Brunch at Cafe Zola
by Rebecca on February 23, 2012
For brunch in Ann Arbor on Sunday, we stopped at Cafe Zola before heading back to Livonia. Neither Dave nor I had ever eaten at Cafe Zola before and we were interested in trying it out. Our other choice for brunch was Grange Kitchen & Bar, I’m sure we’ll get there eventually.
Dave ordered a special, which was a twist on the traditional Monte Cristo. Instead of ham and swiss cheese, it had turkey and Havarti cheese on thick-cut challah bread. And rather than being battered and deep-fried, it was battered and grilled on the flattop more like you would do with French toast. It was served with raspberry jam and a sweet and sour relish.
I ordered the Frittata Zola, an Italian-style omelette served open-faced, studded with cubed sweet potatoes and caramelized onions, topped with challah croutons and tangy goat cheese. It was served with a side of rosemary-garlic roasted red skin potatoes and toast. The frittata was good, but not great. It was actually better as leftovers the next day. I don’t know if it’s because the flavors had time to marry while sitting in the fridge or if it was the salt that I added. I’m thinking the eggs were under seasoned in the first place. The rosemary-garlic potatoes were really good! We were both too full for the toast, but we took a taste and the bread, both white and wheat, was excellent. Both had great flavor and a nice dense crumb.
I would return to Cafe Zola’s for brunch again. Taking a look at their dinner menu, I would probably stick to brunch too much fish at dinner for me! It’s best to go a little early. We got there around 9:30am and only had to wait a few minutes, by the time we left, the line was out the door.
