2B - Thursday, January 16, 2014
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
EPISODE REVIEW
Season 3 of "Downton !.,
Sampling the best EPSD
Abbey" ended with a shock-
ingetwist that broke the hearts"
and spirits
of women B
and gay men,
ofAnn Arbor s everywhere: Dowiton
the death of
the charm-
ing Matthew Season 4
Restaur~n mee in
I ts Thuraday. That
means there are still two
days left of Ann Arbor
Restaurant Week!
For those
of you who've
been living
under a rock,
Restaurant
Week is a
semi-annual
food festival
that offers
the chance NATE
to sample WOOD
some of Ann
Arbor's pre-
miere restaurants at discount
prices. Each restaurant pre-
pares its own prix fixe menu for
the week; most charge $15 for
lunch and $28 for a three - or
more - course dinner, though
some do a "two for," in which
case lunch would effectively be
$7.50 and dinner $14.
As usual, there are tons of
great offerings to choose from
this week, but here a few of my
favorite picks.
Aventura
The brainchild of Sava Lelcaj,
owner of Sava's on State Street
and Babo Market, Aventura is
new to town. Meats, cheeses
and tapas of all kinds are ready
to be sampled at this Spanish-
inspired restaurant and - it
gets better - wine bar. For
restaurant week, Aventura is
letting you pick five - count
'em, five - courses for dinner. was one of the best meals I've
Gluttons, unite. had in Ann Arbor.
Cafe Felix
A swanky, 1950s-feeling
French bistro, Cafe Felix is
a great place to drop by for a
quick soup-and-sandwich lunch
or leisurely supper. I did the
two-for-$15 lunch.with a friend
earlier this week. The French
onion soup, deeply flavored
with a strong beef broth and
Marsala wine, was some of the
best I've ever had. The bistro
sandwich with smoked turkey
and Brie was also commend-
able.
The Earle
A couple of buddies and I
have been meaning to check
this place out for awhile, and
on Sunday - with the excuse of
Restaurant Week prices - we
finally did. Don't let the awk-
ward entry staircase leading to
an apparent dead-end fool you;
though the seating is indeed
below ground, the quality of the
food is sky-high (groan). The
salmon - prepared in the style
of a beef wellington sans pate -
was decadent, but the sauteed
duck breasts stole the show. The
glaze of duck fat, brandy, apples,
cider, brown sugar and raisins
is just the sweetness the fowl's
meat demands and an even bet-
ter "gravy" to top the accompa-
nying potato-turnip puree. It
Grange Kitchen & Bar
If your grandma was a hip-
ster/chef/genius, this is the res-
taurant she would open. Carpet,
old-school dining chairs and
tables, cool photos and an eye-
catching china cabinet add char-
acter to the open dining room
where the establishment's farm-
to-table cuisine is served. I was
here for the first time on Mon-
day, and I know it won't be my
last. From their special Restau-
rant Week menu, I started with
the "everything" gougeres (don't
ask me how to pronounce that), a
playful twist on the "everything"
bagel with cream cheese and lox.
The roasted white bean soup with
crispy bacon and chive oil was a
hearty second course, and the pan
roasted chicken and hash was my
main entree. As the waiter sug-
gested, my date and I finished
the meal by sharing a scoop of
the apple sorbet, a decision about
which we hold no regrets. I bet
this is what magic tastes like.
From the dimly lit corner of
Conor O'Neill's - another great
choice for a cheap Restaurant
Week bite - I lift my glass to Ann
Arbor Restaurant Week and all
the good it represents: libations,
friends and - of course - really
great food. Happy eating!
Wood is swanking. To join him,
e-mail nisaacw@umich.edu.
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