Going Out on the Town Gets Healthier:
Ann Arbor Establishments
offer Local & Organic Menus
by Maryann Lawrence

When it comes to eating out, there is almost no end to the choices in Ann Arbor and new restaurants are opening all the time. But variety is not the only thing diners are looking for. In a town with five natural grocery stores, it’s clear that organic cuisine is a high priority. Restaurants around town are listening to the requests, too, with more organic foods on the menu and a move toward purchasing from local farmers.

“I would say the main goals we are trying to achieve are healthier foods and lowering our carbon footprint,” said Gary Kunneman owner of Eat Local, Eat Natural, which brings local farmers and restaurants together. Kunneman says he began the business based on the bad news coming out of conventional growers, including E.Coli breakouts. Additionally, he said, he was bothered by how beef is raised. “About 90-95 percent of the meat in this country is raised in a factory, so we started searching for alternative meats and dairy.” He said farmer’s markets have made fresh produce readily available, but meat raised without growth hormones and antibiotics were more difficult to find.

So Kunneman started calling restaurants. Some of them have been reluctant to make the financial investment, he said, since local and organic meats and dairy are generally more expensive. Others, however, have embraced the idea of providing fresher, healthier foods, which are all USDA approved. Although not all of the food is organic, all of it is locally produced. “Most foods travel about 1,500 miles” Kunneman said, “but we try to work within a 30 or 40 mile radius.”

One local restaurant has been stressing locally-grown since its inception. Café Verde was established in 2001 when the People’s Food Co-operative (peoplesfood.coop) expanded. From the beginning, the restaurant was intended to reflect the same mission and values as the grocery store, featuring organic foods and incorporating locally farmed ingredients into the menu. It’s Fabulous Food Bar, nestled between the store and the café, offers three different soups and a traditional salad bar that can be purchased by the pound plus grab-n-go sandwiches, pastas and gourmet salads such as couscous, tabouli and hummus. Café Verde also has the distinction of being the only exclusively fair-trade coffee shop in town, offering the Equal Exchange brand and all natural flavor syrups.

If coffee is not the beverage of choice, Vinology offers a dining experience centered around the richness of wines from around the world. Much more than a wine bar, Vinology boasts an extensive lunch, dinner, dessert and even kid’s menu. Earlier this year, Brandon Johns joined the restaurant as Executive Chef/Owner. Nearly two years since its opening, Johns has revamped the restaurant’s offerings, sculpting the menu out of local and seasonal foods from area farms and, in some cases, his own garden. With a lunch, dinner and dessert, the array of foods offered hails from 17 small farms and creameries, as listed on the restaurant’s web site (vinologyrestaurant.com).

Even local brewpub Arbor Brewing Company has taken the bull by the horns, so to speak, in moving toward organic and locally farmed menu items. A look at the web site (arborbrewing.com) lays out the restaurant’s intentions for its menu and its clientele.

“We’re taking the Green Menu Project of ‘08 a step at a time,” say the owners. Affectionately known as ABC, the restaurant really is starting at the beginning, sweeping out the cupboards and swapping staples like dressings, sauces and condiments with organic ones. Dairy products, breads, pastas, flour and pierogi are purchased locally.

“We are realizing that our global industrial food system is making us and our planet less healthy, so we’re creating local sustainable food systems. We’re shunning petro-chemical fertilizers, toxic pesticides and additives. And we’re replacing the products of food science with the products of nature.”

Starting in early November, Arbor Brewing Company will offer locally sourced beef as well. They are working with McLaughlin Farm in Jackson, where John McLaughlin’s Highland cattle are naturally raised and entirely grassfed in open pastures. Matt Greff, Arbor’s owner, says he was impressed with both McLaughlin’s commitment to humane cattle raising practices and the lean, flavorful burger its cattle produce.

ABC has also made a commitment to more homemade items, including soups and dessert, except for ice cream, which is purchased from Calder Dairy. Some scratch-made items include flour and spinach tortillas, salsa, spicy black beans, roasted red pepper hummus, and all salad dressings.

ABC serves a variety of southwestern menu items, but for authentic Central American cuisine, Pilar’s Catering (pilarscatering.com) menu features Salvadoran favorites such as tamales and sweet fried plantains. “We use only the freshest ingredients, including organic, locally-grown produce and free-range, hormone-free meat and poultry,” according to owner Sylvia Nolasco-Rivers. The company makes its own stocks, salsas, sauces and salads and offers a variety of vegetarian and vegan foods.

Turn the globe a little more, and discover what real Italian food tastes like at Silvio’s Organic Pizza (silviosorganicpizza.com). Owner Silvio Medoro hails fom the Abruzzo region of Italy, in the heart of the boot where organic is a way of life. “We use organic ingredients because we value health... ours, yours, and the health of our planet. Our ingredients may cost a little more, but we believe the results, both environmentally and for the table are worth the investment,” says Medoro. Whenever certified organic cannot be found, the restaurant uses ingredients form producers who “respect and follow safe organic procedures,” he adds.

Tucked away on the outskirts of Downtown, Artisan Bistro (artisanbistroa2.com) is one of the city’s newest organic restaurants. It has been serving up organic and natural lunches and specialty coffees for about the same price as traditional restaurants. Daily specials keep things fresh and interesting for regulars, including a host of vegetarian selections, Zingerman’s bread and soups. Owner, Al Rice, says no trans fats are used in cooking and the restaurant supports local Michigan farmers.

The city’s oldest natural restaurant Seva (http://clickcitymenus.com/menu.php?id=596), is just a few blocks away on East Liberty. Serving up organic vegetarian cuisine for more than 30 years, Seva serves breakfast, lunch and dinner in a wide array of meatless entrees including Asian, Mexican and Japanese cuisines. Although vegetarian, many of the menu items can be made vegan.

“We [also] make all our own food, fresh and from scratch,” say owners Jeff and Maren Jackson who took over the business in 1997. “We make our own roasted vegetable soup stock, desserts, soups, entrees, salads, salad dressing, sauces…all of it!”

When the Jacksons took over the restaurant, there had been a market, but they quickly swapped it for the now-famous raw and organic juice bar. The establishment also offers fair-trade organic coffee, espresso and cappuccino as well as an extensive wine list.