zing!

I've been a fan of Zingerman's since 1989, when I walked into their deli and saw an entire wall of olive oil. That image had stayed with me nearly 20 years. The funny thing is I've never gone back to the deli. My relationship with them has mostly been via mail order, though when I finally went back to Ann Arbor last year I was close enough to the Roadhouse to grab lunch there one day. Their mail order business makes Christmas shopping so easy. 

A return visit to the Roadhouse was what I was most looking forward to on my latest trip to Ann Arbor, and it did not disappoint. Knowing how busy it can be, and expecting it to be insane on a Saturday night, I used OpenTable to make my reservation. (If you aren't using OpenTable, go check it out! It's free, easy, and entirely worthwhile.)

Dinner turned out great. My companion was the judge for the agility trial. Our trial chair wasn't feeling well so I hunted down some meds for her and sent her to the hotel. (She was lucky....not staying at mine!) I have no trouble talking dogs for a couple of hours and I thought he would like the Roadhouse. I was right! My bacon and blue burger was just this side of raw but very tasty. And the sweet potato fries live up to their billing. The best find was the wine. I was thrilled to find a red from L'Ecole No. 41 by the glass. "Recess Red" might have to replace Big House Red in my life. L'Ecole was my favorite winery when I lived in Walla Walla but it's not a big or widely-known winery so I love finding it.

The very sweet waitress gave me coupons for free doughnuts at the Roadshow tomorrow morning. The Roadshow is an Airstream in the parking lot that functions as a drive-thru. Irresistible.