Is it pure coincidence that Taste of Ann Arbor, Grillin’ and Restaurant Week are all back to back t0 back? It’s like the Triple Crown for Ann Arbor foodies, leaving one to wonder if it gets much better than this?

Grillin’ (in this Triple Crown reference) would represent the Derby – minus the mint juleps and weird hats – and much like the actual Kentucky Derby this year, people were echoing “I’ll Have Another” over and over. Thousands of residents from throughout Washtenaw County and SE Michigan were on hand to help raise awareness and funds for Food Gatherers. The annual barbecue featured food from a ton of your favorite Ann Arbor restaurants including Zingerman’s, Shalimar, Knights Steak House, Cafe Zola and more.

The Appleseed Collective

While giving you the vegetarian’s prospective on the dish lineup, I was told everything was fantastic. I can personally vowge for the salads from Shalimar and Al Dente Pasta Co. I’m remissed to say while the veggie burger patty was amazing, the heat by the grill was too much for me to handle and I missed where it came from. Kudos to you mystery patty maker, well done. I’d also recommend the Magic Brownie from Zingerman’s. It’s like fudge, but a brownie, making it truly magical and probably not for the reasons you’d think, although I may be on to something…

If the fantastic food and friendly atmosphere wasn’t enough, Back Forty, The Appleseed Collective and George Bedard and the Kingpins kept the event moving right along. While I only caught Appleseed, I’m sure all 3 performances had folks dancing off the calories and shaking out the onset of a Sunday evening food coma.

Besides the food, the music and the heat, I think something I’ll remember most is the people who came out in support of this amazing non-profit. Now, it could’ve very easily been the ABC beer talking, but I haven’t seen so many happy, smiling faces in a long time. Every person who walked through the fair grounds got a name tag and it was almost like a neighborhood outing where everyone knew everyone, and if you didn’t you could at least act like it by just reading the name tag. So, as I stick a fork in this review, a quick shout out and thanks to Todd and Susan for the great conversation and I hope to see you next year at Grillin’.