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History
A Taste Of
Suzanne Chessler | Contributing Writer
Gail Offen
John Milan
36 January 5 • 2017
G
ail Offen grew up in
Southfield but regularly
ate at Ann Arbor res-
taurants — sometimes more than
one in a day. She was introduced
to the college town’s culinary fare
by her late uncle Morton Lesser, a
foodie who liked lots of mealtime
company.
Early on, Offen sampled egg-
rolls at Kosmo in Kerrytown,
chowder at Monahan’s, barbecue
at DeLong’s, the salad bar at
Afternoon Delight, a limeade and
grilled pecan roll at Drake’s — all
generally topped off with an ice
cream cone at Miller’s.
Devotion to the city’s res-
taurants remained fun when
Offen attended the University of
Michigan and worked at Pizza
Bob’s in the late 1970s, then a
hippie hangout with loud music
and staff-customer banter. She
got into the act as new pie com-
bos and sandwiches were invent-
ed and given funny names.
“I became known for my triple
fudge milkshakes that were per-
fect for late-night munchies,” she
says. “Pizza Bob’s was and still is
an iconic Ann Arbor restaurant.”
These days, Offen hopes to
become known for her new book,
Iconic Restaurants of Ann Arbor
(Arcadia Publishing; $22.99),
written with Jon Milan, a friend
and co-author of an earlier col-
laboration, Grand River Avenue:
From Detroit to Lake Michigan.
There are 107 restaurants
referenced and joined with 120
pictures — all introduced by Ari
Weinzweig, an owner and found-
er of Zingerman’s, a purveyor of
Jewish style-dishes that have left
fans salivating across the country.
The book can serve up back-
ground for foodies getting ready
to indulge during Ann Arbor
Restaurant Week, Jan. 15-20.
There will be bargains for diners
and proceeds for Food Gatherers,
which provides needed staples
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE BENTLEY HISTORICAL LIBRARY, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
Take a culinary journey through Ann Arbor in a new book —
just in time for the city’s Restaurant Week.
in Washtenaw County. There
also will be a book presenta-
tion Jan. 19 by the authors
visiting Literati Bookstore.
“I was looking for informa-
tion on Drake’s, a wonderful
comfort food place, but couldn’t
find a book covering it,” Offen
explains about the impetus for
her culinary project. “While
thinking somebody should write
that book about Drake’s, I found
the idea snowballing into the
notion that somebody should
write about a lot of these restau-
rants in Ann Arbor.”
Offen, nominating herself,
ABOVE: Drake’s Sandwich Shop was
a longtime favorite that stood along
North University for more than 60 years
— famous for fresh-squeezed limeade,
great sandwiches, fountain service and
the fabulous Martian Ballroom, upstairs.
Drake’s menu, circa 1936, is from the col-
lection of Gail Offen.