Join us for a culinary tour of Tantré Farm produce

Join us Thursday, October 10, 7pm at Zingerman’s Events on Fourth for the culinary event of the year! For the 10th year in a row we are inviting local food lovers to help us complete the farm-to-table circle and enjoy the best food of the season with the people who grew it: The folks from Tantré Farm.

The details of the multi-course meal remain secret until the last moment, since Chef Rodger and his kitchen crew hand-select most of the fresh ingredients the morning of the feast! But when you take your seats and see what they’ve prepared, your mouth will water and your pulse will quicken. The menu is inspired and perfectly tuned to the season.

The folks at Tantré Farm work hard year-round to produce an amazing variety of organic fruits and vegetables for the Deli. This meal is our way of saying “thank you.” This feast is always an early sell-out, so sign up now!

Call 734-663-3400 to reserve a seat or online!

Don’t miss it!

*From time to time, we share the writing of our friends and co-workers on this site. Today’s guest post comes from the blog of Zingerman’s Mail Order Managing Partner, Mo Frechette. You can read Mo’s blog here. 

Why is one tinned tuna better than another?

Take two tins of tuna, one from Ortiz, one typical of the supermarket. One smells like the sweet sea, peels off in thick blond chunks and tastes like a fancy dinner out. The other smells like harbor at low tide, spoons out in pulpy shreds and tastes like saltwater. They came from the same animal living in the same ocean. What happened? Here are five buyer’s guide tips to understand what makes one tinned tuna different from another.

1. How are the tuna fished?
Bonito tuna, a common species for tinning, are not big fish. Most are two feet long and weigh about ten pounds. They’re warm-blooded. Taken together that means any bruising or bleeding affects a large portion of each fish and muddies its flavor. That’s rare with Ortiz’s tuna since they are entirely line-caught, classic fisherman style, one at a time on a rod. It’s more common with netted fish—the most common way to catch tuna, where hundred foot long nets drag the tuna in a thrashing bundle up from the sea.

2. How are they stored at sea?
Tuna are stored in a boat’s hold on ice. A more conscientious captain will freight a lot of ice, enough to surround each fish so they don’t touch one another and cool down quickly. After all, no one knows how long they’ll be at sea or how much they’ll catch and the fish starts to deteriorate the moment it’s caught.

3. What happens after they’re cooked?
Cooking canned tuna is more or less standardized: the fish is boiled in salted water for a couple hours. But what happens next is not at all the same from factory to factory. At Ortiz the just-cooked fish sits out to cool in the kitchen, then gets time to chill in cold storage. The two steps take hours and hog up space on the floor and in the refrigerators. Not all tuna makers choose to take it.  Like most food makers who worry about price more than flavor, they cut time out of the equation. What the extra time and care does, though, is critical. It stops the fish from fermenting. Fermenting can be ruinous—a carbonation that makes the tins unsalable—or it can be mild. Even mild fermentation has a flavor that, to my taste, is a sour tang that runs throughout most tins of cheap tuna and mars its sea-sweet origins.

4. How are they cleaned?
Another act of grace Ortiz commits after cooking is to clean its tuna by hand. This is as labor-intensive as it sounds (if you’ve ever deboned and skinned cooked fish you know what I mean). It’s not at all standard practice in the tuna world. The women—and I can say from my experience visiting that 100% of the cleaners are women—work meticulously with paring knives, scraping and cleaning every bruise, every discoloration, every chance for the flavor to head south, leaving only pristine fish to find their way into the tin.

5. What goes into the tin?
Whole chunks of fish and olive oil. That’s it. No flakes, no water. That’s the way you get great tinned tuna. Shredded smaller pieces deteriorate faster and that will show in the flavor. As for olive oil, well, the American tuna industry has pawned off water-packed tuna as healthier but what they failed to mention was that in losing 20% of the calories we lost 98% of the taste. Water leaches flavor from the fish. Ortiz only packs in olive oil, which amplifies the tuna’s flavor and gives it a silky, rich mouthfeel.

Ortiz Tuna is available from Zingerman’s Mail Order and at the Zingerman’s Deli! Isn’t it time to taste the good stuff?

It’s our annual homage to THE FOODS OF España!

This week, the Zingerman’s Deli celebrates the cuisine of Spain with our Taste of Extremedura, a series of delicious tastings, demonstrations, and events that showcase the fabulous foods of this wonderful region!

I. Daily Demonstrations
Monday 9/9 – Friday 9/13, 11am – 2pm
Please join us for samples of Spanish foods on Monday and Tuesday. Then, beginning Wednesday, our guests John and Ana Cancilla will walk us through the Extremedura Region in daily demos of how they use these foods in their own home kitchen. John and Ana will share everything from oils, to figs, to vinegars, to pimenton, and much more.

II. Taste of Spain
Wednesday, 9/11, 630pm – 830pm
What better way to approach a taste of Spain than to bring Spain to you? We are lucky to welcome some special visitors to Zingerman’s who will do just that. John (who has a superb Spanish palate), and Ana will guide us through a tasting of our Spanish products, and they’ll explain the different ways that they use these products. It will be a night of Spanish geography lessons along with the flavors that bring those areas to life.

Menu Highlights:

• Marqués de Valdueza Red Wine (brought in direct from Spain special just for this event!)
• Arroz a la Cubana – a traditional dish of rice, egg and tomato
• Migas – a traditional Extremadura bread dish
• Delicias de higo y datiles with torta – a fig and date cake
• Patatas revolconas – a spiced potato dish
• Tortilla española – a traditional Spanish omelette
• Small Tapas plates – an assortment of Spanish cheeses, olives and meats

Call 734-663-3400 or reserve online!

III. 28th Annual Paella Party on the Patio
Sunday, 9/15, 11am – 2pm
Our  annual September celebration of the fabulous foods of Spain culminates (as it always does) with a two-grill Paella throwdown on the Zingerman’s Deli Patio. There will be a special presentation on Paella at noon, then Chef Rodger and his crew deal the goods: Three kinds of traditional Paella — Chicken/Chorizo, Seafood and Vegetarian grilled over Mesquite right before your eyes. Those in the know will be lined up for the Padron Peppers.

The show is free — the Paella is sold by the pound — don’t be shy! Paella Presentation at noon

Help us celebrate the culinary wonders of Spain! 

Viva España!

*From time to time, we share the writing of our friends and co-workers on this site. Today’s guest post comes from Zingerman’s Deli staffer Maddie LaKind. 

On a recent shift at Zingerman’s Deli, a co-worker approached me with an odd expression on her face. Eyes widened and head cocked to the side, I could tell something had caught her attention, but what?

“Where did you get that shirt?” she asked conveying a slight bit of envy as she examined my t-shirt—a camouflage shirt printed with a goofy cartoon red-nosed reindeer balancing baked goods in its antlers. The large Zingerman’s Bakehouse logo splayed across the back suggested that this particular shirt was a holiday-themed model that debuted at the bakery some years ago.

Casually, I replied, “I actually snagged it out of a bag of old work shirts that was left behind in the break room.

With a slightly disappointed note in her voice she said, “It’s a great shirt,” before heading back to work.

As I walked away from the interaction, I felt a wave of déjà vu rush over me. I’ve had this same conversation before, but with me on the inquisitive end. Suddenly, images of Zingerman’s shirts that I’ve admired among my fellow employees over the years came flooding back to me.

But I’m getting ahead of myself here. Let me explain:

Every Zingerman’s business has a similar dress code consisting of a simple t-shirt that must say Zingerman’s on it in some form or another. Yes, the Roadhouse servers and chefs have their own uniforms, and ZingTrain employees tend to err on the side of casual office attire, but otherwise t-shirts are the most widely-utilized articles of clothing in the Zingerman’s Community of Businesses.

Given Zingerman’s 31+ years of existence, you can imagine the range of stories that accompany such a wardrobe. To make it easy, I’ve organized Zingerman’s t-shirt stories into general categories that I’ve observed over the years—mind you this is an abridged list.

• There are the basic purchased shirts, bought at various Zingerman’s businesses (“I bought this shirt while out to dinner at the Roadhouse the other night.”)
• There are the earned shirts, given as a prize or thank you for doing something within the company (“I received my shirt whilst volunteering at Grillin’ for Food Gatherers.”)
• There are the nostalgic shirts, gifts or heirlooms from fellow employees (“This shirt got passed down from Chase, who left and then passed it down to Julie, who left and then passed it down to me.”)
• There are the found shirts, stumbled upon at non-Zingerman’s shops (“I saw this shirt while sifting through a rack at Value World.”)
• Lastly, a notable category, the homemade shirts that embody the creative talents of employees (“I designed this shirt myself”)

Given this complex work attire culture, I began to think about what makes a certain Zingerman’s t-shirt so intriguing or worthy of the awe and admiration I noted earlier. Why do employees care, or even pay attention? Sure, graphics and visual appeal play a big role. Comfort definitely gets calculated in there, as do rarity and exclusivity.

But, what I’ve realized is that like all of the products that fill the shelves of the Deli, the dishes that make up the menu at the Zingerman’s Roadhouse, or the notable coffees, cheeses, and breads that emerge from Zingerman’s businesses, the real draw of these shirts is the stories surrounding them. Whether dripping in Zingerman’s signature ‘muno’ font, emblazoned with quirky illustrations, or simply promoting a tasting or event, the shirts serve as tiny relics of times passed and memories had. Symbols of where we’ve been, how far we’ve come, and where we want to go.

For a piece of clothing as inherently simple as a t-shirt, I’d say that’s a pretty cool thing.

Piazza Zingermanza!!

It’s our Free Italian Street Fair!

This coming Saturday and Sunday, August 17th & 18th, 11:00am-3:00pm!
On the patio in between the Zingerman’s Deli and Zingerman’s Next Door

Schedule:
12pm – Pio Tosini Prosciutto di Parma Slicing
1pm – Mozzarella Making
2pm – Parmigiano Reggiano Cutting

Our annual August tradition of transforming the Deli’s Patio into an Italian Street Food Fest is one of the highlights of the year. Come and watch as we cut those 80 pound wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese into approachable chunks. Witness as we turn curd into delectably soft balls of mozzarella. Taste all manner of wonderful treats from Italia!

Get your fix of Prosciutto- sliced to order. We’ve got a few tricks up our sleeves, but they’re all firmly rooted in the traditions of the Italian gastronomic powerhouse. It’s an event not to be missed!

Check out the photos from previous years! 

See you there! 

Let Zingerman’s Cook for the Big Game!

With the University of Michigan celebrating its 134th season on the gridiron, we’ve been planning tailgates since June! Call soon to plan your meal at the Big House! The first step is to check out our 2013 Tailgate menu. We offer everything from Deli sandwiches in our classic red bag to burgers and hot dogs grilled right before your eyes.

Here are just a couple of our options: