[HOT LIST] Ypsilanti

Summer Beer Fest in Ypsilanti's Riverside Park. Photo by EID western beerespondent David Bardallis.

No longer willing to accept its position as Ann Arbor's uncultured country cousin, Ypsilanti has been making a name for itself as a more affordable version of Ann Arbor with a whole lot of craft beer bars and not a whole lot else. I *love* that. Pretty much every place you might happen to stumble into serves Michigan craft beer (or other craft beverages of excellence). What else could you expect from the home of the Michigan Brewers Guild Summer Beer Festival? The craft beer culture here has been many years in the making (if Summer Beer Fest were human, it would now be a pimply teenager sneaking beers from his parents' fridge). Recently-opened hotspots like the Wurst Bar and Red Rock are proving to be major draws, while old stand-bys like Sidetrack and Aubree's are perennial favorites. Yack-town? Try YUM-town! (...sorry.)

The Wurst Bar's beer board.

#1 Wurst Bar
Don't let the phonetic pronunciation of the name fool you -- the Wurst Bar is actually the best bar. First because they're doing something no one else in the area is really doing. Oh, sure, some places get all fancy and make their own charcuterie, and there are definitely a few spots that make their own sausage and brats. But the Wurst Bar is nothing but sausage and brats, from the "usual"(so designated on the menu) -- PBR-poached bratwurst, smoked andouille, mettwurst (made with beef, pork, celery seed and mustard seed), even a couple of vegetarian options -- to the "unusual" -- alligator and crawfish boudin, rattlesnake chorizo. They also have burgers. And more sausage. All made in-house. You can also buy some to go. If that don't beat all they also have a huge craft beer selection, regularly host local brewery tap takeovers, and every Friday after 8 p.m. is $2 pints.

#2 Cafe Ollie / MI General Store
Cafe Ollie was once a casual breakfast and lunch spot offering vegetarian and vegan items, coffee and tea. It is still that, but the recent addition of a wine and beer license now means that in addition to vegetarian and vegan items you can also enjoy a Michigan craft beer or wine. (Try their Black Star Farms Bedazzled strawberry mimosa for brunch, or a stout or porter milkshake for dessert.) Husband and wife Mark Teachout and Danielle Schwerin own both Cafe Ollie and the MI General Store, which just opened last December next to Cafe Ollie. The MI General Store is a gourmet market specializing in products made in Michigan -- beer, wine, cheese, chocolate, and a wide variety of specialty food and gift items.

#3 The Ugly Mug Cafe and Roastery
Okay, so not a beer place, but a totally important coffee place. (Because sometimes it's morning and beer isn't an option. Unless you have the best job EVER.) Part of the post-third-wave coffee movement (which goes beyond simply sourcing from respected roasters to sustainably sourcing from small farms and roasting in-house) which has been gaining huge momentum in metro Detroit, the Ugly Mug has been a "small batch artisanal roaster" since 2004 (you know, before it was cool) and continues to roast some of the best coffee in metro Detroit. They serve a wide selection of coffees from blasé lattes to the mad scientist marvels of Chemex, a small selection of pastries and an inventive selection of bagel sandwiches. And as a throw-back to those archaic second-wave coffeehouses we all first fell in love with, they also host art shows and acoustic nights.

#4 Corner Brewery
The sister brewpub of Ann Arbor's Arbor Brewing Company as well as Arbor's production brewery, Corner Brewery has exactly that kind of vibe -- the friendly bar on the corner. Located in an old schoolhouse with a biergarten in the summer (beware the 'skeeters) and a fireplace in the winter, Corner serves Arbor beer and a selection of pub food (pizza, sammies, apps) with pub-style service (as in you order at the bar and they buzz you when your food is ready). Play board games or darts, use the WiFi, stop in for one of their many special events (like the Halcyon Sundaze BBQ, coming up again Sept. 9) or for a boozy Sunday brunch; Corner is another one of Ypsilanti's many fine beer-drinking establishments for enthusiastic beer drinkers. Also, be there for one of their Rat Pad releases.

#5 Sidetrack
Sidetrack is Ypsilanti's granddaddy craft beer bar, and it has the best fake backstory you'll ever read. An Ypsilanti staple for nearly 30 years, Sidetrack serves Michigan craft beers and Belgian imports as well as One of the 20 Hamburgers You Must Eat Before You Die (according to Alan Richman circa 2006). This is the kind of place that has a LOT of personality. What exactly that means you need to find out for yourself.

Bubbling under Woodruff's, Tap Room, Beezy's, Cafe Racer, MIX Marketplace, Frenchie's, Aubree's Pizzeria, Cuppy's Best Soulful Deli, Red Rock Downtown Barbecue, B-24's

 

[Metromode] Bohemian Rhapsody: Metro Detroit's Coffee Chemists

My latest article on Detroit's fast-maturing coffee scene appeared June 23 in Metromode. Here's a taste (or is it a sip?) -- Nicole

If 'Ethiopian Harrar' is an integral part of your early morning ritual, then you already know about Chazzano Coffee in Ferndale. And you also know that when first roasted this particular coffee has notes of juicy blueberry which after a week will evolve to luscious dark chocolate.

''I've created monsters!' jokes Frank Lanzkron-Tamarazo, owner and roaster at Chazzano Coffee. 'They want coffee that's been roasted the same day [so it still has all its flavor profiles]; they'll ask me, "What are you roasting now?" I want people to be crazy about coffee like that and I train the staff to be crazy about coffee like that.'

'In Metro Detroit, the seedlings of a whole new kind of culinary culture have begun to grow.

'Or, more accurately, the beans..."

Read the rest of the article here.

[HOT LIST] Coffee

Cafe Con Leche, Detroit (Photo by David Landsel)

All this talk about coffee giving you the DT's? Us too. And while it has most definitely been established that there are plenty of people roasting it, brewing it and serving it in and around Detroit, who's doing it best? Why, we'll tell you, in our inaugural Hot List, one in a series that will highlight the best food and drink in Metro Detroit.

#1 Commonwealth Birmingham The 2010 debut of this truly impressive Hamilton Row hangout (now expertly -- and we do mean expertly -- roasting their own single estate coffees) was, for local coffee lovers, a highlight of the year.

#2 Astro Coffee Detroit Dai Hughes' years of experience in various global coffee capitals are being brought to bear at a sleek shop on the Slows block in Corktown. A true game changer for the city.

#3 Chazzano Ferndale Want a vanilla latte and a scone? Please go elsewhere. This roaster/cafe in the almost-Hazeltucky no-man's-land is for serious drinkers only. (Ask for Frank, the owner.)

#4 Cafe Con Leche Detroit Barcelona expat Jordi Carbonell's colorful, Clark Park-facing coffee house has grown to become an essential part of life in Southwest. Order the tiny but powerful cortado.

#5 Shatila Bakery Dearborn This little bit of Las Vegas (by way of the Middle East) on the Warren strip is secretly a great place for an espresso -- the beans are supplied by local roaster Great Lakes.

Bubbling under: Ugly Mug (Ypsi), Comet Coffee (Ann Arbor), Chez Zara (Detroit), Cafe 1923 (Hamtramck), Bean & Leaf (Royal Oak), Far Bella (St. Clair Shores).