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My favorite deli
"We want to have world-class food in a casual setting." How many times have you heard that sentiment? I'll grant that operators usually get the casual setting part right, but world-class almost always whizzes right by them. Except in a few cases, one of them being Zingerman's Deli in Ann Arbor, Mich. Co-founded in 1982 by Ari Zingerman and Paul Saginaw, the on-trend deli offers inspired food amid an operation that always seems on the edge of rebelliousness.
Still, the verities of restaurauteuring -- be generous and kind to customers and employees -- have been on display the handful of times I've dropped by. Yesterday was no exception. A patient employee was standing outside the door with a tray of healthy-looking goodies from which famished customers in line could grab a bite (and, perhaps, be subtlely encouraged to buy something they never intended to).
Not everything at the deli is good for you, however, nor would one expect it to be even in a college town like Ann Arbor.
For example, the Cuban Conundrum ($11.99, nosher;$13.50, fresser) comes with lots of mayo and Swiss cheese. Delicious! There's healthy stuff, too. My wife ordered Benny & Zach's Bagel Over Tokyo ($11.99).
Have you noticed? Nothing is cheap. No bargains, really. Just generously portioned good food. Zingerman himself has said: "We believe that people can taste the difference, that if they can afford it, they happily will pay more if they know why they're paying more and can taste it" [emphasis added].
You might argue that approach doesn't play in the real world, that college towns like Ann Arbor are loaded with rich kids and well-paid faculty and researchers. True, enough. Plus, I have no way of know whether sales at Zingerman's Deli -- or any of its several off-shoots (baking and training classes, for example, are up or down on the year. I know only that yesterday, at 1 o'clock, the restaurant was packed and that people were still lined up an hour-and-a-half later.
Oh, and that my buddy Peter really loves Zingerman's Pecan Pie.
My favorite deli
September 2, 2008
"We want to have world-class food in a casual setting." How many times have you heard that sentiment? I'll grant that operators usually get the casual setting part right, but world-class almost always whizzes right by them. Except in a few cases, one of them being Zingerman's Deli in Ann Arbor, Mich. Co-founded in 1982 by Ari Zingerman and Paul Saginaw, the on-trend deli offers inspired food amid an operation that always seems on the edge of rebelliousness. |
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Have you noticed? Nothing is cheap. No bargains, really. Just generously portioned good food. Zingerman himself has said: "We believe that people can taste the difference, that if they can afford it, they happily will pay more if they know why they're paying more and can taste it" [emphasis added].
You might argue that approach doesn't play in the real world, that college towns like Ann Arbor are loaded with rich kids and well-paid faculty and researchers. True, enough. Plus, I have no way of know whether sales at Zingerman's Deli -- or any of its several off-shoots (baking and training classes, for example, are up or down on the year. I know only that yesterday, at 1 o'clock, the restaurant was packed and that people were still lined up an hour-and-a-half later.
Oh, and that my buddy Peter really loves Zingerman's Pecan Pie.
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Posted by David Farkas on September 2, 2008 | Comments (0)
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