Restaurant Profile
34 articles
The Lakehouse Bakery Is Chelsea's Morning Anchor
Scratch-baked pastries on Main Street, from a baker who chose a small town on purpose.
The Lakehouse Bakery on Chelsea's Main Street bakes everything from scratch. The croissants alone justify the drive from Ann Arbor.
Tabe Fusion, One Year Later: The Promise and the Reality at 209 South Main
We said we'd come back once the kitchen settled. A year later, the omakase has a reputation. The rest is more complicated.
A year after its ambitious opening on South Main Street, Tabe Fusion's omakase program has earned its reputation. The regular menu still hasn't figured out what it wants to be.
Monahan's Has Been Selling Fish in Kerrytown for 46 Years. Mike Monahan Is Still Behind the Counter.
The co-founder of Ann Arbor's most enduring seafood market hasn't missed many days since 1979.
Forty-six years in Kerrytown. Mike Monahan is still behind the counter.
Venue Puts Five Restaurants and a Coworking Space Under One Roof. Somehow, It Works.
Chef Thad Gillies brings a Zingerman's-to-Union Square Cafe resume to Ann Arbor's most ambitious dining experiment.
Five restaurants, one coworking space, and a chef with a resume that starts at Zingerman's and runs through Union Square Cafe.
Ma Lou's Has the Best Fried Chicken in Michigan. It's on Michigan Avenue in Ypsi.
K.C. Knipple grew up here. He opened a chicken spot. The rest of the state noticed.
Named best fried chicken in Michigan by multiple publications. Ma Lou's is a Ypsilanti original.
The Slice: Jolly Pumpkin's Wood-Fired Pizza
The third entry takes us to Dexter for brewery pizza that refuses to be an afterthought.
Jolly Pumpkin Dexter runs a wood-fired pizza program in a sour brewery. Our third Slice entry measures it against the first two.
The Slice: Supino Pizzeria
The second entry takes us to Eastern Market for New York-style thin crust and seventeen years of consistency.
Supino Pizzeria in Detroit's Eastern Market has been making thin-crust pizza since 2008. Our second entry in The Slice measures it against the wood-fired benchmark.
The Slice: Mani Osteria's Wood-Fired Pizza
The first entry in our Best Pizza series comes from a pasta restaurant. That tells you something.
Mani Osteria is known for handmade pasta, but the wood-fired pizza from its East Liberty kitchen deserves its own spotlight. Our first entry in The Slice.
Black Pearl Has Been on Main Street for 17 Years. It Still Surprises People.
Ann Arbor's seafood-and-sushi stalwart defies easy categorization, and that's the whole point.
Seventeen years on Main Street. Black Pearl still defies easy categorization.
RoosRoast Is Ann Arbor's Coffee. Twenty Years of Roasting Proves It.
Solar-powered, locally roasted, and stubbornly independent since 2005.
Solar-powered, locally roasted, and stubbornly independent. RoosRoast is Ann Arbor's coffee identity.
The Common Grill Has Been Here for Thirty Years. Chelsea Still Needs It.
Chef Craig Common built a real restaurant in a town of 5,000 and kept it alive through everything.
Chef Craig Common has been running The Common Grill in Chelsea since the mid-1990s. Thirty years in a town of 5,000 is a story about food, loyalty, and stubbornness.
Ji Hye Kim Built Two Restaurants and a Mini-Mart. She's Not Done.
From Miss Kim to Little Kim to an Asian grocery counter, the James Beard-nominated chef is quietly building a food empire.
From Miss Kim to Little Kim to an Asian grocery counter, the James Beard-nominated chef is quietly building a food empire.
La Serre Is a Hotel Restaurant That Actually Earns the Reservation
Inside The Vanguard on Glen Avenue, chef Michael Polsinelli is building a French brasserie worth visiting on purpose.
Inside The Vanguard on Glen Avenue, a French brasserie that's worth visiting on purpose.
Jolly Pumpkin Put Sour Beer on the Map. The Dexter Taproom Is Where You Should Drink It.
The country's first all-sour brewery has a kitchen that keeps up with the beer.
Ron Jeffries built America's first all-sour brewery in 2004. The Dexter taproom pairs oak-aged ales with wood-fired pizza and the best patio in Washtenaw County.
Supino Pizzeria Has Been Doing One Thing Right for Years. That's the Whole Point.
In Eastern Market, Dave Mancini makes pizza that doesn't need a concept, a rebrand, or your Instagram post.
Supino Pizzeria in Eastern Market has spent years making thin-crust pizza with patience and consistency. No gimmicks. No reinvention. Just pizza worth the drive.
Echelon Named James Beard Semifinalist for Best New Restaurant
Chef Joseph VanWagner's wood-fired kitchen on South Main earned a James Beard semifinalist nod. Ann Arbor should pay attention.
Chef Joseph VanWagner's wood-fired kitchen on South Main just earned a James Beard semifinalist nod.
B2A2: Raven's Club Smash Burger
Our search for Ann Arbor's best burger starts in a dark cocktail bar on Main Street.
The first entry in our Best Burger in Ann Arbor series. Raven's Club serves a smash burger with a deep sear, excellent fries, and a garlic aioli that ties the whole plate together.
Lady of the House Is the Detroit Restaurant That Made Me Start Driving East
Chef Kate Williams runs a whole-animal kitchen in Corktown that's worth the 45-minute drive from Ann Arbor. Plate & Press's first Detroit restaurant profile.
Chef Kate Williams runs a whole-animal kitchen in Corktown, Detroit. Plate & Press's first full Detroit restaurant profile covers four dishes, a serious bread program, and why the drive is worth it.
Takoi Does Thai Food the Way Detroit Does Everything: On Its Own Terms
In Corktown, chef Brad Greenhill cooks Thai-inspired food with Michigan ingredients and a cocktail program that keeps you past dessert.
Chef Brad Greenhill's Corktown restaurant blends Thai technique with Michigan ingredients. Three visits, four dishes, and a cocktail program worth driving 45 minutes for.
Dos Hermanos Express Is a Family Tradition Made Fresh Every Day
Brothers Alex and Hiram Arreola are carrying on a family legacy with from-scratch Mexican food on Jackson Industrial.
Two brothers, a family tradition, and from-scratch Mexican food on Jackson Industrial Drive.
Thompson & Co. Occupies 160 Years of Ypsilanti History. The Food Holds Up Its End.
Southern comfort food in a Civil War-era building that survived arson, abandonment, and an oak tree through the roof.
At 400 N River St in Depot Town, Thompson & Co. serves Southern comfort food inside the restored Thompson Block — a Civil War barracks that nearly burned to nothing in 2009.
Hyperion Coffee Is Ypsilanti's Answer to a Question Ann Arbor Thinks It Already Solved
At 306 N River St in Depot Town, a roaster treats coffee the way a winery treats grapes. RoosRoast should be paying attention.
Hyperion Coffee roasts single-origin, direct-trade beans at 306 N River St in Ypsilanti's Depot Town. A profile of the roaster challenging Ann Arbor's coffee assumptions.
734 Brewing Is Ypsilanti, Poured Into a Glass
On Cross Street, a taproom built by Ypsi graduates brews beer that belongs to this city.
Founded by Ypsilanti High School graduates, 734 Brewing is a taproom that runs on local pride, rotating taps, and Cross Street foot traffic.
Flowers of Vietnam Started as a Sunday Pop-Up. Now It's One of Detroit's Best Restaurants.
In Southwest Detroit, Palestinian-American chef George Azar cooks Vietnamese food that doesn't explain itself. It doesn't need to.
George Azar's Flowers of Vietnam in Southwest Detroit started as a Sundays-only pop-up inside a coney island. Now it's a full-service restaurant where a Palestinian-American chef cooks some of the best Vietnamese food in Michigan.
Marrow Is a Butcher Shop That Happens to Be Detroit's Most Important Restaurant
Chef Sarah Welch built a whole-animal operation on Kercheval Avenue where the butcher counter and the dining room share the same supply chain. The food is better for it.
Chef Sarah Welch's Marrow in Detroit is a whole-animal butcher shop and restaurant built around a single supply chain. Four dishes, one butcher counter, and the case for knowing where your meat comes from.
What Spencer's National Recognition Means for Ann Arbor's Food Identity
The downtown wine shop and restaurant just made USA Today's 2026 Restaurants of the Year list.
The downtown wine shop and fine dining room earned national recognition for its seasonal, farm-driven cooking.
Aventura and the Table That Started Everything
At 216 East Washington, a Spanish tapas restaurant built on an old building and a trip to Spain is still the best argument for sharing.
Aventura brings Spanish tapas to downtown Ann Arbor with enough authenticity to satisfy and enough personality to stand on its own. Thirteen years in, it's still the best date-night format in town.
Cardamom Takes Indian Food Seriously. Ann Arbor Should Return the Favor.
On Plymouth Road, away from downtown's foot traffic, a kitchen is producing Indian food with ambition and attention to detail.
On Plymouth Road, a kitchen is producing Indian food with the kind of ambition and care that deserves more attention from downtown diners.
Tomukun Has Been Doing This for Sixteen Years. You Should Pay Attention.
The East Liberty noodle bar and Korean BBQ started as a comfort-food bet. It became Ann Arbor's most reliable bowl of ramen.
Tomukun opened in 2010 as a noodle bar on East Liberty. Sixteen years later, it's still the best place in Ann Arbor for a bowl of ramen, and the Korean BBQ next door might be the most underrated meal downtown.
Bellflower Is the Best Restaurant in Ypsilanti. The Rest of the County Should Know.
In a former Michigan Bell telephone exchange, chef Dan Klenotic is cooking food that rivals anything across the river.
In a former telephone exchange on Pearl Street, a James Beard semifinalist is cooking food that rivals anything in Ann Arbor.
Mani Osteria and the Case for Handmade Pasta in a College Town
At 341 East Liberty, a kitchen rolls its own pasta every day. In a city full of good restaurants, that still matters.
Mani Osteria makes its pasta by hand every day. In a college town with no shortage of Italian options, that commitment still sets it apart.
Seva Has Been Vegetarian Since Before You Cared. It's Still the Standard.
On Jackson Avenue, a restaurant that's been doing plant-based cooking for over fifty years doesn't need your permission to keep going.
Seva has been serving vegetarian food in Ann Arbor since the early 1970s. Over fifty years later, it's still the standard for plant-based dining in Washtenaw County.
Sidetrack Has Been Anchoring Depot Town Since Before You Were Born
An 1850s building, a 1929 train wreck, and a burger that GQ told you to eat. The full story of Ypsilanti's most durable bar.
Sidetrack Bar & Grill has been feeding Depot Town from an 1850s building that a train once hit. The burger made GQ's must-eat list. The patio might be the best in Washtenaw County.
The Fleetwood Diner Is Not Nostalgic. It's Just Still Here.
Seventy-seven years of hash browns, feta, and the flattop grill at 300 South Ashley.
The Fleetwood Diner has been open 24 hours at 300 S Ashley St since 1949. The Hippie Hash made it famous. The consistency kept it standing.