Tag: ZINGERMAN’S DELI

After a few years of hard work and excitement, the Deli buildout is near completion! We’ve moved things around to provide a better Zingerman’s experience for our guests. Scroll down for a mini-tour of the new layout.

 The front door that faces Detroit St. is still the main entrance and will lead you to great tasting cheese, meats, breads, and specialty foods as well as the path to the new sandwich ordering area.

The ‘Bread Box’ is still where you’ve always found it, just inside the front door, where the bread boxers are ready to get you a loaf or two of artisanal breads made at the Zingerman’s Bakehouse.  They will more than likely share a sample or two of their favorite treats!

We’re excited to have more space for cheese, meats, fish & olives! Taste your way through our selection of full-flavored and traditional meats & cheeses next time you’re in.

Meat lovers can rejoice, there’s much more space for meat! You’ll notice that sliced meats from your favorite sandwiches are now on display. And, as always so are the beautiful bone-in prosciuttos, ready to be hand-sliced.

Wondering where to order? The Deli menu boards have moved into the Atrium, that is the connection between the original Deli and the new addition.

Turn right, toward the “We Cater” sign, then go around the pillar to your left…

…and straight up the stairs into the Atrium.
Be sure to check out the new location for pastas, spices, sauces & veggies on your way to order!

Look for the ‘order sandwiches’ sign…

…where you’ll see the sandwich menu boards, our brand-new salad case, and a friendly staffer to take your order!Our brand new salad case has more room to fill with exciting and delicious side salads made daily in our Deli kitchen.

Head under the menu boards to enter the blue house (also fondly called the ‘420 building’), which is where you pay.

After you’ve checked out, you can choose to sit in our new porch complete with cool garage doors that’ll be open when the weather permits it…

…outside on our new patio…

…or at our Next Door coffeehouse, which still has seating both downstairs and upstairs!

In the Next Door Coffeehouse, you’ll find tasty pastries, cakes, muffins, & pies made by Zingerman’s Bakehouse. There’s also an intriguing selection of chocolates, gelato made by Zingerman’s Creamery (don’t miss out on gelato sundaes and malts!), & Zingerman’s t-shirts to take home. And, of course, there’s an exceptional selection of espresso drinks, coffee, tea & hot chocolates!

Hope to see you soon!

*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 Deli staffer Maddie LaKind. 

I owe much of my college career to a sandwich. Ok, maybe that’s an overstatement, but it definitely played a big part. Let me explain. Ever since my toddler years, I have been bred to attend the University of Michigan. I wore the merch, visited campus, memorized the cheers, heard stories of the good ole’ college days from my parents and relatives, and housed a collection of maize and blue clothing that puts my current student collection to shame. Becoming a wolverine seemed like my young-adult destiny, until it came time for the college application process.

Knowing that Michigan held the title of my top school, I only applied to three others: two “safety” schools and the University of Wisconsin Madison, which, despite my extreme infatuation with Ann Arbor, almost dissuaded me from coming here. Having visited Madison at the peak of fall, I fell head over heels for the school. Who wouldn’t love a lakeside campus, stunning foliage, top of the line facilities, and a thriving capital city to boot?

As much as it wowed me, it lacked a certain crucial element that couldn’t be found anywhere but Ann Arbor. No, it wasn’t the eclectic music scene, the renowned Ann Arbor Film Festival, chipatis, or the unparalleled Big Ten football culture; it was Zingerman’s Delicatessen, or, more specifically, the #73 sandwich, Tarb’s Tenacious Tenure. On the day before Thanksgiving 2008, I sent in my acceptance e-mail to the University of Michigan. Deal done.

Now you may be thinking that this rationale is completely ridiculous given the importance of one’s college decision. I mean how could somebody possibly determine the fate of their college career because of a sandwich? For me it was simple; I wanted to be in the same community as Zingerman’s, hang out and study there, explore their menu, and, maybe someday, even work there.

As a wide-eyed kid whose world revolved around Food Network and personal endeavors in the kitchen, visiting Zingerman’s for the first time felt like I had reached foodie Mecca. I couldn’t get enough of it and made a point to my parents that upon any visit to or passing through Michigan, Zingerman’s be made a priority stop.  It was during these seminal years of early Ann Arbor exposure that I first experienced the sandwich bliss of the #73, which quickly became not only my sandwich of choice, but also a contender for one of my favorite dishes of all time.

The sandwich is simple enough, but the combination of ingredients, textures, and tastes always appealed to me in a very big way. Starting with two hefty slices of Farm Bread (which I liken to a more mild sourdough with a thicker, heartier crust), the sandwich combines turkey, sliced tomatoes, avocado spread (simply comprised of mashed avocado and lime juice), and healthy schmear of housemade Russian dressing. The sandwich is then briefly pressed on the grill until reaching that characteristic Zingerman’s Deli golden glow and, after being paired with a fresh cucumber pickle (aka a “new” pickle), is ready to eat.

For nearly ten years before I came to Michigan as a student and eventually began working at the deli, I couldn’t shake this sandwich from my mind: the unparalleled crunch of double baked bread, heaping layers of savory turkey, and the fresh, summery essence of fresh tomatoes, all rounded out by citrus and tang from the Russian and avocado spread. Can you tell I have a bit of a love affair going on with this sandwich?

Having eaten a good share of Zingerman’s sandwiches over the course of my employment (which began the beginning of my sophomore year), I can easily name ten to twenty others that taste-wise are just as excellent. However, none of them carries the personal nostalgia factor quite like the Tarb’s. Which is why, to this day, it is still my go-to recommendation for new guests and old friends a like. For me, this sandwich represents so much more than just a lunchtime fixin’. It’s a symbol of a place that values and adores food A place that creates memories, has fun, and helped define my college experience. It taught me the value of hard work, provided me with friends and loving co-workers and it makes me happier than any other place on earth.

So no, it wasn’t actually a sandwich that dictated everything, but it definitely helped push me in the right direction and kept me smiling and satiated every step of the way.

Maddie will close the book on her University of Michigan studies in a couple of weeks, but we look forward to seeing more of her writing here.

Every so often at the Zingerman’s Deli, the call comes from the cheese counter that it’s time for more Emmentaler. Some fortunate person has purchased the last tasty portion and the time has come to break open a new wheel.

The cheesemongers are dispatched. Down they go, and into the cheese cooler underneath the Deli. Here, in chilled comfort, wrapped chunks, half-moons, and huge wheels of delicious cheese await their turn up on the sales floor. The air inside the cooler has a dairy tang, a promise of fine curds aged to perfection by traditional methods. The cheesemongers find the box they’re looking for and wrestle it upstairs. This is a public unveiling.

I’m fortunate to have cheesemonger Chad Hayes as my guide through this process, and he drops facts about the cheese as he works. This wheel of Emmentaler weighs in at 210 pounds, just about average for this cheese. It’s produced in “larger format” because it’s an Alpine cheese and was traditionally made by folks living high in the mountains of Switzerland who were often cut off by winter storms. The big wheels of cheese provided a source of protein for the long winter months of isolation. It’s made from cows milk and the curd is cooked to help stabilize the cheese for longer storage. This Emmentaler has been carefully aged for over a year.

Emmentaler originated in the area around Emmental, Switzerland, and is probably the best-known of all swiss, or Alpine, cheeses. The signature holes in the cheese are the result of trapped carbon dioxide gas during the fermentation process. The cheese has a mellow and savory (but not sharp) flavor and melts easily. It’s an excellent choice for fondue, gratins, or simply enjoying along with some fresh fruit and a nice glass of semi-dry white wine.

Just 7 days left to stock up and save on delicious Zingerman’s Pot Pies!
All of our homemade pot pies are available heated, ready to heat or frozen.
Keep a few on hand this winter for a quick and delicious dinner option!

Zingerman’s Classic Chicken Pot Pie
Free range chicken hand picked off the bone and blended with big chunks of carrots, celery, potatoes, onions and herbs. Wrapped in a handmade butter crust. It’s the perfect lazy cook Winter meal; it’s warm, filling and easier than pie.

John H. Turkey – Turkey Pot Pie
Harnois & Son Farm turkey with big chunks of celery, carrots, onions, potatoes and spiced with Turkish Urfa pepper and fresh herbs. Then wrapped in a handmade butter crust.

Fungi Pot Pie
*vegetarian selection*
A fun pie for the fungiphiles! Michigan Maitake Mushrooms, Tantré Farm Organic Shiitake Mushrooms and a little Balinese long pepper, tucked in an all-butter crust.

Darina’s Dingle Pie
A salute to the miners on the Dingle Peninsula of Ireland: this pie is made with lamb from Back Forty Acres in Chelsea, MI, loads of potatoes, rutabaga, onions and a dash of cumin and rosemary. Wrapped miner-style (no tin) in a butter crust.

Cheshire Pork Pie
Made from a 4-H Tamworth hog raised by Nic Harnois a future star farmer from Northern Washtenaw Co. Braised with onions, apple cider and spices then stuffed in a handmade pastry crust with apples from Kapnick Orchards in Britton, MI. Wrapped miner style (no tin).

The Red Brick Beef Pot Pie
This beef pie is our heartiest one yet. Packed with big chunks of all natural beef from Ernst Farm Here in Washtenaw Co., carrots, potatoes, fresh herbs and wrapped in our handmade crust.

Stock up for winter on frozen pies and save!
– Buy 10 or more get 10% off
– Buy 20 or more get 20% off
– Buy 30 or more get 30% off

Call ahead to order for pick up at the Deli, 734-663-3354, or call 1-888-636-8162 for shipping.

Add this new arrival from Western Wisconsin to the already long list of delicious butters we’ve got at the Zingerman’s Deli. This one comes from the Alcam Creamery in the town of Richland Center about an hour northwest of Madison. The creamery was started in 1946 by Cameron Peckham and is run by his son Gary.  The butter is still all hand rolled and paper wrapped in the old style which means that, even before you taste it, it definitely looks appealingly old-school!

More importantly it tastes great.  It’s got a very big flavor, one of the biggest I’ve had in a butter.  The whey cream makes a big difference—because the whey is taken off after the cheese curd has been set, all of the cultures and flavor development from the cheese will be carried out in the whey as well.  when the whey solids are formed (through slow cooking of the whey) they have a whole lot of flavor.   Ultimately, this is butter so tasty you could probably eat it by the piece sans bread.  In fact, I find myself putting it on bread in much bigger quantities than I normally would.  Less of a spread, more of a slice—in a good way, this may be the cheesiest butter you’ve tried.

No need, I don’t think to tell you what you can do with it.  Anything you do with butter .  .. will be better with better butter.   So whether  it’s this wonderful offering from western Wisconsin or the Kerrygold butter from Ireland or the cultured butter from our friends at Vermont butter and cheese, the main this is to eat it! cook with it!  Bake with it!  Roast with it!  Whatever you do, better butter will be sure to taste better!