Restaurants in Ann Arbor

[ZachariahDaMan]

Where do you guys like to eat at in Ann Arbor? I am downtown quite often but the only place I have actually eaten at in A2 is Subway on Main Street.

[mgman]

This is just off the top of my head but are the places I go to the most:

Breakfast: Northside (on Broadway just past the river)

Lunch: Ashley's has great lunch specials

Other places: Gratzi, Grizzley Peak (If I have a date, I do not like to spend that much money on myself)

When I lived on Fifth, I went to Blimpy Burger more than I should have. Last year I went to Brown Jug because it was the closest place to where I lived.

[wolverine]

Blimpy Burger.... so good, so VERY bad for you. My friends and I drain the grease. Not quite my favorite tho.

Pizza House is really great. I never knew they started in the tiny town of Whitmore Lake before opening their major location in Ann Arbor

Za's Italian eatery is a must if you are in a hurry, but want a very nice Italian meal at a reasonable price.

There used to be a really good Mexican place, but it's gone now

Grizzly peak is good. If you are not from the AA area they are technically sort of a chain and have other restaurants..some under different names. Their location up in the Tri-Cities is the Frankenmuth Brewing Co. (although the beer is native to frankenmuth)

Palio is good, but expensive

Noodles..I like that place

Big Ten Burrito is freakin amazing!

Raja Rani Indian Cuisine. I think I mauled the spelling on that one.

There's more, they will come into my head later. AA has so many restaurants, it's unbelievable.

[LA Dave]

Blimpy Burger.... so good, so VERY bad for you. My friends and I drain the grease. Not quite my favorite tho.

Pizza House is really great. I never knew they started in the tiny town of Whitmore Lake before opening their major location in Ann Arbor

Za's Italian eatery is a must if you are in a hurry, but want a very nice Italian meal at a reasonable price.

There used to be a really good Mexican place, but it's gone now

Grizzly peak is good. If you are not from the AA area they are technically sort of a chain and have other restaurants..some under different names. Their location up in the Tri-Cities is the Frankenmuth Brewing Co. (although the beer is native to frankenmuth)

Palio is good, but expensive

Noodles..I like that place

Big Ten Burrito is freakin amazing!

Raja Rani Indian Cuisine. I think I mauled the spelling on that one.

There's more, they will come into my head later. AA has so many restaurants, it's unbelievable.

Geezer Moment: When I went to school there a few decades ago, the restaurant scene was a joke. The best place in town was probably the Gandy Dancer, with Win Schuler's (up at the merge of the 23 and 14) a close second. All of the greasy spoons in town seemed to be owned by the same Greek family, except for the German restaurants, which may have been owned by the same German family.

What a change . . . though I miss the German places.

[wolverine]

Poor German population. The students displaced them, and the street names got translated into English.

[LA Dave]

Poor German population. The students displaced them, and the street names got translated into English.

Yeah. When I first came to Ann Arbor, it was so long ago that my dorm was located on Division Strasse.

[ariesjow]

My favorite Ann Arbor restaurants:

Blimpy

Mr. Greeks

Kabob Palace

Cottage Inn

Pizza House

Rendez-Vous

Qdoba

Jamaican Jerk Pit

Raja Rani

Kai Garden

Potbelly

Cosi

NYPD Pizza

[wolverine]

I know this is kind of off topic. But I'd always thought it would be cool if the Galleria Mall on State street became one big food court. Yes, I know there was one years ago on the third floor, but the Galleria like most downtown indoor malls across the state is dead except for the stores with actual street frontage. I always hear students complaining about the lack of Taco Bells, Paneras, Panda Expresses, blah blah blah within close range of Central Campus. I'm wondering if these would be succesful in this location. Yeah, and I also know there is a vast array of popular mom and pop restaurants and cafes which we all love and enjoy, but I highly doubt they would be affected by any competition. All this will do is save many people from having to drive out to Pittsfield or Ypsilanti if they get the once and awhile craving for Taco Bell.

[ariesjow]

I know this is kind of off topic. But I'd always thought it would be cool if the Galleria Mall on State street became one big food court. Yes, I know there was one years ago on the third floor, but the Galleria like most downtown indoor malls across the state is dead except for the stores with actual street frontage. I always hear students complaining about the lack of Taco Bells, Paneras, Panda Expresses, blah blah blah within close range of Central Campus. I'm wondering if these would be succesful in this location. Yeah, and I also know there is a vast array of popular mom and pop restaurants and cafes which we all love and enjoy, but I highly doubt they would be affected by any competition. All this will do is save many people from having to drive out to Pittsfield or Ypsilanti if they get the once and awhile craving for Taco Bell.

Where is the Galleria on State St? I've lived here for three years and I don't know of the place. Do you mean the arcade?

Ann Arbor definitely needs more cheap eateries and fast food places around Central Campus. I understand for a lot of Ann Arbor people these restaurants are not desireable but it is extremely annoying to students or those just looking for a quick, cheap eats that Ann Arbor lacks in the center of town.

Another great place to get food in Ann Arbor that I forgot is Aut Bar. They have excellent food. I recommend everyone stop by there to check them out.

[wolverine]

Oh damn, I mean South U., not State. My mind was wandering. You know the three level place with Pinball Petes and the escalators to nowhere?

[ariesjow]

Okay, I know exactly where the Galleia is now. I use the post office there often. So there used to be more mall-like with stores and fast food? What happened?

[wolverine]

Well malls have always been more suitable for the suburbs. They never seem to work well in urban environments. Ann Arbor is very succesful in that its streets are packed with pedestrian activity, very easily more daily pedestrian activity on each street than other Michigan cities. That means people are shopping or eating at stores that have street frontage. Therefore, no stores will work in this mall unless units can be accessible from the street like Starbucks and Pinball Petes, or if the store serves a particular need for people, like the post office. The other problem with the Galleria is it's 3 levels. Vertical malls in downtowns don't exactly work either. Water tower plaza and the Chicago Place along Mich ave in Chicago are even having issues. Having to go upstairs is a bit inconvenient for people (which seems pathetic, but it's true). The Galleria is hardly what it once was. I have an old photo somewhere of it back in the very early 90's or late 80's or something. The food court was on the top level, and the stores were on the two lower levels. When pinball petes came along, they plowed through a floor to build a stairway to street level eliminating one units. The two other stores, occupied two units each. Finally the food court was completely changed into office space, which is not accessible from mall concourses. That's why there is an escalator to a blank wall. For a thriving district like South U, I really think this mall could do better. Why waste valuable retail and restaurant space on offices, while students are complaining about getting a Taco Bell, a DECENT video rental store, and an EB games or something. It's one of my chief complaints about AA. We have a great collection of unique shopping, some of the best restaurants in the state, nice coffee shops and bookstores, but when it comes to some basic services, it sucks having to sit in traffic forever trying to make it out to the suburbs. I question whether these service type stores would do well with such high rent prices. It's very difficult to find available retail space in AA in the first place, and when it's found, it's very expensive.

[tomo]

Some unch places :

Midde eastern: Kabob Palace, good lunch specials. Place next to Rendezvous Cafe had good sandwiches but haven't been back since the remodeling.

Pizza: NYPD

Korean/American diner: Kozmo Deli in Kerrytown. O/w I like the bulgogi at Seoul Korner, others like the bibimbap at Eastern Accents, which is a good bakery.

Indian: Madras Masala

Latin American: Sabor Latino

Deli: besides Zingerman's, there's Amer's

French: Cafe Felix

Places with good liquid too: Cafe Zola, Grizzly Peak, Arbor Brewing

There is an abundance of good and inexpensive lunch options within walking distance in downtown Ann Arbor. This is a small slice and it really depends on what you're in the mood for.

[wolverine]

I'm really glad NYPD opened a location in the ground floor of U-Towers. That made a wonderful late night snack at 3:00 a.m. I'd go with other friends and we'd clean them out of pizza so they'd have to close early, LOL

I really like Madras Masala since the appetizers are unlimited, but I'm a bigger fan of Raja Rani. It looks like they might have remodeled too. They built a brand new outdoor seating area it appears.

It's incredible just how many restaurants, cafes, and coffee shops AA has. There's a taste of every culture, and we are very fortunate to have so many options.

[francishsu]

It's been a few years since I've lived there, but some of my favorites:

sushi.come

Blue Nile (Ethiopian)

Great Lake Chinese Seafood (dim sum, authentic Chinese)

University Cafe (Korean)

Lucky Kitchen (cheap, but good Chinese)

[john_denver]

My Favs are:

Madras Masala (Indian)

Amadeus (Polish)