Michigan Restaurants

'Wiches outshines the average deli, and locals have taken notice. Since the shop’s opening in 2009, it has been repeatedly crowned a top contender for Best Soup and Sandwich by WDIV Detroit and Best Deli in Oxford by the Oxford Leader.

‘Wiches stacks its sandwiches with layers of deli meats and cheeses, crisp veggies, and flavorful condiments atop freshly baked bread or gluten-free bread. Signature sandwiches include the Chickenthenian with hummus and cucumbers and Porky's Revenge with house-smoked pulled pork, apple-smoked BBQ sauce, and coleslaw. Soups, salads, cookies, and other baked goods round out the menu, and most can be made gluten-free. The sandwiches and sweets also profit the people that purchase them, since ‘Wiches has donated more than $7,500 to local nonprofits.

It's a familiar scene—plasma TVs glimmer with football games as friends clink frosty glasses of brews over animated conversations. Still, MVP Grill and Bar sets itself apart from the standard neighborhood pub with its lengthy menu of eclectic dishes, which range from hearty American classics to fine Italian specialties. Its chefs whip up their own sauces for tender barbecue and juicy sandwiches, while inserting fine cuts of meat and fresh seafood into pastas, quesadillas, and other specialties. Chefs also fire-roast their own housemade italian flatbread before layering it with gourmet vegetables and cheeses to craft tasty paninis.

To complement the chef's top-tier menu, bartenders pour pints from a selection of more than 30 microbrews. Sports knickknacks adorn the walls in the bustling dining room, and outside on the deck, tropical-straw umbrellas that shade the patio furniture create the atmosphere of a far-off island beach or the exotic-fish section of a pet store. Throughout the month, the eatery hosts special events—including live music, karaoke, and trivia nights.

The framed photos that line the wall are a daily reminder for owner David Lum of the inspiration behind Eurasian Grill—Lum’s nieces and nephews. As an ode to their European and Asian heritage, Lum crafted a menu of dishes using Eastern and Western techniques. Veal parmesan sits near orange beef on the page, and Michigan lake perch shares menu space with Hawaiian yellow-fin ahi tuna with wasabi soy sauce. To further blend cultures, waiters sing the "Star Spangled Banner" while toting sichuan chicken and mu shu pork to linen-topped tables.

Tracing its lineage back to 1939, Lelli’s remains in the hands of its original founders, the Lelli family, and continues its culinary tradition of rich, Northern Italian steak-house fare. Skilled chefs and servers prepare and present à la carte dishes such as juicy filet mignon, fresh seafood, and house-made egg pastas draped with rich tomato and cream-based sauces, or bookend European-style six-course meals with antipasto and palate-cleansing spumoni. The dimly lit dining room plays host to private events, corporate dinners, and family meals, and frames feasts with light that glints from candles and crystal chandeliers, reflecting off of cherry-wood furnishings and roosting in the folds of alabaster tablecloths.

Orion Sports Bar & Grill works from a menu of burgers, salads, and hot subs, along with juicy steaks, barbecue ribs, and fish and chips. It's all served up in a sports bar atmosphere. Along with playing Michigan sports games on their flat-screen TVs, the bar challenges guests to trivia, hosts open-mic nights, and presents live music aside from seeing who can most loudly scream at the too-calm Bryant Gumbel. Orion also offers specials on holidays such as St. Patrick's Day.

The mood is cheerful at Bobber Down Bar & Grille, where waitresses address guests as "hun" and regulars clink glasses of frosty drafts at the bar. One wall is speckled with photographs of past patrons proudly holding up a freshly caught fish or a roommate they've convinced to pose as a freshly caught fish. As flat-screen televisions glimmer with sports games and a jukebox plays familiar tunes, bartenders dart nimbly behind the bar, uncapping bottles and whipping up martinis. Meanwhile, in the kitchen, chefs use fresh ingredients to prepare burgers, steaks, and pub classics lauded by reporters from the Ann Arbor News.