Ann Arbor : FYI about what you can get in Ann Arbor.
Ann Arborites love good food. For beautifully displayed, fresh-tasting produce, professional and amateur chefs look to resources like the Ann Arbor Farmers’ Market and, next door in Kerrytown Market & Shops, Sparrow Produce Market; Fresh Seasons Market, on West Liberty; and the Produce Station, on South State. Also in Kerrytown, Sparrow’s companion butcher shop, Sparrow Meat Market, stocks ready-to-cook stuffed flank steaks, chicken breasts, and pork loins, while Monahan’s Seafood Market sells homemade chowder and a tempting variety of fresh fish, and Tracklements Smokery sells its own house-smoked fish. On Miller, the anonymous-looking Knight’s Market (marked only by a chess knight) supplies the public and many of Ann Arbor’s restaurants with excellent beef.
Several neighborhood grocers offer personable alternatives to the area’s big chain supermarkets, including campus grocer White Market, on William. Stadium Market and Deli, with a huge liquor and wine selection, sells specialty foods and makes its own salads and sandwiches, including gluten-free pizza. On Jefferson in the Old West Side, Jefferson Market, a tiny, beautifully restored old-fashioned grocery, is a neighborhood hangout and a resource for imaginative prepared dinners.
Ann Arbor’s thriving international communities support a wealth of terrific ethnic groceries that offer a taste of distant lands. Middle Eastern goods can be found at Aladdin’s Market, on Packard; Mediterranean Market, on Ellsworth; and Jerusalem International Market, on Broadway. Foods of the Far East are featured at China Merchandise, in Plymouth Road Mall; Great Land Supermarket, on Carpenter; Lucky Market, in the Courtyard Shops; Lucky Heng Market, on West Liberty; Tsai Grocery, in the Village Centre; Makkara, on Packard; and Manna, on Broadway. Chez Pierre, at Briarwood, is a locally owned boutique featuring French specialty foods. Nabalee Produce, on Packard, has halal as well as Latin American groceries, and Brazamerica, in South Main Market, offers Brazilian goods. Indian foods are found in Foods of India, on Broadway; Bombay Grocers, on Packard; and Nilgiris Import Goods, on Carpenter. At Zingerman’s, on Detroit Street, a dazzling array of imported specialty foods lines the walls of an award-winning Jewish-style deli. Hiller’s Market in Arborland, part of a small Detroit-based chain, is an American-style grocery store that specializes in kosher meats, plus delicacies like blood pudding and treacle tarts imported from the British Isles.
Among the area’s many convenience stores, a few go beyond the usual chips-and-beer inventory. Village Corner, on South University, is known for its immense selection of wines; Main Street Party Shoppe, on North Main at Ann, has an impressive wine cellar; Morgan & York, on Packard, has an intelligent selection of fine wines and ales, as well as a host of imported specialty foods; and A & L Wine Castle, on Stadium, packs an amazing range of libations inside its regally funky store. Bello Vino, on Plymouth, offers produce, specialty grocery items, and fine wines at good prices. Its neighbor, the Wine Seller, has a pithier but no less interesting selection. In Kerrytown, Everyday Wines specializes in little-known vintages at affordable prices, and its staffers display an uncanny ability to pair wine with food. Wine Etc., in Scio Town Center, boasts an extensive wine and beer selection as well as gourmet treats and wine accessories.
For organic and natural foods and products, health-conscious shoppers head for Arbor Farms, in Boulevard Plaza on West Stadium; Whole Foods Market, on Washtenaw; and the People’s Food Co-op, on Fourth Avenue. Trader Joe’s, in Lamp Post Plaza, offers a mix of natural foods, affordably priced gourmet foods, ethnic items, and a large selection of beers and wines, including the chain’s renowned “three-buck Chuck,” Charles Shaw wines that retail for $2.99 a bottle.
Chocoholics frequent Main Street’s Zenaida Chocolate Lounge and, one block north, the Chocolate Cafe; Washington Street’s Schakolad Chocolate Factory for truffles, creams, and chocolate-covered nuts and fruit; and Kilwin’s, on Liberty, which sells gourmet chocolates and a cheerful assortment of exotically flavored jelly beans, ice cream, and homemade fudge. On Huron, Say Cheese specializes in enormous, rich cheesecakes; its sister store, Deda’s Bakery, deals in artfully decorated sugar cookies as well as custom cakes. Big City Small World Bakery, on Spring Street at Miller, features muffins, scones, and decadent gourmet ding dongs (including vegan versions). At Briarwood, Mac & Oliver’s Sweet Tooth is an old-fashioned candy store showcasing the family’s homemade peanut-butter- and chocolate-covered caramel corn. Porter’s Premium Popcorn, in Nickels Arcade, offers delightfully weird flavors like barbecue and piña colada. On South University, Sweet U sells M&Ms by the pound as well as flavored nuts, hard candy, caramel corn, and cotton candy.
Zingerman’s Bakeshop, on Plaza Drive off South State, offers scones, enormous brownies, and a splendid section of aromatic, freshly baked breads. Nearby, Zingerman’s Creamery sells fresh artisanal cheeses made with milk from area dairy farms.
