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The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is 
published every Thursday during the 
spring and summer terms by students 
at the University of Michigan. One copy 
is available free of charge to all readers. 
Additional copies may be picked up at the 
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2

Thursday, June 4, 2015
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
NEWS

Taste of Ann Arbor 
exhibits dishes 
from local eateries

Due to weather, 

vendors make last- 
minute changes to 

menus

By JACKIE CHARNIGA

Daily Staff Reporter

The annual Taste of Ann 

Arbor event took over Main 
Street on Sunday, despite rainy 
conditions.

A ticketed event, Taste of 

Ann Arbor featured delica-
cies from more than 40 of Ann 
Arbor’s well-known eateries 
such as the Arbor Brewing 
Company, The Blue Tractor 
and Silvio’s Organic Ristoran-
te with food types ranging 
from 
greasy-spoon 
to 
the 

high-end culinary creations. 
Several restaurants entered 
dishes that were considered by 
six judges for the annual “Best 
of Show” prize.

Ticket sales for the event 

were coordinated by volun-
teers from the Michigan The-
ater, to whom a portion of the 
proceeds will be donated.

Mary Kerr, president and 

CEO of the Ann Arbor Con-
vention and Visitors Bureau, 
was one of the six judges 
at this year’s competition. 
Responsible for the selection 
of this year’s entrees and Best 
of Show, Kerr described what 
goes into a winning dish at the 
festival.

“The restaurants do a really 

good job of showcasing their 
overall business, so from food 
to presentation, hearing the 
knowledge about the food, 
their enthusiasm working at 
the booth,” Kerr said. “I think 
it really depends on what 
really stands out that day, it’s 
important to talk to the chefs 
about their ingredients and to 
have the opportunity to say, ‘I 

can really taste that.’ ”

Server Kayla Samolewski 

and pastry assistant Danielle 
Valentine of La Dolce Vida 
added hot chocolate to their 
lineup to combat the cold.

“The hot chocolate was def-

initely a last-minute adaption. 
So we had ice cream sand-
wiches originally and then oh 
my gosh, it was raining, so we 
decided to add hot chocolate 
shooters instead,” Samolewski 
said.

La Dolce Vida’s pastry chef 

of two years, Jordan Conn, 
said the shooters were made 
of unsweetened cocoa powder, 
sugar and whole milk. Conn 
added salt to the mix, giving 
the drink a bolder taste.

Main 
Street 
Association 

executive director and full-
time event organizer Maura 
Thomson has participated in 
Taste of Ann Arbor since 2005 
and said she has noticed an 
increasing spike in popularity.

“We have, assuming good 

weather, doubled in atten-
dance since 2008, and last 
year’s Taste of Ann Arbor had 
over 15,000 people,” Thomson 
said.

Thomson attributes the dra-

matic growth of the event to 
that of social media.

“Social media has changed 

everything,” said Thomson. 
“So now the exponential value 
of having 40 restaurants pro-
mote their section is what has 
increased awareness overall of 
the event.”

Thomson also spoke to the 

importance of sustainability 
in the food community of Ann 
Arbor, and said Taste of Ann 
Arbor is sensitive to cutting 
down on waste. “We need to 
take steps to be a ‘zero-waste 
Taste,’ ” said Thomson.

“It’s 
about 
keeping 
the 

downtown area vibrant and 
healthy. At the end of the day, 

BEN SCHECHTER/Daily

Business and Music Theatre & Dance senior Alex Brown orders food from the 
Grizzly Peak Brewing Company at Taste of Ann Arbor on Sunday.

TA STE TEST

@MICHIGANDAILY

See TASTE, Page 3

