A Sick Day and a Visit with One of My Favorite Authors: Just What the Doctor Ordered

I've been feeling very overwhelmed, tired, and rundown lately. So it's probably no surprise that has resulted in a compromised immune system and me trying to fight off a cold for an entire week. Every day I kept telling myself, "Tomorrow I'll feel better." But tomorrow never came so on Friday I decided I needed a day to do nothing and try to recover. I took a sick day and just sat around the house, cuddled with my two pugs, and read books.

Books & pug cuddles: my sick day Rx

That proved to be just what the doctor ordered because by late afternoon, I was starting to feel human again. And that was lucky because one of my all-time favorite author/illustrators, Adam Rex, was coming to town to do an event at Nicola's Books for his new book School's First Day of School and I had made plans to meet up with him after his school visits were over that day.

And so, my friend Mitch Nobis, a fellow Adam Rex fan, along with my husband met up for tapas and drinks at one of my favorite restaurants in Ann Arbor and had a lovely evening discussing everything from picture books (what REALLY happens at the end of Sam and Dave Dig a Hole?) to politics (how do we help students to think critically when everyone seems to be getting their news through a partisan lens these days?). And suddenly I'm reminded yet again why I love living in Ann Arbor.

Great conversation and great company over tapas

Oh and Adam even came bearing gifts. :)

Barf bag art. It's a thing.

On Saturday Adam along with Christian Robinson, who illustrated School's First Day of School, held their author/illustrator event at Nicola's Books. Adam is an illustrator himself, but decided he wanted to try something different by just writing the book and finding someone else to do the illustrations. I'd say he hit the jackpot with the newly crowned Caldecott honor illustrator Christian Robinson.

Reading from School's First Day of School

Christian reads from Gaston, a book he illustrated and Michigan author Kelly DiPucchio (who was in the audience) wrote.

Christian and Adam drawing Pikachu and The Hulk playing football

So despite the fact that most of this past week has been rather rough and tumble for me as I've tried to resurrect my compromised immune system, it turns out that a sick day, pug cuddles, books, and conversations with friends new and old over dinner was just what I needed to return to the land of the living. Thanks Adam and Christian -- and of course Macmillan -- for bringing your book tour to Michigan and to Nicola's Books.

So ummm yeah... I got a lot of books signed

Read my reviews of Adam Rex books:
The True Meaning of Smekday
Chloe and the Lion

Read my interview with Adam Rex back in 2011 for The True Meaning of Smekday

And who could forget this amazing and hilarious gesture Adam did for my students back in 2012: 


Read my review of Christian's Caldecott honor book (and also Newbery medal-winning):
Last Stop on Market Street

What I've Been Up To (Besides Reading)

It's been a while since I've done any posts that revolve around food or travel. I think about those things all the time, but I haven't written about them in a while.

My body is continuing to heal from all the digestive/IBS issues that have exacerbated the past few years and I finally found a solution with the Low FODMAP diet. I feel like going through that 6 week elimination two summers ago was my body's way of purging all the toxins that were causing my digestive system to overreact to almost everything I ate. I can't say that I can eat now with reckless abandon, but I have been able to add some foods back into my diet that were causing me problems before.

What else have I been up to? Well, I won't be writing about any big trips this year because my husband and I elected not to take a big summer vacation this year like we always do. Why is that? Well, because we just moved to Ann Arbor.

A horrible, sweaty picture of my husband and me post-run in front of our new house

I have always loved this town. This is both a physically, culturally, and politically active community, and as such, I have felt more motivated to get out of the house and get moving. I can now walk and ride my bike to places, whereas before, our neighborhood was not conducive to walking or bike riding. 

I also recently left my social media coordinator position with NCTE due to some reorganization they've been doing, but no worries because I accepted a full time position at my school next year. I will be teaching my regular 8th grade English classes, but then I will also be the K-8 librarian! To say I'm excited would be an understatement.

Since things seem to be falling into place, I'm hoping to start writing more regular posts here on the blog, especially food and book-related posts. Travel? Those posts will likely continue to be few and far between unfortunately.

Kids Read Comics 2015

This weekend I had the privilege of attending the Kids Read Comics convention at the Ann Arbor District Library and every year this event just gets better and better. It's hard to believe that the first year I attended, I did so with trepidation. I hadn't fully embraced graphic novels into my classroom library yet. Now thanks to people like Raina Telgemeier, Dave Roman, Cece Bell, Jennifer Holm and Matthew Holm, I am a full-fledged comics geek!

With great events like Comics Quickfire and Iron Cartoonist, these comics artists showed just how talented they are, not only with their artistic skills, but their improvisational skills.

Comics Quickfire with Dave Roman, Raina Telgemeier, and Zac Gorman

Rachel Polk draws an epic llama doing shot put during Iron Cartoonist

The weekend was capped off with the Kids' Comics Revolution Awards, which were pretty awesome if I do say so myself. That has nothing to do with the fact that I got to be a presenter at the awards this year. ;) Laura Given and I presented the favorite graphic novel in 3 different genres: nonfiction/memoir, adventure, and humor. Dave Roman and Chris Duffy were the hosts, and you'd think they'd been hosting award ceremonies their entire lives with how entertaining they were. I haven't laughed so much and so hard in a long time. But the best part of the awards ceremony for me was to hear Raina Telgemeier say in her award acceptance for favorite cartoonist that Kids Read Comics is her favorite comics event to come to. Proving once again that Ann Arbor is a great place to be.

Kids' Comics Revolution Awards

Dave Roman gets to see one of his characters fully realized -- in muppet form! It's Blue from Starbunny!

Hanging out with friends, kids, authors, and artists: Could this weekend get any better?

I'm bringin' foodie back...

As I've stated a few times here on the blog, I have been a bit mum about food lately due to the fact that my IBS issues seemed to have amped up over the past couple of years and I have been working to get them under better control. Plus, those food issues were compounded with my return to teaching after a year off. So not only did I have to be more diligent about my eating, but I had to do so while also navigating my way back into the classroom.

Now that summer vacation is here, I feel like it's time to sample, play, and experiment again.

This post goes to show what one week of freedom can do for a person.

Last weekend my husband and I drove to Traverse City, Michigan for our anniversary. Thanks to people like Mario Batali, this city has been put on the map as a foodie destination. While we were there, we ate at a Batali-recommended restaurant called The Cooks' House, which feels much like the name describes. It is an intimate space that gives you the impression of having dinner at a friends' house rather than a restaurant, with seating for about 25 people. The food is locally-sourced and embraces the seasons, with a blackboard in the dining room displaying the names of the purveyors they patronize.

If I'm being completely honest though, most of the dishes we actually ordered at The Cooks' House did not bowl me over. The salad I ordered tasted like I just walked into the woods and started eating

Dinner at The Cooks' House: They spoiled us with their amuse bouche

plants. There was barely any dressing and there were no complementary flavors to try to balance the bitterness of the wild, foraged greens. The main dishes were all heavy and meat-centric, with no vegetarian option. The one saving grace was the appetizer of pasta carbonara we ordered, which was not only delicious and perfectly seasoned, but we could clearly tell the pasta was house-made.

While I wasn't a fan of most of our meal, what I thought The Cooks' House did amazingly well was the little amuse bouche they bring between courses. Their after dinner amuse bouche was a variety of little nibbles, but the one thing that I went gaga over was the kettle corn with ground fennel. I loved it so much that our waiter graciously brought me over a second helping.

So if I could offer The Cooks' House one suggestion, it would be to put more of the little bites on their menu and don't focus so much on the heavy meat dishes and flavorless salads.



*~*~*~*~*


Upon our return home from our anniversary weekend, my husband and I needed to go grocery shopping, but with barely any food in the house, we decided to eat out for lunch. We drove to downtown Ann Arbor since it's near the Whole Foods where we shop, and we ate a place called the

Pho and ginger tea streetside at Ginger Deli in Ann Arbor

Ginger Deli. This is where I tried pho for the first time, a Vietnamese broth and rice noodle dish. I know, I know. I shouldn't be allowed to call myself a foodie having never tried pho before, but the opportunity just never presented itself.

Having finally tried it, I now understand why it has such a cult-like discipleship. The broth! That magical broth! I don't know how to describe the beautiful balance of sweet and savory in a beef broth, but boy will I be seeking out more opportunities to have pho in the future.


*~*~*~*~*

Last night my husband and I decided to try a new restaurant in Ypsilanti called the Bona Sera Cafe. They used to be an underground supper club and turned into a brick and mortar restaurant. Overall, the experience was really positive. They have a great, funky atmosphere, as evidenced by the Elvis lamp that greets you when you walk in the door. Incidentally, the electricity went out midway through our first course, and despite this huge setback, the kitchen and waitstaff rallied and were still able to provide patrons food service.

While my husband and I weren't in love with our main entrees -- he ordered the crab mac and cheese and I ordered something called the bi bada bing, which is an Italian riff on a traditional Korean dish -- what I absolutely fell head over heels in love with was my salad and dessert.

Bona Sera Cafe: Fun and funky, with good food

I ordered the orange salad which obviously came with orange segments, it also had arugula, shaved onion, and a white balsamic vinaigrette. There's something so poetic about a perfectly executed salad and that's what this was. It was dressed to the point where you could taste the oil and vinegar but the salad wasn't dripping in it. And it was salted! Never underestimate the power of salting a salad. And this tasted like a beautifully delicate, flaky sea salt. This was the salad experience I was missing at The Cooks' House last weekend.

But let's not forget dessert. I ordered the lime tres leches cake. I am someone who will order anything on a menu if it has lime or lemon in it. I am not usually a fan of rich, heavy chocolate desserts. But I will order something light and citrusy. And the tres leches cake was everything I love in a dessert: light, citrusy, and slightly sinful. You know a tres leches cake is good when the "leche" seeps out the bottom.

Since the Bona Sera Cafe has such a fun, funky vibe and chefs who are passionate about food, I look forward to trying it again to see what their menu is like in the fall/winter. I think if they tweak a few things, they will be a hot spot in the Ann Arbor area.

Tapas in Ann Arbor: Aventura is my foodie happy place

I recently discovered while having dinner with my husband at a new Spanish tapas restaurant in Ann Arbor why I consider myself a foodie.

It was close to the end of our meal during our second visit to Aventura, and I was describing all of the nuanced and complementary flavors that were occurring in all of the dishes we ordered, when I said to my husband, "This is why I love food. Because when it's done artfully and with passion, it is a heightened sensory experience. And as a writer, English teacher, and lover of words, nothing gets me more excited than to describe all these flavors and textures."

Since Aventura's opening a little over a year ago, my husband and I have dined there four times and not one of those four times has been disappointing. In fact, quite the opposite. Each time my love for this restaurant grows and grows. We were elated over the opening of a Spanish tapas bar in Ann Arbor since the closing of our favorite tapas place in Royal Oak, which had the best sangria of any place on the entire planet. Even Aventura's sangria, while good (it's more spicy and herbaceous than fruity), can't hold a candle to the sangria of our former favorite tapas place, appropriately enough called Sangria.

But what Aventura's sangria lacks, they more than make up for it in their food. While our former favorite tapas place had good food, when stacked up against Aventrua, it isn't even a fair fight. They have managed to create dishes that sound unusual enough to question the sanity of the chef, but not so much that you're not curious enough to try it. A perfect example of this is their dessert called Tarta Basura, which is described thusly:

pretzel crust, caramel, chocolate ganache, shoestring potato chips, buttered popcorn ice cream


We ordered this dessert in addition to TWO others when my husband and I took a friend to Aventura a couple weekends ago. The other two desserts were good (the dipping sauces that accompany the

Tarta Basura, Brown Butter Cake, and Churros

churros are out of this world:  espresso chocolate sauce, crème anglaise, salted caramel) but the Tarta Basura with its variety of textures and its perfect balance of salty and sweet was the star of our self-created dessert flight.

In addition to unusual food combinations, another superlative of Aventura is that I have felt bold enough to try dishes that include foods I normally despise because they handle food with such care and passion. The Brussels sprouts are charred just enough to bring out a lovely umami flavor without any of that mushy, sulfuric taste/texture combination so many of us are still traumatized from experiencing when our moms forced us to eat them as children. A weekly special during a recent visit included a roasted sweet potato dish with green onions, garlic, and feta cheese. Once again, I am not a fan of sweet potatoes, but I knew from my experience with their Brussels sprouts that if anyone could change my

Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes: two things I normally hate are stellar at Aventura

mind about my distaste for them, Aventura could. And sure enough, I was right. Now I'm slightly upset that I ordered this dish since it was a special and can't go back and order it again. I told our server that they need to put that dish on the regular menu.

Speaking of servers, let's talk about them, shall we? They are, quite simply, some of the best, most knowledgeable servers you will ever encounter in a restaurant. Clearly they are asked to sample the dishes as part of their training and education because their enticing descriptions of the food comes from a place of sincerity and enthusiasm. It feels more like I'm having a conversation with another food enthusiast rather than the typical restaurant experience where the only time you talk to your server is to tell them what you want and to inform them when you need more of something. Because of that feeling of amiability and collegiality, you also can feel comfortable enough to tell them when something in a dish isn't working. I remember the second time I visited Aventura, our waiter was so personable that I felt compelled to tell him that I enjoyed my chorizo, kale, bean, and potato soup, but I would have liked it better if the kale had been in smaller pieces running throughout, rather than just in two big chunks. He thanked me for telling him and said, "We appreciate this kind of feedback."

Our most recent visit to Aventura was last Friday to celebrate some really good news I had received that day: I had just been selected as the winner of the most outstanding grad student in the English studies program at my university. My husband and I go to dinner every Friday as it is our date night and we had planned to go to a different restaurant, but when I received this good news and my husband said we should celebrate, I came home from work and said, "Well since we're celebrating ME, then I want to go to Aventura." And so we did.

Cheers!

Slurping Turtle Ann Arbor

Last night my husband and I drove to downtown Ann Arbor, as we often do on Friday nights, and decided to give a brand new restaurant a try. And when I say brand new, I mean brand new. It only just opened on April 21st in what used to be the Borders flagship store. The restaurant is called Slurping Turtle, a unique, memorable name for a unique, memorable restaurant.

Chef and owner Takashi Yagihashi who has competed on shows like Iron Chef America and Top Chef, opened the original Slurping Turtle in Chicago but decided to expand his concept to Michigan. The menu consists of Asian tapas, ramen, and sushi. Just like the communal tables at Slurping Turtle, the menu is designed to be shared, as evidenced by their gigantic bowls of ramen that easily serve two. My husband and I decided to order a few tapas and then shared a bowl of ramen and I was more than satisfied with the amount of food we had. Of course, that might also have something to do with the fact that we ordered THREE desserts as well. But with a dessert menu like this, it was really hard to choose just one:

Well, I'm not so sure about the Iron Chef Egg Shooter, but everything else sounds delicious. ;) 

All of the dishes we ordered at Slurping Turtle are ones that I will crave until the next time we eat there. The pork belly bao were soft and pillowy and had just the right amount of sweet and sour. The homemade ramen noodles were perfectly al-dente. And then there was the desserts. We ordered the macarons, black sesame ice cream, and the green tea cream puffs. All three of them were delicious, but my favorite were the green tea cream puffs. More than anything else, those cream puffs are what I will be craving until  our next visit.

Left to right: Slurping Turtle, green tea cream puff, roasted chicken shoyu ramen, my husband slurping said ramen, black sesame ice cream, macarons (kafir lime, sesame chocolate, and raspberry-wasabi), and bao (shrimp, chicken, and pork belly)

Slurping Turtle isn't quite up to full speed yet: they currently only have a dinner service and they have yet to procure their liquor license, but even operating at less than 100%, the food and service were wonderful. I would go back in a heartbeat, and most likely will over and over again. If  they continue with their wonderful food and great service, most likely Slurping Turtle will be added to my list of favorite restaurants in Ann Arbor.

Laurie Halse Anderson visits Michigan

Last night I had the privilege of attending a Laurie Halse Anderson signing at Nicola's Books in Ann Arbor. If you didn't already know this about me, I am a huge Laurie Halse Anderson fan. Her books transcend age, gender, and genre preferences. Her middle grade novel Fever 1793 is the reason I was able to get so many of my students to find enjoyment in historical fiction, which most kids find mind-numbingly boring.

Last night she was here to talk about her newest book, The Impossible Knife of Memory, which I have reviewed here on the blog. As always, her words were heartfelt and judging from the standing room only crowd as well as the variety of ages in attendance, worthy of her rockstar author status.

Standing room only for Laurie Halse Anderson

Some of my favorite moments from last night

• When, after Laurie had mentioned that people have criticized Wintergirls as being a trigger for girls with eating disorders, a young girl raised her hand and said, "I just want you to know that my sister had an eating disorder and she read Wintergirls and it helped her." 
• Listening to young people tell Anderson how much they hated historical fiction until they read her books. 
• Hearing Anderson's story of why she hated English class and why she was never supposed to be an author is the perfect case for why choice reading in the classroom matters.
• When I went up to the desk to get my books signed, Laurie said without any hesitation, "Hey Beth, how are you?" Ummm... Laurie Halse Anderson knows who I am. When did this become my life?

Favorite quotes of the night

• "I tell English teachers to ease up on the dead rich white guys."
• "Teenagers don't like to read books that suck."
• "I want to be known as the queen of the elephant in the room."

If you ever have a chance to listen to Laurie Halse Anderson speak, do yourself a favor and make sure that happens. You absolutely will not regret it. And if you haven't read any of her books, make sure that happens too.

Frita Batidos - a favorite food destination in Ann Arbor

When beloved chef Eve Aronoff closed the doors of her eponymous restaurant eve in 2011, foodies all over Ann Arbor and the metro Detroit area grieved. But while Aronoff did not replace eve with another fine dining establishment, she did begin a new project in late 2010, opening a casual dining establishment called Frita Batidos.

The food at Frita Batidos is Cuban-inspired, but Aronoff will be the first to tell you that it is not traditional Cuban food. The name Frita Batidos comes from two staples of Cuban street food: A frita, which is a burger traditionally made from chorizo and topped with shoestring french fries and a brioche-type bun, and a batido, which is a tropical milkshake made with fresh fruit and sweetened milk.

My husband and I have eaten at Frita Batidos three times now since its opening in 2010 and each time has been a new, delightful adventure. When you walk in, you a greeted by a sleek, white space. You place your order at a counter and then seat yourself at one of the communal picnic tables or a bar stool against the wall.

While you wait for your order, customers can entertain themselves by playing dominoes left on the picnic tables.

I am highly entertained that my ginger lime juice came in a bag

Once your meal does come, however, it will be a no-brainer to push the dominoes aside in favor of some  mouth-watering Cuban-style street eats.

A beef frita topped with a sunny side up egg and a side of coconut ginger rice

garlic cilantro fries with a snack of black beans, ginger coconut rice, melted muenster, and cilantro lime salsa

If you are a fan of Cuban food like I am and you're in the area, I highly recommend a stop inside for fun, casual meal.

Dinner at my favorite restaurant is all I need to cheer me up

Ever since the start of Spring Forward my body has not been able to catch up. I don't think there's been a day that's gone by that I haven't felt completely exhausted. Heavy eyelids on my way to and from work everyday is a tad bit worrisome. And since Friday night is always date night with my husband, I felt the need to try to shake my feelings of exhaustion and drive to downtown Ann Arbor for dinner. Usually when my husband and I are tried after a long week we like to stay as far away from Ann Arbor as possible because we don't want to have to find a parking garage, fight for parking and then have to walk to dinner. Lazy I know. But it's the truth.

But since yesterday's weather was sunny and in the 40s, we decided that the walking to dinner might do us some good. Plus I wanted to try a restaurant that recently opened by the same owners as my favorite restaurant in Ann Arbor, MANI Osteria and Bar, which I have written about before. MANI's owners' new venture is a Mexican restaurant called Isalita. But when we arrived at Isalita a little before 6 PM, the place already had a 40 minute wait. We were willing to wait the 40 minutes because I really wanted to try this place, but just for the heck of it, we went next door to MANI to see if they had immediate seating, and lo and behold, they did. We decided that we'd try Isalita another night when we could get there a little earlier for immediate seating and go with a tried and true pick instead.

It was just what I needed. Just as we did last time, we were seated at the chef's bar where we were treated to an hour-long performance of garnishing, pizza making, and previews of every dish that was dashed out of the kitchen prior to being delivered to hungry, eager diners.

Every dish that we ordered last night was perfection, just as it was the last time we ate there, starting with our drinks. I of course, ordered what I always do: sangria, a consoling drink for me since MANI's sangria is almost identical to the sangria at my favorite restaurant in Royal Oak that recently closed, aptly named Sangria. My husband ordered a strawberry mint lemonade that had just the right amount of pucker and sweetness with just a hint of mint. If I hadn't been so enamored with my own drink, I probably would have ordered one for myself too.

Cheers! Sangria and strawberry mint lemonade

We ordered two small plates for our appetizer: warm, crunchy and gooey arancini, AKA, risotto balls, which were delicious, but the real star of their small plates menu is the crispy pork belly, which is so good it will make your eyes roll into the back of your head and you may even experience a When Harry Met Sally moment if you know what I mean. ;)

arancini

Crispy pork belly with apricot marmalade

The last time we ate at MANI I ordered one of their amazing wood fired pizzas, so this time I decided to try some of their house-made pasta and went with the papparadelle bolognese. It was, once again, perfection. It was perfectly al dente, had just the right amount of sauce, and was served in a reasonable portion: just enough to satisfy you without making you feel like a glutton.

papparadelle bolognese

So I guess the lesson here is, if ever I need cheering up, a trip to my favorite Ann Arbor restaurant is in order. Despite coming home and going to bed early last night (I shouldn't have gone for that second glass of sangria), I woke up this morning in a great mood and ready to conquer the world. Well, not so much the world as that giant mountain of papers I have to grade. 

Movie Review turned rant: The Five-Year Engagement

When Tom (Jason Siegel), a successful up-and-coming chef in San Francisco proposes to the love of his life, Violet (Emily Blunt), they both assume they will get married, stay in their hometown, and live happily ever after. But when Violet gets an acceptance letter to the University of Michigan for a 2-year doctoral fellowship in experimental psychology, Tom, being the supportive fiance, moves with her to Michigan.

Since San Francisco is one of the few towns in America where chefs go to get noticed, Tom feels like he's giving up his dream for the sake of Violet's, especially when his quest for an executive chef job in Ann Arbor results in accepting a job at Zingerman's Deli instead.

Soon two years in Ann Arbor turns to four, and as they continue to postpone the wedding until they can move back home, Tom's resentment towards Violet builds to a comedic madness. Will Tom and Violet ever get married, or will their continued time in Michigan cause them to grow further and further apart?

When a friend of mine told me that the movie The Five Year Engagement takes place in Ann Arbor, I knew I had to watch it. The premise behind the story didn't interest me so much as the hometown setting did. In fact, I'm fairly certain I never would have watched this movie had it not been for where the story took place, as all romantic comedies seem to have the same storyline these days.

There was a handful of funny, laugh-out-loud scenes but I have to say, I was quite irked at the way my beloved Ann Arbor was portrayed in this movie. I might just be an unsophisticated Midwesterner, but the way we are often portrayed by people from more cosmopolitan cities like New York, L.A., and San Francisco is quite one-dimensional and "lesser than." I felt that same sense of superiority from the creators of this movie. For being "just a Midwestern town", Ann Arbor is very sophisticated, intellectual, and has quite a diverse and exciting food scene. Despite the fact that we will never be able to compete with cities like New York and San Francisco, I love that we are a small town with a "big city feel". There are many exciting things happening on the food scene in Ann Arbor if people would just bother to look. Given that Zingerman's is a nationally and internationally known delicatessen, I was surprised at how inferior they were made to appear, and many of the well-known, real-life, downtown establishments were treated with the same disrespect as a montage of fictional Ann Arbor chefs and owners laughed in his Siegel's face and called him #@%^&*! crazy for moving to Michigan from San Francisco. Granted, much of this attitude has to do with Siegel's character's own perception and resentment of having to give up his burgeoning career to move to Michigan, but the creators of this film never did anything to right that perception once *spoiler alert* Tom came to his senses about his and Violet's relationship.

Despite my distaste for making Michigan a punching bag in this movie, it was still an entertaining storyline that kept me laughing throughout. Still, for as much as I love to complain about my home state, it's a lot like siblings: you complain about them, call them annoying, and tell them how much you hate them, but when someone tries to mess with them, you will do whatever it takes to defend their honor. That is exactly how I feel about my home state, and that's why I spent a great deal of time annoyed while sitting through this movie.

Logan: An American Restaurant with a contemporary vibe

On June 7th my husband and I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary by having dinner at the restaurant Logan in downtown Ann Arbor. This was our first time dining at Logan but it certainly will not be our last.

From the moment you enter the bright, contemporary dining space, you are greeted by friendly and accommodating service staff.

The food is equally as contemporary and innovative as the surroundings. Before placing our order, we were given an amuse bouche, compliments of the chef, of a cucumber salad with a light vinaigrette. The cucumber had been shaved to look like short spaghetti noodles, and it was one of the most bright, refreshing salads I've ever eaten: this coming from someone who hates cucumbers. But something the chef at Logan, Thad Gilies, must really understand is that texture can make or break a dish. In this small little bite (that I didn't bother to take a picture of because I assumed I wouldn't like it), I found myself wanting to lick the last little bit of cucumber and vinegar left in the dish.

For an appetizer, my husband and I shared a pasta dish of wild boar bolognese. I've never had wild boar before, but the way it was described on the menu left me intrigued, and hungry:

Texas wild boar braised in red wine and aromatics, tossed with our handmade pappardelle pasta and garnished with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Not only was the wild boar delicious  - it put me in mind of a milder form or short ribs - but I love that it was the perfect amount of food to whet your appetite for the main entree. So often restaurants give you such large appetizer portions that you're full by the time you get to the main meal.

For the main entree I ordered the Tuscan pork tenderloin served with potato pave.

And my husband got the Greek leg of lamb served with ponzu roasted cauliflower and celery root puree.

Honestly, everything we ordered at Logan was absolutely delicious, but I have to say that the care and creativity with which they treat the vegetables is top notch. Once again, with my husband's entree, I found myself devouring a vegetable (cauliflower) that I normally hate, so much so that I think I ate more of it than he did. It definitely inspired me to go home and roast my own cauliflower (which I did, and though not as good as what we had at Logan, it certainly gave me pause to keep it in mind for future dinners at home).

Since it was our anniversary, we decided to go all out and order dessert as well. What we ordered was not only delicious, but almost too pretty to eat:

Hazelnut explosion: sponge cake, hazelnut ice cream, chocolate sauce

Overall, Logan was a memorable dining experience and one to keep in mind for special occasions in the future. If you find yourself in Ann Arbor for a special occasion or just some money in your pocket to burn, give this place a try.

A Very Nerdy Evening

I continue to marvel at the depths social media has improved and inspired my teaching life. Twitter has allowed me to learn from teachers, authors, and librarians all over the country and even the world. No longer is professional development limited to a conference here or a meeting there. It's happening every day, just a computer or smartphone away.

Wednesday evening was one of those moments that I realized social media has done more than just help me learn to be a better teacher. It's helping me to do things and meet people I'd never be able to do and meet otherwise. I had a nerdy good time at dinner in Ann Arbor with some Michigan members of the Nerdy Book Club (one drove in from Chicago) and... Jennifer Holm. Yes, the Jennifer Holm who won three Newbery honors and writes two of the coolest graphic novel series in the world: Babymouse and Squish.

She was giving a talk at the University of Michigan on Thursday and because Colby Sharp is probably the coolest teacher in the state of Michigan, he arranged for a small group of us to have dinner together at a restaurant in downtown Ann Arbor.

Not only is Jenni one of the nicest, sweetest authors you will ever meet, but being surrounded by teachers and librarians who are just as passionate as I am about what they do was such an empowering feeling. We laughed, talked shop, and of course, discussed books.

I think one of my favorite moments of the evening was when we were sitting around a table at a bar in downtown Ann Arbor, surrounded by students that attend a university known as the Harvard of the Midwest (depending on who you ask), and here we are, extolling the virtues of Babymouse. We're not talking about the current political climate of the Middle East or the brilliance of Tolstoy. Nope. We're talking about a tiny mouse with curly whiskers who wished they were straight. And you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way.

One of the most memorable moments from the evening was thanks to one Brian Wyzlic and the dedication he shows to his students by becoming Edgar Allan Poe... literally. He went so far as to come to dinner dressed as Poe... and he and Jenni admired each other's work:

Hey Edgar, don't look so morose all the time. It's impossible to be unhappy reading Babymouse.

Oh the things teachers will do for their students. 

Anyway, I want to thank Colby Sharp, Mr. Schu, Kristin Mcilhagga, Brian Wyzlic, Julie Rick, and of course Jenni Holm for making it such a memorable evening - even if it was a school night and I was a walking zombie all of Thursday. It was oh so worth it.
 

Jenni signs a very special picture for Mr. Poe... I mean Mr. Wyzlic

Priceless picture - signed by Jenni Holm and graced by Babymouse

We might all be Nerdy, but this is one cool group of book lovers.

Michigan Beats Ohio State: Hail Yes!

Michigan fans have had to wait 7 long years, but the drought is finally over! The good thing about having to wait so long for a victory over our biggest rival is that being in the stadium today and witnessing the elation of the crowd was something I will remember forever. The joy was palpable, the celebration genuine.

 

We're celebrating in Ann Arbor!

And this victory was even sweeter considering we won despite the shady reffing that was going on during the game. It was almost like the refs were explicitly trying to get us to lose. And yet, despite those dirty shenanigans, we still won. It was good to see that heart and determination beat out over politics.