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Here at Wolverine Cuizine we enjoy a good deal more than a good meal. During last week’s Restaurant Week many of us found both, so read on for the best and the worst of Ann Arbor Restaurant Week 2010. 

Café Felix by Rachel L 
Restaurant Week was held January 17th-22nd this year in Ann Arbor and it continues to be one of the best deals around. Three course lunches were only $12 a person and three course dinners were only $25 a person at some of the best restaurants in Ann Arbor. These prices made a meal at these restaurants affordable for even students to go without their parents. However, Restaurant Week was also characterized by long waits everywhere. On Saturday night, a few friends and I headed down to eat at Seva’s, the local vegetarian restaurant on Liberty. But our call-ahead seating still left us with a 45 minute wait. So we decided to head down to Main Street. Knowing that it was Restaurant Week, one of my friends made a few calls to discover that most places were booked solid. Grizzly Peak had a 2 hour wait! Dejected, we started heading back to William Street. Then, somebody pointed out Café Felix, where there seemed to be no wait. We walked in and were seated immediately. Additionally, for some reason, whenever I’ve been to Café Felix, I’ve never had to wait. There never seems to be a crowd, even though the restaurant’s food rivals many other well-known restaurants and they offer a large drink menu with inventive martinis. As we were seated Saturday night, we were wary that the Restaurant Week deal at Café Felix would not compare to others because it was just so empty. However, our meal turned out to be great. Most of us ordered off the Restaurant Week menu. We received fantastic house salads with goat cheese and an entrée of either Chicken Boulouris, Rigatoni with veal and pork hand-rolled meatballs or Chicken and Prosciutto Fettucini. We tried each one and they were all very well done. For dessert, we each had a Nutella crepe with ice cream as part of the deal. Café Felix presented us with a very good meal with no wait. The emptiness of the restaurant may have implied that many people, like us, simply resort to Café Felix when everywhere else is full. Rather than choosing it as a second choice, I think next time it would be worth a first choice. And as Restaurant Week is officially over, that next time will definitely be with my parents because my paltry budget can only handle Ann Arbor’s yearly special deal.  

Vinology by Nick D
Restaurant week is awesome. $12 lunches are a steal in a town trending towards San Francisco pricing. In order to take advantage of this situation, I visited Vinology, a classy bar and grill on Main St., to sample their fare. 
 
 
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For my birthday, my entire family usually comes up to Ann Arbor and we go to a nice restaurant. In recent years, it’s been the Gandy Dancer or the Chop House. This year, when my mother called and asked me where I wanted to go, I suggested the West End Grill or Pacific Rim, slightly different than the usual Main Street  ventures but still great quality. However, I failed to tell her that the weekend of my birthday was the Purdue game and Parent’s Weekend. So when she tried to make a reservation, she was denied at both places. She then tried another eight restaurants and all were booked solid during dinner hours. She was finally able to get us a table at Weber’s, a steakhouse just outside downtown Ann Arbor. The only thing I knew about Weber’s was their ridiculous billboard “Meat with Friends.” Naturally, I was a bit disappointed and wasn’t expecting much from the dinner.  I was very wrong though as Weber’s turned out to be a total winning experience.
 
 
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Established in 1995, Grizzly Peak has become a local favorite in Ann Arbor. Its convenient location right off of Main Street allows it to be a favorite for locals and students alike. Whether you are there for their Cheddar Ale soup or one of their nine locally brewed beers, Grizzly Peak provides their award winning dining. As they are the top-producing brew pub in Michigan, Grizzly Peak takes pride in their locally brewed beers. They distributed over 1600 barrels in Michigan last year alone!

Additionally, they are known for several award winning beers including their Bear Paw Porter which won a silver medal in the World Beer Cup in 2006. Favorite beers among customers include the Steel Head Red and the Grizzly Peak Pale Ale. Grizzly Peak also is host to many special events throughout the year. For example, they host a Brewer’s Night every Tuesday where patrons can come in a tour the brewery. However, two of the biggest events are their Oktoberfest event and Polar Beer Day. Oktoberfest this year was held September 19th as they shut down the entire street right outside the restaurant and helped raise money for UM’s Comprehensive Cancer Center. Polar Beer Day is normally held in mid-February where customers can get 25cent beers as long as they sit outside.
 
 
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If you are anything like me, you are a poor college student for whom late night Jimmy Johns and two dollar lattes at Espresso Royale are pretty much the most you’ll spend when it comes to eating out. You may, however, be lucky enough to have parents who come into town and treat you to a nice dinner every once in a while, whether it be for a birthday or another special occasion. The question then arises, “Where should I take them?” While many of you simply resort to the classic Chop House or Gandy Dancer, I like to look beyond those popular ones. While those restaurants do provide you with the aura of a special occasion, there are many other restaurants that provide a new experience for a similar price. One of these restaurants is Logan, a fine American Dining facility on West Washington, just past Main Street. I had the chance to dine there last week with my mother, who gray offered to provide me a meal other than the usual Ramen noodles...