Mandy Kay, Marketing Consultant and Blogger
Mandy, what’s your favorite dish to cook?
You might as well ask “what’s your favorite room to vacuum?” I don’t like to cook. And if I do cook, it’s usually as a means to an end – like to keep my child from eating cheez-its for dinner, or to offer something besides chips and salsa to friends who come over at mealtime.
It’s Friday night and you’re exhausted – what do you do for dinner?
Order carry out from Mis Saigon – I love the pho ga (chicken soup), and my kid loves the garlic shrimp. Or, if we’re REALLY wiped out, pizza delivered from Marco’s.
Now it’s Saturday night and you’re ready to go out and have a great time – what do you do?
Actually, more often than not, I’ve got a crowd of friends at my house. Usually involves discoveries from the morning’s Farmers' Market, some recipe that I’ve minorly botched (see answer to questions #1), and lots of wine (shout out to Everyday Wines) to disguise the culinary inadequacies. Other nights, however, might find me hopping around downtown – dinner at The Earle, dessert at Sweetwaters, then settling in at Old Town.
What’s your favorite restaurant (besides Zingerman’s!) to take out-of-town guests?
If I’m planning ahead and get reservations, West End Grill or Eve. Both restaurants are comparable to top-name bistros in cities like Chicago or New York – we’re lucky to have them so close to home. If I haven’t planned, The Earle – it's reliably excellent, we never have trouble getting a table, and I love that it’s sort of a secret, Ann Arbor, place.
What do you love about Ann Arbor?
Some people are going to answer this question with a big picture approach, so I’ll go micro – I love Top of the Park. I find that I don’t see familiar faces down on Main Street on weekend nights the way I once did. Chalk it up to the Ann Arbor equivalent of the “bridge & tunnel” phenomenon, I guess. But at Top of the Park, I feel like I know EVERYONE, even if I don’t!
I’ve been a regular at TOP since it’s inception. Friends worked the alcohol concession, so we’d get bottles of white zinfandel (ack!) at the employee discount ($6!), people watch and socialize until dark, then settle back for the movie (those were the days where there was a movie almost every night). Top of the Park is the epitome of everything I love about living in Ann Arbor – a mix of laid-back, interesting people, great music, entertainment, and food.
Last question – if you were to write a Blues song about living in Ann Arbor, what would the title be?
“My American Express is Older Than She Is, But the Hostess at La Dolce Vita Won’t Give Me No Respect”
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