CHINESE PEOPLE

EAT HERE

Anna’s
House

H

ow could Anna’s House be voted “No. 1 Best
Breakfast in Michigan” if it’s only been open since
April 2 in Farmington Hills?
While diners on the west side of the state apparently were
big fans of Anna’s House in an MLive.com dining poll, I had
no prior knowledge of this special group of family-owned
restaurants. Since visiting, I’m glad that a former TGI Fridays
on Northwestern Highway made way for an Anna’s House. I
expect Anna’s will win accolades around these parts, too.
About 15 years ago, entrepreneur Josh Beckett fell in
love with Becky Miller’s cooking at Anna’s House in Grand
Rapids. He bought the restaurant and decided to expand
into new markets. Miller sometimes is enlisted to help train
Esther Allweiss
kitchen staff. Other Anna’s House locations are in Grandville,
Ingber
Contributing Writer
Holland, Kalamazoo and Westland. Each kitchen manager
creates new menu items, including seasonal specialties. In
Farmington Hills, Curtis Lubbers manages the kitchen and
Tony Sieczkowski is general manager.
Anna’s House, open 6 a.m.-3 p.m. daily (except
Thanksgiving and Christmas Day), stands out for both food
and atmosphere. The menu goes beyond the basics, veering
off into adventurous and delicious new territory. The music
and cute retro décor recall the 1950s-early ’60s era.
For breakfast, popular among “Anna’s Favorites” is Twilight
French Toast, featuring crème Brulee sauce, fresh berries
and raspberry Melba. I was wowed by my Lemon Poppyseed
Crepes, stuffed with house-made cream cheese and topped
with warm blueberry sauce.
I’ve never had potato pancakes quite like Anna’s: nicely
crisp with a soft hashed browns-pancake filling, garnished
with goat cheese crumbles and chopped green onion. The
accompanying sauce is an apple cider vinegar reduction.
Another savory selection is Cuban Benedict on grilled
English muffin halves. Michigan Bread, a family bakery in
Taylor, supplies high-quality breads made without additives.
Among the menu’s House Bowls, served with cage-free
eggs, favorites include Hippie Hash and Smoked Salmon
Hash. Kimchi Reuben Burger on a pretzel bun includes slow-
cooked, hand-pulled corned beef.
Besides strips of sturdy turkey bacon, I sampled vegan pat-
ties that had the texture and taste of real ground beef. They
star in Anna’s Vegan Impossible Burger. The menu lists many
options catering to different dietary lifestyles, including
gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan and vegetarian.
Beverages available here include handcrafted espressos
and lattes, hot chocolate from Ghirardelli choc-
olate and draft sodas made in Traverse City.
Tylor Devereaux, decorator at all Anna’s
House locations, gave Farmington Hills metal
“space-age” lighting fixtures, featuring bare
bulbs inside trapezoid frames or at the end of
rods. Period collectables include teapots, coffee
urns, toasters, radios and a console TV. Primary
colors are aqua and green.
Walls display pithy sayings and canvases
of local attractions. Soaring above the dining
counter is a black-and-white mural of “Anna,”
a carhop at the drive-in. In one corner, the
copied a picture showing an actual
Anna’s House muralist
Farmington Hills couple on their 1962 high
32555 Northwestern Highway school prom night, posed beside a Mercury.
Farmington Hills, MI 48185 Oversized B&W sketches of “Flo” and “Mel”
(248) 254-3436 from the TV series Alice decorate doors that
annashouseus.com can be closed for private dining. The restau-
$$$ out of $$$$$ rant’s capacity is 240. •

dining
around
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Detroit, Michigan 48201

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May 3 • 2018

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