zing went the zingerman's of my heart

Once a year, Amy and I splurge at Zingerman's Delicatessen in Ann Arbor. Thanksgiving weekend's summer-like weather provided a good excuse to devour high-quality sandwiches on their patio.

Downtown Ann Arbor was awash in maize and blue. Almost all university-age people we passed were decked out in yellow and blue t-shirts, as the Wolverines battled their next door neighbours, Eastern Michigan. We drove into downtown via Geddes, a scenic route which conveniently dodged game traffic.

A display of salads, which we were given free samples of. Our faves were the smoked trout salad and the chicken paprikash.

I chose the #67, Jon & Amy's Double Dip: "Zingerman’s corned beef & Niman Ranch pastrami, Switzerland Swiss & Wisconsin muenster cheeses, hot & regular mustards on pumpernickel & rye breads." Basically two sandwiches merged into one, without extra bread in the middle. Heavenly.

Amy went for the #76, Thad's "Yes I Can": Grilled Amish chicken breast, Wisconsin muenster cheese, roasted red pepper sauce & lettuce on grilled sourdough bread." This sandwich received a big thumbs-up.

We guzzled several cups of ice tea from their trio of unsweetened blends. I was partial to the peach rooibos, while Amy liked the bergamot black.

We finished off with a couple of treats: a brownie and a ginger jump-up (chunks of ginger in a molasses cookie). Note the happy ginger root on the pogo stick on the wrapper. As this picture demonstrates, it quickly jumped out the wrapper. Amy later bought a pack to take home.

Afterwards, we wandered across the street to a farmers market. Endless baskets of fresh-looking poblano peppers and baby white eggplants. So tempting to sneak a few by customs ...until my common sense kicked in.

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Postscript: Later on, we headed up to Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi for some advance Christmas shopping. Unfortunately, the store we specifically wanted to go to, the Discovery Channel's retail outlet, had left the building. We checked out the new wing, where our eyes popped at the prices in the new additions, especially Nordstrom. My eyes also bulged at the number of bad facelifts that passed by.