Pilgrimage, Day One

Some people might consider it a bit extreme to take a five hour road trip to eat some tomatoes, but those people are obviously unaware of the wonder that is Zingerman's. The five-building retail empire, scattered around Ann Arbor, Michigan, regularly hosts a number of events and classes, and boasts a frantic self-guided tour wherein you can get a free t-shirt if you visit all five locations in one twenty-four hour period.

And who doesn't like free t-shirts?

So when we heard they were throwing an end of summer tomato and mozzarella bash on a Saturday evening, we had to go for it. We piled into the car at 8:00 on Saturday morning, our GPS throwing out precise directions and sarcastic barbs as we headed northeast. I took a picture of the GPS unit, but all GPS units kind of look the same, so just imagine taking orders from this guy:

(The car. Not the goofball showing you his thumb.)

We arrived at our first stop - Zingerman's Roadhouse - just in time for lunch.

The lighting's a little weird here, but you can kind of tell the aesthetic of the place. Dilapidated class with bricks on the floors, siding on the walls, big fans on the patio, and a huge barbecue pit out back.

Matt had the corned beef hash. Personally, I couldn't decide between the Roadhouse Reuben with thin sliced smoked ham and hot vinegar slaw, or the warm spinach and mushroom salad with roasted tomatoes in a brown butter vinaigrette with farmhouse cheddar.

So I got both.

It was pretty good.

We had a couple of hours to kill before we could check in to our hotel, so we decided to visit three of the other locations for some dessert. KITT got a little turned around while leaving the parking lot, and threw a bit of a tantrum. Amongst the petulant protesting: "If you aren't going to listen to me, just turn me off."

Tempting, but we also had no idea where we were going, aside from some directions printed off Google Maps, so we let him escort us to our next destination. Eventually.

The bakeshop, coffee brewery, and creamery were all located in a sort of concrete bunker style office park. Which was a bit surprising, but I guess you take space where you can get it. It certainly didn't effect the quality of the food.

Cafe Cubano and Cappuccino from the coffee brewery

Ginger Gelato from the creamery

(Bean roaster and a huge garbage can full of espresso beans at the brewery!!)

Only picked up a bottle of lemon oil from the bakeshop for the time being, but MAN did it smell delicious around there. We hung out in the courtyard between the creamery and the bakeshop for a while (the weather was spectacular), before finally giving in and tracked down our hotel.

We scarcely had an hour to rest before heading out to the big party. But while we were stretched out on the bed I couldn't help noticing that something seemed different from the Red Roof Inns in my memory. They didn't always have huge flat screen TVs and granite countertops, did they? What about those fancy sinks that look like someone's just placed a bowl on top of the vanity? Designer panel styled curtains?

...No?

Well, anyway. We freshened up and headed to the party, which I wrote about a few days ago (click here for details, if you missed it). We finished up the night reading new food porn in bed before falling asleep at the incredibly late hour of 9:30.

Food Porn.

Seriously.

The next day would hopefully bring a yummy breakfast and a visit to the last location on our itinerary - The Delicatessen.

...But would the Deli be open on a Sunday Ann Arbor morning?