Cuban Street Food in Ann Arbor

The home of Cuban-inspired deliciousness

When I visit Ann Arbor, I always struggle when deciding where to eat. The city has so many excellent restaurants. I can go with the safe choice of one of my old favorites from my college days, or I can take the risk of trying something new. This past week, I ventured into Frita Batidos for the first time with some friends and my family.

The restaurant serves "Cuban Inspired Street Food," including its mainstays, fritas (Cuban-style burgers) and batidos (Cuban milkshakes). Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis at several long picnic tables or barstools at counters along the wall. Although the restaurant may have a minimalist interior, diners should not fret, because Frita Batidos saves the extravagant details for the food.

I ordered a beef frita with muenster cheese, avocado spread, and sweet chili mayo. My wife ordered the fish frita with avocado spread and cilantro-lime salsa, and we got a mini black bean frita and a grilled cheese frita for our girls and the twice-fried plantains for an appetizer (The restaurant also serves chorizo and chicken fritas). We had to try to the other half of the restaurant's name, so I ordered a lime batido, and my wife ordered the coconut cream batido.

The beef frita

Despite being covered in fries, the fritas were not as greasy as I thought they would be. The burger meat was tender and tasty, and the fries were delicious. The burger was not huge either, so I would recommend a double burger to anyone who is really hungry. My wife described the fish frita as a perfectly browned patty of tasty flavors. The black bean frita was good but a little too spicy for my daughters.

The batidos were amazing. The first sip of my lime shake shook my taste buds. The shake was very sour for a milkshake, but not too sour to be unpleasant. My wife's coconut batido was full of chunks of coconut. The smooth taste of coconut soothed the taste buds, instead of assaulting them like the lime batido. 

The lime batido

In the end, I was happy we ventured outside of our favorite restaurants when choosing Frita Batidos for lunch. Deciding where to eat will be more difficult on our next visit to Ann Arbor because we now have another "old" favorite on our restaurant list.

Frita Batidos is located at 117 W. Washington Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48104. Telephone: (734) 761-2882. Website: www.fritabatidos.com.

Seeing the Michigan Union for the First Time

My daughter looking out at the world

I lived in Ann Arbor during my undergraduate years in the mid-1990s. I spent many hours studying and socializing in the Michigan Union during that time, but a recent visit to Ann Arbor with my two-year-old daughter introduced me to a Union that I had never experienced before.

While my wife, oldest daughter, and our friends were listening to a Martin Luther King Day lecture that my two-year-old could not sit still through, I explored every floor of the Union with my tiny travel companion. As she looked out the Union's windows for the first time, I noticed for the first time the number and variety of window panes throughout the Union and the unique views of Ann Arbor that they provided.

State Street and the University of Michigan Museum of Art

The University of Michigan Museum of Art

Colored panes distorting the view of State Street

Angell Hall

Looking out and in

Multicolored panes distorting a view

A tour group by the Cube

Three windows. Many panes.

Opaque glass looks like ice

The Law Quad

A courtyard

Filling Up at the Michigan Beer Growler Company

A growler to keep you warm in the winter.

I love craft beer, but I have a confession to make: I had never bought a growler of beer until my recent visit to the Michigan Beer Growler Company ("MBGCo"). MBGCo opened this past fall on the corner of 13 Mile and Southfield Road in Beverly Hills, bringing Oakland County one of its first growler filling stations.

Growlers are 64 oz. jugs that breweries fill directly from their tap, seal, and then sell to costumers to take home. Until recent changes in Michigan law, beer drinkers who wanted to purchase a growler (or the smaller 32 oz. howler) of their favorite beer could only do so at the brewery that produces the beer.

A great selection of craft beers awaits at MBGCo

MBGCo has taken advantage of more liberal growler laws by providing twenty-six craft beers (most of which are Michigan brews), two hard ciders, and two pops on tap. Its customers can take brews home in growlers or howlers or drink pints or flights of multiple 4 oz. beers on site.

Fathers, Sons, And College Football

The view from my dad's seats

NFL insiders cannot believe that Jim Harbaugh would want to take a "step down" to coach college football at the University of Michigan. Their myopic view ignores the passion of college football fans and the personal investment many of us have in our state universities.

My dad died in October, and sports are not the same without being able to share the elation of every victory and the pain of every defeat with him. My dad followed all of Detroit's professional sports teams, but he followed only one team with an almost religious devotion. Sundays were God's day, but fall Saturdays belonged to the University of Michigan football team.

My dad went to U of M in the late 50s when Michigan football was pretty much as mediocre as it has been the last few years. Everything changed in 1969 when a young coach named Bo Schembechler took over as Michigan football's head coach. Although most fans did not know how to pronounce "Schembechler" when he was first hired, his teams did what no one else did to Woody Hayes's Ohio State teams--took a punch and punched them right back in the mouth. My dad saw the fight in Bo's teams and was hooked. He bought season tickets in the early 1970s and kept them until he died.

For about 40 years, he had the same seats in section 8. From the first time my parents carried me into the stadium as an infant, I have been lucky to attend many classic games at Michigan Stadium over the last few decades. Except for the years I was a student at Michigan, I watched most of the games from those seats.

Poutine in Corktown

Corktown's Brooklyn Street Local

When the Detroit Tigers moved from their ancient home in Detroit's Corktown neighborhood to Comerica Park, Corktown's future was uncertain. Would the businesses that thrived off the traffic from Tiger Stadium shutter their doors? Would anyone want to move a business into a neighborhood that lost its cash cow? Luckily for Detroiters, businesses did move in. Fifteen years after Tiger Stadium closed its gates, the neighborhood is a foodie destination.

Brooklyn Street Local is one of many restaurants to open up in the last few years. The restaurant uses locally sourced and organic ingredients and carries a wide variety of breakfast dishes and sandwiches, including several vegetarian and vegan options.

The Works burger. Definitely not vegan.

I ordered "The Works," a burger with bacon, cheddar cheese, a fried egg, lettuce, onions, and tomatoes. My wife ordered the spicy tofu sandwich (fried tofu, sweet and spicy sauce, kale, and pickled cabbage). We also ordered a spinach and feta omelette for our daughters to share. Our main courses were good, but our poutine appetizer made the meal memorable.

Spicy Tofu Sandwich

Even though the French-Canadian dish has taken over the Metro Detroit restaurant scene, I had not tried poutine until my visit to Brooklyn Street Local. The traditional French-Canadian dish consists of french fries, gravy, and cheese curds. I do not know what the English translation of "poutine" is, but my guess is "sublime artery clogger."

Brooklyn Street Local's poutine

Brooklyn Street Local serves a traditional poutine with a choice of mushroom or beef gravy, and they also have vegan and breakfast poutines. Since my wife does not eat meat, we went with the traditional with mushroom gravy. Since I have not had poutine before, I cannot compare Brooklyn Street Local's to other poutines, but I can say it was a great introduction to the world of poutine. With the first bite, I knew that I had found the perfect combination of salty, cheesy, and fried goodness.

My eyes have been opened to the world of poutine. Thank you, Brooklyn Street Local.

Brooklyn Street Local is located at 1266 Michigan Avenue, Detroit, MI 48226. It is open Tuesday-Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. It is closed on Mondays.