The Grub Crawl

Grub Crawl. These are two of my new favorite words, which go beautifully with the very best word in the English language: happify (to make happy).

I have to thank 7 fabulous eateries in Ypsilanti - Corner Brewery, Harvest Kitchen, Aubree's, Cafe Ollie, Sidetrack, Ypsilanti Food Co-op and Haab's - for the immensely wonderful quantities of both food and fun I enjoyed on October 5 when each place was offering hospitality at the very first area Grub Crawl. The event was sponsored by the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Regional Chamber, and I have to commend everyone involved for friendliness, organization, and even perfectly sunny and balmy Indian summer weather. Everything about the evening was ideal!

Now, what is a Grub Crawl, you ask? Why, a food lovers' equivalent to a pub crawl! Buy a ticket, get it stamped at each of the participating locations, and enjoy portions of the eateries' very best goodies all evening long. This is a Food Floozie's dream come true!

I rounded up Jeremy and his dad, my ex-husband Stuart, for the evening's entertainment. Not only are they endlessly amusing when they're behaving themselves (though extremely trying when they act like competitive siblings), but they're also two of the best eaters I know. A grub crawl isn't the sort of event to bring a picky or a restrained person to, after all.

So we began our adventure by walking to the Corner Brewery. We were greeted very warmly, and invited to sample either a beer or some butterscotch pumpkin pudding. I don't drink beer and the boys don't drink at all (Jeremy won't be legal 'til January anyway), so this was an easy choice: pudding all around. It was lusciously thick, rich, and slightly spiced with a hint of the butterscotch shining through. I am never averse to starting dinner with dessert, so we were all happy after our first stop and ready to move on through town to the next place.

We wandered on over to Harvest Kitchen, a subscription meal service offering wholesome, organic meals prepared with locally sourced ingredients. The appetizer offering here was an eggplant egg roll; then there was a choice of pepper steak, Italian wedding soup or bacon macaroni and cheese to accompany it. Jeremy and I leapt at the pasta, while Stuart - still following the low-carb Atkins protocol, but not with 100% rigidity - chose the steak. The egg rolls were a huge hit: "This egg roll is fantastic! I can't even taste the eggplant!" (from Jeremy), and "I think that was the best egg roll I've ever eaten" (from Stuart). The mac 'n' cheese was creamy, smoky, rich and delicious. We were happy campers, indeed.

Our next stop was Aubree's, where each Grub Crawler could sample a slice of either cheese or pepperoni pizza as well as a cheesy breadstick. The pizza was fresh from the oven, gooey, and perfectly foldable for this native New Yorker who still eats her slice the way she did while growing up in the city. The breadsticks were almost like pizza themselves, but without the sauce - doughy, chewy, generously covered with cheese. The portions were full-sized, not just samples. This one could have been dinner all by itself!

Our next stop was Cafe Ollie, which offered an entire smorgasbord of treats: spicy red pepper hummus with garlic toast, 5-cheese macaroni and cheese, coffee roasted almost-locally in Wyandotte, and ice cream from nearby Guernsey Farms Dairy ... oh, my! The hummus was thick and vibrantly flavored, and the garlic toast was a perfect accompaniment. The coffee was excellent, and the mac 'n' cheese - topped with crushed potato chips, no less! - was exceptionally creamy and delicious. The ice cream was a perfect closer. Stuart ordered Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, which he liked very much. I chose Choco Malt Chip, which was sublime. And Jeremy picked McGuire's Irish Mint, a chocolate-mint option, which he pronounced to be the very best sample of this variety that he's ever eaten.

Now, I had known going into this that I was going to have to engage in some serious portion control no matter how good the food was. I only tasted my samplings with a bite or two (well, sometimes three!), hoping to get through my tour of the eateries without feeling as though I might explode. My hearty and hardy companions, though, ravenously devoured what I didn't finish because everything was so wonderful. I warned them to be careful, but ....

At this point, we were starting to feel the effects of our multi-course meal. We were not complaining, oh no! We fully intended to see this adventure through to the end and to taste every tantalizing tidbit offered to us. But we were going to have to be a bit more restrained, a bit less voracious and enthusiastic.

But then we got to the Sidetrack. Oh, my word! We were graciously greeted by owner Linda French. When I introduced myself and told her that I'd written about how much I'd enjoyed the monthly "Opera on Tap" extravaganza and the exceptional carrot cake (prepared by the amazing pastry chef Bryant Stuckey of Decadent Delight), she gave me a big hug and welcomed my little family as though we were a part of her own.

There were 3 different beer samples being offered at one end of the bar, with rich and spicy tastes of pumpkin pie waiting at the other end. But the grand attraction was the buffet table in the center of the room, hosted by Linda's daughter Jessica and by long-time master chef Walter Love. There we found yet another variety of macaroni and cheese, this one also very rich and featuring thick slices of kielbasa. Next to it was cheeseburger soup, hearty with ground beef and creamy with lots of cheese in the base; it was our unanimous favorite.

Then there was tender Yankee pot roast served atop perfectly lumpy - so you know they're real! - mashed redskin potatoes. And the final offering was barbecued pork sliders that Jeremy declared to be better than my own famous-among-friends shredded pork. Rather than one single taste, we were informed as soon as we arrived that we could eat as much as we wanted to - seconds, thirds, whatever. The boys had seconds on one or two items, but I couldn't finish everything although I tried each item and enjoyed it all immensely. I can eat more than most people think a skinny girl can, but this was quite a test of my abilities!

We walked (waddled?) across the street to the Ypsilanti Food Co-op for eatery #6 of the 7 on our list. Since this is primarily a grocery store that offers some prepared foods, I wasn't quite sure what to expect; so I was delighted to find a buffet table laden with gorgeous, nutritious items! There was a roasted root vegetable salad of vibrant orange and green that featured a dressing with a subtle hint of cumin. Excellent roll-up sandwiches were filled with spicked chickpeas. A vegan walnut spread was a great complement to the crisp-crusted whole grain bread baked by the River Street Bakery next door. The pumpkin bread was a very nice accompaniment to everything; however the orange-glazed gingerbread was so stellar - moist, spicy, and with a perfect citrus glaze - that it easily won my heart. There were also crispy sweet potato and quinoa fritters topped with a brightly flavored yogurt-cilantro sauce. It was truly a feast!

Finally, we took the trolley that was so conveniently offered to help transport Grub Crawlers from site to site. It was provided by Golden Limousine International for those who chose not to walk either because of distance or because of feeling sluggish from their gleeful ingestion of goodies. The boys fell into both categories, as our final destination was a bit further away than the cluster of the other restaurants (four of which were in the same block, with another across the street). I would have preferred to walk off some of the overload of calories I was happily fortifying myself with, but I kept Stuart and Jeremy company for the ride on the quaint and charming trolley.

Although it's an institution, I have to admit that I had never eaten at Haab's before ... and that's quite a shame. I can't explain it, I've just never had occasion to go there; but that has now been rectified, and happily so. From the very flavorful black bean burger with a spicy chiptle sauce to the crispy fresh salmon cake, the food was very good. The zesty gazpacho was full of vegetables; and the butternut squash soup - which is only available from September 1 through January 1, because it is made with Michigan produce in the prime of its season - was so rich and creamy that I had thought there might be cheese in it. (There isn't.) The cream cheese apple blondie was sweet and spicy, and a lovely way to end both the tasting and the evening.

The Grub Crawl was so much fun! I highly recommend enjoying treats and meals at each of the participating restaurants; they offered such exceptional fare and so proudly represented Ypsilanti at this fabulous event.

Frugal Floozie Friday -- Ypsilanti Food Co-Op

There aren't many places where you can buy a meal for less than $5 ... and fast food joints don't count.

So let me introduce you to a place where you can actually find a wholesome, nutritious meal -- including dessert! -- for a whopping $4.87 including tax. Today's edition of Frugal Floozie Friday takes us to the Ypsilanti Food Co-Op. (That's pronounced [ip-sih-LAN-tee], by the way, for newcomers.)

When I go on my long evening walks, I often stop by the Co-Op just to see what goodies might be available that day. In addition to the standard groceries, you can find a variety of sandwiches and prepared foods; there are also luscious baked goods (breads, scones, cupcakes and such) prepared by the River Street Bakery, which is owned by the Co-Op and strategically located right next door.

I sometimes challenge myself to see if I can find anything there for less than $1. Health food stores have a reputation for being expensive after all, with organic and fair trade and specialty products, so this project amuses me. Once I found a basket with free samples of granola bars, and another time I bought a cucumber and limes on sale. The primo specimen, though, was a day-old baguette that had been sprinkled with assorted seeds (poppy, sesame) and was exquisite sliced and spread with butter!

But, as per usual, I digress. Back to the task at hand!

I doubt that it's possible to buy a supper for less than $1; but finding a good meal to bring home for less than $5 was quite a stellar accomplishment!

An 8-ounce cup of soup at the Co-Op costs just $2.97. I passed over the vegetarian chili in favor of a rich and creamy Potato-Leek-Pea Soup, intrigued by the addition of peas when I normally make my own version with just the first two ingredients. Soups (which vary each day) come with a slice of whole grain bread, a lovely complement and supplement.

And then I was seduced (as always) by the freshly baked treats. Mocha cupcakes, lemon-ginger scones, brownies ... but each of these was out of the price range, and would have pushed me over the Frugal Floozie Friday limit.

The Oat Raisin Cookie, however, was waiting patiently for me, its fragrant cinnamon slowly luring me in. It's made with organic ingredients, including whole wheat pastry flour, and is even vegan. A treat that's good for you! And it cost only $1.72.

The soup was very flavorful and perfectly seasoned, with hints of the peas shining through. And the cookie was sweet and spicy, with a tendency to fall apart without any eggs to bind it; but since I tend to break my food into pieces anyway, this was simply a cookie that someone must have baked just for me!

My light supper was ideal sustenance on a wretchedly Summer-like day -- hot soup to combat excessive air conditioning, which I loathe but don't get to control, though it was still light enough to be perfect for the season. The cookie was the essential sweet treat to finish the meal.

It's surprising just how far that $5 bill can go, isn't it? And how well you can eat for such a small amount ....

Ypsilanti Food Co-Op
312 North River Street
Ypsilanti, Michigan 48198


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Frugal Floozie Friday: Food and Fun for Five Dollars or Less ... Really!!!

10 for '10

Sam Sifton, who has the best job on Earth -- restaurant reviewer and food critic for The New York Times -- wrote up a list of his favorite restaurant meals of the past year.

And so, I thought: "Hmmm ... what have I, who so relish my food, eaten this year that was particularly spectacular?" (Yeah, I'm sorta stealing Sam's intellectual property here; let's call it an "homage," instead, shall we???) I started thinking back and looking through my blog posts to come up with a sampling.

But then, how would I arrange this? Would I stick to restaurant meals, to avoid the ego-coddling of including my own recipes? Well, I'm pretty enamored of some of the things I've prepared this year; why shouldn't I take pride in a job well done??? Would they have to be dishes I've already written about or ones I had pictures of? For the most part I do have a record, between my own personal blog and my writings for AnnArbor.com.

And then I just thought: "Stop deconstructing and obsessing! If you liked it, share it with your loved ones!!!"

So, in no particular order -- 'cause I had enough trouble making the decisions about what to include on the list, let alone having to decide which was incrementally better than another -- here are my 10 favorite foods from 2010:

Olives all'Ascolana (fried stuffed green olives) at Silvio's Organic Pizza. Fresh and hot from the oil, fragrant, crispy, tender, salty, juicy, and utterly unique, these little tidbits were a fabulous treat! You could very possibly devour platesful of the addictive little things before you realized you'd overdone it. Fortunely they're served only by the dozen, so that you don't have to worry about excess. But no one said you couldn't order another round ....

The cheesy potatoes Tom's sister, Sandy, served at the family's Christmas gathering. Tom has told me that I shouldn't take pictures at the holiday meals for fear of being thought a tad ... um ... odd (shall we say?) by his loved ones, so I can't show the dish to you. But they were a creamy, rich, gooey, luscious, soul-soothing mass of hash browns baked in a thick sauce of sour cream and sharp cheddar cheese. Who needed to eat the ham (which I actually couldn't, because of the sodium nitrite which gives me migraines) when you could just indulge in the bliss of the potatoes???

The maple-glazed salmon from Tom's birthday lunch at The Real Seafood Company. It was sweet, it was tender, it was flaky, and it didn't have the raw center that many trendy chefs pass off as "rare." (If I want sushi I'll order sushi; and, as you can see from the descriptive blurb under my blog title, I never order sushi!) The salmon was cooked to absolute perfection. That it was served along with fennel (one of my very favorite foods) that paired perfectly in a slaw along with green apple strips, as well as being accompanied by tender-crisp roasted vegetables, only made it more delicious. The pumpkin cheesecake served for dessert was lovely, but the salmon was absolutely the star of my meal. This plate was vibrant and colorful and nutritious, but it gave every impression of being truly decadent.

A true work of art at Giordano's Restaurant and Pizzeria in Chicago: a deep-dish spinach pizza. Handmade just for us, there were nearly 45 minutes of anticipation before Jeremy and I laid eyes upon this beautiful specimen. Once it arrived, it was difficult to destroy its perfection ... and yet, of course we did! Pure hedonism, a doughy crust layered with cheeses and spinach and sauce -- an utter masterpiece from its tantalizing appearance to its seductive aroma, and finally its rich, salty, yeasty, sweet, savory, spicy, explosion of flavors. This pizza was unbelievably, indescribably fabulous!

The banana pudding ice cream from Happy Cream Ice Cream and Deli in Detroit. (Oh, my heart is broken! I just found out the shop has closed when I looked for the link! Very sadly, another small business owner's dream has died ....) Not only is there divine intervention connected to this ice cream, as I ate it on the night Tom and I were visited by an angel; but it was so rich, so creamy, so smooth, so generously portioned, so infused with love and pride by the man who recommended it to me with a smile ... oh, it was utterly sublime. Every part of the comfort food that is banana pudding -- from the custard to the banana slices to the softened vanilla wafers -- was contained in that paper cup. It was a thing of true beauty. I am so, so thrilled that I was able to try it while the shop was open!

My triple orange brownies absolutely had to make this list! Still warm from the oven, these are too soft to be considered fudgy; and yet, there is a sticky layer of combined chocolate and marmalade at the bottom that is reminiscent of a candy filling. The orange flavoring doesn't overtake the chocolate, and neither is it hidden -- instead, the two predominant players do a seductive dance wrapped tightly in each other's arms, moving in unison as their hips sway and their passion ignites. These are so good that you will be spoiled and may never want to eat any other brownies again. I'm not kidding -- make the recipe for yourself and you'll find that I speak truth.

The Mexican chocolate loaf cake baked by the River Street Bakery and bought at the Ypsilanti Food Co-Op. This "cake baby," as Tom and I called it as we lovingly cradled it to make sure it didn't get mushed (since it was so tender), was an intensely deep, dark chocolate cake with a thin chocolate glaze ... after all, who can have too much chocolate??? When we first took tiny tastes of it, we thought it was rich and delicious; we were also very impressed at how moist it was, given that the cake is vegan. As the flavors lingered on our tongues and we compulsively consumed more and more of it with no ability to resist, the hints of cinnamon and cayenne started to shine through. There was nothing too spicy or overpowering, merely chocolate paired with perfect complements.

Shalimar, where Tom's and my favorite meal is Murgh Saagwala (chicken with spinach), Dumm Aloo (potatoes in a spiced tomato-yogurt sauce), and -- of course! -- the assorted naan. Yes, I should be picking one of those items and featuring it; but read my last post about this amazing restaurant -- how could I ever possibly choose just one item, when the entire place is one great big "favorite"??? Tom and I ate dinner at Shalimar on our first date ... it has tremendous sentimental value to me, in addition to extraordinary and luscious food. The ambience is sophisticated and romantic, the service is professionally polite rather than effusive, and the food is perfectly spiced and prepared exquisitely. Thus, this entire meal constitutes a favorite rather than any individual item ... no further explanation needed!

Note: For those who read about our recent anniversary breakfast at The Broken Egg and are feeling a bit confused because you thought our first date had been there rather than at Shalimar: Tom and I started that date with breakfast at The Broken Egg. We proceeded to go for a long walk and then warm ourselves up with tea. After that, we found we were hungry and in need of dinner ... thus a meal at Shalimar. It was all on our first date! It was just a 15-hour date ... :)

Love Bugs from Decadent Delight, which are kinda sorta reminiscent of Twinkies. But they are Twinkies not on steroids, but rather Twinkies which have gone to finishing school to acquire some sophistication. These treats are not just adorable and a perfect size to share with someone you love. They are tender, flavorful cakes frosted and coated with any number of tempting options, enrobing pastry cream or chocolate or Jeremy's personal favorite -- a passion fruit filling that could easily just be eaten with a spoon without any other flavors or textures intruding upon the sensual experience. Everything I've ever eaten at Decadent Delight -- from tarts to cookies to cakes to cinnamon rolls -- is absolutely swoon-inducing.

Roasted Cheddar-Herb Almonds, which are a very recent addition to my repertoire but an exceptional and noteworthy one nonetheless. These give every indication, upon first inspection, of being everyday almonds that have a bit of something stuck to them. Try one ... go on. To quote Jeremy when he first tasted them: "Mmmmmmm ...." No words, just closed eyes and "Mmmmmmm ...." Salty, savory, a variety of flavors from the mixed herbs -- each sensation offers something different and enticing for your tongue. You'll find yourself swiping a few more, then a few more after that. You'll give up any pretense of just nibbling and grab them by the handful with abandon. Yes, these almonds are that good. They really are ....

There were many, many other items that coulda been contenders: the spiked Granny Smith applesauce or the coconut macaroons from my dinner at eve ... the Zzang! bar from Zingerman's ... the buttery pumpkin cake that Sandy served at Tom's family's Thanksgiving feast ... the fabulous array of beautiful foods (grilled salmon and potatoes and sweet potatoes and salad and so much more!) served at a lovely dinner by Tom's and my dear friend Martha ... the French chicken with fennel from Joan Nathan's new cookbook ... my good friend Marcie's creamy salmon blintzes ... the cheesecake I made for Jeremy's birthday last January, from a recipe that was first given to the family at the baby shower held for my ex-husband's impending birth in 1960 ... my beloved friend Wendy's buttercream frosting, made from her grandmother's recipe, for which a cupcake is a mere carrier for the addictive fix ... a hot dog eaten on a gorgeous summer day ... the roasted squash soup topped with a blue cheese crouton at The Real Seafood Company ... my own ginger shortbread cookies ... the peppermint Jo-Jo ice cream from Trader Joe's, with crushed cookies mixed into it ... the gingerbread cookies that my good friend Doris shared with me ... peanut butter granola from the Ypsi Co-Op ... the gorgeous salad with fresh oranges and strawberries that I ate at my Mother's Day lunch at the Sidetrack Bar and Grill ... the sweet-tart chocolate-covered Balaton cherries that my dear friend Marilyn gave me for my birthday ... the gingery granola that was part of an extraordinary gift basket from my priceless boss/friend, Rob ... my Mafioso pasta sauce ... the summer rolls and potstickers at Big Bowl in Chicago ... the cream-filled puff pastry at Silvio's ... the raw vegan chocolates that Tom's friend/co-worker Daniel makes ... Talenti gelato, any flavor ... Honeycrisp apples ... garlic scapes grown by my fellow Michigan Lady Food Blogger Diana Dyer, served on pasta and in salad ... the garlicky cream sauce with mussels at Conor O'Neill's (which we'll be feasting on again for Jeremy's birthday, January 10, so stay tuned!). I could go on and on, but I'm getting hungry!!!

There's a beautiful Italian phrase which sums up the year in food for me: Chi mangia bene sta molto vicino a Dio. ([KEE MAHN-juh BEH-neh stah MOHL-toh vee-CHEE-noh ah DEE-oh) = He who eats well is closest to God.) God has blessed me enormously this year with good food, and especially with loved ones to share it with. May each of you be granted those blessings as well in 2011 ... :)