Angelo's | Reuben

---

Whatthe?

---

What makes a reuben fantastic? Thick layers of corned beef, melted Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, (rich) thousand-island dressing, and dark rye bread soaked in butter. It sounds simple, doesn't it?

The perfect reuben is simple! It is also simple to ruin.

Enter: Angelo's of Ann Arbor, MI.

The Angelinos want to make a good reuben, and the effort shows. They use thick layers of fillings, but where's the rye? The substitution of thick, crusty bread white bread is a huge misstep, and utterly ruins the sandwich.

No matter how you slice it, though, Angelo's reuben sandwich is a flop. There in't enough meat, sauerkraut, or dressing in the world to hide that thick, white bread crust, or Angelo's soul-deep disdain for proper Jewish deli fare.

Zingerman's | Best Ribs Ever

---

Where's Swayze?

---

The best ribs I have ever tasted were the "pit smoked spare ribs" served to me at Ann Arbor's beloved Zingerman's Roadhouse this past Monday.

Zingerman starts with ribs from specially-bred "Niman Ranch" pigs, slow-cooks them for nine hours, then serves them with not-quite-too-tangy "Alex's red rage tomato BBQ sauce", mashed potatoes, and yellow mustard corn slaw. A thin layer of sauce is baked into the ribs (below), and the flavor runs through all of the pork, so that every bite is flavorful and amazing.

---

The knife means you don't have to share!

---

The intense flavor comes partly from the slow-cooking and smoking process, which helps to bring out the dry rub. Throughout the process, the ribs are basted in a "Memphis-style" sauce. A crisped layer of pork skin is left on one side that I would gleefully stab my dining companions over, if they tried to take it from me.

Speaking of gleefully stabbing things, a big part of the flavor profile comes the free-range ranch pork; the tenderness of the meat is striking, and I feel better knowing telling myself that the pigs I was eating had lived a lovely life ...

... at $19 per half-rack, those pigs had damn well better lead a happy life - but, whether they do or don't, I'm sure they'd agree that these ribs were to die for!