Haappy Saavings!
How are all my favorite foodies doing?? With Thanksgiving just around the corner, food happens to be on my mind a little more than usual. However, with Thanksgiving comes Christmas and lots of seasonal influence (Angell, 11/8/17). No matter what holiday you celebrate or don't celebrate, this time of year can prove really expensive for most. During this portion of the year there are many situational (Angell, 11/8/17) purchases being made, not only on food, but on lots of items that can really break the bank. That being said, I am going to devote this post to instructing you on some of the cheapest (but still delicious) meals in Ann Arbor. I hope you enjoy this post and find it truly helpful. Lets get started!
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| Downtown Ann Arbor |
Despite having talked about pizza spots in AA in my last couple of posts with Mani and Pizza House, NeoPapalis is slightly different. Not only is it cheaper, but the entire atmosphere is different. NeoPapalis is like the Chipotle of pizza. However, something that is not different about Neos is the quality of the food. NeoPapalis is some of my all-time favorite brick oven pizza. Considering how fast and cheap this place is, you truly get a bang for your buck. With cafeteria-style ordering, you get to pick whatever topping you would like. Not only that, but you can choose to get a 12" pizza or your own, personal 10". I have been to NeoPapalis plenty of times myself and take it from someone with a large appetite, the personal pizzas are plenty for one sitting, and possibly too much for most people. Perhpas the best part about this spot is that you can choose from a full list of toppings that only cost $1 each. By the time you have devoured your delicious neopolitan style pizza, you will have only spent around $7.00 for the personal pizza, and $8.50 for the 12". However, odds are you will split a 12" and end up spending around only $5 plus whatever drink or sides you get. Overall, this place a great, quick, spot for all you pizza lovers trying to save what money you can.
No Thai
No Thai is a cheap eat located right at the center of central campus. No Thai is an inexpensive restaurant that is the perfect spot to meet friends for a quick meal after class, or when you need to be re-fueled after a long game day (I know this from personal experience). No Thai offers noodle dishes, rice dishes and stir-fry's all inspired by Thai cuisine. The best part, almost every single meal is under $10. To add to this, the restaurant does not offer full-service therefore by ordering at the counter one can also avoid having to give a tip. It's also the perfect place for meals for students as they are always on a budget. It's located near the majority of academic buildings, you can get in and out within 30 minutes, and you won't have to feel stressed over the amount of money you spent to have it. I wouldn't recommend this place if you're looking for authentic thai food because it emphasizes glocalization (Angell, 10/18/17) as it is Americanized Thai food that pleases the tastes of the locals. However, if you don't have time to cook, or trying not to break the bank for a meal out with friends, No Thai is the place for you.
Jerusalem Garden
Jerusalem Garden is located right outside of central campus and close to downtown near Main street. Jerusalem Garden hands-down offers the best Mediterranean cuisine in Ann Arbor. Coming from someone who loves this restaurant, you can not leave without trying the pita and hummus, along with the falafels. The menu offers large portions of authentic mediterranean food. Despite how good the meals taste, the restaurant is relatively cheap. All meals are around $12 or less. Perhaps my favorite part is that all entrees come with 2 sides for FREE. In addition, this is the perfect family spot. This places represents a schema (Babin, 2016, p.86) for me as it reminds me of my family and local restaurants we would eat at growing up. The entire atmosphere is welcoming and cozy. Not only that, but you can feed an entire family without having to break the bank.
With all the money you have saved, you may be looking to give back around the holidays. One restaurant in particular, The Original Cottage Inn, in Ann Arbor, has been providing a free meal on Thanksgiving for anyone who stops in since 1983. I have provided the link to an article that talks all about it. I hope this read inspires you to help someone in need this holiday season!
http://michiganradio.org/post/here-are-some-restaurants-michigan-giving-out-free-meals-thanksgiving
References
Angell, A. (2017, September 13). CB Chapter 2 Value. Lecture Presented in University of Michigan in Ann Arbor
Angell, A. (2017, October 18). CB Chapter 9 Culture and Microcultures. Lecture Presented in University of Michigan in Ann Arbor
Angell, A. (2017, November 8). CB Chapter 11 Situations. Lecture Presented in University of Michigan in Ann Arbor
Babin. B., & Harris, E. (2016). In CB 7 (7th ed., p. 86). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
** Photos from Facebook, Yelp.com, Reddit.com, Tripadvisor.com
Hi Jill,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your post! I am quite frugal, and love to find a good deal while exploring new foods around campus. When I am looking to try a new restaurant without breaking the bank, I often experience information overload during my prepurchase search (Babin & Harris, 2016, pp. 257-258). Tools like your post allows me to alter my awareness set so that I can learn about new restaurants and add them to my consideration set without becoming overwhelmed (Babin & Harris, 2016, pp. 258-259). I also loved how in addition to providing foods from different parts of the world, you analyzed the culture distance to reassure readers that they are still likely to enjoy a food that may seem initially unfamiliar (Babin & Harris, 2016, pp. 188).
Here is some research from the National Restaurant Association that explores Americans' familiarity with international foods: http://www.restaurant.org/News-Research/Research/Global-Palates
Since it is my senior year, I definitely splurge on the delicious food in Ann Arbor more frequently than I usually have in my past years of college. It is extremely relatable that you mentioned the increase in A-B-C experiential purchases during the holiday season since that is definitely something that I have been doing. (Angell) I have already started spending copious amounts of time shopping online looking for Christmas presents for close family and friends. The pictures of each menu item really helped get an idea of the portion sizes!
ReplyDeleteA cool aspect you could have added to this blog would be your personal favorite meal at that specific restaurant. I know I go to No Thai frequently but am always hesitant to try new things and end up buying the potato curry every time I visit. If you felt like your purchase of specific meals was of high value at No Thai, it definitely will influence my purchase next time. (Angell) Since these are also popular places that college students visit, I think getting an option of healthy cheap meals on campus would be helpful. As someone that eats out a lot, I know finding healthy choices near study spots is definitely a struggle.
Healthy options in Ann Arbor
https://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=Healthy+Restaurant&find_loc=Ann+Arbor%2C+MI
Helpful yelp review on a specific No Thai dish
https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/no-thai-ann-arbor?select=ssM2MFODuHBB5VVjcacIhA&reviewid=-i8D-yPwvBe2jcOge2VIBA
Angell, A. CB Chapter 7 Attitudes Angell. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
First off, I found your blog very interesting because I’ve only been to one of these three places in my first 2.5 years at Michigan! After reading your blog, I am definitely going to try NeoPapalis as I am a big fan of brick oven pizza and that price cannot be beat! It’s interesting that this is the first time I’ve really heard about NeoPapalis, but knew about places like Pizza House before coming to campus freshmen year. I think that has a lot to do with the people I surround myself with and the reference groups that I am a part of, as the people you surround yourself with influence your consumption (Babin 2016).
ReplyDeleteReading your blog prompted me to do some research on Ann Arbor restaurants to see if I would stumble across any popular restaurants that I haven’t been to. On this list of 11 restaurants, I’ve only been to 5 and hadn’t heard of 3 of them before reading the list in this link, https://detroit.eater.com/maps/best-restaurants-ann-arbor. Many of them also seem to be upscale restaurants, so reading your blog and learning about some cheap eats in Ann Arbor was very helpful for me as someone who likes to budget her money. It would be interesting to see a list of restaurants for every price range and this blog was a great step in that process!
References
Babin. B., & Harris, E. (2016). In CB 7 (7th ed., pp. 156-160). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Reyes, J. (2016, November 30). 11 Essential Ann Arbor Restaurants. Retrieved November 20,2017 from https://detroit.eater.com/maps/best-restaurants-ann-arbor.