Tea for Two at Teahaus

Posted on May 16, 2013 by Laura

I am a big fan of Teahaus, having logged serious hours there during my 1L year while studying for finals. It’s tucked up on 4th Street in Kerrytown, meaning that it’s far enough from campus to be blissfully undegrad-free and thus perfect for studying. Also, it serves delicious scones and macarons. That helps the studying, too.

My mom came into town last Friday to help me pack up and clean my apartment before leaving Ann Arbor for the summer. And, since it was two short days before Mother’s Day, I thought it would be nice to do a classy pre-Mother’s Day tea in celebration.

While I’ve had tea and treats at Teahaus many times before, this time I opted for the Full English Tea Service. You have to book a few days in advance (no walk-ins for the full tea are allowed), and you are treated to lots of delicious food. What’s fun about the Teahaus experience is that it provides all the fancy sandwiches, scones, and pastries you would expect from an English Tea, but in a more low-key environment (a contrast, for example, to my experience having High Tea at the Drake). Don’t get me wrong – I love the super classy, get all dressed up and feel fancy approach to tea, but it’s also nice to do it this way too.

The Full English Tea Service comes with unlimited tea. I started with an iced Moroccan Mint, which sounded super refreshing as it was quite warm that day. It was tasty but didn’t feel quite right – when I do a full tea, I want the warm-tea-served-in-a-fancy-teapot experience. So, I switched to the Strawberry Mint Lavender Tea, which was also lovely:

Then, the food began to arrive. Our tea started with a small bowl of vegetable soup:

And if we could pause for a moment to note the adorably cute napkin rings:

After our tea and soup were served, the gigantic tray of goodies came out, eliciting envious stares from fellow patrons:

On the bottom layer were the little finger sandwiches, which always make me feel super British when I eat them. We had a variety of five – a traditional cucumber sandwich, an egg sandwich, a chicken salad sandwich (topped with a dried strawberry), a bread topped with brie and fig jam, and a bread topped with pepperoni (the pepperoni was super flavorful). I think the brie and fig one was my favorite:

On the second layer were the scones – two plain ones, and two fruit ones. There are also a variety of creams and jams served, my absolute favorite being the lemon custard (so, so tasty!):

(It’s at this point of the meal, once we’ve been served tea and scones with jam, that The Sound of Music starts playing in my head…you know, “tea, a drink with jam and bread”?)

(Is that just me? Probably.)

Anyway, finally, on the top layer were the pastries – two macarons (one chocolate, one lavender, and both with the perfect macaron combination of a flaky shell and chewy interior), two little chocolate cakes, and two sugar cookies:

All in all, this was a lovely experience. I would highly recommend the Full English Tea at Teahaus, but even if you don’t want to go for the whole shebang, please go there and at least have a scone. It’s worth it.

The Details: TeaHaus | 204-206 N. 4th Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48104 | 734.622.0460

Waffle Break!

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Laura

I’m not going to lie, finals were rough this year (everybody tells you that 1L year is going to be hard, but nobody mentions how tough 2L is!). If I were telling you, nameless future law student, how to pick courses, I’d recommend taking a few with exams, and a few with papers (or better still, no final at all). However, being brilliant, I did not follow my own advice and wound up with FIVE in-class final exams this semester (people, that is a lot. Trust me). Needless to say, I’ve spent a lot of quality time at the library over the past few months, holed up in the carrels at the Grad or underground at the Law Library. The days have been bleak.

Before my last final, however, I took a well-deserved (in my humble opinion) break and wandered down to the Main Street area for some waffles at the (aptly-named) Wafel Shop. Within the last few months, we’ve had both a waffle shop and a crepe shop open here in Ann Arbor, and despite being excited about both of these developments, I’m only now getting around to visiting (shame on me). The wait, however, was worth it.

At the Wafel Shop, you can choose between a Liege waffle (billed as “dense and chewy, with Belgian pearl sugar”) or a Brussels waffle (described as having a “crispy exterior, light, buttery, fluffy interior”). Then, it’s time to select your toppings. You can select among a variety of fruits, nuts, spreads, and syrups or, if you’re feeling overwhelmed, can pick one of the delicious-sounding combinations they recommend.

I opted for a Liege waffle topped with raspberries and Nutella. Here, as with Colliders from Rod’s, my theory is: if you add fruit, that makes it healthy! Dubious nutritional hypotheses aside, I have to say my chosen combo was perfection. I love the Liege waffle – the chewiness is what makes it great – and Nutella is always a good idea, amirite?!

Let’s take a look at the bad boy:

Getting closer:

Getting way closer:

And finally, so close that you have to take a delicious bite!

I really enjoyed my experience at The Wafel Shop and will definitely return. It’s nice to see downtown Ann Arbor getting fun specialty shops like this, and nicer still when they turn out to be quality establishments!

The Details: The Wafel Shop | 113 E. Liberty St., Ann Arbor, MI 48104 | 734.369.4734

Springtime in Ann Arbor

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Laura

I feel like I shouldn’t even write this next sentence, because it’s just so inherently obvious to everyone, but – Michigan weather is crazy. This should be no surprise to me, as I’ve lived here most of my life, and yet year after year I find myself annoyed by it. Like a week or so ago, well past the midway point of April, when I woke up to snow flurries. Great job, Michigan.

Suffice it to say, I think winter dragged on for way too long this year, and I’ve been waiting (and waiting) for sunnier days to arrive. On Tuesday, I finished taking a final and walked outside and suddenly: springtime! Now, you can never be too sure in Michigan (I wouldn’t rule out having a snow day tomorrow, quite honestly), but I think the weather has finally turned for good.

Whenever I can’t handle studying any longer, I take a walk. And so this week, I have been taking lots of walks, and because the weather is nice, my walks have been lovely. The air is warm, the flowers are in bloom, and seemingly every house you walk by has a porch filled with drunk frat boys hanging off it (ah, undergrads!). Springtime is here, and we’re all pretty pumped about it.

In celebration of the season, here are a few iPhone pictures, snapped on my daily walks.

So for all of my fellow mitten residents, are you excited it’s finally spring?!

Vellum

Posted on April 19, 2013 by Laura

The other day, someone found my blog by searching for the term “venom rest in ann arbor.” While it might be possible that there’s some sort of snake exhibit in A2 I don’t know about, I find it more likely that they were looking for information about Vellum, a new(ish) restaurant on Main Street. So in the spirit of giving the people want they want, it felt like the right time to post about my recent dinner at Vellum.

I went with a friend a few weeks back, and I really enjoyed the restaurant. Among Ann Arbor restaurants, Vellum reminded me a bit of Grange in terms of style and price point, so I couldn’t help but mentally compare the two as I ate my meal. And, I have to tell you, Vellum definitely won that battle in my mind.

We had dinner at the tail end of happy hour, so I was able to sneak in a cocktail at happy hour prices. I had a Negroni, which I really like and always tend to order when I see it on a cocktail menu. I thought this drink was quite strong, but I tend to be a lightweight drinker, so take my opinion here with a grain of salt. Nonetheless, it was tasty!

I ordered the Walleye, with onion broth, shallot, brandade, and apple. I really enjoyed this fish, especially the touches of apple. The presentation of the dish seemed a bit random and scattered, but still sorta fun:

I also got a side of cornbread, which was the only letdown of my meal. There were little touches of maple in it, but overall I thought the cornbread wasn’t too flavorful. I think I’d try a different side next time.

Overall, I enjoyed my first foray to Vellum! I’d definitely go back, and I’d especially like to return for a happy hour and sample more cocktails.

Fellow Ann Arborites (Ann Arborians?), have you been to Vellum? If so, what did you think?

The Details: Vellum | 209 South Main Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48104 | 734.929.4929

In Search of the Perfect Smoked Salmon Bagel

Posted on March 19, 2013 by Laura

As I’ve mentioned before, in my pre-law school existence, I traveled a lot for work. And as anyone who has been to the airport knows, airport food generally ranges from mildly passable to downright awful. This means that if you’re going to spend a lot of time in a certain airport, it’s essential to find one or two go-to places that, if not great, are at least places you can count on for a solid meal during a layover.

I had two clients in the Pacific Northwest, so I became BFFs with Sea-Tac Airport pretty quickly. My go-to spot at Sea-Tac was Anthony’s, a restaurant good enough that I’d probably visit it in a non-airport context. Being a creature of habit, I almost always got the same thing at Anthony’s: a cup of clam chowder and a smoked salmon bagel. The chowder was delish, but it was the bagel I was obsessed with; for my money, you just can’t beat the Pacific Northwest when it comes to smoked salmon. The bagels were so good, in fact, that I used to buy two: one to eat at the airport during my layover, and one to take with me and eat the next morning at my hotel for breakfast.

Sadly, it has been almost two years since I found myself at good old Sea-Tac and, consequently, almost two years without my favorite bagel. Though I often order smoked salmon bagels when I go out to eat, they’re never quite the same. So, I decided I might have better luck making my own version of the bagel at home.

My noble quest took me to some of Kerrytown’s finest establishments in search of ingredients. I found my smoked salmon at Tracklements and my bagels and cream cheese at Zingerman’s. Both stores have really good quality ingredients, so needless to say, between those two, this was a somewhat pricey little project.

Once I walked home with my goodies, though, it occurred to me that I had neither capers nor red onions in my fridge, which are two essential toppings for the perfect smoked salmon bagel. However, it was snowing and I hate driving in the snow (and I’m lazy), so I decided to do without. Thus, my bagel, while good, was not quite up to the Anthony’s standard of deliciousness…so my quest is to be continued. Despite that snafu, I would definitely recommend the smoked salmon from Tracklements – it was really tasty.

The Details: Durham’s Tracklements | 212 East Kingsley Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48104 | 734.930.6642

Zingerman’s Deli | 422 Detroit St., Ann Arbor, MI 48104 | 734.663.3354

(Note: Visiting Tracklements was #40 on my Ann Arbor Bucket List)

Brunching at Cafe Zola

Posted on February 28, 2013 by Laura

Every time I have brunch at Zola, I wonder to myself if Ann Arbor thinks this is the only restaurant available in town for weekend brunch – it’s always insanely crowded. Even with a reservation, you have to fight your way through the hordes of people and wind up waiting for a while in the jam-packed entryway.

But once I finally make it to the table, I remember why everyone is there – because the food is pretty damn tasty. Also pretty tasty? The drinks. And when you’re brunching with your Instagram-obsessed friends, it’s perfectly acceptable to push together everyone’s drinks in the center of the table and take a photo because the colors look pretty. Perfectly acceptable. Trust me on this one.

By the way, my drink was a lovely Kir Royale, but my friends forced me to try the Bloody Mary against my will. And I would like to take this moment to ask: am I the only person on planet earth who cannot stand Bloody Marys? I am told that the look on my face after I sipped the drink was priceless. Yuck.

For my meal, I chose the smoked salmon bagel and it was quite delicious. I have a mild – or major – smoked salmon obsession, and it shows no signs of abating any time soon:

The cool thing about Zola is that, even after visiting a few times, there are still so many things on the menu I want to try. I mean, I’ve never had any of their fancy waffles or crepes, which seems like an oversight on my part. I guess I’ll just have to make a return visit…

The Details: Cafe Zola | 112 W Washington St., Ann Arbor, MI 48104 | 734.769.2020

Lunch at Lena

Posted on February 22, 2013 by Laura

I had dinner at Lena last fall and I must admit…I was not that impressed. The food was fine but, in my opinion, pretty overpriced for what you got. In fact, the most impressive thing to me about the restaurant was the space itself; it’s amazing how transformed it is from its days as a rundown Greek restaurant. Lena looks very cool and modern – I love the ambiance there.

Despite my lackluster first experience, I decided to give Lena another try, this time for lunch. I enjoyed my culinary experience much more this time around. My working hypothesis is that, since Lena is a new-ish restaurant here in Ann Arbor, perhaps it just needed a little time to come into its own. Plus, if I’m being honest – I found the prices more reasonable at lunch, which always makes the food taste a tiny bit better, right?

I started with a side Fresh Market Salad. This was the least special part of my meal – it was pretty much your standard salad. The dried cherries were tasty, though:

We got Plantain Tostones for an appetizer – and while these don’t look that pretty, they were fantastic. I’d definitely order these again:

For my entree, I got the Fish Tacos, which were delicious. I tend to order fish tacos whenever they’re an option on a menu, and these didn’t disappoint:

This lobster salad sandwich wasn’t my entree, but doesn’t it look tasty? I had major entree envy:

So, Lena, you have redeemed yourself in my eyes – and I will probably be back soon.

The Details: Lena | 226 S Main St., Ann Arbor, MI 48104 | 734.994.2773

A2 Restaurant Week at Vinology

Posted on January 25, 2013 by Laura

It has been forever (okay, a few months) since I have posted anything Ann Arbor-related. Believe it or not, I think I’ve gotten a little burned out on photo-taking, so even though I have been going to plenty of awesome Ann Arbor restaurants, I haven’t been documenting them so well. In an effort to remedy that situation and pull me out of my A2-blogging slump, I’ve got a couple Ann Arbor dining posts coming up in the next few weeks. First up, restaurant week at Vinology!

One thing I think is really cool about Ann Arbor is that, for a small-ish town, it has a pretty wide array of culinary options. But one thing I don’t like about Ann Arbor is that some of those options seem a tad overpriced. Face it: this isn’t New York or London. Let’s calm down with some of those prices, Main Street dining establishments. And that’s why I think restaurant week is pretty fun: you get a nice selection of food, but at a somewhat lower price than normal. And this dinner at Vinology was a very nice deal.

For my starter, I ordered spring rolls – they were delicious. The thing is, spring rolls are a pretty standard dish; it’s hard to get too excited about them, in general. However, I thought these were actually much tastier than your typical spring roll – plus, their presentation was cool and the vegetable slaw they were served atop was really tasty. If I were a judge on Top Chef, I’d compliment Vinology on “elevating” this standard dish.

For my main course, I chose chicken and waffles – I just could not resist. The greens that came with this dish were really tasty, and the herbed pecan waffle was delicious. Two thumbs up for this dish as well!

For dessert, I chose the chocolate silk tartlet – this was also very good. My one complaint was that the tartlet’s shell was quite hard; as I was cutting into it, I had a vision of myself accidentally flinging the entire thing off the table, which would be a very “me” thing to do. Luckily, I did not.

And that was my Restaurant Week meal at Vinology. For all you Ann Arborians (Ann Arborites?) out there, where did you go for Restaurant Week?

A2 Bucket List: Bagel Fragel

Posted on October 20, 2012 by Laura

When I made my Ann Arbor Bucket List, I did a little Googling to figure out if there were any Ann Arbor spots I didn’t know about. One that popped up was Bagel Fragel, located close-ish to my freshman year home on North Campus (good old Bursley). Intrigued, I added it to my list.

What is a fragel, you may ask? Oh, you know, just your average bagel – only fried and covered in cinnamon sugar. It was delicious, but I’m pretty sure I won’t be going back for a long while; it’s a little too much to have on a regular basis. Still, so so good.

And now you – and I – know what a fragel is.

20 down, 40 to go!

The Details: Sid’s Bagel Fragel | 1754 Plymouth Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105 | 734.332.1555

A2 Bucket List: Kerrytown Farmers Market

Posted on September 26, 2012 by Laura

It has been awhile since I’ve crossed off an item on my Ann Arbor Bucket List. Between exams in April and May, spending the summer in Chicago, and a hectic August, there hasn’t been much spare time for Bucket Listing. But things are settling down a bit, and it’s time to get back to the list. Number 30 on my Ann Arbor Bucket List was to visit the Kerrytown Farmers Market.

In reality, it was a bit of a cop out that I put this on my list – I’ve been there several times before, but have never taken photographs of the event. So this trip was solidly documented and can now be officially crossed off my list. I love the Market; to me, it’s classic Ann Arbor in all its hipster, liberal weird wonderfulness. It’s always a fantastic way to start your Saturday.

What did I bring home from the Market? Some veggies for various meals, as well as the two things pictured below: a delicious soft pretzel and beautiful fresh flowers. A successful trip!

19 down, 41 to go!

The Details: Ann Arbor Farmers Market | 315 Detroit Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48104 | 734.794.6255

La Vida Laura

on travel adventures, foodie finds, and new york city in the summertime

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