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The Michigan Daily
SICEvery year Michigan Daily readers vote on their favorite things about Ann Arbor. From
the best barber shop to best pizza place, students decide the top places in the city.
Below you'll find a glimpse of what our staffers think about some of last year's winners.
Espresso Royale Cafe
Six Espresso Royale Cafes. Two
Amer's Mediterranean Delis. Two
Sweetwater cafes. Rendezvous.
Ambrosia. Ten Starbucks. As a col-
lege student in Ann Arbor, you're
never far from a coffee shop.
Ann Arbor seems to breed cof-
fee houses. Patrons can frequent
the mainstream Starbucks or the
indie Ambrosia or they can settle for
a compromise - a coffee shop that
doesn't make them feel like part
of the establishment but that also
doesn't make them feel overdressed
wearing khakis and a polo.
Espresso Royale is a happy medi-
um between the coffee shops Ann
Arbor has to offer. Without being
a suffocating chain or pretenses of
beinga cultural hub, ERC has a wel-
coming atmosphere.
Unlike a few campus coffee
shops, the clientele isn't homog-
Best coffee shop
enous - you're almost as likely to
see your professor there as you are
to see your classmate.
It's found in two campus loca-
tions: State Street near Nickel's
Arcade and South University Ave-
nue near the entrance to the Diag.
There are also two on Main Street
and three others on the outskirts
of town. While six locations might
seem like a lot, when you consider
that there are nearly twice as many
Starbucks in town, it seems like a
rarity.
In each location, tables near the
large front windows provide the
perfect opportunity for people-
watching while slowly sipping a
cup of the house blend. Or if work
needs to be done, patrons can go
downstairs where it's quiet at the
South University location or toward
the back at the State Street location,
where the rows of outlets are a wel-
come relief from the ruthless search
for a table where you can plug in
your laptop.
Also, the campus spots offer free
wireless Internet, a big selling point
over say, Starbucks, where access to
the web via T-Mobile costs $9.99 for
a day.
Espresso Royale first opened on
the West Coast in 1987 and soon
spread to college towns in seven
different states. The cafe on State
Street was the first Espresso Royale
to open in Ann Arbor. In 2004, the
second ERC near campus opened on
South University.
The South University cafe, while
slightly smaller, still presents the
same friendly ambience for cus-
tomers, as well as the same product
selection. If you're lookingfor a meal
that's heartier than just pastries and
Coffee beans are displayed on the counter of the Espresso Royale Cafe on State Street.
coffee, the parfait at ERC is better During finals week, it's important chain with heart.
than it is anywhere else on campus. to have a relaxed atmosphere that's EMILYBARTON
College students are often so not as suffocating as the Grad or the
busy with school that they have Ugli but where you can stillget work This article originally
little time to think of anything else. done. And while it's a chain, it's a ran on April 11, 2007.
Red Hot Lovers
Best hotdog and Best fries
=ANN ARBOR
China Gate
What draws folks to Red Hot
Lovers on East University Ave-
nue is the hot dogs. Plain and
the simple, the joint has the best
dogs in town, proudly claiming a
Chicago tradition of excellence.
You don't need any more hot dog
description than that. What you
do need to know is that there are
two other important reasons why
Lovers is as good as it is: the burg-
ers and the music.
They cook their burgers over
an open flame grill, validating
their "charburger" namesake. The
buns are key. Lovers uses fluffy
white and wheat buns and toasts
them to perfection. Throw in a
side of fries and all that's missing
from your perfect summer meal is
a pint.
The music argument is two-
fold. The first part is the selection.
Never have I walked into Lovers
without great music (classic rock)
in the background. The Who, the
Rolling Stones, the Beatles - you
name it. The place is greasy with
barely any sunlight. Couple that
with the iconic Ann Arbor Blues
and Jazz festival posters on the
walls and what you have is a
greasy-spoon atmosphere at its
best. Looking up from your meal
(if you can manage) nets an eye-
ful: Ray Charles, Charles Mingus
- these guys actually played in
Ann Arbor. Only Lovers is dedi-
cated to preserving such a hal-
lowed piece of local memory.
Ever peeked behind the coun-
ter? Facing the kitchen above the
register are dozens and dozens of
tabloid cutouts ranging from alien
Elvis baby clones to the world's
largest mushroom. On the soda
fountain facing the restaurant
are several Far Side comics. Red
Hot Lovers boasts a down-home,
earthy, greasy atmosphere in per-
Best Chinese food
There was amanwhose patient
gaze used to preside over all who
stroll along the student shops
and bars of South University.
Garbed in chef's white, he used
to stare out from a fading plac-
ard with the sort of solemnity
that would inspire trust even in
casual passerby. Chef Jan's noble
visage has since inexplicably dis-
appeared from the front window
of the China Gate Restaurant,
but his legend lingers on.
If Chef Jan does remain some-
thing of a minor Ann Arbor
celebrity of only because of the
store's display, it's certainly not
for his modesty - China Gate's
window and menu both proudly
list his slew of culinary com-
petition victories (2001, 1999,
1998, 1997, 1996, 1983) as well
as his former wins as a Michi-
gan Daily favorite (1998-2001,
2006) and many stop before the
restaurant's bright facade of red,
white and blue to puzzle over the
possibility that a decorated chef
may have actually set up shop on
this student strip. The accom-
plished chef himself, however, is
decidedly elusive. Jan's longtime
absence from the restaurant
leaves him as a sort of emblem-
atic figurehead, a status which
only adds further to his mythic
allure.
Whether or not Chef Jan
himself really is slinging the
beef with broccoli back there in
China Gate's kitchen, the restau-
rant remains Ann Arbor's favor-
ste
ani
Uni
mil
tun
off:
nes
froi
as i
dov
nie
of c
Un
Str
thi
con
des
destination for Chinese food,
undeniable step up from East
iversity's Lucky Kitchen, and
es above the Union's unfor-
ate Magic Wok. China Gate
ers a full array of classic Chi-
:e dishes, reasonably priced
m seven to 12 dollars, as well
what must be the fastest sit-
wn service in town. Conve-
ntly situated near the heart
ampus on the corner of South
iversity Avenue and Church
eet, China Gate's place on
s year's list of local favorites
itinues a long streak of well-
erved popularity.
KRISTIN MACDONALD
This article originally
ran on Aprill1t 2007.
4
4
A meal at Red Hot Lovers is greasy,
but would you have it any other way?
feet step with its food selection.
It's all there in one package. Not
too had a deal.
ANDR EWKLEIN
This article originally
ran on April1t 2007
CampusC Tan
"The BEST tanning salon on Campus"
611 Church Street
Zingerman's
Best deli
When I decided to come to the
University, my" father imparted
some words of wisdom.
"Since you'll be living in Ann
Arbor, you've got to eat at Zinger-
man's," he said. "It's a famous deli.
Everybody's eaten there."
From that moment on, the exhor-
tation "you've got to eat at Zinger-
man's" has become a refrain that
haunted me. Because I hadn't eaten
at Zingerman's well into my first
year at school, I felt like I couldn't
call myself a true Ann Arborite. I
was just another ignorant fresh-
man; I clearly didn't know anything
about the best of Ann Arbor.
After the barrage of superlatives
from Zingerman's enthusiasts, I
began to envision the deli as a culi-
nary kingdom. I saw bright lights
illuminating display cases packed
with every type of meat and cheese
imaginable. I saw the walls adorned
with a dazzling array of oils, spices
and vinegars. I saw a majestic cel-
ebration of food.
Surprisingly, when I finally vis-
ited, my mental image turned out t
be quite accurate.
Located on Detroit Street in Ker-
rytown, Zingerman's Delicatessen
is a food connoisseur's heaven. Its
menu is bothimpressive and over-
4
Zingerman's eployee Paul Kiry works behind the cheese counter.
whelming. The deli offers more the move, sweepingt
than 60 different sandwiches, along that. The patronsv
with salads, soups and much more. about as they tried t{
In a world overrun by food chains they wanted. A bottl
like Subway and McDonalds, Zing- lemon oil or one of m
erman's is refreshing in its dedi- Greece? Pumpernic
cation to the art of preparing and Jewish rye bread? Ti
serving food. What distinguishes feels like a real deli.
Zingerman's is the high quality of Tom Mooradian, a
ingredients and its emphasis on said it's the air of gei
customer service, said Bill Dever, dedication that bring
an assistant manager at the deli. erman's.
Doug Nahabetian, a supervisor at "It seems so authe
Zingerman's Next Door, a cafe that "This is real. This i
serves desserts and coffee, also said meant to be served."
great customer service is an impor- He paused for a mm
tant goal for Zingerman's. "Now, I'm going
"Every time you're here, we want sandwich," he said,a
to make it an experience for you," way to the door.
he said. "I'd like to think we're When I got my RE
changing the world one mocha, one fully unwrapped it,:
sandwich at a time." didn't destroy the wo
When I finally visited Zinger- art.
man's a few weeks ago, I could I took my first bit
sense this dedication to both cious.
food and service. After ordering a BR
numberl8, the Georgia Reuben, I -
observed the vibrant surroundings. This.
The employees were always on rano
this or slicing
were scuttling
o decide what
e of agrumato
oleon oil from
kel bread or
his, I thought,
Saline native,
nuine culinary
s him to Zing-
entic," he said.
s the way it's
oment.
to go eat my
already on his
euben, I care-
making sure I
ork of culinary
e. It was deli-
IAN TENGEL
article originally
nApril 11, 2007.
4
Voted Ann Arbor's Number 1
1
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