PsychTree Auxin

Carlyle's

Carlyle's restaurant on Jackson Rd, next to Quality 16, was such a disappointment last night.  The food was less than spectacular, and frankly, it seemed like more effort was put into the decor than the cuisine.  The food is way overpriced, especially since it's near a discount movie theater.  The presentation was poor, and the food was a disappointment.  All in all, it seems like the owner of Carlyle's is an amateur trying to run a restaurant.  I don't recommend this place at all.  Eat at your own risk.

Cafe Shalimar

Cafe Shalimar is an Indian restaurant is a great addition to the Ann Arbor downtown, and it's not to be confused with its parent restaurant, Shalimar.  It's following the fusion trend by offering 3 different types of Indian cuisine, but is a bit more moderate in price than Shalimar proper.  Later today, I'll be posting a more thorough review on www.nicetaste.com, so stay tuned.

Memphis Smoke House Blues

The Smoke House Blues on Washtenaw is technically located in Ypsilanti, but who's measuring?!  I can't get enough of their sweet potato fries and dry rub BBQ.  The also have a wonderful pulled pork sandwich, jalapeno hushpupplies, baked beans with pork, and yes, they have wet BBQ also.  I never seem to have enough room for dessert, so I can't speak to those items on the menu.  But this place does know it's BBQ and has even been reviewed in MLive. 

Pacific Rim Restaurant

I respectfully disagree with the guest reviewer's review of Pacific Rim on www.nicetaste.com.  While I agree the decor is much improved, I don't think the same about the food.  The reincarnation of Kana into Pacific Rim brought a huge shift of purely Korean food to a strange mix of Asiatic medely.  While a few individual dishes may be good, the overall blend of tastes is erratic and clashing. 

Paradise

Tucked away in the apex of the Colonnade shopping arc on Eisenhower is a Chinese/Thai restaurant called Paradise.  I had never heard of the place until I switched jobs and my current coworkers started raving about the place.  So, one day I went, and well, it's not bad.  I wouldn't say that it's anywhere in the same league as some of the Asian restaurants reviewed at www.nicetaste.com, but it's alright for a middle of the road outing.

Ann Arbor Restaurant Menus online

Thanks goes to nerdtech for scanning in menus of restaurants in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti.  He's even set up rss feeds for them as well. (A2 & Y).  One note - nerdtech hasn't added any menus since 4/18/05 but he says that he's always looking for help from folks like us.  Just send him the jpg at menus at nerdtech dot com.

Middle Kingdon

Well, this restaurant is so spicy that the you can see a faint white smoke eminate from the kitchen at the back of the corridor-like dining room.  I should have listened to htchan's warning at www.nicetaste.com when he said "Think you can eat spicy?  Think again."  Now, I'm not one who normally eats spicy food but my mother-in-law, who adores spicy food, can't stop raving about this place.  It's the first place in 25 years that she deems worth the money, and she even proclaimed the food is better than her own.  So if  you have that finicky eater in your family, you should bring them to this little restaurant with the big punch!  As for me, my lungs are still recouperating.  Enjoy!

Red Robin

Burger joint - right?  Well, they offer a lot more that just burgers, but I have to say it's still the burgers that keep me coming back.  Whether it's a mushroom, BBQ, or blue cheese burger, you can't find a better burger in town.  I know that flies in the face of the Blimby fanatics, but Blimpy's is just plain too greasy.  Red Robin's Ann Arbor restaurant isn't dripping with grease, and the restaurant frequently offers dinner and a movie for 2 for just $25.99.  That's a bargain with today's prices. 

Dynasty

Now, when I started this, I was determined to stay positive in my comments.  However, this restaurant just cant go unpunished.  Dynasty on Washtenaw, may or may not be technically in Ann Arbor proper, but it's "food" should not be anywhere near Ann Arbor.  The rice was dry, old, and tasteless.  The scallops tasted like styrofoam.  The main dishes were full of cheap vegetables like onions and celery, tons of sauce, but little protein.  The cashews in a dish that bears the nut's name were few and far between, and when found were stale.  The piece de resistance was the visceral reaction I had to their steamed pork bun.  All of this for a grand $12/person.  Now, to be fair it is a buffet, but it's unbelievable to me that this place continues to stay in business.  I'm not the only one, jun Q on www.insiderpages.com feels the same way.

Jerusalem Gardens

Call me crazy, but every once in a while, I get an unsatiable craving for chick peas and baklava.  There's only one place in Ann Arbor that has been able to dutifully satisfy that urge- Jerusalem Gardens.  Now there's at least one other person that agrees with me, bEckY, though Lakshmi and Hunscher seem to prefer Oasis Grill, part of the Nizar El-Awar enterprises on South U.  Though both restaurants have some seriously good food, Jerusalem Gardens has my heart (and stomach).