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When I heard I’d be going to a place called the “Jolly Pumpkin Cafe“, my heart sank. I had been punished from someone in the main office for going to too many provocatively-named, minimalist-interior bistros serving carefully manicured salads in the center of large white dishes. My sentence: what was sure to be a trite, cliched family theme restaurant – just replace mid-meal rainforest sounds with Halloween costumes.“The Jolly Pumpkin“. Chew on that name. It’s fun. It’s playful. It’s cute. There … read more

If you’ve spent any time at all in the Ann Arbor area, you probably know about SavCo. Founded by restaurateur and household Ann Arbor name Sava Lelcaj, SavCo Hospitality is the result of year’s worth of culinary sweat and toil on the part of its owner, who opened up her namesake restaurant Sava’s in 2007, when she was just 23 years old. SavCo’s not-so-secret ambition is to take over your life (well, at least the eating parts) with the freshest, healthiest ingredients possible, whether they’re … read more

On the corner of East Liberty and South Division Streets lies Ann Arbor’s most oft mispronounced restaurant, Mani Osteria. Sitting outside, reclined in a wicker chair, it’s not uncommon to hear at least a dozen different syllabic variations on the moniker of this superb pizzeria and Italian restaurant sitting smack in the middle of downtown. “Man-nee”? “Mah-nee”? “Oster-ee-uh”? “Os-ter-ayuh”? To the first time visitor, it’s a mystery. But for the numerous repeat customers who pack the modern, op … read more

No, I didn’t backpack through Hyde Park or bushwhack Lollapalooza. The following is an unconventional trip report by Bivouac standards: On Friday May 29, 2015, I boarded a 6am Amtrak to Chicago Union Station to visit friends at Northwestern University in Evanston, a suburb of the Windy City. They all had class until 7pm, and my only choices for trains were 6:40am (arriving 11am) or a 7pm (arriving 11pm). Essentially, I’d have 6 hours to kill in the greater downtown Chicago area before I met m … read more

Ann Arbor is a foodie town across all strata. Biannual restaurant weeks showcase everything from gourmet food carts to Zagat-rated bistros, and even our local deli is internationally famous. “Bivouac Eats” is a new series where every week, we’ll explore a new Ann Arbor restaurant and run its delicious food through the paces. Our highly-trained, college-metabolism-fueled intern has graciously volunteered for this position with the promise that he tear up a few “man cards” along the way to photogr … read more