Clover Eats!
Sharing restaurant experiences through photography!
CloverRevisits: pho ramen at Ann Arbor’s Tomukun!
This is the second part of this post, where I tested out my new Canon 50mm f/1.8 at my favorite local noodle bar, Tomukun! There’s a lot of silly shots here, but I couldn’t help it – this new lens is amazing! I can’t believe I waited so long to get a prime lens.
Pho Ramen doesn’t have the same toppings or sauces as Pho Basic, but I think the meat in it is a lot tastier (though fattier). It’s overall more flavorful, but not as subtle or delicate. The side of vinegar that I always ask for gets kind of washed out in this richer broth/noodle combination, but it’s still delicious.
Check out Tomukun on Yelp or their official website!
CloverRevisits: soul-warming pho at Ann Arbor’s Tomukun!
Despite an unimpressive first visit, Tomukun has really grown on me. I love, love, love their pork bun appetizer (pictured above), and once I realized they had pho on their menu, I got hooked. It’s literally three blocks from Fred’s place, and somehow has become our go-to spot for noodles and don katsu. I decided to do two revisit posts with my new 50mm f/1.8, one featuring the original pho bowl, and one featuring the pho ramen; I alternate between the two and have lost count of how many times I’ve been here in the last few months.
Tomukun also has a great late night option, where flavored soju and sake are on sale! Fred likes the nigori sake, but I really go for the yogurt-flavored soju. Yum!
Check them out on Yelp or their official website!
CloverEats: authentic pho at Ypsilanti’s Dalat!
On a rainy afternoon, I was really craving pho, really missing Chicago’s Argyle neighborhood’s little pho restaurants. I looked up Dalat on Yelp, which recommends it as one of the best authentic Vietnamese restaurants in the Ann Arbor/Ypsi area. The restaurant was very quiet, and there was only one other table of customers besides us.
The pho here definitely beat Tomukun’s version: the broth was much more flavorful, less salty, and the slices of beef were tender and delicious. There were many specific types of pho as well, with customizable meats and additions! It was about a twenty minute drive for us though, and I’m not sure Dalat is so much better that I’d be willing to drive so far each time I got hit by a pho craving.
We got a delicious dessert, “che 3 mau,” with red bean, jellies, tapioca, coconut milk, and rice. Yum! Check out Dalat on Yelp or at their official website!
Restaurant week: Vinology!
It being Restaurant Week, me and Fred couldn’t pass up the chance for another dinner with Caroline and Johannes! The first time I went to Vinology, everything was great, and the second time, things were still pretty good, so we decided to go there again! I remember spending more than $80 for just the two of us, so getting the three-course $25/person dinner was a great deal!
We started off by splitting a carafe of Weingut Eduard Kroth Kabinett Riesling from Mosel, Germany, which was light, sweet, and refreshing. Johannes mentioned that Rieslings from Mosel are some of the best – from this particular sampling, it seems to be true; this was the best Riesling I’ve ever had! Next time, I want to try the Andrieux et Fils Cotes du Rhone Blanc Viognier, from Rhone Valley, France, which Johannes also recommended. Caroline got a glass of the Moscato for dessert, and it was bubbly and delicious.
For appetizers, we all went with the Prosciutto and Parmesan Dumplings (sweet peas, aged gouda cream, wilted romaine), except for Fred, who chose the Carrot-Ginger Soup. The dumplings were tasty, but the soup was amazing! It was sweet, tasting almost like a yam soup rather than carrot or ginger, and was really unique. I hope Vinology adds this soup to their regular menu!
I got the veal (fennel sausage, balsamic roasted potatoes, tomato confit, mozzarella, asparagus) for my entree, and found it a little tough. The chef came by and noticed that I hadn’t eaten all of it, and generously insisted on bringing me another dish. This time, he cut it up for me, and I’m not sure what he changed, but it was much more tender! He came by a few more times to make sure everything was to our liking, and answered all our questions!
For dessert, I was really interested in the Winter Creamsicle (buffalo milk mozzarella ice cream!!, persimmon sorbet, olive oil cake, and gorp), but accidentally ended up ordering the Mexican Chocolate Pave (spiced chocolate mousse terrine, toasted guajilo chile pepper marshmallow). Fred and Caroline got the Bougatsa (vanilla farina custard, crisp phyllo dough, coffee pot de creme, metaxa caramel), which was sweet and delicious. I love the unique assortment of desserts and exotic ingredients, as well as the unexpected combinations of flavors.
I love my new Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens, but it’s a bit too zoomed in to take clear shots of food. I apologize if some of the pictures are really noisy or blurry!
Check out Vinology’s Restaurant Week Menu here, and past visit #1, #2.
Restaurant Week: The Black Pearl
Fred took me to The Black Pearl once for drinks and chocolate mousse, which were both delicious. I loved the wooden fans that hovered over the bar, and how the front opens on warm summer days, but we never got the chance to have a full meal there. With Restaurant Week kicking in, we took the opportunity to try it out for real this time. We made reservations for dinner at 6PM, ordering off of the Restaurant Week special $25 flat rate menu. (Do you guys have any recommendations for Restaurant Week-participating restaurants to try?)
Maybe it’s because we sat tucked into a corner, but we got completely overlooked by the wait staff for the first 30 minutes. We had to go up to the maitre d’ (who, to her credit, apologized profusely). I got the salad, ribs, and brownie combo, and Fred ended up ordering a hamburger off the regular menu. Our “grapefruitini” and chocolate/vanilla/coffee brownie dessert were both good! The actual entrees were of nice quality but not particularly delicious, though to be fair, we completely bypassed the seafood in a self-defined “Seafood and Martini Bar.”
Check out The Black Pearl on Yelp or their official website.
CloverAges: Ann Arbor’s Chop House!
This post is several months late, but somehow it got buried under a bunch of other drafts. Here’s a quick breakdown of the premise: several Main St. restaurants have awesome birthday deals, and among them is The Chop House, which will pretty much adjust discounts so that the birthday person gets a free meal (50% off for two, 33% off for three, etc). There’s actually a ton of things that Ann Arbor offers when your time of year comes around; you can check them out here.
Our appetizers, tomato soup and mac and cheese, were delicious! We both got steaks for dinner, Fred getting what our waiter described as a 10+ marbling ratio Kobe beef steak. Everything was amazing, and the service was superb. I can’t believe we got a 50% discount at such a nice restaurant! Unfortunately, I was sick with the flu, so we called it an early night and skipped dessert. I definitely want to go again sometime!
Check out The Chop House on Yelp or its official website!
CloverDances: salsa night at Ann Arbor’s Cafe Habana!
I love the lights here.
On Thursday nights, Cafe Habana hosts a weekly salsa class! We finally went to go check it out after hearing lots of good things about it. I really liked the decorations at the restaurant – everything from the chandeliers to the arches to the paintings.
Sangria!
It turns out that not only is there salsa downstairs in the dance room, but there are deals on both the sangria and mojitos! They have a full bar with appetizers in the club 21+ area, and also a full menu upstairs. We also lucked out in choosing a delicious warm goat cheese dip that was just amazing.
Amazing goat cheese.
Tacos.
I think Cafe Habana loses a lot of love on Yelp because they’re not very Cuban, despite advertising themselves as so. Fred’s tacos were okay, as were the sangria and mojitos, but the dance atmosphere was fresh and the salsa class was fun! Check out Cafe Habana on Yelp or at their official website!
Ann Arbor’s annual Restaurant Week!
It’s finally here! Ann Arbor restaurants get together once a year to offer awesome deals. This year, it’s January 15-20. Here’s the list of participating restaurants, so let me know if you guys have any recommendations!
A new year, a new look!
Before:
I love the theme Choco, which I used all year, but it just wasn’t wide enough to display my photos. I’ve switched to Mystique’s single column theme for now, so the photos have more space. Let me know if I should switch back, or if there are other wide themes that you guys like!
CloverCelebrates: New Year’s at Chicago’s Wildberry
After an awesome night out on the town, we all woke up starving. I had never been to Wildberry at the Prudential Building, though I’ve passed by it several times before. I now know that I’ve been missing out on delicious brunch this whole time I’ve lived in Chicagoland!
Unfortunately, since it was brunch on New Year’s, we had to wait over an hour before our party of ten got seated. However, as soon as our drink, the Wildberry Orange Juice, came, I knew everything would be worth the wait! The fresh squeezed house juice had not only orange, but also hints of strawberry and grapefruit. It was delicious!
I always like to start off brunch with something savory, here, we got the Los Altos Benedict, which was spicy with chipotle hollandaise, red peppers, and chorizo. It was the most unique eggs benedict I’ve ever had, and was delicious. Even the ketchup for the hash browns tasted more flavorful than other restaurants’.
We also got lots of sweet dishes! Since the restaurant is named Wildberry, we went for berry-based pancakes and crepes, although there was a very tempting Red Velvet Pancake. Everything was delicious, and we left stuffed. Though initially slow, Wildberry’s waiters were very nice, splitting the bill into ten separate individual checks. I think this might even top Walker Brothers as my new favorite brunch location. What a great way to start off the new year! Check out Wildberry on Yelp or their official website!
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