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One great thing about living in a town with lots of agile LOCAL food businesses: They often really listen to you when you tell them what you like!

Case in point: Observer editor John Hilton recently got a message from Zingerman's Marketing Dept, to tell him his favorite bagel was coming back for one day only on June 1. Intrigued? It's all about the "chewy, crusty bagels with garam masala, curry powder (15 spices in all!) and golden raisins... Call to place an order: 734.761.2095 $1.35/each."

Likewise, after yours truly raved about ambitious yet delicate chocolate sampler at Raven's Club on Main St., then was disappointed (vocally) on a subsequent visit to see it gone, news came recently via the grapevine that it is back, berry and bonbon garnish and all. Check it out--and don't be shy telling eateries what YOU like.

Odd to walk by the shuttered iconic building at the corner of Liberty and Main that used to be the Parthenon. That place was around forever, seems like. Can't say I had unforgettable Greek meals, nor particularly charming service there. Servers had a "You talkin to me?" way of moping over to the table, as if having to serve you a Greek salad would just about ruin their day.

But onward now to the new home for Cafe Habana. Kinda exciting. With the tackiness stripped away from the front of the Parthenon's cornerstone structure, some good old bones are showing in the facade. Think faded Havana elegance. I hope the menu rises to match what could be a stunning spot.

Elsewhere in town, Zingerman's Deli expansion is moving right along. And on April 21, Sweet Heather Anne bakery opened a new shop at 920 N. Main to peddle lovely little cupcakes and cookies along with charismatically electic, often even off-kilter special-occasion cakes. Check out the website for http://www.sweetheatheranne.com for a taste of that style.

Speaking of cake websites, Cakes by Rubina, which bakes out of Main Dish on Jackson Rd., says, "We launched our new online shopping cart and are ready to ship nationally our decadent cake truffles and mouth-watering coffee cakes, all freshly baked." See http://www.shop.cakesbyrubina.com/ for some good deals on shipping charges.

Days are getting longer, and my strolls and stops through Ann Arbor reliably unroll a pleasant stream of fun new surprises of the delicious variety.

For example, last week Cherry Republic at the corner of Liberty and Main had a table set up for you to customize a Valentine's Day package to the likes of your loved ones. Since you can sample much of what the store sells, there wasn't a lot of guesswork involved. All year long, edible postcards are on hand there, so you can craft quick pickups for out-of-towners.

A Begian waffle shop is set to open up near Nichols Arcade--there's a new and different taste treat for the mix. And warm days will be greeted by more than one new frozen yogurt enterprise in downtown Ann Arbor.

The always cozy Jefferson Market and Cakery on the Old West Side just added a bookshelf "library" where you can take a book to browse while you sit, sip, and nibble a fresh-baked pastry--and take th book home if it holds your interest. Just leave a book next time you stop in.

Even the smells have been delicious, I've noticed. Fresh bread baking at Cottage Inn on William (still a dollar a loaf)... Some righteously intoxicating BBQ sauce coming from Happy's Pizza at Madison and Main... Homemade caramel corn fumes wafting out of Kilwins on Liberty.

I challenge you to actually burn calories on your spring walks in this town! Give it a try anyway, eh?

The dreay days of late December and early January may or may not be times your thoughts turn to eating out. This could depend upon the amount of rich food you overindulged in at the holidays, or the amount of gift treats you're hoarding to see you through to Valentine's Day.

No matter--think ahead a half a month anyway. That's when the first Ann Arbor Restaurant Week of 2012 kicks into gear, January 15-20. You'll want to make reservations soon to take advantage of fixed-price special lunch ($12) and dinner ($25) menus at about 50 popular restaurants. Some of the casual eateries actually give you meals for two people for those prices.

Learn more and see some Restaurant Week menus already posted online at http://annarborrestaurantweek.com/ (it's an incomplete website, however, so call the restaurants to be sure they're offering what you set your sights on).

Four-course dinners at some higher-end joints will get your tastebuds watering with what they're featuring, such as: quinoa-crusted sole, bourbon-drenched pork loin, and pasta with shrimp and bacon in creamy vodka tomato sauce....

MMMmmm... Happy New Year of dining.

TV commercials seem even clangier, louder, and more annoying than usual this holiday season. I've been slow emerging from my annual early-weeks scroogey funk, But in the last 24 hours, that nice anticipatory sense has started kicking in. A lot of credit goes to great things happening in downtown Ann Arbor. A sampling:

• Sweetwaters put together a special blend of Sky High Blend coffee in support of Skyline High crew teams. The athletes were peddling it and offering samples in front of the Washington St. store this chilly Saturday morning, and it was so rich, smooth, and delicious that I actually anteed up $15 bucks for a bag. Sweetwaters will give me a free cuppa when I bring in the empty bag, a la Starbucks best promotion. And the rowers say their teams get just over $7 for every bag they sell.
• An even further-reaching public/nonprofit partnership comes from the Main St. Association. It's called the 12 Days of Giving. If you shop at dozens of participating stores from Dec. 12 - 23, they'll donate part of sales or collect donations benefiting the selected nonprofits on each of the 12 days. More info at:
  http://mainstreetannarbor.org/2011/10/12-days-of-giving-dec-12th-23rd/
• Finally, my sweet tooth got its jumpstart over at Downtown Home and Garden this morning, where local chef Brigitte Romero was baking up traditional French madeleines in Mark Hodesh's funky little 1935 Magic Chef oven. If you want to know while Proust's obsession lasted for a century, taste one of these intense partries. Brigitte is selling them, of course (734-332-3438). And maestro Hodesh has more big plans for the next month, including an xmas party with smoked goose on Dec. 3 and a 30-member gospel choir performing during Midnight Madness.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

For all the thousands of folks who ride the academic tide out of Ann Arbor in spring and back for fall, you may be noticing a few changes in the local food scene.

• Mark's Carts has brought popup dining to Ann Arbor in a lovely setting on Washington St. near Ashley:
  http://arborweb.com/articles/something_new_under_the_sun.html
• A couple of notable upscale eateries opened to positive reviews downtown... Find out more in the September Observer, coming soon to http://arborweb.com/ !
• The wonderful HomeGrown Festival (including locally produced beer and wine for sale) is right around the corner:

  Saturday, September 10, 2011, 6 -11 pm, Ann Arbor Farmer’s Market, Kerrytown, 315 Detroit Street, Ann Arbor http://homegrownfestival.org/

• The next day, in the same will be the annual Kerrytown BookFest, which doesn't forget local foodies when creating its events. At Hollanders, you'll find a lecture-demo on Tasting and Touring Michigan’s Homegrown Food (noon) by author Jaye Beeler and photographer Dianne Burdick, and discussion of Ma Baseema: Chaldean Middle Eastern Cooking with a Chaldean Flair (2 p.m.) with editor Jane Shallal. Full schedule at
  http://arborweb.com/calendar/festivals__fairs__shows____sales_110905.html
  Doesn't that sound like a good way to pass the historic day of 9/11, in the company of community?

Tracklements on Kingsley St. in Kerrytown made its name with delicately smoked fish of high quality and enough varieties to keep it interesting. Now they're letting you expand your appetizer platter with a few meaty offerings, including brisket, duck breast, and more. A couple examples:

• Classic and herbed smoked bacon has enough flavor to stand up in the precision-cut thick long slices. Local smoker Peter Arno starts with Sparrow Market's fresh pork belly and transforms it into guilty pleasure with proprietary lightly sweet/salt cures.
• Pâté de campagne (or de Tay, as it's referred to in the shop, in honor of its maker, Taylor Rutledge) is a variable mosaic of pretty eats. It begins with pork loin and liver, then gets personal with a wide variety nuts (like hazelnuts or pistachios) fruits (like prunes or figs) and spirits (like brandy or vin santo). Sometimes the pâté features Pete's herb-cured bacon, completing the circle.

Cottage-made locally with care in small batches, these offerings sell out; call ahead to make sure they're available, 734-930 6642. Learn more and see photos on Tracklements Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tracklements-Smokery/117768948240254

Previous Posts

• Ask in order to receive!
• Ch-ch-changes...
• It's the sweet little things...
• Don't just plan meeting for coffee in mid-January--plan lunch or dinner
• Delicious reasons to shop local
• News for a new school year (esp if you aren't going to the Notre Dame game 9/10)
• Bacon + Pate = Charcuterie @ Tracklements
• Polish Easter Treats, Copernicus Style
• WCC Dinners at Night at Garrett's
• Serendipity, Valentine's Day, and a really good red pepper sauce

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Contributors

• Mary Beth Lewis
• John Hilton