Local Eats: Of Rice and Men

ANN ARBOR, MI -- With dishes ranging from kimchi fried rice to Peking duck, Of Rice and Men is a one-stop-shop for all sorts of Asian cuisine.

Of Rice and Men opened in July 2020 after beginning as a a pop-up restaurant through neighboring Blue LLama Jazz Club. The restaurant serves a variety of Asian dishes, which Chef of Cuisine Ava Yau said rotate by the season and locally available foods.

“We try to do a sustainable kitchen here, whatever we can find locally,” Yau said.

Popular dishes include the beef teriyaki udon, which includes braised beef or tofu, local mushrooms, jalapeno and a house teriyaki sauce; and the spicy cod Thai curry, which feature- Icelandic cod, Thai coconut curry, lemongrass and jasmine rice.

Other offerings include xiao long bao, a black-and-orange soup dumpling with a pork and foie gras filling and shanghai black vinegar sauce.

“This year is Tiger Year, so we decided to make it look like a tiger,” Yau said.

But one show-stopping dish is the Peking duck, which is made over several days and must be reserved in advance. The duck is made by pushing air between the meat and the skin before marinating overnight.

“The next day, we polish the skin to make the skin tight, and then we hang it at least three days,” Yau said.

Between marinating, polishing, hanging and baking, the whole process takes roughly five days. The duck is served with vegetables, mandarin pancakes and duck sauce.

Of Rice and Men also offers a Dim Sum brunch, a variety of sake and Japanese whiskey, and desserts.

Of Rice and Men, 312 S. Main St., is open 5 to 11 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. Find the restaurant online, on social media or by phone at 734-222-0202.

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