Ann Arbor Restaurant Week

Hello U of M KSA!

My name is Ethan Han (some of you may know me as Dong Hyun) and I graduated from the greatest university in the world this past May. I was asked to write a guest blog entry for the KSA blog so here goes.

I want to talk to you ladies and gents about an incredible twice-a-year, one-week long experience that as students in Ann Arbor, you are all privy to. The phenomenon I'm talking about is Ann Arbor Restaurant Week which takes place once in January and again in June.

I know you all may be poor college students that live off of Chef Boyardee and steal dining hall cereal whenever you can, but Restaurant Week is basically your one chance to take advantage of Main Street at a relatively affordable price. Basically you pay a flat fee of $12 for lunch or $25 for dinner and get a multi-course, luxurious meal at restaurants that you would never enter, let alone think about dining in. How great is that? Really great.

Basically, you should try to set aside some time for this if you fall into one of the following categories:

1. You're a guy who happens to be in a relationship with someone on campus and wants to impress your significant other by taking them to a fancy restaurant without destroying your bank account. It'll be a good investment; you can thank me later.
2. You're a single guy who WANTS to be in a relationship with someone on campus and seeks to impress your potential significant other by taking them to a fancy restaurant without destroying your bank account. Again, you can thank me later.
3. You're a single girl but want to have a “girls night out” with your fellow girlfriends. What better place than the most upscale area in Ann Arbor? Main Street truly has an ability to transform itself at nighttime, particularly during the winter. It'll be a nice change of pace from your weekly outings at Charley's or Brown Jug.
4. You're a girl in relationship with a guy on campus. Chances are, if your boyfriend is smart and read this, he'll already be making plans to take you to this. Tell him to make reservations.

And that should cover just about everyone. See? No one should miss out on this.

A personal suggestion of mine is The Earle. It's a French/Italian restaurant featuring subdued, low-light ambience, a respectful wait staff, an extensive wine selection, a variety of meat and seafood dishes, and can accommodate a date for two or larger parties. The highlight has to be their amazing live jazz band, a soothing musical presence that's not too overbearing and in a pinch, can give you something to talk about during awkward pauses while you wait for your food to come out.

Check out the website @ http://annarborrestaurantweek.com/ for more information.

Have a great rest of the semester all!