Grizzly Peak Brewing Company

The Location: 120 W. Washington (between Main and Ashley)

The Facts: Grizzly Peak opened in 1995, after refurbishing an older building just south of Kerrytown. It is one of two breweries still in Ann Arbor, since the departure of Leopold Bros. GP keeps about 6 beers constantly on tap, with three other seasonal specialties. These are swapped almost every week, and more than once, I've seen them swapped while I was there. Drafts are $4.50 dollars during regular hours, but after 11pm, all drafts are $1.99 all nights. You can order beer samplers as well, where you can taste some or all of the various beers on tap for fairly cheap (price varies on how many beers you get). There are also various wines, and bottled beers, as well as a fairly well stocked liquer cabnet.

Grizzly Peak also offers a quite nice menu for lunch and dinner. The prices are moderate, though I would have to say my personal favorite is the pulled pork slider for $1.99. I generally get 4-6 and I must say. They're delicious. Be wary, the kitchen closes at 11, the same time happy hour starts.

GP has a 'Mug Club' where, for around $60 you can buy a lifetime membership, and get 25% off all in-bar and to-go beer (growlers, mini-kegs, etc.). Also, when ordering a draft, you get your beer in a special mug, which is slightly larger than a normal pint. Other perks of Mug Club membership include special 'Mug Club only' events, and other special deals.

The first tuesday of every month, there is a 'Brewer's Night' from 6-9 where there is discussion on home brewing techniques and tips, as well as $2 off beer samplers.

Review:
I find GP to be a fantastic place to go and 'hangout'. I don't think I've ever gone there on a weekend with a bunch of people, but almost every Sunday, my two friends (though one of them has lamely been absent recently) and I head out around 10:30 and have a few beers and chat. You can often find various Ann Arbor locals/professors doing the same. I would regard it as a much more stereotypical 'pub'/'brewpub' than anywhere else in Ann Arbor, even ABC has a bit of a 'college bar' atmosphere, compared to GP.

There are a few televisions around the bar, that generally have various sports games, and sometimes news on them. I certainly wouldn't consider it a 'sports bar' but on the occcation, townies will show up to watch an NFL game dressed in their favorite team's gear.

The biggest problem I have with Grizzly Peak is the location. If you live near Kerrytown, this is a fantastic hangout, but it is a bit out of the way to someone like me who lives in University Towers (hopefully for the last time after this year...). As it gets colder I'm afraid I'll be less and less likely willing to make the trek, but we'll see.

Given the choice of late night hangout, I would chose GP first or second in almost any situtation. The prices are low, and I'm becoming a bit more 'low-key' as I evacuate my youth, which, matches the atmosphere there. I wouldn't really want to go there for a birthday, or some other event with a lot of people, and going there early is asking for a large tab, but a dinner there is pretty nice, with pretty good food. I give GP 4 stars. The food and drink is quite good, and the atmosphere is fantastic if that's what you're looking for, but the prices other than late night beers make this prohibitive for anything but special nights, at least for my wallet.

Link: http://grizzlypeak.net/default.html

Dominick's

The Location: 812 Monroe (just south of the Law Quad)

The Facts:

Dominick's is a restaurant that's known for it's atmosphere and drinks. It is open during the spring, summer, and fall, and maintains fairly early hours closing at 10pm most nights. It has some indoor seating, but the majority of the tables are outside, with a first and second story patio in both the front and back.

Other Info:

Dominick's will be closing for the winter (I'll try to find out exactly when ASAP) soon. If you want to visit, now is the time.

Review:

As I said before Dom's is known for it's atmosphere. The almost exclusive outdoor seating and the interior decor give it a feeling of a spanish bistro mixed with an alpine cafe. The patrons are a nice blend of townies (often there with their children), law students, and professors. The undergrad population there is considerably smaller than you would assume given the proximity to student housing, but I certainly welcome the change of pace from the younger spots in AA.

Dom's also has a very famous sangria. You can order it in pints, quarts, and half gallons, (pricing scales from ~$6 to ~$17. It comes in a mason jar, and you can pour it into smaller cups at your table. It is mixed there at Dom's using their own recipe, much like MY favorite Dom's drink: Constant Buzz.

This stuff is to die for. Remember the first time you saw a boob that didn't belong to a family member? Yeah, like that, but with alcohol. And stawberries.

It's basically a strawberry daqueri but with about 5 more types of alcohol. It only comes in one size (slightly less than a half gallon) mason jar, and costs about $20. When it's fall, it's less fun to drink, as it's cold out, but during the summer, there really is nothing better, than on, a Friday afternoon, going to Dom's splitting, a Constant Buzz with a friend, and sitting out on the top porch watching Ann Arbor go about it's business.

Dominick's also sells a number of local wines, and has several local beers on tap. These drafts are fairly costly, and I have never had one there.

The food at Dominick's is what you would expect from a Continental restaurant. Pasta, pastries, seafood etc. The pricing is fairly steep, so, if on a budget, I'd recommend somewhere else, though the few times I've had it, the food has been pretty good.

Personally, I've never been to a place like Dominick's in the states. It's a very European experience. I recommend going there with someone who's already been once, just because the intricacies of ordering, etc. are a little confusing at first, but definitly try to make it there if you have the time and money. I give it 4 stars.

BTB Cantina

The Location: 1140 S. University (corner of South U. and Church)

The Facts:

Cantina opened it's doors last winter, after Upstairs at Charley's closed and was renovated. After several delays, BTB Cantina finally opened amongst much hype. It has much more of a lounge feel than a bar. There are several couches and tables arranged throughout. It is well lit, and generally not too loud. There are two dartboards and a shuffleboard table, along with a few video games. The bar serves standard BTB fare (burritoes, chips, etc.) as well as a wide assortment of tequila, margaritas, and Mexican beer (bottles only).  The tequila ranges from decently priced ($3) to YGBSM ($350). All tequilas can be had straight, tequila cruda, or in a margarita. BTB Cantina is open until 4am most (all?) nights. It's marketed as a stoner-getting-the-munchies hotspot with the slogan 'when you roll 'em... we roll 'em.'

Other Info: Cantina is rarely the only destination of it's patrons. From my observations most people stop in after going to another bar, to grab food and maybe one last drink, or as a short stop before going out to their final/next destination.

Review:

Probably the most hyped openings since I've been in Ann Arbor, BTB Cantina promised to be a combination of late-night-food and 'the next Charley's'. Well, consider me disappointed. While it's a very relaxed enviroment, it certainly lacks any real draw as a bar. The pitchers of margaritas are ok, but expensive for how much you get, tequila as your only liquor leads to upset stomachs and reluctant indulgence. My feelings regarding Mexican beer and how it is made are as follows:

Step 1.) Drink lots of tequila.

Step 2.) Urinate into jar.

Step 3.) Bottle contents of jar.

One of the few high points to BTB Cantina is the shuffleboard table. It is one of only two I know of in Ann Arbor. There often is someone playing it, but the wait is generally short. They also have a few nice dartboards, but the last time I was there (last week) the darts were damaged, so that's something to be aware of if you're looking for a place to play.

Though BTB Cantina is marketed to the 'stoner' crowd, I almost never see them there. Though I rarely stay past 3-ish, the plurality of Cantina patrons are college Greeks. It seems to take spill over from The Brown Jug, from what I can gather.

The redeeming quality of Cantina is going to it not at bar time. Going to Cantina with a laptop, using the wireless internet, and getting some work done with a margarita in hand seems like the best use of Cantina to me. It's fairly quiet, especially around 4pm, it's comfy (the couches rock) and food is within 25 feet. Other than that, it's a very sub-par bar/lounge. I give it two stars.

Quickie Burger and Dog

The Location: 800 S. State (corner of State and Hill)

The Facts:

Quickie Burger and Dog is a fairly new place to eat in Ann Arbor. It replaced Tubby's Grilled Subs last winter. Quickie serves burgers, hot dogs, fries, rings, etc. all made to order, with tons of different toppings available. They are open late night, generally until 3am to 4am every night, and staying open all night on Fridays before home games, and grilling outside on home game Saturdays.

Other Info:

Quickie is in the process of acquiring a liquor licence. The basement of Quickie will be converted into a bar. They have stated they plan on having 15-20 beers on tap, with a few rotating taps.

Review:

For those of us who have low cholesterol (or at least don't actually know their cholesterol and just say it's low), Quickie is probably the best food location in the world. I've eaten 5 straight meals there. The key to enjoying your Quickie experience is experimenting. You can get anything they have on anything. Bacon on your Dirty Cheesy Dog (cheese on a Coney dog)? No problem. Egg and cheese on your fries? Not an issue. You just have to ask. Divine inspiration (or an intoxicated late night food run)  can strike you with some of the most delicious Cholesterol Cornocopias ever dreamed up.

A lot of Ann Arbor purists have shunned QB&D in favor of Crazy Jim's Blimpy Burger. Now, don't get me wrong I like Crazy Jim's, but they close at 10... in a college town. That's like buying a girl dinner at Chop House, and when she asks you if you want to come up to her room, without a word, you throw her out of the car, slam on the gas and go home, alone, to wank-it to snow sculputres of polar bears.

Quickie knows that it's in a college town, and adjusts it's hours accordingly.

A Burger Joint for the People.

I rate QB&D five stars. Not only does it excell at being what it is (a late night greesy food joint), it strives to be more (a late night greesy food joint that you can get hammered at). When they finally get their liquor licence, I don't know what I'll do. The scale only goes up to five stars, but maybe I'll give it a 5+. Who knows.