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Ann Arbor

Ziltoid

Ziltoid

I don't play bass
Apr 10, 2009
10,185
51,764
Canada
#1
I'll be spending four weeks in Ann Arbor this summer, most of my time will be occupied by the summer school I'm attending but I am looking for suggestions. Restaurants, activities, beer shops, etc. It can be in Ann Arbor itself or nearby.

I also plan onto splitting the drive there over the course of 3 days which will allow me to spend a little time in Ottawa, Toronto and Detroit. I plan onto seeing the Ford Museum in the burbs but then again, suggestions welcome. Ottawa I know very well but Detroit and Toronto not so much.
 
#4
A2 resident here.

What kinds of places are you into? There's a ton of restaurants and stuff in the downtown area. on Main and Liberty mostly.

For beer shops, there's 4 or 5 good options. My personal hierarchy is as follows: Jolly Pumpkin, Grizzly Peak, Wolverine Brewing, and then Arbor Brewing Co. All of those except Wolverine are right in the downtown on or just off of Main St. Wolverine is on the West Side.

If you're looking for a good range of beer, you can hit up Ashley's on State St by UM's campus. They've got a huge selection, always changing.

Finally, Ypsilanti, which is just to the East of A2, also has Corner Bar (owned and operated by Arbor Brewing and serves ABC beer). The Corner is a fun place. Much more chill than the downtown A2 bars. Decent food too. Also in Ypsi is Wurst Bar, which serves a good selection of brews, and some awesome sausages/burgers. They have rattlesnake brats. Good times. Then there's also Sidetrack and Red Rock (haven't been to RR yet).

I have also heard good things about Original Gravity in Milan (just south of A2 on US23).

If you have a bottomless wallet, hit up the Chop House and their cigar bar La Dolce Vita. Good food, but man, hits the pocketbook hard.

There's a ton of good Indian and Mediterranean food here too. Chinese not so much, but Japanese is ok. Lts of sushi places, and a great noodle/ramen place called Tomukun on Liberty.

For non-food-related attractions, if you're here in the summer check out the arboretum on the east side of the UM campus. Depending on what month you're here there are also free concerts in Liberty Square during lunchtime, and other stuff like that. Art Fair is in July. There will be tons of people, and it will be impossible to get anywhere.

If you have any other questions, hit me up.
 
#10
If you're going to do some traveling, instead of Toronto-Ottawa, Northern MI is exceptional in Summer. The Traverse City-Petoski-Charlevoix area is worth at least a three day weekend. It's only about three and a half hours from AA.

As far as things to do the Ravens Club in Ann Arbor has some good jazz as does Cliff Bells in Detroit. If you get a chance to see Ralphe Armstrong (local bass player) DO IT!! He is literally one of the best bass players in the world and has played with the likes of Mahivishnu Orchestra, Jen-luc Ponty, etc. Some of the best bass playing of the fusion era was Ralphe.

Also Bakers keyboard Lounge in Detroit is the oldest Jazz club in one location in the world. And has hosted legends from Charlie Parker to Miles Davis. It's definitely worth checking out.

The Ark in Ann Arbor is a great music venue, but it's mostly known for folk music. The Detroit area has some exceptional musicians, especially bass players. A few of them post here.
 
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#15
I live about 45 minutes from Ann Arbor. Check out Ray's Red Hots for some great hot dogs right on campus. There use to be a great bar/restaurant called the Little Brown Jug that I think is still there. Great shops along Main St.
 
#16
Having only been to A2 a few times, I'd suggest going to Zingerman's Deli at least once. Good sandwiches. Also, if you're traveling northwards, I'd suggest Frankenmuth for some good German food, and Tony's I-75 for a 1 lb BLT.

Other than that, idk, visit Flint once so you can call yourself a BAMF for having been in one of the most dangerous cities in the country. (ok, its not that bad. Actually downtown is quite nice).
 
#18
Addendum: There are two must-visit BBQ joints here in town that I would recommend anyone hit up while in A2.

The first is Satchel's on Washtenaw. It's super simple, slow hardwood smoked BBQ, with decent selection of sides. I've had better, but I had to travel pretty far to do so.

The other is Biercamp on South State St. They sell a bunch of smoked/cured meats, and have also started brewing beer, but only sell it by the growler. Both the beer and the meats are friggin amazing.
 
#20
BawanaRik said:
If memory serves AA was perhaps the first place in the US to DeCrim pot.

This might have 40 years ago and forgotten but it was once revered as a cool place.
Click to expand...

It is still a fairly cool place, yes, and if you get caught smoking a doober by the city police all you get is a $100 fine or something like that. That said, A2 is quickly becoming a victim of its own reputation as the Midwest Portland, and is getting kind of pricey to live in. That means the city is getting older, richer, and square-er, and the people around who DO do the artsy, fun stuff are sort of the coattail riding pretentious types that do more socializing than creating.

Detroit has some cool art communities that have taken up residence in some of the neglected neighborhoods, and a lot of the people who do art and music in A2 often go to Detroit shows/exhibitions, etc.
 

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