2-Bit Review: Cafe Habana

One or two visits. A few hundred words. Sometimes that’s all it takes.

If you’re looking for heart disease on a plate (and I say that with love), you’ll find it with the Huevos Habana breakfast entrée (above) at the newly opened Café Habana on Washington. Since they're open early for breakfast, I stopped in one Saturday on my way to the Market and ordered their version of Eggs Benedict with a Cuban twist –pulled pork over arepas (corn fritters), with two eggs and roasted poblano hollandaise. I am not a big Benedict fan, but this dish reminded me of a fantastic Creole version I once enjoyed in the French Quarter of New Orleans. The spice in the pulled pork and the poblano Hollandaise were right up my alley.

A few days later during a lunch outing, my friend ordered the Baja Burrito(above left) stuffed with lots of fresh tasting shrimp and mahi mahi, corn relish, and topped with a zesty green salsa. My Ropa Vieja was essentially shredded latin pot roast in a tomato-based sauce over rice – great comfort food, with plenty of leftovers for the next day. To close the meal, we ordered Coconut Turnovers for dessert. A little dry, even doused with the chocolate sauce. “Do you think they taste like an Almond Joy candy bar?” our waitress asked. Um, yeah, kind of. Actually, more like over-toasted coconut pop tarts. But points for being unique.

And tonight I ate at the bar. The restaurant was almost full, about two thirds of the guests were ladies. “Women like mojitos,” speculated the gentleman sitting next to me at the bar. Encouraged, I decided to try a Lava Mojito – the traditional Cuban drink jazzed up with mango and pomegranate (left). Then I moved on to a Caipirinha. Jim, the bartender, makes it with simple syrup infused with mint – tasty, but not really caipirinha-ish to me.

For dinner, I started with the baked goat cheese. A good app to share, and with the tomato sauce and pepitas on top it had a nice zip. But it was under the broiler too long. Better if the goat cheese still had a little structure, not quite so melted. Then came my entrée, the Churasco Chimichurri.What a great dish! “That’s my favorite,” commented Jim. The hanger steak was medium rare as ordered, and surprisingly tender. Marinated extra long, perhaps? Topped with tart, parsley-heavy chimi and served with rice and sautéed spinach, it was yummy. And at $14, a reasonable price.There’s a lot of overlap between the lunch and dinner menus at Cafe Habana. Down the road the restaurant will need to come up with some daily, unique specials to keep repeat customers intrigued (lest they fall into the food fatigue I always seem to experience at Prickly Pear). But with great breakfasts and dinner entrées averaging $14, and lunches around $9 or less, Café Habana slots into an economical niche in the downtown restaurant scene. And in a very stylish atmosphere, too.

A2 Questionnaire: Tommy York

(Same 6 Questions, Different Victim)

Tommy York, Owner/Partner, Morgan & York


Tommy, what's your favorite dish to cook?
I love to braise / roast fatty meats this time of year. So things like osso buco, ox tail stew and even chilli are hitting the spot. It has been so warm we are still eating chef salads for dinner!

It's Friday night and you're exhausted – what do you do for dinner?
We don't carry out that often but if we need carry out food we'll get sushi from Miki, pizza from Anthony's or burgers from Blimpy. Julie and I usually plan ahead so that we can have something made ahead like soup or a crock pot meal. We prefer to cook if we can. Sometimes cooking aftrer a long week can bring me back to the land of the living.

It's Saturday night and you're ready to go out and have a great time – what do you do?
Hanging out with friends is the most satisfying. We are so busy with the boys that going out for a drink and some appetizers will do the trick.

What's your favorite restaurant to take out-of-town guests?
I have three that I think are great Amadeus, Eve and Logan.

What do you love about Ann Arbor that you think is unique among other cities?
There are many things - Top of the Park, shopping cart races, Ann Arbor Velo Club, The Ark, UMS, the Peony Garden, sledding at Vets and on it goes...In summation I love that often more than half of the Observer is dedicated to what is happening in town!

Last question. If you were to write a Blues song about living in Ann Arbor, what would the title be?
"I Used To Have a Unique Town and Now All I Have Is This Stupid Wal-Mart T-shirt"

Five Fav Lunches

Five lunch entrees that are reliably tasty and economical.

Word Play Challenge (WPC): Guess the celebrity, public, or historic figure using the entrée name in a sentence – answers at the end of the post!

The nice thing about ordering a cheeseburger at Old Town is that if you order it medium rare, it comes to you medium rare. The melted Swiss and sautéed mushrooms add to the gooey, gut-busting pleasure, and the crunchy, steak-cut fries are icing on the cake.
“My dear Lizzy,” cried Mrs. Bennett, “I feel quite certain that Wickham would never have taken Lydia to an establishment such as the Old Town, much less required her to partake of a cheeseburger with grilled mushrooms.”

“When you took the picture of your salad,” my friend said laughing, “you should have SEEN the expression on the face of the lady sitting next to us! You'd have thought you were taking a picture of a pile of s---!” Ah, the hazards of blogging, though why a fellow diner would give a s--- whether I take a photo of my food, I don’t know. Regardless, Café Zola’s salad sampler serves up a perfect little plate of chicken, egg, tuna, and lettuce salads. I don’t even LIKE egg salad normally, but Zola’s is fantastic.
“I'm the decider, and I decide what is best. And what's best is the Salad Sampler. Because there are samples. And it’s salad.”

I’m starting to feel like broken record singing the praises of Vinology. With their sandwich and salad/soup combo, you can choose from any of their lovely sandwiches – I like the chicken salad or the shrimp po boy – and have a salad, or one of the day’s selection of soups. And it comes with a pile of perfectly crisp shoestring fries. At only $8, it’s the best lunch deal on Main Street in a crisp, contemporary atmosphere.
“I have no plans to be a candidate for president again, I don't expect to ever be a candidate for president again. But I will tell you that I plan to have the soup and salad combo at Vinology for lunch today."

I imagine the owners of Makkara generate most of their income providing sushi in little carry-out boxes to groceries like Busch’s. But their storefront on Packard next to Fantasy Attic is an easy stop when you’re on the east side of town. I always order a spicy tuna roll, which the staff serve quickly with a smile. And their drink cooler is the coldest in Ann Arbor – my bottle of Diet Coke is always just short of frozen. Looove that.
“Being in jail was like being in a cage, but that nice sheriff did let me send out for a spicy tuna roll.”

In college I worked in a sandwich shop owned by a Korean family, and became addicted to BiBimBop. Bell's Diner, over on West Stadium, serves up a satisfying bowl of the stuff in an old fashioned diner where you might expect Andy and Barney to walk through the door any minute. And I’ve found it’s a great antidote for what ails ya the day after a night of overindulgence. Beef, egg over easy, and don’t forget the hot sauce.
“The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains, and everything to gain including BiBimBop. Workingmen of all countries, unite!”

WPC Anwers: 1) Jane Austen 2) George W. Bush 3) Al Gore 4) Paris Hilton 5) Karl Marx

Habitat for Humanity

After doing relief work in Louisiana post-Katrina, I returned home with a vow to make more time for similarly meaningful work in my own back yard. This summer was my second volunteering for the “Good News House” project of Huron Valley Habitat for Humanity.

“What church to you go to?” asked Donna, Good News House webmaster. “Oh, I don’t attend,” I told her. “I guess you could say I’m the token pagan.” “You’d be surprised,” she responded, “I think we have quite a few of those here.”

The Good News House is sponsored by a coalition of churches in Washtenaw County, primarily Methodists. This year’s project house is located on Harvest Lane in Ypsilanti, and Diana Valencia and her three children are the partner family. With the economic situation in Michigan, you would think that Habitat has families lined up around the block. However, I learned at a steering committee meeting that there’s a difference between applying for a Habitat house, and successfully becoming a partner family. One of the biggest obstacles is debt – in order to qualify for a house, a family must be debt free.

“Many of the families have so much credit card debt,” a board member explained. “And student loans that haven’t actually been used for college. That’s a huge debt problem for many.” Habitat can’t assign a build to someone who hasn’t learned to manage their money well enough to have a reasonable chance of keeping the house. Some Habitat organizations partner with local financial institutions to offer programs to help applicants organize their finances.

Last year I was on the paint crew, and this year in addition to that job I signed up to be a “short notice” volunteer. Starting in June, projects at the Good News House are staffed Thursday, Friday, and Saturday by volunteers from each participating church, and sometimes from local businesses. Monday through Wednesdays are usually for the skilled trades, but often there’s work for volunteers, too – that’s when the short-notice crew is contacted.

Bob Whitacre is the man who puts out the call via email to the short-notice team. A retired school administrator, Bob is the “house leader” or project manager and this is his eighth Habitat house. He is totally organized, but most importantly he’s PATIENT – probably the most important trait for anyone managing so many volunteers. Working year-round on planning, starting in May Bob routinely puts in many twelve-hour days. “Someone should nominate Bob for the Ann Arbor News Citizen of the Year,” a fellow volunteer pointed out to me.

Diana closed on the house on Harvest Lane on October 11, and her family is in the process of moving. Many good wishes to them, and hoping that they're another Habitat for Humanity success story!

High Profile Dining in Vegas

(In a previous post, I pointed out the similarities between Ann Arbor and Las Vegas. Continuing in that vein, Vegas – like our own fair city– is also very serious about fine dining...)

A dozen years ago or so, Las Vegas hotel casinos like New York New York and Treasure Island–with their roller coaster rides and "arrggh matey" themes–took a stab at appealing to a more wholesome revenue stream. But in the past couple years, the Strip has essentially abandoned any pretense of "family friendly."

Now the angle is all about conspicuous consumption. Ferragamo at The Forum Shops. $500 spa treatments at the Bellagio. And the restaurants of internationally known signature chefs at The Wynn.

I can't afford the ankle-strap pumps, and a $150 massage is extravagant even for me. So in the spirit of investigative blogging, I did a little restaurant hopping. After all, a girl's gotta eat.

The MGM Grand is home to two restaurants by Joel Robuchon, one of those intimidatingly fantastic French chefs one reads about in Saveur. We dined in L'atelier de Robuchon, essentially the bar/low rent district of his signature restaurant next door. And by low rent, I mean it cost almost $80 each for one "small plate" (smaller than appetizer) and drinks. Yikes!

Our waiter at L'atelier, Namid, was very patient in a guide-the-Clampetts-
through-the-intricacies-of-nouvelle-cuisine sort of way. I ordered the chestnut veloute with caramelized foie gras and crispy bacon. And, my god, it was good! The foie gras was earthy and smooth on the tongue, and the chestnut veloute - the foamy stuff - had a complementary, nutty sweetness.I asked Namid how often Chef Robuchon visits the Las Vegas restaurants, since this is an issue of some contention in the food world. (Steve Wynn has made a marketing angle of the fact that the celebrity chefs at his restaurants are required to live in town.) Robuchon visits about once every two months. "Does Chef create new dishes in collaboration with the Las Vegas staff, or is he more 'professorial' when he comes into town?" I asked. "Oh, definitely more professorial," Namid responded.

We adjourned to Wolfgang Puck's restaurant for dessert. A much more rambunctious atmosphere welcomed us there, and we enjoyed after-dinner drinks and a lovely chocolate souffle topped off with a warm cream sauce. Tres jolie!

Connie had exhorted me via email to dine at Sensi in the Bellagio, and so I stopped in one night for dinner at the restaurant's bar. You can bump into some interesting (in a good way) folks at the bar of a posh restaurant, particularly in a tourist town like Vegas. And you often experience that "six-degrees-of-separation" thing. Chrys and Jim were enjoying a pre-Cirque de Soleil dinner, and it turns out that Jim and I had a connection through my former employer.
I had the Tuna 3 Ways appetizer, which included hamachi with a cool, coconut sauce that was just lovely. And then, based on the bartender's recommendation, I ordered the braised short rib as my entree. "Slow cooked for over 24 hours," John explained in a charming, low voice as if he were admiring the scent of my cologne, rather than describing a tarted-up pot roast. But it was melt-in-your-mouth good, though I probably left two thirds on my plate (a drawback to dining alone - no one with whom to share). And there was that foamy stuff again, which I really didn't feel added much to the party. Must be a chef thing.
Finally, while Las Vegas hotel casinos are home to some of the most exciting (and expensive) dining in the country, the ubiquitous buffet is still a staple in a town that welcomes over 30 million visitors each year (seemingly half of whom zip around on motorized wheelchairs). And normally I would never recommend a buffet, but Gardunos Mexican Cafe in the Palms is an exception. I met friends there for Sunday brunch, which included made-to-order fajitas, enchiladas, cocktail shrimp, fresh guacamole and salsa, and bottomless margaritas. But best of all, Gardunos offers poolside tables - much more pleasant than the typical view of slot machines and gift shops.

Ann Arbor. Las Vegas. Not So Different.

The Brou is on location this week in Las Vegas. And really, things here are not so different from Ann Arbor. For instance, their main drag and our Main Street....
Shoe shopping is diverting in both towns...













Boating....Controversial figurative sculpture....












Pleasing fountains...The beauty of Mother Nature in the Fall...













...and, most importantly, friendly bartenders. (John at Sensi in Bellagio, and Rafe at Old Town on Liberty.)

Storm Water Assessment

I discovered recently that my friend Todd participated on the Storm Water Citizen Advisory Task Force (SCATF), comprised of 22 people selected from a cross section of residents, business people, and local activists. Over the course of eight months, the committee assembled a new rate plan and adjusted how property owners will be assessed for storm water services. Intrigued by this possible insight into the inner workings of City Hall, I quizzed my friend...

Todd, why did the storm water assessment structure need to change?
There were legal concerns with the current system, and there were concerns with the system being equitable to the users.
(See City Press Release)

How did homeowners in Ann Arbor pay/deal with storm water before?
$20+ dollars a quarter on their water and sewer bill.

How will this change?
There are now 4 tiers for homeowners based on impervious area (pavement and buildings). You can visit the city website for details. There is also an education component so that users can understand what happens to storm water and they can also learn how to apply for credits.

(The aerial photo below right shows an image of a chunk of West Liberty, captured from the online assessment tool on the website. The red slashed areas are considered “impervious.” For instance 1005 West Liberty, in the center, is measured at 2,509 square feet of impervious area. So that puts them in the tier of a $25.83 quarterly charge. If their impervious area were 2,186 or less, it would fall into the lowest tier at $17.46 per quarter. I spent a bit of time noodling with the online tool, and of the 7 or 8 houses I searched, only one property fell into this lower tier.)

How will condo owners be assessed?
There is a separate commercial rate based on impervious area. The commercial rate was also modified based on impervious area.

Under the old system, how much did the City take in for storm water per year, and how much do they expect to take in with this new structure?
$3.5 million per year. I think the total is intended to be the same with the new structure, but expect that to grow in the future.

What, exactly, does the storm water budget fund?
* Public education (website, mailings, etc)
* System Planning (key to establishing where to make improvement and repairs)
* Operation and Maintenance of the system
* Capital Improvement Projects (repairs, replacements, new projects)

Who was the funniest person on the committee?
Not a lot of humor.

Did you ever have a situation where tempers flared a bit or that you thought was particularly foolish?
Not really, but we did need to implement some speaking rules early on to help keep us on track.

Did you get snacks?
Coffee, juice, water, muffins, etc.

As I suspected, not a lot of whimsy going on in city government. And lame snacks. These ARE hard times.

A Balmy Night of Art

An unseasonabley warm October Friday night found me with friends at the Ann Arbor Art Center for the opening reception of the Annual All Media Exhibition. This art show was established in 1922, making this its 85th year. Can you believe that? Amazing.

Artists from all over the area submit works for this juried show, and “Filling Shoes” by my friend Libby earned a spot. I’ve been on a high heel kick lately (emboldened by increased balance from tango lessons, perhaps?), so the specimen depicted in her work spoke to me.“Casualties,” by Gloria Pritschet, was awarded Best in Show by Juror Michelle Perron. This large, printed piece hangs in the front window of the Art Center, and is comprised of a list of the casualties from the war in Iraq, with burn holes and scorches. The names are listed in a way that is evocative of the Vietnam and USS Arizona Memorials, and individual scorch marks are like punctuation points.

Leaving the Art Center, we strolled down the street to the Washington Street Gallery, which oddly is NOT on Washington Street. This cooperatively-run gallery was hosting the opening for an exhibition titled “The Secrets of Modern Art,” by artist Alvey Jones.
Jones assembles wonderful shadow boxes that have layers and layers of bits and pieces that reference art, history, and life. His pieces, like “To Hell with Metaphor. Let’s See a Literal Depiction of the History of Modern Art,” are whimsical without being twee. “This guy is the most prolific artist,” my friend Jill (an artist herself) told me. “I don’t know how he does it.”
It addition to Jones’ work, the gallery displays the pieces of several other artists, including “Diana at Bath” by Dee Ann Segula. While in Russia earlier this year, I learned to appreciate iconography with its ornate giltwork. And I saw some wonderful Modigliani nudes at the Pushkin Museum while I was there, too. This work seemed to me to combine a bit of both, with a dash of Rousseau thrown in for good measure. Tres charmant.

Friday evening was a lovely “appetizer” for the upcoming 8th Annual Ann Arbor Art Walk, October 19 and 20, when art studios and galleries all over town will be open for self-guided “art tours.”

For Sale: Great Harvest Bread Company

With all the agita in town over the closing of the Jefferson Market, the fact that Great Harvest Bread Company is up for sale may have slipped under the radar.

“After 15 years in business, a health issue is forcing Janene and Dan Centurione to sell,” is how the Ann Arbor News put it. Leave it to the S'News to under-report the story. “Janene, girl!” I exclaimed into the phone, “brace yourself – half of Ann Arbor is going to think you’re on death’s door.” The fact of the matter is that Janene has developed an asthma condition triggered by wheat flour dust (see bins right). A serious impediment for a baker, as you can imagine, but not life threatening.

With the Michigan economy in the toilet, and all the noise over on West Jefferson, you’d think now might be a bad time to sell a small business. But Janene is optimistic. Demand for whole-grain anything remains strong, customers are loyal, and her employees are stable. And she’s betting there are potential buyers in the area who are at the point in their lives when it’s time for a change. A Ford employee with a buyout, for instance, who isn’t ready to retire.

But the Centuriones have nurtured their bread store for over 15 years, and aren’t willing to sell it to just anyone. As Janene (left, with a customer) wrote in a recent e-newsletter, potential owners must “love hard work and laughter...Ann Arbor, our customer community and our awesome crew.”

As a fan of Great Harvest Bread Company, I’ve learned to adjust my definition of “locally owned.” I don’t look down on a business simply because it’s a chain. I look down on it if it’s a chain that ignores the idiosyncrasies of its community, exploits its employees, and channels all its resources to out-of-town owners or faceless stockholders. All these years, Great Harvest has been sensibly run by a local family, generous to the community, and supported employees who earn above minimum wage and receive benefits in a nurturing environment. As long as the new owners follow this model–and don’t tinker with the cinnamon chip loaf recipe–I'll remain a customer.