City Guide
Shopping - Food & Markets
Ethnic Markets
At Ann Arbor’s many ethnic groceries, the language most often heard is generally not English. In Dong Yu, in Plymouth Road Mall, it’s usually Chinese. Funky with the smell of dried fish, Dong Yu is close to supermarket size, with produce, meat, fish, medicines, cookware, and frozen dim sum treats. Just down Plymouth, in the Courtyard Shops, is another Asian food and kitchen store, Lucky Market, specializing in Korean and Japanese, with a huge selection of chips, snack food, and seasonings. In the same center is Jerusalem International Market—worth a stop just to chat with owner Awni Abukaff, who will lift your spirits while you examine Egyptian roomy buffalo cheese, halal beef, desserts, nuts, and spices. On Broadway, Foods of India has four refrigerator cases of naan, parathas, and whole-wheat chapatis. It’s also a good place for Indian sweets, children’s books (in English) about India, hot and cold body wax, and Ayurvedic pain balm. Manna next door, clean and modern, specializes in Japanese and Korean fare: fresh whole fish on ice, lots of prepared salads, and a whole aisle of seaweed, some of it four feet tall.On the west side, Tienda la Libertad / Liberty Market serves Hispanic shoppers, while Copernicus Deli in South Main Market caters to homesick Poles with homemade pierogi, apple tarts, and cheesecake; half a dozen kinds of head cheese in the fantastic deli case; Dr. Oetker’s muesli; and plenty of sauerkraut. At Brazamerica, also in South Main Market, beef is flown in every week specially cut for Brazilian barbecues. Brazamerica has recently expanded into other Latin groceries besides Brazil’s. Tsai Grocery, in Village Center, has everything Asian but tilts toward Japanese, with lots of fresh produce and sushi-grade fish, Japanese breads, a wide selection of sake, and state-of-the-art rice cookers.
Southeast Ann Arbor has the richest vein of ethnic groceries. Mediterranean Market, in Stone School Plaza, has a halal meat counter, heavy on lamb; a bakery with baklava and spinach-and-thyme pies; kasseri cheese; and every size and flavor of pita bread, fruit juices, yogurt, spices, and more. Hyundai Asian Market is a newcomer on Ellsworth. The kimchi with no MSG and the sweet rice cake with dates, chestnuts, and black beans are homemade. Hyundai also carries many brands of imported Korean food, kitchenware, and fresh fish on Fridays. Yogi on Carpenter Rd. is Indo-Pakistani with lots of naan, cones of cane sugar, bindis and other jewelry, henna for decorating, medicines, and English tea snacks such as glucose biscuits.
In a walkable cluster near the Packard-Platt intersection are many ethnic shops, Euro Market offers blini, basterma (spiced cured meat coated with paprika), poppy-seed cake, caviar, Russian shampoo, Russian preserves and soft drinks, sushki, a shelf of Russian cookies for diabetics, and a wickedly rich frozen dessert called Dadu. Golam Produce Market sells halal meat and Bangladeshi spices in addition to produce. Bombay Grocery sells every kind of rice, lentil, chutney, and curry mix, as well as herbs like “blood purifier,” English custard power, and lots of fresh produce, such as bitter melon and tindoru, a kind of cucumber. Sunshine Fruit Market carries fresh almonds (in their green furry hulls), cassava, small eggplants, and many other hard-to-find produce items. Aladdin’s Market next door has comb honey, a big selection of halvah by the pound, a counter of samosas and falafel for takeout, curious oils (mustard, caraway, clove), pomegranate molasses, date vinegar, ghee, lamb tripe, cow tripe, cows’ feet, and more.
Farther out on Packard, ZZ’s Produce (named for Kurdish owner Zana Zangara) has stuff you can’t find anywhere else. Dark and dank as the earth itself, it houses truly weird culinary treasures, including several varieties of yams, nopals, lychees, jackfruit—all fresh, not canned—and banana flowers, which are a little like overgrown artichokes. You find the little flowers hidden in the cluster of purple leaves, discard the fibrous spikes, and chop up the rest. Zangara says they’re used in a “to die for” rice recipe in Laos and parts of India.
Food & Markets
For ethnic markets, see p. 126.Ann Arbor is a midwestern mecca for artisanal food. The pioneer is Zingerman’s, which offers a remarkable selection of cured meats, cheeses, olive oils, vinegars, and mustards in its Detroit St. deli. Its empire now includes European breads and traditional American sweets made and sold at Zingerman’s Bakehouse, on Plaza Dr. off S. State, and Zingerman’s Creamery nearby, with fresh cheeses made from local dairy products.
The Produce Station on S. State has stellar produce, as does Fresh Seasons Market on W. Liberty. Many stores sell organic and locally grown produce, but the People’s Food Co-op on N. Fourth Ave. specializes in it. A great selection of meats can be found at Sparrow Market in Kerrytown Market & Shops and Knight’s Market on Miller, and fresh fish abounds at Monahan’s Seafood Market, also in Kerrytown.
Morgan & York on Packard is a cheese shop and charcuterie par excellence, and the proprietors also know wine. Other boutique wine shops dot the area. South University’s Village Corner is a party store with one of Ann Arbor’s largest wine selections, and owner Dick Scheer may be the city’s preeminent wine guru. Vinology, a Main St. restaurant, also sells fine wine by the bottle. Everyday Wines in Kerrytown specializes in $10-$20 wines, often from little-known regions. Wine Etc. in Scio Town Center has a beautifully chosen selection of New World wines. Wine Seller, in Plymouth Road Mall, has a fine selection of wines and beers, as does A&L Wine Castle on W. Stadium, which actually looks like a castle. While many local party stores stock hundreds of beers, two other places favored by beer aficionados are the Beer Depot on William and Bello Vino in Plymouth Road Mall for their knowledgeable staffs as well as broad selections.
Three new food specialty shops have recently opened. The all-organic Ann Arbor Tortilla Factory is on Trade Center Dr. and sells its products in local markets. Ann Arbor Spice Merchants in Kerrytown sells premium fresh spices, spice mixes, teas, and spice jars. The TeaHaus on N. Fourth Ave. sells teas from all over the world.
Busch’s, in two Ann Arbor locations, is a full-service local grocery chain with a fine deli and Zingerman’s breads. Hiller’s Market on Washtenaw is another supermarket-size emporium of everyday and high-end goodies. Bello Vino carries a wide selection of fresh and imported gourmet goods. Plum Market anchors the west side of Ann Arbor with an astonishing collection of organic and artisanal prepared foods. Arbor Farms, in Boulevard Plaza on W. Stadium, is a locally owned natural-food supermarket that offers fine cheeses, wines, breads, and organic produce, along with homeopathic remedies.
There are plenty of local sweetshops. Cake Nouveau on N. Fourth Ave. specializes in arty cakes and cupcakes, in both normal and outrageous flavors. Big City Small World Bakery on Miller is famous for its sybaritic homemade ding dongs in regular or dark chocolate. Jefferson Market and Cakery (on W. Jefferson) sells homey desserts in addition to fancy cakes, and you can watch cake decorators work there. Downtown, Kilwin’s, Chocolate House, and Schakolad Chocolate Factory all sell premium chocolate truffles and other treats.
