Main Street

C

alling Ann Arbor a "college
‘...town" would be very limit-
ing. Sure the University of
Michigan brings a lot to the city,
but there is a lot of living to do
beyond the maize and blue.

DINING

There are a wide variety of dining
options from campus classics like
the great pizza and killer milk-
shakes of Pizza Bob's (814 S. State
St., 734-665-4517) to the high-
minded elegance, broad menu and
Sunday brunch at Chuck Muer's
Gandy Dancer (401 Depot, 734-
769-0592).
Vegetarian and vegan cuisine
that even a carnivore can love can
be found at Seva Restaurant (314
E. Liberty, 734-662-1111). Creative
and friendly, their dishes are based
on Mexican, Asian, and Italian
cuisines. The Blue Nile (221 E.
Washington, 734-998-4746) first
serves hot towels to clean your
hands so you can eat either their
vegetarian or meat all-you-can eat
meals with your fingers.
The excellent restaurants of the
Ann-Arbor-based Mainstreet
Ventures (888-456-DINE, msven-
tures.com) are all in the same
downtown block. Gratzi (326 S.
Main) has fine Northern Italian
cuisine while Palio (347 S. Main)
serves rustic Italian food and
upstairs the Palio del Sole offers a
different menu of open-air Italian
on the roof. At The Real Seafood
Company (341 S. Main), more
than a dozen fresh fish are broiled,
grilled, sauteed, blackened,
Shanghaied or deep-fried while
you relax inside or in the atrium.
Plush and elegant, The Chop
House (322 S. Main) offers a classic
menu of steaks, chops and seafood
done right, while La Dolce Vita, at
the same address, has homemade
desserts, single-malt scotches, spe-
cialty martinis and that special

cigar. But if this isn't enough, the
same block also offers arguably the
city's best Chinese food at Middle
Kingdom (332 S. Main, 734-668-
6638).
At the other end of downtown
is a block of ethnic eateries. A local
tradition, The Heidelberg (215 N.
Main, 734-663-7758) serves
German and American specialties
in a Bavarian-style Alpine room,
with live music and karaoke
upstairs and, of course, beer in the
Rathskeller below. Khana Khazana
Cuisine bf India (207 N. Main,
734-302-3711) has south Indian

and tandoori cuisine with a buffet
option, while Sabor Latino (211
N. Main, 734-214-7775) goes Latin
American. Another tantalizing
taste can be found at Champion
House (120 E. Liberty, 734-741-
8100), a Chinese and Japanese
steak house where they seat you
according to the cuisine.
Every day until 3 p.m., the
Broken Egg (223 N. Main, 734-
665-5340) serves breakfast, salads
and sandwiches. Looking for
breakfast after 3? Check out the
Fleetwood Diner (300 S. Ashley,
734-995-5502) whose diner fare

includes extensive breakfast offer-
ings 24/7. And you can always ask
them to crack an egg in the stir-fry
you create at bd's Mongolian BBQ
(200 S. Main, 734-913-0999).
In a historic building near the
Farmer's Market, Zingerman's
Delicatessen (422 Detroit St., 734-
663-DELI) prepares sandwiches
and sides for any taste, and stocks
a wide array of farmhouse cheeses,
estate-bottled olive oils, varietal
vinegars, smoked fish, salami, cof-
fee, tea and much more.
Zingerman's Bakehouse (3711
Plaza Dr., 734-761-7255),
Zingerman's Roadhouse (2501
Jackson Ave, 734-663-FOOD), and
an extensive and growing mail
order and catering business are the
latest offerings by this Ann Arbor
institution.
The venerable Shalimar gets a
makeover as Shalimar Grill (307
S. Main St., 734-663-1500) and
introduces a sister-restaurant,
Shalimar Cafe (211 E.
Washington) just blocks away.
Meanwhile, Raja Rani (400 S.
Division, 734-995-1545) sits quiet-
ly in a charming, restored home,
planning to continue to serve
legions of satisfied diners.
Sprawling street-side tables
makes for great people-watching at
Conor O'Neill's (318 S. Main, 734-
665-2968) and Rush Steet (314 S.
Main St., 734-913-0330). A tradi-
tional Irish pub and restaurant,
O'Neill's has nightly entertainment
or karaoke while its upscale neigh-
bor serves tapas and fine meals,
also offering entertainment and
style in its attached bar 800 North.
If watching the game is more your
style, head to The Arena (203 E.
Washington, 734-222-9999), a
sports bar with big burgers, big
screens and more than a dozen
other TVs.

Ann Arbor on page 12

MainStreets • October 20, 2005 • 11