroit had a “style” of pizza, than Buddy’s would likely be its poster child. The unique blend of cheeses, spicy/sweet sauce and it’s thick, crunchy Sicilian style crust make Buddy’s a must visit for anyone who likes pizza and is in the Detroit area.

Buddy's incredible cheesy, crunchy crust

A choice that was shocking to me was Aubree’s Pizza, which is literally 3 minutes away from my front door in Depot Town(Ypsilanti). They are for sure serving up some delicious pizza, calzones, and other menu items but I would be hesitant to say that they have some of the best pizza in Metro Detroit. They are located directly across the street from Sidetrack Bar & Grill, which makes it difficult to chose pizza over some of the most delicious food and beer in the area. I will say that they have a huge amount of topping options for your pizza which always makes for an interesting visit.

Aubree's sausage, mushroom and pepperoni pizza

Unfortunately, no where around here sells a Tandori Chicken Pizza, so I’m going to need Bear Silber to freeze one and mail it to me right away.

August 28, 2009
Sidetrack Bar & Grill – Ypsilanti, MI

Without question, one of my favorite places in the entire world is Sidetrack Bar & Grill. There has been a bar at this location since the mid- to late-1800s, with early incarnations catering to railroad workers. Frenchies is right next door, and is used as overflow for the Sidetrack crowd or private functions. The Sidetrack has high ceilings, a warm fireplace roaring in the winter months and an outside patio to enjoy in the summer time. Not only does this place have some of the best local beer on tap, the greatest happy hour in the world (half off liquor & $3.00 22 oz drafts 11pm-1am), it also has some of the best food in the area. Pretty much anything you order here is absolutely delicious. While I usually stick with the gorgonzola tenderloin and fried clams on the side or their incredible sweet potato fries, the Sidetrack is known for the world famous burger. When I say that their burger is world famous, I don’t mean it like Tio’s wet burrito. This world famous menu item is actually known outside of Ypsilanti, and is easily one of the best burgers I have ever had.

Sidetrack was listed in GQ Magazine for grilling up one of the best burgers in the nation. Included in the magazine’s listing of “The 20 Hamburgers You Must Eat Before You Die,” and also mentioned on Oprah. Who can argue with Oprah? Sidetrack keeps its to-die-for burger status by using only fresh ground beef that’s delivered daily and by cooking each mouth-watering burger fresh to order. You also get your burger the way you like it with options including 9 types of cheese (including goat cheese), grilled onions, portabella mushroom and grilled onions. My favorite is the goat cheese and grilled onions. Oh, did I mention this burger only runs you $5.50?

If you’re ever in the Ypsilanti/Ann Arbor, The Sidetrack Bar & Grill is a must stop. I’ve never met a single person with a negative thing to say about this place. It will be one of the things I miss most if I have ever had to move out of the area. There’s nothing better than sitting outside on the patio drinking a tall Bell’s Oberon and enjoying a burger in the summer. I’m getting a little emotional here.

August 11, 2009