$45/dinner
Special Dinner #94

James Beard-nominated Chef Alex Young began a garden 6 years ago now as a way to spend more time with his family and also make really great food.  They way he describes it, there was an added excitement in serving a special to guests which you not only cooked, but also grew, yourself. What began as a plot of heirloom tomatoes has doubled in size each year and now includes livestock including pigs, cattle, chicken and lambs.

Cornman Farms has a passion for full-flavor and taste plays a big part in what plants are chosen to grow.  Varieties are chosen for their complexity of flavor and ability to thrive in Michigan’s climate and then properly cared for by us. Throughout the growing season, vegetables are prepared and served just hours after being picked.

The flagship of the summer harvest and long-time passion of the Roadhouse are the heirloom tomatoes, which star in this dinners’ menu.  The focal point of this dinner is a raw tomato bar, which allows guests to sample each variety of heirloom tomato grown at Cornman Farms in order to compare the flavors and complexities of each one.

Menu

Starters & Salads

Heirloom Tomato Bar
Fresh Mozzarella
Tuscan Bread Salad
Zucchini Salad
Grilled Summer Succotash Salad
Wheat Berry Salad

Entree

Fresh Grilled Tuna Stuffed Tomatoes
Spring Lamb
Beef Kabobs
Pastured Chicken Sausage
Eggplant & Farro Lasagna with Pink Sauce
Candied Onions

Bread

Wheat Rolls

Dessert

Blueberry Cobbler
Peaches & Bourbon
Green Tomato Pie

$60/dinner (3 crabs and buffet-style sides)

Jennifer Elrod, one of our Front-of-House Managers, can’t wait to share this mid-summer coastal tradition with you.  Growing up in Ann Arbor, Jennie’s family vacationed every year in Maryland.  Nightly, her family dined at the same seaside locales, each smelling of Old Bay (THE signature spice of the region) and salt water. After long days at the shore they’d sit at makeshift tables covered in brown paper while crabs came steaming to tables on cafeteria trays.

Jennie’s hope is to recreate the community atmosphere of those seaside restaurants. Chef Alex will cook plenty of Maryland Blue crabs and lots of traditional sides.  We’ll be doing crab-picking demonstrations, so you won’t need to worry about never having picked a crab before. Join us for this traditional coastal feast.

MENU

Entree:

CRABS-CRABS-CRABS
Melted Butter & Lemons

Sides:

Corn on the Cob
Baked Beans
Potato Salad
Tomato Salad
Cole Slaw

Bread:

Parker House Rolls
Corn Muffins

Dessert:

Lady Baltimore Cake
Sponge Cake with Orange Icing
Tapioca Pudding with Berries

$45/dinner
Special Dinner #93

James Beard-nominated Chef Alex Young began a garden 5 years ago now as a way to spend more time with his family and also make really great food.  They way he describes it, there was an added excitement in serving a special to guests which you not only cooked, but also grew, yourself.  Today, Chef Alex’s Garden is a full-fledged farm, growing over 130 varieties of more than 27 types of vegetables.  What began as a plot of heirloom tomatoes has doubled in size each year and now includes livestock such as pigs and cattle.

Cornman Farms has a passion for full-flavor and taste plays a big part in what plants are chosen to grow.  Varieties are chosen for their complexity of flavor and ability to thrive in Michigan’s climate and then nurtured in a way that embraces the concept of organic. Throughout the growing season, vegetables are prepared and served just hours after being picked.

This dinner celebrates the earliest harvest including first-of-the-season tomatoes, cucumbers, beets, spring carrots, new potatoes and even turnips.

MENU

Starters

Heirloom Tomatoes
Handmade Fresh Mozzarella
Tomato Bead Crostini
Roasted Heirloom Garlic Crostini

Bread

Whole Wheat Pan Bread

Salad

Pea Salad
Roasted Beets & Zingerman’s Creamery Aged Chelsea Goat Cheese
Red Fife Wheat Berry Salad

Vegetables

Grilled New Potatoes
Grilled Summer Squash & Mushroom Kabobs
Roasted Turnip & Carrot
Broccoli Casserole with Hook’s 7-year Cheddar
Grilled Corn with Ancho Chili & Butter
Green Tomato Lasagna

Entree

Curried Beef Kabobs
Spring Lamb Kabobs
Chicken Coq au Vin

Dessert

Fresh Berry Pies
Ice Cream Cake
Green Tomato Pie

SOLD OUT!
$45/dinner
Special Dinner #92

We’ve pretty much tried just about everything and discovered that bacon is one of our favorite, full-flavored ingredients.  We should know – we wrote the book on it! Join us for a dinner, featuring bacon in almost every course – even dessert.  Chef Alex will create a menu using Ari’s book, Zingerman’s Guide to Better Bacon as a starting point.  And Ari will share stories of bacon, writing, cooking and eating.