Zingerman's Ann Arbor Food Guide: Where to Start

Zingerman's Ann Arbor is a group of separate food businesses rather than one restaurant: a roadhouse serving American food, a bakehouse baking breads and pastries, and a coffee company that roasts and serves its own beans. Start with the one that matches your mood.

Zingerman's is one of Ann Arbor's best-known local food families, and this page covers the roadhouse, the bakehouse and the coffee company: what each is for, what to order first and how to plan a visit. Hours and menus change, so check before you go.

What is Zingerman's Ann Arbor, and where should you start?

Think of it as a neighborhood of food rather than a chain. Each business has its own menu, its own staff and its own reason to visit. If you want a sit-down meal, pick the roadhouse. If you want something to carry, pick the bakehouse or the coffee bar. The family has other counters too, so ask staff what else is nearby. A good first visit combines a meal at the roadhouse with a loaf and a bag of coffee on the way out.

A good first visit is two stops: a meal at one, and something to take home from another. That gives you two ratings to compare and a reason to come back.

What is Zingerman's Roadhouse known for?

The roadhouse serves American food, with fresh fish, barbecue from the pit, steaks, classic cocktails, mac and cheese and crab cakes. It also offers a kids' menu and to-go service. Order the mac and cheese to share and one other dish, then rate each separately.

If it is your first visit, order the mac and cheese and one other dish from the pit or the fish menu, so you can say which you would order again. Ask about vegetarian choices if you need them.

What does Zingerman's Bakehouse bake?

The bakehouse bakes daily, with bagels, cakes and pastries early in the day, challah and baguettes later, and rye, sourdough and focaccia through the afternoon. Schedules change with the season, so ask before you plan a trip around a loaf. Buy a loaf warm if you can, and eat the first slice plain, because that is how a bakery shows what it does best.

Buy a loaf and one pastry, and eat the pastry while it is fresh. Because the bake schedule rotates, ask what just came out of the oven. A rating that names the loaf and the day helps the next person.

Is Zingerman's Coffee Company worth a stop?

The coffee company is a roaster that supplies cafes and restaurants and also serves single-estate, small-batch coffees at its Ann Arbor coffee bar. It sources coffees from around the world, roasts the beans and offers fresh cups. Ask what the bar is pouring, taste a coffee black first and then decide on milk.

If you only want a coffee, this is the stop. Ask which bean the staff are enjoying that week and order it plain first, so you taste the coffee itself before you add milk or sugar.

What about the rest of the Zingerman's family?

The family also includes a deli known for its sandwiches and other counters. A good sandwich is a hot or cold stack on fresh bread, and a big one is easiest to share. Rate the sandwich by what is in it and note whether it was big enough to share.

How do you plan a Zingerman's day?

Go early if you can, because the popular counters fill at weekends. Eat the main meal at the roadhouse, then carry bread or coffee home. If you are visiting from out of town, a bag of coffee and a loaf travel well.

Ask about allergies directly, since a bakehouse makes breads and pastries side by side. Note the time of day in your rating, because a Saturday lunch and a Tuesday morning feel very different.

If you are choosing between the roadhouse and the bakehouse, think about time. The roadhouse is a sit-down meal that takes an hour or more, while the bakehouse and the coffee bar are quick stops that suit a short visit. A sandwich from the deli is a good middle option, easy to eat on a bench or take to a park. Whichever you choose, order one thing you know and one thing you do not.

How do you rate Zingerman's dishes with Mosey?

Mosey lets you rate the single dish rather than only the building, which suits a family of businesses with many menus. Rate the mac and cheese on its own, the rye loaf on its own, and the coffee on its own, and add tags such as Bakery, Coffee Shop or Great Value to each.

Build a list called Zingerman's, one stop at a time, and send the invite link to a friend who knows the town better than you do. Follow friends to see what they rated and saved. The ratings page explains how a rating works.

What else should you read?

The Ann Arbor guide to Kerrytown and downtown covers the market nearby, the international restaurants guide covers other cuisines, and the brunch guide covers weekend mornings. See the Ann Arbor page, the Michigan page and the US food guides.

Before your next Zingerman's trip, download the Mosey app and rate each item as you eat it.