Ann Arbor Restaurant Week Begins Feb. 5, Should You Make a Reservation? Yes, But Choose Carefully
by P.D. Lesko
Let’s be clear, Restaurant Week is like a Vegas Casino: the House always wins. Over the years, Ann Arbor restaurant owners have pitched “savings” that in one year, in one restaurant, added up to a whopping $.50 cents, when Restaurant Week pricing was compared to the restaurants’ regular menus. This year, Ann Arbor Restaurant Week is back from Feb. 5-10 with 30 local restaurants participating. There are some restaurants offering better deals than others, so if you make a reservation expecting to save on a meal out, choose carefully.
Over the past decade, Ann Arbor Restaurant Week pricing has gone from $15 two-for-one lunches to $30 two-for-one lunches, a 100 percent increase. Between 2013 and 2022, the total cost of inflation rose 27.40 percent, according to the U.S. Dept. of Labor. As a result, Restaurant Week is not socio-economically inclusive, and for a family of four, the $45 “three course” menus for two —meaning $90 for dinner out — is downright out of reach for a lot of people. Ninety dollars is about half of what the average family of four spends of groceries in a week.
Restaurant Week 2023 includes family meals to-go, menus for two, multi-course menus, course menus, lunch and dinner “specials.” There are also meal options for vegans and vegetarians on the Ann Arbor Restaurant Week website.
One particularly good not-so-special Restaurant Week deal is Rel-ish Restaurant’s Family Meal to go. For $18 (plus tax), chicken lovers will get eight pieces of chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, cornbread muffins and coleslaw. At KFC, the same meal costs $28.00. A peek a Rel-ish’s dinner menu shows that $18 for the 8-piece friend chicken family meal is what the restaurant regularly charges. Nonetheless, compared to KFC, it’s affordable for a family of four (or five).
Vinology on Main Street is offering an 8-piece fried chicken family meal, with mashed potatoes, gravy, and coleslaw (no biscuits or corn bread). There, this Restaurant Week “deal” is priced at $55. Diners can add a salad for $24 or flat bread for $12.
Zingerman’s is participating in Restaurant Week, and that family meal for two consists of $11.99 pot pies. No discount. If you are feeling hungry and are ready to commit to a week of pot pies, there is a 10 percent discount if you order 10-19 pot pies. If you’re looking for Restaurant Week savings, you won’t find it at the Deli. Zingerman’s Roadhouse is offering a three course lunch for $32 per person and a three course dinner for $48 per person.
Avalon Cafe & Kitchen’s two for $30 lunch offers savings of around 25 percent off of the restaurant’s regular prices for the same lunch menu items.
Reservations are recommended and can be made on the restaurants’ websites or at at https://www.annarborrestaurantweek.com/
Here are some of the participating restaurants’ offerings:
Havanna
Meal for Two is buy one entrée, get one free.
Grizzly Peak
Meal for Two offers two of three options for a discounted price: Fish Tacos, Garden Fettucine, or Smoked Turkey Sandwich. Sides are included. A soda costs $2 and a beer is $5.
The Black Pearl
First course options include: Mini Harvest Salad, Lobster Bisque, or Fried Brussels. Second course: Alaskan Misoyaki Salmon, Fish Tacos, or Sweet Potato Gnocchi. Dessert: Tres Leches Carrot Cake or Dark Chocolate Mousse.
Participating restaurants include:
Buon Appetito!
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