Return of the oddly inflamatory shop-local list

The opening of a WalMart in Saline has been reported as impacting the local stores (huge surprise,) which prompts me to repost my shop-locally list, with some additions suggested by others.

---

Wine, Deli, Chocolates	Morgan and York	1928 Packard, Ann Arbor 48104	734 769 9770	http://morganandyork.com/
As we say in Ann Arbor, "you know, the old Big Ten Party Store." Repeatedly voted Best Wine Shop. Especially in the realm of small French labels and Kermit Lynch - imported values, this is the place. Update 2011 06 14: still going strong, as far as I can tell.
Wine	Everyday Wines	407 N. Fifth Ave - 1st Floor Ann Arbor, MI 48104	734.827.WINE	http://www.everyday-wines.blogspot.com/
Just as the name implies, Mary Campbell's shop is dedicated to affordable wines. Update 2011 06 14 As with Morgan and York, Mary seems to be weathering the storm.
Produce, high-end groceries, wine	Produce Station	1629 S. State St. Ann Arbor MI 48104	734.663.7848	http://www.producestation.com/visit.php
With the exception of the Farmer's Market in season, there is no better place for produce in Ann Arbor, period. Small, inconvenient to get to and get around in, it's worth the effort. Unofficial Rules: do not use a full size grocery cart (even though they have them), do not bring children. Update 2011 06 14 - If you were a fan of his, Jorge' from the moribund Village Corner is working with them on their wine selections.
Deli, luxury foods, coffee beans, bread	Zingerman's	422 Detroit Street, Ann Arbor MI 48104	888.636.8162	http://www.zingermans.com/default.aspx
Although Zingerman's is the Superpower of local vendors, with aspirations to a global reach via their mail order side, they're still local, and they still roast a fine coffee bean.
Produce, meats, plants	Ann Arbor Farmers Market	315 Detroit St, Ann Arbor 48103	734 994-3276	http://kerrytown.org/detail.asp?id=336
In season, the best produce available. In the winter, a desolate tundra of crafts and wreaths. I mark the return of reasonable weather in the area by the reappearance of edible things at the market. Unofficial rules: no strollers! Update 2011 06 14 there are edibles, for sure, but the real kickoff will be when people bring in their picked basil and the whole place smells like caprese! In addition to the Saturday and Wednesday daytime schedules, the Market is experimenting with a Wednesday evening opening, which at first blush seems like it might be more dining-and-strolling focused than retail. Just started, so the outcome remains to be seen. NB: Zingerman's hosts the Westside Farmers' Market (Thursday PM) out on the far West Side, at their Roadhouse Restaurant; Ypsilanti also has a market - Tuesdays, PM -- apparently; the website is broken at the moment.
Bulk food, spices	By the Pound	617 S Main Street, Ann Arbor	(734) 665-8884	http://arborwiki.org/city/By_The_Pound
Best place for getting just exactly the amount of something you want, not what Proctor and Gamble thinks you need. I do not assert that you will save any money, necessarily, but you'll pay for the food you're buying, not its packaging. The routine is, grab one of the plastic bags that are set out, dump your preferred quantity of whatever into it, close it with one of the tagged twist-ties, and write the price per pound on said tag (not a stock number as with some other bulk places.) The store owner has all the prices of the hundreds of items memorized, but the staff don't necessarily, so write legibly.
Groceries	Ann Arbor People's Food Coop	216 N 4th Ave, Ann Arbor	(734)994-9174	http://www.peoplesfood.coop/
Everything you'd expect in a coop. We are members, but we don't shop there all that often, primarily because we can get virtually everything they have from one of the other vendors listed here. Nothing against the coop, just seldom happens that I think of them first. It's a character flaw.
Groceries	Ypsilanti Food Coop	312 North River Street, Ypsilanti	(734) 483-1520	http://www.ypsifoodcoop.org/
And of course, there's a food coop in Ypsilanti, too.
Produce, groceries, wine	Fresh Seasons Market	2281 W Liberty St, Ann Arbor MI 48103	Closed	Closed
They did not survive the chaos.
Meats, produce, groceries	Sparrow Market	415 N. Fifth Ave - 1st Floor Ann Arbor MI 48104	734.761.8175	http://www.kerrytown.com/sparrowmeats/index.html
There is no better, more consistent source of meat in Ann Arbor, with the possible exception of the actual raisers who come to the Farmer's Market. The rest of Sparrow's empire in Kerrytown is pretty darn good, too. Update 2011 06 14 Going strong, with a small lunch capability added. Anthony Bourdain apparently interviewed Bob, but in the demise of all things Border's, the video appears to be missing.
Meat	Hannewald Lamb	Stockbridge MI 49285 (in the Farmer's Market, too)	517-851-4718	http://arbormarket.googlepages.com/hannewaldlamb
A local raiser, with a Farmer's Market presence. The absolute best lamb I've ever cooked, and nice dog treats, too.
Meat	Knight's Market	420 Miller Avenue, Ann Arbor	(734) 665-6494	http://www.knightsmeatmarket.com/
Easily forgotten (by me, in the last list,) due to their low profile and edge-of-downtown location, Knight's is a major supplier of meat to local restaurants, and their little shop will sell you some, too. Many of the best-rated burgers in Ann Arbor list "Knight's meat" on the menu. They are reportedly planning to join the 21st century in terms of image and offerings, sometime this year.
Seafood	Monahan's	407 North 5th Avenue, Ann Arbor MI	(734) 662-5118	http://www.kerrytown.com/monahans/
To the extent that you can get fresh seafood in Ann Arbor, Monahan's is the place to get it. As always with fish far from the sea, you're better off going in without preconceived notions about what you want, and simply asking, "What's good today?"
Smoked fish etc.	Durham's Tracklements	212 East Kingsley Street Ann Arbor MI 48104	734-930-6642	http://www.tracklements.com/contact.php
Nationally-known source for great smoked fish and other smoked animals. In fact, a tiny hole in the wall on the north side of Kerrytown. Wonderful stuff.
Groceries	Busch's	various	various	http://buschs.com/http://buschs.com/">http://buschs.com/
Although Busch's exhibits most of the faults of supermarkets, it is, at least, a local enterprise. If you absolutely, positively have to shop at a supermarket, these are slightly better than the other places. Not recommended for anything that perishes or comes in grades of quality, such as fish, meat, deli, or produce.
Dog-related Stuff	Dog-o-Mat 2	2740 Jackson Blvd	(734) 769-1492	http://www.dog-o-mat.com/dogomat_2.htm
After an unfortunate relocation, Dog-o-Mat is regrouping and planning a new presence. In the meantime, the PawRun dog park is still a going concern, and there is the above-listed franchise Dog-o-Mat 2 for washes and grooming.
Dog-related Stuff	Dogma Catmantoo	208 North 4th Avenue, Ann Arbor	(734) 929-0022	http://www.dogmacatmantoo.com/
I know, I know. Terrible name. But a nice little place near Kerrytown for dog supplies.
Dog-related Stuff	Fun Time Dog Shop.com	On line only		http://funtimedogshop.com/
A local business, although with no bricks and mortar presence. Profits are shared among various dog rescue organizations. Disclosure: the proprietress is a good friend of ours.
Groceries	Hiller's	3615 Washtenaw Avenue, Ann Arbor	(734) 677-2370	http://www.hillers.com/current-ad/ann-arbor.html
Those on the East Side speak well of Hiller's, although I seldom find any need to shop there, any more than any other supermarket. May be worth your while.
Groceries	Plum Market	375 North Maple Road , Ann Arbor	734.827.5000	http://www.plummarket.com/
And those on the West Side seem to like Plum, although it's completely off my beat. It is, in fact, a small supermarket chain, with stores in Bloomfield and West Bloomfield. Caveat emptor.
Groceries, New Age Hooey	Arbor Farms	2103 W. Stadium, Ann Arbor	734-996-8111	http://www.arborfarms.com/
The website says "... we offer local and organic produce; fresh Michigan grass-fed beef, pork, lamb and poultry; fresh seafood ..." I will not flatly deny any of that, but I see little evidence of it, personally. Primary focus seems to be on packaged food such as cereals, a bulk food aisle that is no match for By the Pound (above), and vast amounts of holistic and groovy and unregulated substances and equipment. Used to be a smaller, funkier place, at Liberty and Maple, but they are now in an antiseptic new place, next to the Stadium Ace Hardware.
Hardware	Stadium Hardware	2177 W Stadium Blvd, Ann Arbor	(734) 663-8704	http://www.arborwiki.org/city/Stadium_Hardware
Not clear that they have a website of their own, but who cares? What they do have is an entire room of nuts and bolts, screws, and obscure gear that you may only need once in a lifetime, but by God, when you need it, you need it. And other stuff that you may not need, but you know you want. And staff you can ask "How the $#*!! do I fix a clogged hoozitz?" and they'll know. With the demise of Schlenker's, this is the go-to place for HW and HW expertise.
Hardware	Ace Barnes Hardware	3352 Washtenaw Ave and 2105 W Stadium Blvd	734.971.4555 and 734.665.7555	http://www.acehardware.com/home/index.jsp
Not strictly local, since the Ace name is more or less national, but Ann Arbor's two Ace Barnes stores are good places, slightly less hardcore than Stadium, but with a wider and shallower range of goods, and almost as good a crew of staff.
Hardware	Jack's Hardware	740 Packard Street, Ann Arbor	(734) 995-0078	http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jacks-Hardware
Small, quirky, extremely local outfit on Packard, with one of those "My boss told me to change the sign so I did" marquees and reputedly a bit of an attitude, politically. But infallibly polite to paying customers, in my experience, and a good local source in the Packard student ghetto. Careful with the parking lot; the drill is, enter the right-most drive, park, and then exit by circling around the extremely narrow alley and coming out again on the left. Otherwise, you have to back out onto Packard.
Gardening and Kitchen Supplies	Downtown Home and Garden	210 S. Ashley Street, Ann Arbor	(734) 662-8122	http://www.downtownhomeandgarden.com/
Years ago, downtown supported two nearby, friendly hardware stores, the above- mentioned Schlenker's and what this place used to be, Hertler's. Schlenker's is gone, but Hertler's became Downtown Home and Garden under the care of Mark Hodesh, a downtown Ann Arborite if there ever was one. He tells the tale of the store on the website -- for here, it's enough to say that if you have a need for seed or a pan to cook the tomato sauce in, DTH&G is probably the place to start looking.

---

And of course, here are the places I beg of you not to spend your money. Whole Foods: all marketing, all the time, with marginally better quality perishables than low-end supermarkets and a predatory approach to local competition. You spend more for what you buy and get far less value. Not a place to buy wine, either; if you can spell "Bordeaux," let alone pronounce it, you will know more than the wine staff. Trader Joe's: just say no. There is nothing here that you want, and most of it is of very dubious provenance. Again, the staff know nothing that you don't already know. Kroger's, Meier's, Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, Costco, etc. There is absolutely no viable cost/quality equation you can come up with that justifies shopping with these people.

---

Update 2011 06 14 Ok, I admit that you can come up with a rationale that satisfies you for shopping with these Somali Pirates. But you will not come up with one that convinces me. Because, as the Wood-Charles motto says, Libenter homines ...

Rites of Spring

Spring food. Clockwise from top right: corn, soaked to steam itself on the grill; Caprese in its easiest form; frogged chicken, barded with bacon, again for the grill; shells with (local Michigan farmed) shrimp and duck sausage, nostrani, asparagus, and oyster mushrooms; Campari and soda with blood orange.

This is what I wait for, patiently (more or less) throughout nine or so months of the year.

Congratulations, everybody!

Another triumph for the free market.

I think I'll dig out and re-post the shop-local list, even though the Saline stores weren't on it. Maybe somebody will rant about diapers again.

A growth industry, for sure

Mercs in the hood. Palmer Woods is hiring private security to patrol and interact with the cops.

Of course, at some point the hired soldery will realize their advantage, depose the current leadership, and appoint an emperor of Palmer Woods of their own. Or am I thinking of Rome? Why does the word, "Janissary" come to mind?

Oh, here's the next municipality who'll doubtlessly be looking into hiring Gauls or Scythians or something like that: Royal Oak.

Recon of the Wed Evening Farmer's Market

As a response to the growth of other markets around the area (e.g., Zingerman's Thursdays at the Roadhouse, the Ypsi market, etc.,) the Kerrytown Market is experimenting with a Wednesday afternoon opening, in addition to its Wednesday and Saturday hours. We took a run by, just to see who was there on day one, and the answer was not all that many people, vending or buying. I have the sense that it may turn into more of a dining event than a retail one, although the market management wants a mix. Anyway, a couple of shots of people I did and didn't expect to be there.

The omnipresent Pilar's Tamales

The unexpected Silvio's Pizza

L Brooks Patterson writhes again

Can you believe this guy?

Too much time on my hands?

A traction trebuchet is not the giant, dead-horse-flinging, counterbalance-powered siege engine you frequently see pictured. It's smaller and powered by humans hauling on ropes to whip a stone up and out of a sling. I saw a reproduction in action at a Medieval Congress years ago, and recently said, "I bet I could build a scale model of one of them." Judge for yourselves.

This is from the Maciejowski Bible, a 13th century source with lots of first-time-seen illustrations, including this somewhat obscure image of a traction trebuchet in action.

This is my 10-second sketch of what I thought I could quickly build with bass wood and left-over 25mm wargaming figures.

And this is the outcome. As built, it wouldn't work, or at least very well. The sling is too short and the boom is probably too short, as well. It would probably fall over forward, since it's insufficiently braced fore and aft. Plus three guys is a slim crew. But it was amusing to build. For extra credit, how was I able to work wine bottle foil into this piece?

Lamest insult of the week

I was a bit cranky with the young man in his pickup truck. He'd come into the small, L-shaped parking lot at the west side of Kerrytown the wrong way, the clearly-marked wrong way, and was sitting waiting for a space to open up. This is one thing on a non-market day, but there were four other cars who'd been driven in the right way, also waiting.

So I walked over to him, pointed out the error of his ways, and asked him to "Back it out." He grudgingly complied, but stopped behind my car, rolled down his window, and shouted, "You must be a jerk!" No doubt, son, no doubt. Been studying it for years.

You go, Angela Merkel!

Bowing to what should have been the laughably obvious for decades, Germany says, "No more nukes." Wonder how long that'll last?

Commercial fission power is one of those horrible binds that we seem to get ourselves into. Day to day, it's greener than coal -- you don't see smoke and smog and slag heaps and decapitated mountains as evidence of it. But most of our plants were designed with the climatic and geological knowledge of 50 years ago, and it's turning out to have been all wrong. And if you can think of a way to solve the spent fuel problem, technically and pollitically, you're smarter than everybody else who's been trying. (Germany already has a 2.3 billion Euro tax on spent fuel rods, so if you're thinking, "raise taxes" as a solution, it's been tried. And of course it'd be easy to raise taxes, over here, wouldn't it?)

I said all this in a letter to some publication, back in the mid-seventies -- that nuclear power was not a viable long term option. A fairly well-thought-of expert (and I have no idea who, at this remove of time,) said he "... didn't agree with my analysis." Guess he disagrees with me and Germany now, too.

Of course this leaves a lot of other countries banking on nukes for electricity. According to Wikipedia, the top ten are:

• France
  
• Slovakia
  
• Belgium
  
• Ukraine
  
• Armenia
  
• Hungary
  
• Switzerland
  
• Slovenia and Croatia
  
• Sweden
  
• Bulgaria
  

We're 18th, in terms of our total electrical energy produced by fission, right after Romania, but we still have the most operating commercial reactors, 104, with 9 planned and 22 proposed. I wonder what those numbers will look like in, say, 24 months, when (I hope) the full scope of Fukushima I will be known. But on the other hand: carbon emissions are "worst ever."
What's a man to do?

Here's another one!

A funny looking guy, previously unheard of, who says he may run for President in 2012. He's Thaddeus McCotter, a Livonia, Michigan Pol, and has some fairly hard things to say about the Republican Party. Which will be a problem for him, since he's thinking of running as a Republican. Here's a quote: "Because of our inability to get our message and principles across, we do not appear to be a beneficial party for the country." Read more about him here.