Lunch in Ypsilanti #4 — Nathan’s Family Soul Food

You’d expect in a town like Ypsilanti the Soul-Food would be great and it is.

Nathan’s is located next to Value World at 1396 E. Michigan Ave. at Harris, I believe the site was formerly the $99.00 casket store. Don’t let the appearance fool you although the store looks like it might be abandoned the kitchen produces great food. There are a couple of tables in the front to sit at but they are used more for ToGo order pick-ups. It’s not a place to take a date its a place to take food away from and eat.

Today I bought the Sunday Special — BBQ Ribs, Cornbread Dressing, Greens, Yams and Cornbread for $11.50 — On my first sitting I only finished about 1/3rd of my order. The rib sauce is a bit plain but Nathan’s doesn’t rely on the sauce they take pride in the smoking and a nice consistent smoky flavor is what you get. The Greens, as always, were fantastic and spicy and then there were the Yams. The Yams came in a small portion but they tasted like sweet apple pie filling and were a perfect desert. The Cornbread dressing was the consistency of mashed potatoes and was topped with gravy and very good. The only thing I didn’t like was the cornbread itself it was dry and not very flavorful. I would guess the dry cornbread is due to a lack of business more than a bad recipe. They can’t keep making new cornbread so previous bakings sit a little too long.

Nathans has a complete line-up of Soul Food including Pork-Chop $5.95 , Catfish $5.25, Whitting $4.25, and BBQ $6.25 Sandwiches — If I remember correctly the BBQ sandwich isn’t pulled pork it is actually ribs on a bun which is impossible to eat but very good. They also have complete dinners including Pig Feet and as expected thier wings and wing-dings are said to be fabulous. What I find best of all are their sides. I haven’t had the opportunity to experience them all but if you go you must get a side of Mac & Cheese and Black Eyed Peas.

Nathan’s Hours are

Mon,Tues, Wed Noon -8pm

Thurs, Fri, Sat Noon-9pm

Sunday 1-6pm

Please do me a favor and visit Nathans so they can stay in business and I can continue to enjoy their food. Nathan’s will also cater so think about them for your next big event.

Lunch in Ypsilanti #3 — Cafe Luwak

I give Cafe Luwak a 5-Water Tower rating (out of 5).

Located in Depot Town Cafe Luwak is a combination sandwich shop, ice-cream parlor, and coffee shop which means its a great place for anybody and everybody. I visited Saturday afternoon and was happy to see a good variety of people enjoying the relaxed atmosphere. There were several people using their laptops to take advantage of the free wireless signal, there were family playing games, and there were people enjoying the coffee, ice-cream, and/or sandwiches.

The sandwiches are made fresh to order and several of the choices are grilled. I would have liked to see a handful of Better Maid Potato chips with my sandwich along with the pickle spear but I guess you can’t have it all. All of the sandwiches I’ve tried have been very good and the selection is plentiful. They have a soup and sandwich option and given that they make all soups from scratch I’m sure the soups are very good.

The Ice-Cream is provided by Strohs and is better than average. They have all of the toppings to provide a great combination of sundaes and if you like Shakes and Floats they have more than their share of flavors to be added so go and be creative.

I’m not a coffee drinker by they seem to have all of the fancy coffee creations. They also sell coffee by the pound from local roasters and a couple of times a year they bring in Luwak Coffee (poop coffee) for tasting. To me the Luwak coffee tasted like coffee.

My one complaint is that the Connect Four game was broken which made playing a complete game impossible. I’ve brought this to the attention of Forrest and I hope he corrects the problem.

Remember there is FREE DELIVERY TO THE CORNER BREWERY which is quick and easy.

It’s not just me that loves Cafe Luwak —

Voted “Best Sandwich Shop” in Southeast Michigan
in the WDIV’s “4 the Best” Competition!

Our sandwiches were voted #1 by EMU
in the Eastern Echo’s “Best Of” publication!

PPNA General Meeting April 2nd

The Spring Meeting for the PPNA will take place at 6:30pm on April 2nd at the Corner Brewery.

Guest Speakers will be Brian Robb and Steve Pierce who will talk about the Wireless Ypsilanti initiative.

The meeting will also discuss the future of the PPNA and elect a new coordinator/president, block captains and volunteers.

Yard Waste Pick Up to Begin March 31st

 Before you put it out remember you can Compost,

The city of Ypsilanti will begin yard waste pick up on your regular trash day starting March 31st.  There will be no loose leaf pick-up until the fall so those of you that missed last falls pick up will have to bag those piles left by the curb.  Yard waste consists of grass clippings, leaves, garden material and bundled or contained branches that are two (2) inches or smaller in diameter and cut in four (4) foot lengths or smaller.

Yard waste should be free of rubbish, dirt, sod and recyclables

Branches two (2) inches in diameter or smaller and under 4ft in length will be picked up if contained  or bundled with twine and placed next to yard waste containers.  You should pick up a yard waste sticker for your trash container from the recycle center, city hall or from the DPW yard

A friendly reminder – For the sake of your back and the back of our employees please follow OSHA’S guidelines and keep the bags 50 pounds or under. Back injuries are not only a pain they also cost $$$.