125501 Fri May 26 12:45:56 -0700 2006 9 8 Midwest 0 681184 Hello, I live in Connecticut but am getting married back in my homestate of Michigan. Guests are staying in the Ann Arbor area, and we would like to have our rehearsal dinner (approx. 30 people) in a local restaurant. Does anyone have any suggestions for a good, friendly Ann Arbor restaurant? Many of our guests are from the Southwest, so nothing Tex Mex or southwestern (they'll be picky), and I'm a vegetarian, so no steak houses or straight-up seafood places. The most crowd-pleasing style would probably be eclectic American, or Italian. Ideally, the restuarant will have a bar area where our out of town friends can join us after dinner. Any help is really appreciated! Fri May 26 12:45:56 -0700 2006 0 Bettina 1 681190 i am from the other side of town but when i go to a2 i love gratzi on main street. palio across the street is a decent place, too. and grizlly peak brewing co is a nice brew pub that could be just the fit the bill for a crowd of your size + out of town guests. here's a link the metro times restaurant guide for a2 (127 places) congratulations and have a great wedding. Link: http://www.metrotimes.com/guide/restaurants/browse.asp?Page=1&q=/Cities/Ann+Arbor& Fri May 26 14:48:21 -0700 2006 681184 0 xman887 1 681193 Palio is quite large and has a side room that can probably be reserved. No bar, as I recall. Paesano's is near U.S. 23 and has a bar with smoking (restaurant is NS). Both it and Gratzi and expensive but very good. Weber's Inn would be a good place--huge, in a hotel, been around since the 1930s, separate bar. Food used to be German but is now really eclectic (they do pretty well w/seafood). I'm sure they're experienced with this kind of dinner. Link: http://www.webersinn.com Fri May 26 16:07:59 -0700 2006 681184 0 Jim M. 1 681209 I agree with the recommendations for Gratzi and Grizzly Peak. I would also recommend the Quarter Bistro and Tavern on the west side of A2 at Stadium and Maple. We've been there several times and really enjoyed the food and service. The menu has a New Orleans theme, with Greek and Italian accents. You can also find decent veg dishes on the menu. I think they can handle a large party, though I haven't checked that out. Also, Zingerman's Roadhouse is about a 100 yards away in the same shopping center. The menu is high end American. It's Zingerman's. It's good. But I prefer the Quarter. Link: http://www.thequarterbistro.com/ Sat May 27 10:18:02 -0700 2006 681184 0 FT 1 681210 I suggest The Earle restaurant. Great menu for both meat eaters and vegetarians and has a wonderful wine list with many available by the glass. Bar off to the side for later libations or wines by the glass. The beef medallions with blue cheese is to die for! Sat May 27 11:13:38 -0700 2006 681184 0 Bruce Johnnson 2 681224 I have lived in Ann Arbor since the '70s and had my rehearsal dinner at the Earle. Good food - French/Italian country, best wine list in the state - the whole drinks program is outstanding. And they have a separate bar area. Best service in town. I recommend them. They have a separate room you can use. They also have a second location with higher end classic French called the Earle uptown. It costs more but is also good. I greatly dislike Gratzi, they've served me bad food too many times. I don't mean mediocre, I mean spoiled. And they don't take reservations. Unlikely they'd accomodate a larger party. They are owned by the same people who own Palio and a few other places downtown, with the same problems. Grizzly Peak is a brewpub. I don't like their beer or their food, but other people do. They are also partners in a new venture called Vinology, which is a wine bar. It's expensive but a good place to hang out and a couple blocks at most from the other downtown places mentioned. Haven't been to the 1/4 Bistro, but I've heard other people say good things about it. The Zingerman's Bistro is expensive roadstop comfort food, if that makes sense. Upscale diner. Pretty good, but not all the dishes are winners. Ann Arbor is a very vegetarian-conscious town, I don't think you'll have a problem finding veg dishes almost anywhere. Sun May 28 17:20:54 -0700 2006 681210 0 Chris Weber 3 681283 While I haven't had spoiled food at Gratzi, three out of the four meals I had there were really poor. sk Wed May 31 13:22:36 -0700 2006 681224 0 Samurai Kitten 1 681229 There are a few options - brewpubs such as Grizzly Peak or Arbor Brewing Company will be accessible to all. ABC expecially caters to vegetarians, and both have private rooms. For midrange, Palio is a nice choice. Neither Gratzi nor The Real Seafood Company have private rooms and would be pricy to book on busy nights. The Earle does have a couple private areas and will be slightly higher end; I believe they have one or two vegetarian options & would probably work with you. There are also some small restaurants that rent themselves out - The West End Grill or Pacific Rim are two options; both have a fusion influence and seafood and vegetarian options. Bella Ciao is another nice Italian restaurant that has private space available. All three are more locally known and provide excellent service. Both Vinology and Rush Street have private or semiprivate areas, nice wine lists, and a selection of small and large plates. I think both are very affordable, but I tend to frequent all of these restaurants mentioned. Cafe Zola is an option as well - though no private area, they may rent out. Either way - each of these downtown locations are surrounded by bars where you could meet up with the other guests. In addition, the vegetarian options are genreally widely available througout AA. Good Luck! Laura Mon May 29 00:04:14 -0700 2006 681184 0 laura 2 681231 And if you go to Palio you can also dine on the terrace. And look for a very tall, dark haired, blue eyed young man as a waiter, and tip him well! (He's my son!) And he raves about the seafood there... Mon May 29 00:39:23 -0700 2006 681229 0 berkleybabe 2 681549 I'd recomend Vinology. I've been there for lunch and dinner. The environment is excellent and they have some private rooms that could make sense for a rehearsal dinner. I found the menu unique and I actually thougth the prices were lower than most of Main St. The wine selection is also very good. Fri Jun 09 09:22:03 -0700 2006 681229 0 BD