Ann Arbor, She May Not Be a Wh@?e

Back in my college days at The Ohio State University, (yes we do say Thee), there was a tee shirt taunting Michigan fans with the phrase “Ann Arbor, she’s a wh@?e.” Every time I think of Ann Arbor that tee shirt comes to mind. On the way back from Leland, MI to Columbus, I wanted to stop off in Ann Arbor see if the rumors are true. I was pleasantly surprised to find a good sized downtown complete with interesting shops and good restaurants. After a brief survey, Gail and I decided to do a bit of a brewpub crawl as there were several spots featuring on site brewing.

The first place we stopped was Arbor Brewing. I had a Hefe and pretzel bites with beer cheese sauce. Both were very tasty. The overall beer selection was very good. Choices ranged from light blonde ales up to a red imperial. The vanilla porter Gail selected was also a very good example of the style.

The second place we went to was The Blue Tractor, a BBQ themed restaurant. I say it was a BBQ themed restaurant versus a BBQ joint because the BBQ was sub-par. I ordered a brisket sandwich, as brisket on its own was not available. The brisket was dry, lacked a smoke ring and little in any smoke flavor. I should have realized it was just a theme restaurant since all the servers were dressed in flannel shirts with 80-degree weather outside. The Blue Tractor failed the BBQ test but did have a very good house brewed Cream Ale, very refreshing with the warm temperatures. Go for the beer, but not the BBQ is the final assessment.

Spot number three was Grizzly Peak. I had the red ale and it was adequate but not outstanding. While sipping my beer I noticed a North Peak Brewing 6 pack in the cooler. I had just found North Peak while in Leland, as it is a locally brewed beer. After quizzing the bartender, we found out that the Grizzly Peak, North Peak and the Blue Tractor shared ownership. In fact, the same people also owned two other brewpubs in town. I did recognize that several brewpubs had very similar menus, albeit sumptuous. After our visit, it is fair to say, Ann Arbor is not a wh@?e but that team up north can still “Suck It.”