YaaLife » lunch http://yaalife.com Living Ypsi and Ann Arbor Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:56:15 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Cafe Zola http://yaalife.com/cafe-zola/ http://yaalife.com/cafe-zola/#comments Fri, 08 May 2009 21:52:19 +0000 YaaLife http://yaalife.com/?p=116
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    • ]]>     I wrote a draft for this entry a month or so ago and now I sit revising it.  Why?  Because the last time I went to Cafe Zola I had an amazing meal, fantastic service and a fun-filled night which I think is typical of them …then I went for lunch a week or so ago.  I was introducing a few family members to the place and I found myself apologizing through the entire meal …and professing that things could be different.  It bums me out when a good restaurant drops the ball …especially with newbies at the table.  So here goes the original post.  I will spread the good news and hope Cafe Zola is having a better day next time.  Read on…

    Yummmm!  Is it the food?  The crowds?  The great wine list?  Yup, it is.  It is also and perhaps most importantly the staff. I sit at the bar a lot because I like to watch the mechanics of a restaurant and in Café Zola everything is viewable from the front row.  I am also required to sit at the bar at Café Zola because the man in my life, someone who regularly professes to love me, has a crush on one of the bartenders.  There you go.  All that great food, made from the freshest and best ingredients available and it is all secondary to a crush.  However, while my partner waxes poetic about the wine list with his drink-slinging goddess, I get to enjoy some great food and chat-up a few people around me …whether they like it or not.

    Cafe Zola opened back in 1996.  I have vague memories of it being a breakfast, coffee, hang’in out kind’a place back then, but after a 10 year hiatus, I came back to find it all grown-up. The owners, Hediye Batu and Alan Zakalik, have managed to keep that casual, relaxed atmosphere I recalled and kindly added a whole bunch of wine!  There is a French flair to many of the dishes with bits of the Mediterranean and Italy included for variety.  As with many independent restaurants in the area, they are loyal to other local businesses using small bakeries to supply anything they don’t make on site.  Whether you plan on coming for breakfast, lunch or dinner Cafe Zola serves up everything from coffee to a Whole Fish enPapillote with attention to detail and the satisfaction of the customer.



    Related posts:

    1. Zou Zou’s Cafe
    2. Ann Arbor Winter Warriors? Take your drink outside!
    3. Delicious Dining in Dexter

    ]]>     http://yaalife.com/cafe-zola/feed/ 0     Sidetrack http://yaalife.com/sidetrack/ http://yaalife.com/sidetrack/#comments Sat, 02 May 2009 13:29:11 +0000 YaaLife http://yaalife.com/?p=99 THIS IS ME YELLING OVER THE NOISE OF THE HARLEYS PASSING BY SIDETRACK’S PATIO IN DEPOT TOWN.  That was charming.  Ok, I’m cranky and am looking for some peace and quiet.  The Harleys are out, I’m sure the train will roar by any minute and I would like to taste one of the best burgers of my life.  I’m setting myself up for the buffeting I’m going to get for saying …this isn’t one of the best burgers of my life!  It’s good and I’ll give the place plenty of kudos for being the kind of place that you want to go on days when you’re cranky and looking to feel better.  But Oprah and GQ?  Top 20 burgers in the country???  …and the sweet potato fries, I was so excited to try the sweet potato fries, then so sad to pick-up the first one and have it bend over the back of my hand.  Shouldn’t fries be a little bit crispy?  Or have some integrity?

    I did like the horseradish sauce …a lot!  Will that compliment save me from the wrath of the Sidetrack loyalists???


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