Visiting My Friend in Ann Arbor

I was wondering if Ann Arbor had any Korean restaurants. My friend replied that she sincerely doubted it, since she had a hard time finding an authentic Chinese restaurant. I went surfing on the web to see what Ann Arbor had to offer in the way of authentic Korean cuisine.

I found a variety of authentic restaurants in Ann Arbor to try out. Since my friend was willing to have a go at it, we went to Seoul Garden. When we walked in, I noticed many Koreans eating there. They appeared to be college students. There was also a Caucasian couple who were seated near us. I was quite pleased when I saw the menu. Prices are affordable in Ann Arbor. Given how expensive Korean food is in Los Angeles, I appreciated the price break that I saw in Ann Arbor. We ordered the Barbeque Combination with Lobster Special which included big scallops, several shrimp, and a couple of lobster tails. They did not skimp on the seafood.

As we were grilling our seafood on the tabletop grill, the couple near us peeked over to inquire about what we were eating. They noticed how much food was coming out. They were obviously new to Korean food, since they were not acquainted with the banchan or side dishes that accompany the main course. To use an analogy, banchan is basically the fries that go with a hamburger. Typical banchan you would see is kimchee (spicy pickled cabbage), seasoned soybean sprouts, an egg salad, or spicy pickled cucumbers (another type of kimchee). Banchan can be cooked, processed, or seasoned raw vegetables. The dish we ordered is eaten with sangchoo, or lettuce that you use to wrap your food. You basically use the big lettuce leaves as you would a Mexican tortilla and fill it with rice and a variety of meat and banchan, then eat it like a taco.

My friend was familiar with Korean food, but had never eaten sangchoo, which is more of a home-style meal. I was extremely pleased with this place. The service was excellent. Our server Dave made sure that we had everything we needed. Those unfamiliar with Korean cuisine will receive a lot of help from the waitstaff. My only disappointment with this place was that we were not given a complimentary after-dinner snack like fresh orange slices or a sweet drink, either shikae, a sweet rice drink, or a cinnamon-spiced persimmon drink called soo-jong-gya. That would have topped the whole experience off. Still, considering how much bang for the buck that I got, I’m not going to complain at all.

Our meal cost about $40 before tax and tip. We ate until we were stuffed, then took the meal home. We only got through half our meal. That's some serious bang for your buck.

So I wanted Mexican food, but authentic Mexican. My friend didn’t think there would be such a place in Ann Arbor. The places she frequented were mostly college hangouts, cheap Mexican food with pitchers of margaritas. I did my Internet surfing and found the Mexican restaurant Taquería Jalisco in Ypsilanti, which is about halfway between Detroit and Ann Arbor.

It’s located near Michigan State University. My friend checked with a Michigan native who said that the neighborhood was fine, but some parts of the area were iffy. We had some trouble finding the restaurant since the roads were a bit confusing. After circling around a bit, we parked a block away since the restaurant didn’t have a lot. The neighborhood is mostly African American and Latino. The houses looked worn down, so I wondered if the neighborhood was okay. My friend assured me that it was supposed to be fine.

We were seated promptly, but we were the only ones there. I ordered a jamaica (drink made from hibiscus blossums) to drink while my friend initially ordered a tamarindo (drink made from tamarinds), then changed her mind and ordered an iced tea. After perusing the menu, my friend ordered the Combo Mariachi which included one carne asada taco, two chicken enchiladas, and a pork tamal. I ordered the Combo Tejano which was supposed to include one shredded beef burrito, one potato taco, one chicken taco al vapor (steamed), and one tostada topped with ground beef, but instead of the tostada, I ended up with a tamal. Being very fond of tamales, I was very disappointed in the tamal that was served. It was dried out and tasteless. Definitely a low point in the meal, but the rest of the meal was great. I loved the potato taco, which I have been told is what the people eat when they don’t have that much money for meat. The beef burrito was very thin, almost a flauta.

We tasted each other’s meals, and we agreed that my friend’s meal was the best, especially the chicken enchiladas. Excellent. My beef burrito was very good, too, but the potato tacos are great. As we finished up our meal, customers started coming in. Apparently, we had just missed the dinner rush. Taquería Jalisco is open Mondays-Thursdays (11 am-midnight) and Fridays-Sundays (11 am-3 am). You can call in your order for pick up or even delivery. That might be a better bet since there’s no parking.

I was first introduced to Ethiopian cuisine in Berkeley, California at another Blue Nile Restaurant. Since then, I have visited Ethiopian restaurants in the Fairfax district of Los Angeles and also Eritrean restaurants in Oakland and Culver City. (Eritrea seceded from Ethiopia to establish its own nation in 1993.) Needless to say, I am a fan of the cuisine.

This Blue Nile Restaurant is sanitized for the suburban masses. It’s watered down for those who aren’t used to the taste. The clientele in this case is mostly college students and faculty, overwhelmingly caucasian. It was sort of interesting to see Ethiopian garb on caucasian waitresses. There was African décor and carvings on the booths--a nice touch. I definitely liked the hot towels to clean our hands before eating. We sat at a communal basket-woven table. My friend ordered iced tea, while I ordered the tej honey wine. We sampled each other’s drinks. I really liked the iced tea. The rose hips, cinnamon, orange, and lemon peel gave it a unique flavor. I was a bit disappointed in the tej wine. I’ve had better.

We ordered the Ethiopian feast, which came with several meat dishes and vegetable dishes on a big tray that was placed on the woven table. For our meat dishes, we picked two chicken dishes (doro wat, chicken simmered in berbere, a dark, rich, tangy sauce, and doro alecha, chicken cooked in niter kibbeh herbed butter with onions and green peppers) and a lamb dish, yebeg alecha, which is lamb cooked in niter kibbeh with onions and green peppers. We had kik alecha (yellow peas with green peppers, onions, and herbs), tekil gomen (sautéed cabbage with onions, peppers, and spices), and timatim salata (romaine lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and hot green peppers with fresh lemon juice and olive oil). I’m not sure if it’s a regional difference or not, but the spices were a lot blander than what I was used to. For those who aren’t familiar with Ethiopian cuisine, you tear off pieces of the spongy bread called injera to wrap around morsels of food before popping it into your mouth. It’s easy to become stuffed, because the injera expands in your stomach quickly.

After our meal, we were so stuffed, we couldn’t even look at the dessert menu. We didn’t bother to take any leftovers home, since we had done a decent job of demolishing our dinner. Even the thought of some Ethiopian coffee was too much. The owner came to greet each us before we paid for our meal. I noted that he visited each table to welcome his customers to his restaurant. An excellent touch.

If you want upscale Ethiopian, this is the place. It's a different world from homestyle Ethiopian cafés, but it’s just as affordable. I think it’s an excellent place for an introduction to Ethiopian cuisine.

I decided to visit the University of Michigan Museum of Art after flipping through the local Ann Arbor paper. An exhibit called The Enduring Art of the Korean Potter was running only until the end of summer. I was staying only a week, so I wanted to see this exhibit before it left.

The bus stops at the museum, so I hopped on a bus. When I got there, I asked the front desk directions to the pottery exhibit. Umbrellas had to be stored at the desk. I left my umbrella and followed his directions to the coat hangers at the stairwell. I took my valuables and left my coat hanging with a lip balm inside the pocket to identify my coat in case someone else happened to have a coat just like it. Then I walked upstairs to the exhibit.

I never knew much about art, since I majored in science in college, while my sister was the art major, so I took my time reading through the information. I learned about Korean history as I was learning about Korean pottery. I never knew that Koreans invented celadon, although most Western art historians mistakenly attribute it to the Chinese. There are many historical facts that are being corrected presently. I’m sure it’s due to how difficult it is to communicate with those that don’t speak the same language. It’s hard enough to communicate with those that do speak the same language. There were numerous urns. Some were ceremonial, used for Buddhist rituals; others appeared to be vessels for food. There were terracotta styles and glazed ceramic styles. Some were clay decorations for roof tiling. There was even an ink blotter and a paperweight.

It took me a long time to get through the exhibit. Several people came and went. The security guard came in a few times to monitor my movements. I had intended on checking out the other exhibits, but I had spent two hours in that one exhibit. I was sure that my friend was worrying about me, since I had taken the bus to get to the museum. I hurriedly went through another exhibit, then went downstairs to claim my coat. Because I was not familiar with the Ann Arbor buses, I asked at the front desk how to get back to my friend’s house. The folks there didn’t really know, but they tried to help. They made sure that I didn’t forget my umbrella. As I scurried out, I made a mental note to myself that the next time I was in Ann Arbor that I’d come much earlier to walk around the museum as long as I wanted.

Since then, the museum has extended its run. The Enduring Art of the Korean Potter will now run until November 6, 2005. Go see it before it’s gone. The museum is open Tuesday-Saturday 10am-5pm, Thursday 10am-9pm, Sunday 12pm-5pm, and closed Monday.