Breakfast in Ann Arbor

We are out of syrup and Kea wanted pancakes so we first headed to Northside Grill, a place originally recommended by our vegetarian neighbors. We've been unimpressed in the past--with omelettes and huevos rancheros, which were good, but nothing special. Since then, however, we've been told that the skillets and breakfast sandwiches are the thing to try. Northside was crazy crowded though. For real. There were like ten people standing just inside the door waiting for tables. Why does everyone in this town wake up so late? I don't care if they're all students and professors!

We considered Pilar's Cafe, a really great El Salvadorian restaurant--for breakfast and other meals. Unfortunately they don't have pancakes, and spicy hot chocolate and chorizo omelette were not enough to lure us there today.

We ended up at The Broken Egg, a diner on Main. It looked well patronized, but with no line. They had a huge menu, complete with a savory pancake (with spinach and ham just like ours!), Eggs Benedict (which I am afraid to try. I don't think I would like Hollandaise), all kinds of omelettes, some vegetarian options, a typical variety of pancakes, and some things I'd never heard of before like chicken hash, breakfast stew, and a cornmeal waffle. I went with the breakfast stew, which sounded--and was--what I think is usually called a skillet. You know, scrambled eggs with stuff inside. Mine was vegetarian and had a good mix--onions, red bell peppers, zucchini, spinach. The serving was huge and I got the veggies I wanted, but it was a pretty basic dish.

Kea's cornmeal waffle was more exciting. It sounded scary because it was described as being made of butter, milk, and cornmeal, but it was really good! Maybe it had more ingredients than what was listed...

Amadeus and Cafe Zola

The food at Amadeus was good, some of it spectacular. We ordered two combo plates, one veggie combo, two extra salads, and two desserts for five of us. I'm not really sure what the logic was behind that becuase the husbands ended up still hungry, but I guess it is their own fault for staying at the sports bar across the street to finish watching the basketball game. I guess it was because the combo plates sounded really big. Anyway, I had too much to eat so they should've spoken up and I would've shared with them!

The kielbasa was very popular as was the apple torte. The cabbage roll was pretty good too. It tasted like the kind my mom used to make. Of course she is Chinese American so I have no idea if it's "authentic," but I liked it! The pierogis were underwhelming. I think that I expected fatter dumplings. I also like it when there's a mixed filling while these were only pork, mushroom, or cheese.

I think I'm also developing a taste for wine.

For breakfast at Cafe Zola, I had a ratatouille crepe and loved it. I'm not sure if I've ever had ratatouille before but somehow it was exactly what I expected--except for the purple crepe. Not sure why it was purple, but it was cool. The crepe also had sour cream on top and was the biggest crepe I have ever seen, like a half sheet of folder paper. Oh I did start craving cheese part way through so I might try a crepe with cheese next time.

Kea had the Black Forest waffle with a side of chorizo. I took some and both were yummy. Our friends had the strawberry banana waffle and the Turkish eggs. The fruits on the waffle and the veggies with the eggs looked really fresh. The eggs looked like they were done in an oven. I don't know, but I have decided that I like crepes even better than omelettes. Kea and I shared the Irish breakfast tea, which was good, but boring; I should have insisted on genmaicha. Our friends had coffee and said it was very strong.

Weekend Plans

A few friends from school are coming over this weekend. It's sad when Ann Arbor is the escape for food and shopping, but *shrug*

Anyway, we'll be headed to Amadeus European Restaurant on Friday night. I have always wanted to try pierogi; I think I am a dumpling kind of person. And I figure I should stop eating mediocre Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese food and just eat white people food cuz that is the kind of place where I am living. Like you don't go to a steak house and order sushi (although I did once--holy moly), you don't come to the midwest and eat... sushi. Unless you are really craving it that bad. Anyway, I like white people food. Mac and cheese, tuna casserole... mmm... So here is another kind of white people food. Check out this menu. Everything sounds so good. I think I may have to be a piggy and get the combo cuz I want to try everything!

Saturday morning we'll have brunch at Cafe Zola. They say that they're named after the writer. Ew. I don't know... somehow Francophilia seems the worst of all the philias. Oh, except Asiaphilia. Okay, and I have eaten at total Asiaphile restaurants. Cursed New York--it tricks me. Oh and of course Francophilia is not as bad as like pedophilia and necrophilia... but definitely, of the regional philias, one of the most obnoxious. Anyway, despite it's potentially snobby name, I am eyeing the crepes. And also the tea selection. Yum...

Will report later...