Laura Marrich

Alibi Calendars Editor, Tvi Culinary Arts Student

\ Oct 07, 2004

8 min read

Best Ice Cream

Yeah, it’s a sushi place, but they make a green tea ice cream that’s smoother, creamier and denser than anything you’ve ever licked off a spoon. And the spoons they use are precious.

Best Coffee

Free trade tastes better.

Best Chips And Salsa

No stale old chips here. Both the chips and salsa taste incredibly fresh. Great texture, bursting with flavor.

Best Huevos Rancheros

Always and forever.

Best Biscuits And Gravy

Cream gravy is a dish best enjoyed with an ashy, lip-danglin’ cigarette.

Best Tamales

Tamales are always a Christmas treat at home, so I never think to order them when I’m out. It’d be like eating wedding cake just for the hell of it.

Best Green Chile

Damn, damn, damn! Why is this such a hard question? It really depends on what I’m in the mood for. Fine … Frontier.

Best Red Chile

Mary and Tito’s for a fine vegetarian red (to my knowledge, the only vegetarian red, really).

Best Tortillas

If you’d have asked me any other year, I’d have said Frontier without any hesitation. But is it possible to outgrow a baked good? Those suckers are floury as all hell, to the point of tasting raw. I go with a thicker tortilla now. The tortillas at Barelas have a nice buttery note and enough coverage for a heavy-duty chile mop.

Best Indian Taco

You’ve got to wait for it.

Best Bar Food

I’m always pleasantly surprised by the bar food at Gecko’s. Real-tasting tomatoes are a small miracle for any restaurant, let alone a bar.

Best Dessert

Last I checked, he made the desserts at Monte Vista Fire Station and Ambrozia. Nicely does some amazing stuff with booze, ice cream and chocolate (not necessarily all at the same time, but it’s been known to happen).

Best Pizza

It all comes down to the crust: crisp but tender with good flop, good snap and good chew. There’s no comparison in town. None.

Best Korean

Mamma Kai uses stuff from her own family’s garden. You can actually taste the love!

Best Greek

Mykonos for fancy, Olympia for diner Greek. My entire family is from Detroit, where this distinction makes sense.

Best Middle Eastern

It’s my neighborhood Middle Eastern place. I was there right when they opened up (I took pictures of them for the paper), and I used to ride my bike past it on my way to school. It’s like I’m watching it grow up.

Best Thai

But the new Thai Basil on north Fourth Street has been luring me away recently.

Best American

Best New Restaurant

There have been so many wonderful new additions this year! The biggest defining characteristic I think I’m seeing in this bunch is the quality—really fresh, cared-for ingredients. The integrity is there in the food already, which makes the chefs’ jobs that much easier.

Best New Chain Restaurant

Best Value

Best Service

They’re always friendly and prompt, even when every last seat in the house is occupied.

Best Romantic Dinner Spot

Best Sunday Brunch

It’s delicious, creative, affordable and good for my body, too.

Best Chef

A great chef without a good team ain’t shit, but these guys probably get together on their night off and braid each other’s hair. You really sense the relationship between them and the food and you. And they’re having fun, which is critical.

Best Wine List

I like the wine list over at Graze. It’s small enough so that even someone who doesn’t know a lot about wine (me) can make a decision without feeling overwhelmed. It’s short but delicious. Also, the servers are really knowledgeable about the wines, but not in a showy, alienating way. It’s more like “I’ve sat down and drunk this and liked the hell out of it.”