Ann Arbor, Mich., is what college towns aspire to be when they grow up. Setting aside football for a second (OK, Ohio State fans, please douse those torches), it's pretty much the model of a small Midwestern city adapted to meet the challenges of the modern, globalized economy.
College towns, no matter how small, tend to have a certain minimum level of culture that emanates from or is presented for their faculty and student populations. That means there's usually art, theater, non-mainstream movies, a live-music scene, bookstores, ethnic restaurant and unique retail, beyond what you'd normally find in a small town or city.
Of course, Ann Arbor, home to the research powerhouse and football and industrial complex that is the University of Michigan, isn't a typical college town. The city isn't immune to the economic headwinds of the times -- witness the meltdown of their highest-profile business, Borders books -- but the city has a young, energetic feel missing in many of its battered, manufacturing-dependent neighbors.
Despite being next door to Detroit, the epicenter of our car-dependent culture, the core of Ann Arbor is built on a scale for pedestrians.
Zingerman's Delicatessen
Ann Arbor is an excellent food town. Local produce is prized and promoted, and just about every ethnic cuisine has at least one outstanding representative. The most famous is Zingerman's Delicatessen, in a stout brick building near the excellent Ann Arbor Farmer's Market.
It's worth a wait to try their classic Reuben, pastrami or staggering sandwiches like "Benny & Zach's Bagel Over Tokyo" or the "Cuban Conundrum."
Details: www.zingermansdeli.com .
Brewpubs
Beer, the lifeblood of most college towns, is as much a reason for Ann Arbor's existence as football. There are four microbreweries and brewpubs with signature beers in Ann Arbor's downtown alone: Arbor Brewing, Blue Tractor, Jolly Pumpkin and Grizzly Peak. There's also Wolverine State Brewing Co. on the West Side.
There's probably a craft brew here to suit your taste. Take Arbor Brewing's Espresso Love Breakfast Stout, Grizzly's Bear Paw Porter, Jolly Pumpkin's Madrugada Obscura "Dark Dawn," Blue Tractor's Bearded Pig Pilsner, et cetera ... or maybe one of each?
Details: www.arborbrewing.com .
Michigan Theater
Even if you're not coming during the prestigious, long-running Ann Arbor Film Festival in March, Ann Arbor is an oasis for cinephiles. The historic Michigan Theater's auditorium is a beautifully appointed, gold-leaf-accented movie palace built in the silent era, updated with state-of-the art sound technology able to host the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra or a Robert Altman widescreen classic with equal aplomb. It also has a 1927 Barton Theater Pipe Organ.
The Michigan Theater includes a smaller screening room, showing independent, foreign and classic films, and popular films extending their run after leaving the auditorium.
Nearby, the State Theater, a beautiful World War II-era Art Deco theater, is packed with ambitious, challenging and offbeat programming.
Recent offerings include the sublimely strange Errol Morris documentary "Tabloid," the "Sing-Along Sound of Music" and the Humphrey Bogart classic "The African Queen."
Details: www.michtheater.org .
Shopping
Ann Arbor is packed with one-of-a-kind shops, but it has a few things in particular abundance. Great bookstores, record stores and specialty-food purveyors seem to pop up on every street. It's hard to recommend just a few, but if you're into comic books or their grown-up offspring, graphic novels, Vault of Midnight is the place to go. Wazoo Records is a tiny, well-curated attic-like vinyl utopia. Nicola's Books is an exceptional independent bookstore still thriving in the shadow of Borders' meltdown.
For food and boutiques, walk around the downtown area -- or start at the Kerrytown Market & Shops, a warren of small shops in three historic brick buildings. Browse through homemade sausage and Amish poultry at Sparrow Meats and Produce, Monahan's Seafood Market, Fustini's Oils & Vinegars, or creative kids' toys at Mudpuddles.
Details: www.kerrytown.com .
'Fairy Doors'
Ann Arbor has more than its share of quirks and idiosyncrasies, but few are as absurd, unexpected and oddly endearing as the "Fairy Doors" scattered throughout the city. They're easy to miss, unless you're looking at ground level -- or have a small child in tow -- but many buildings in Ann Arbor have tiny doors built into the side.
Or, perhaps, they just appeared, like the tiny residents said to go in and out when nobody's looking. Most are built in architectural styles that complement their host buildings. A few are on the inside of buildings, hidden in plain sight -- above a dark wood mantle at Nicola's Books, or on a bookshelf in the Ann Arbor District Library. Even the local Google office has one.
What do they mean⢠How did they get there⢠A good place to start looking for the fairy doors is Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea, which also happens to be a good place to stop for coffee or tea.
Details: www.urban-fairies.com .
University of Michigan Exhibit Museum of Natural History
The University of Michigan has a number of fascinating museums. Start at the University of Michigan Exhibit Museum of Natural History, featuring the state's largest collection of dinosaur bones and a planetarium. Admission is free.
Then, there's the university's Kelsey Museum of Archeology, featuring more than 100,000 objects from ancient through medieval history, focusing on the Mediterranean and Near East.
The Nichols Arboretum and the Matthei Botanical Gardens also are popular destinations
Details: www.lsa.umich.edu/exhibitmuseum .
Chelsea, Mich.
When the college-town atmosphere of Ann Arbor gets a bit overpowering, visit nearby Chelsea. It is the kind of classic small town that people always seem to complain is disappearing -- it has a traditional, walkable main street, restored turn-of-the-century buildings, and plenty of independently owned mom-and-pop businesses. The most famous of which produces the "Jiffy" Corn Muffin Mix -- Chelsea Milling Co., whose grain silos loom like skyscrapers over the town.
To pause and savor the pace of small-town life, start at Zou Zou's Cafe and Coffee Bar for a cup or two.
Details: www.zouzouscafe.com .
