As a travel writer, I have the chance to eat at various restaurants all over the country. It is sometime a small family restaurant, sometime a five courses dinner menu in a hight end restaurant, and anything in between. Since it is difficult to compare a $10 lunch with a $150 dinner, I tried to rank them by the biggest bang for your buck.
10) Seva (Ann Arbor, Michigan)
I must admit that my general idea of a vegetarian restaurant is a granola-joint offering a “salad bar” or some other shady stuff filled with tofu. Don't get me wrong... I love my meat, but if anything could turn me into a vegetarian, it would be Seva. I was really impressed with my plates of Thai salad, pesto pizza sandwich on a rye bread and enchiladas calabaza. Don’t hesitate to try it out for a new experience, even if you're not a vegetarian yourself.
Full story: Michigan, an outside the box foodie destination
9) Dream Dance Steak (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
We opened with a surprising molecular champagne. Before the waiter arrived with my 12oz New York Strip Steak with my choice of Black Garlic Aioli sauce, we tried the cheese curd fritter (liked it!), the trio of surf and turf with curry rice (this was the best), kangaroo, and shrimp cocktail and an impressive salad that I enjoyed with my blueberry old-fashioned drink.
Full story: Milwaukee: beer, motorcycles and rock n' roll
8) Empire Brewing (Syracuse, New York)
I asked the owner for a staple food I could have with his beers, and he suggested a "sweet fire." In front of me was an andouille sausage served with Creole mustard. It was very spicy but so good!
Full story: Central New York: that one time where I tried 50 different craft beers and 20 spirits in 5 days
7) The Meat Market (Great Barrington, Massachusetts)
I had the privilege to eat some pork fresh ham roast, made on their special BBQ, with a side of cabbage from the farm cooked with house bacon, apples, cream, and garlic. Just writing about it makes be want to jump in my car and drive the 400 miles needed to get there from my place just to eat this again. To go along this amazing meal, I tried a local craft beer, the Big Elm Brewing IPA, that I really enjoyed.
Full story: The Berkshires: It's all about meandering
6) The Apple Barrel (Schoharie, New York)
The menu describes the Orchard Abundance as a “Swiss cheese melted on top of crisp apple slices, layered over juicy chicken salad made with red onion and celery, topped with cranberries and pecan. Served open face on grilled ciabatta.” Sounds good, right? I never imagined that a meal made out of chicken salad could be so could. And I don’t even like chicken. On top of that, it comes with their famous homemade potato chip. What a feast!
Full story: Two peculiar places to eat in Schoharie County, NY
5) Pegasus (Detroit, Michigan)
Imagine all the (nice) clichés you associate with a Greek restaurant and they can be applied to Pegasus: abundance of food, nice flambé ("hopa! Hopa!"), great salads, lambs, the whole nine yards.
Full story: Michigan: an outside the box foodie destination
4) The Wine Vault (Vermillion, Ohio)
I went with the Streak and Potatoes: a grilled hanger steak, roasted shitakes, portabella “fries” and potato purée. The steak was cooked to perfection, one of the best I ever had. I am not a big fan of mushrooms so I s5witch them for actual fries and they where delicious. The chef really knows what he is doing: How can a potato purée be so good?
Full story: Ohio's Shores and Islands: The curious balance between the family and the party destination
3) Mezze Bistro + Bar (Williamstown, Massachusetts)
I started my feast with an East Mountain Farm Country Pâté, served with rye toast, pickle farm vegetables and onion confit. I blindly trusted Coleman when he said he had a rosé that was made to be paired with it. At this point, my only thought was: English language lacks words to describe how good the food is.
My main course consisted of an East Mountain Farm smoked ham steak, served with yellow corn grits, braised green, Cricket Creek farm egg, and Red Eye Gravy. Coleman sold me the idea when he described it as "ham that taste like corn beef." He was right, and it was good.
Full story: The Berkshires: It's all about meandering
2) Zingerman’s Deli (Ann Arbor, Michigan)
It is truly a magical place to eat. My corn beef sandwich on Jewish rye bread and the old pickle that came with it were fantastic. It is not a fancy five-course meal restaurant, but it is definitively a place you should try to enjoy great food and peruse all the other products they sell in the grocery section of the premises.
Full story: Michigan: an outside the box foodie destination
1) London Chop House (Detroit, Michigan)
Be ready to be transported to an old era, in a very old school and dark environment, all wooden, with a trio playing some jazz and crooners classics. Wear a jacket and maybe a tie, and enjoy one of the best meals around.
My Bourbon-brined pork loin was just perfect, and so was my cheesecake trio. And how better to finish this amazing meal than with a 12-year-old Macallan scotch? This was a night to remember.
Full story: Michigan: an outside the box foodie destination