After a 3-week hiatus, I'm back with a new work schedule, plenty of playoff hockey, a couple of trips to Detroit, and a few wonderful culinary experiences. I want to do reviews of these places, after going back for more research:
Detroit Brewing Company (the beer, the food is nothing to phone home over)
B. Nektar Meadery (also just the alcohol, no food service offered)
Motor City Casino's buffet
American Coney Island (and Lafayette)
Fishbonez (downtown, not the suburban locations)
Isalita (kind of hard to not be biased, I used to work for Mani)
But this one is on Seoul Garden, my personal favorite Korean restaurant in town. I go back over and over again, and every time I go, no matter what I order, it's fantastic.
Some menu highlights:
Bibimbop- Simply the best in town.
Je Yook Kimchi Bokum- A pork, tofu, kimchi dish that is very spicy. It's my favorite stir-fry, and their stir fries are great.
BBQ- In-table iron barbecue, for which you can get a number of different meat and vegetable combinations, ranging in price from decent lunch to extravagant. The "BBQ for 2" special is awesome, and has a little of everything, for about 45 dollars.
Sushi- also pretty good. There are better places in town to get sushi, but their's is excellent and has a good price point. The first time I went, my parents and I got a stir fry, a BBQ, and sushi.
The banchan is awesome, and they refill it freely, and they have awesome and inexpensive dumplings and appetizers. Last time I went, my table got a large soup, and they split it into 3 bowls for no extra charge.
Their beer menu is pretty good, with a few unique Korean and Japanese beers (compared to other restaurants), though it's pretty limited. They also have a decent Soju and Sake selection.
I don't have to say much else about this, except if you want a fun experience, try Seoul Garden. It's the best place to eat in the hotel area (it's on Boardwalk, south of town, near 94 off state street), and I've never been disappointed. It gets overlooked due to its location, but it's worth the drive and the price.
Quality 4.5/5
Value 5/5
-C
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
A U of M Campus Staple: No Thai!
No Thai! is proof that you don't need to have that high paying internship or be deep in government grant money to still enjoy a decent meal in the Ann Arbor area. As their website states, in February 2005 4 friends who craved modern Thai food decided to start a restaurant, and they each brought something different to the table. Chef Noerung "No" Hang was the one to put his face and name on the business, and thus No Thai! was born. There are 4 locations, with 3 in the Ann Arbor area and 1 in East Lansing, and they are very popular among the college crowd.
I remember the first time I had No Thai!, and it was at the (now relocated) South University store, that used to be next to campus sushi staple Sadako. An upperclassman in the Marching Band took the freshmen there, and we were all treated to delicious, under $10 fare. Back then, it was only $8 for any of the noodle or fried rice entrees, and a dollar more for shrimp. They still include tax, and they still have the same menu. There are only 4 noodle dishes, about a dozen stir fry dishes, and 3 fried rice dishes. They also only have 3 appetizers and soft drinks or Thai iced tea. It's simple, you choose a dish, a meat (or tofu), and a spice level. My first time I ordered "Yoga Flame," which is half as hot as their hottest choice "Dim Mak (literally "death's touch," I order it every time I go nowadays, even last night), and the Indian kid we were with said "woah, you ordered spicier food than the Indian! You're crazy!" Thus my reputation as a spice hound was established.
Anyway, while this establishment is doing nothing to revolutionize Thai cuisine, they are solid on the sheer principle of consistency. They have been around 8 years, and in the 5 that I've been frequenting them for quick lunch or simple dinner, their quality has stayed exactly the same. This is for better or worse, though, because if you have their food too often, you will burn out on it. They do quite well, and have a high-rent space in the Landmark apartment building on campus (where rent can run $1000+ per student per month per bedroom in a 4 bedroom unit. I think the government should be required to step in and regulate Ann Arbor's housing, because $4000-$5000 for an apartment in Michigan is insanity on a level that I can't describe.) where they've raised prices to $9 for a noodle dish. They give you a discount if you pay by cash, as does most Asian restaurants aimed at students in this area, and it's still as consistent as ever.
The appetizers are nothing to phone home over, but are decent if you want to make a big meal out of it with your friends, and the service is fast and extremely friendly. If you're looking to be adventurous and you've never had Thai before, try No Thai, as it really is "baby's first non-Chinese Asian restaurant," but if you want authentic, high brow Thai, try someplace else, like Tuptim or Lotus Thai (which, after I go back with a few friends will be a full review on itself).
Quality: 3.5/5
Value: 4/5
Caveat: With consistency this is a 4, but the only reason I give it 3.5 is because of how boring the menu is. Seriously, two of the noodle dishes are Pad Thai, but one has curry in it. If you put your name on a business, be a little more adventurous and put a couple of variants in there!
-C
No Thai!
1300 S University AND
226 N 4th Ave AND
1745 Plymouth Road
Ann Arbor, MI
I remember the first time I had No Thai!, and it was at the (now relocated) South University store, that used to be next to campus sushi staple Sadako. An upperclassman in the Marching Band took the freshmen there, and we were all treated to delicious, under $10 fare. Back then, it was only $8 for any of the noodle or fried rice entrees, and a dollar more for shrimp. They still include tax, and they still have the same menu. There are only 4 noodle dishes, about a dozen stir fry dishes, and 3 fried rice dishes. They also only have 3 appetizers and soft drinks or Thai iced tea. It's simple, you choose a dish, a meat (or tofu), and a spice level. My first time I ordered "Yoga Flame," which is half as hot as their hottest choice "Dim Mak (literally "death's touch," I order it every time I go nowadays, even last night), and the Indian kid we were with said "woah, you ordered spicier food than the Indian! You're crazy!" Thus my reputation as a spice hound was established.
Anyway, while this establishment is doing nothing to revolutionize Thai cuisine, they are solid on the sheer principle of consistency. They have been around 8 years, and in the 5 that I've been frequenting them for quick lunch or simple dinner, their quality has stayed exactly the same. This is for better or worse, though, because if you have their food too often, you will burn out on it. They do quite well, and have a high-rent space in the Landmark apartment building on campus (where rent can run $1000+ per student per month per bedroom in a 4 bedroom unit. I think the government should be required to step in and regulate Ann Arbor's housing, because $4000-$5000 for an apartment in Michigan is insanity on a level that I can't describe.) where they've raised prices to $9 for a noodle dish. They give you a discount if you pay by cash, as does most Asian restaurants aimed at students in this area, and it's still as consistent as ever.
The appetizers are nothing to phone home over, but are decent if you want to make a big meal out of it with your friends, and the service is fast and extremely friendly. If you're looking to be adventurous and you've never had Thai before, try No Thai, as it really is "baby's first non-Chinese Asian restaurant," but if you want authentic, high brow Thai, try someplace else, like Tuptim or Lotus Thai (which, after I go back with a few friends will be a full review on itself).
Quality: 3.5/5
Value: 4/5
Caveat: With consistency this is a 4, but the only reason I give it 3.5 is because of how boring the menu is. Seriously, two of the noodle dishes are Pad Thai, but one has curry in it. If you put your name on a business, be a little more adventurous and put a couple of variants in there!
-C
No Thai!
1300 S University AND
226 N 4th Ave AND
1745 Plymouth Road
Ann Arbor, MI
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Fast Food Masterpieces: The Cheesecake on a Stick
Yes, you read that right.
White Castle has a cheesecake on a stick dessert item for less than $1.50. It's small, more of a sweet snack/afterthought, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in taste. Served frozen (mine was at least, but that might be the 4:30am crew's fault, not in the design), it's like a Popsicle mixed with a rich classic dessert. This abomination of all that is holy is even dipped in chocolate. Seriously, if that doesn't make you want to at least curiously try it, I can't push any harder.
I had to try to find this for months, even though it was being advertised all winter, their WAREHOUSE ran out of them and wouldn't ship them to the Ann Arbor location! Maybe anticipation built this up for me, but it's WELL above the McDonald's apple pie or the BK brownie bits.
A- for lack of size.
-C
White Castle has a cheesecake on a stick dessert item for less than $1.50. It's small, more of a sweet snack/afterthought, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in taste. Served frozen (mine was at least, but that might be the 4:30am crew's fault, not in the design), it's like a Popsicle mixed with a rich classic dessert. This abomination of all that is holy is even dipped in chocolate. Seriously, if that doesn't make you want to at least curiously try it, I can't push any harder.
I had to try to find this for months, even though it was being advertised all winter, their WAREHOUSE ran out of them and wouldn't ship them to the Ann Arbor location! Maybe anticipation built this up for me, but it's WELL above the McDonald's apple pie or the BK brownie bits.
A- for lack of size.
-C
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
A Constant Disappointment: Asia City Buffet
I've noticed that I've only gotten my inspiration so far from places that have blown my mind with high quality and high caliber food in their genre. To redeem myself, I have to write about a place that I'm constantly disappointed with.
I'm not a food snob, I eat things that are recommended to me from all sorts of places, regardless if they're a take-out window in a dirty strip mall or a high-cuisine seated restaurant. Asia City is a kitchy nightmare from a more racist era in dining. When you walk in the front, you walk by a large fountain and a series of fish tanks, all filthy. When the close-minded diner thinks "EW, CHINESE!" they are probably thinking of a place like this. The whole restaurant smells greasy, and there's way too many tables spread across four dining rooms and a gaudy bar. It's split in half, with the buffet in the middle, and an area for "a la carte" dining, though I've never sat over there.
I've been there about half a dozen times, and it's been going downhill. They had decent sushi and about half of their hot line was edible when I went there my first time, but since then I haven't been able to trust the sushi, and I only ever fill up on wonton soup dumplings and fried noodles. Everything tastes like the rest of the stuff they serve, like they never clean their woks or mix all of their proteins, which is scary for a place that serves lots of seafood alongside chicken and tripe. I haven't been sick from them before, but every time I go back (out of habit, because I happen to love cheap chinese buffet, which this place falls short on too), I feel like I'm playing foodborne illness Russian roulette.
Notable dishes here include their Wonton Soup (impossible to mess up), boiled and chilled tripe (edible), and their extensive dessert selection, with everything from the standard cakes and buffet trays of crap to fresh asian fruits. Almost everything else is horrific, especially their sushi. It's $13.99 for dinner, which is insulting considering Hibachi Grill and Supreme Buffet (which closed even though it was extremely busy) was $11.79, and almost everything on their menu was edible and delicious. It's a shame that Asia City is all the east Ann Arbor crowd has for buffet that I know of right now, because even by college student, "I'll eat anything" standards, it's inedible.
Quality 1/5
Value 2/5
Avoid it unless you really want to fill up on soup at lunchtime.
-C
I'm not a food snob, I eat things that are recommended to me from all sorts of places, regardless if they're a take-out window in a dirty strip mall or a high-cuisine seated restaurant. Asia City is a kitchy nightmare from a more racist era in dining. When you walk in the front, you walk by a large fountain and a series of fish tanks, all filthy. When the close-minded diner thinks "EW, CHINESE!" they are probably thinking of a place like this. The whole restaurant smells greasy, and there's way too many tables spread across four dining rooms and a gaudy bar. It's split in half, with the buffet in the middle, and an area for "a la carte" dining, though I've never sat over there.
I've been there about half a dozen times, and it's been going downhill. They had decent sushi and about half of their hot line was edible when I went there my first time, but since then I haven't been able to trust the sushi, and I only ever fill up on wonton soup dumplings and fried noodles. Everything tastes like the rest of the stuff they serve, like they never clean their woks or mix all of their proteins, which is scary for a place that serves lots of seafood alongside chicken and tripe. I haven't been sick from them before, but every time I go back (out of habit, because I happen to love cheap chinese buffet, which this place falls short on too), I feel like I'm playing foodborne illness Russian roulette.
Notable dishes here include their Wonton Soup (impossible to mess up), boiled and chilled tripe (edible), and their extensive dessert selection, with everything from the standard cakes and buffet trays of crap to fresh asian fruits. Almost everything else is horrific, especially their sushi. It's $13.99 for dinner, which is insulting considering Hibachi Grill and Supreme Buffet (which closed even though it was extremely busy) was $11.79, and almost everything on their menu was edible and delicious. It's a shame that Asia City is all the east Ann Arbor crowd has for buffet that I know of right now, because even by college student, "I'll eat anything" standards, it's inedible.
Quality 1/5
Value 2/5
Avoid it unless you really want to fill up on soup at lunchtime.
-C
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