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Rail Good Food
If you can't be eating great food on a speeding train, it's almost as good to be eating great food near one. Two well-loved Ann Arbor-area restaurants situated practically an arm's length from the Amtrak tracks offer terrific food and a chance to get shaken up a bit while you dine. For regular travelers to Ann Arbor, a side trip to Ypsilanti is becoming more and more de rigeur. Ypsi's downtown is a blend of unpolished history, cool old brick buildings, some Victorian gems and the Huron River flowing right through the center of it all. Depot Town is the town's social hub, and at the heart of the hub is the Sidetrack Bar and Grill, where a sign on the outside proclaims, "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." Inside, brews rule. There are draft, lager, ale, and local microbrew options, plus plenty of fine scotches and more. Foodwise, people come from all over southeastern Michigan for a Sidetrack burger. Appetizers, salads, and specials abound, attracting locals, business folks, couples and families alike. And when the Amtrak heading to or from Chicago barrels by the patio twice a day at about a million miles an hour, bells ring, and people take notice. They have no choice.
Sidetrack Bar and Grill
In 1969, Ann Arbor's magnificent Michigan Central Depot, once called "the finest station between Buffalo and Chicago" was showing its age. It had served the town well, having been the romantic scene of many thousands of journeys begun and ended. But lagging rail travel and meager budgets made it impossible to keep the station in good repair and it was sold to Muer Seafood Restaurants which transformed the fanciful edifice into one of Michigan's premier restaurants: the Gandy Dancer. Everyone loves the Gandy Dancer. If you're a U-M student, it's where you hope your parents take you out for dinner when they come for a visit. If you're taking someone out for an important business lunch, it's where you head if you want results. If you're in love with someone, it's where you go for a perfect dinner for two, holding hands, looking the window to see the Lakeside Limited barreling along, with a toot or two on the whistle. Travelers no longer wait in this station-the tiny, utilitarian Amtrak station is right next door-but the trains still idle outside, and when they depart, dining children can leave their meals to ring a big, brass bell. The Gandy Dancer's specialty is seafood and they do it well. The menu is huge and varied, everything from flounder to cod to salmon to shark. Of course Lake Michigan whitefish is dependably excellent. And there are salads, steaks and chicken for the fish-shy. There's a full bar. Sunday brunch at the Gandy is a special treat, with pancakes, made-to-order omelets and much more. But what makes it all so memorable is the building itself, so beautifully restored, yet maintaining its architectural whimsy: soaring ceilings, towers, turrets and stone.
The Gandy Dancer © Ann Arbor Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, 2002. All Rights Reserved. |