Ethnic food up north? Oh my!

The one thing I hear more than anything else from people who move to northern Michigan, or move back to northern Michigan, is that they miss ethnic foods...Indian, Thai, Middle Eastern...you name it, we want it!

When I visit Ann Arbor, I bring a cooler so that I can load up on Indian vegetarian take-out from Earthen Jar. (sigh!) A good friend is from the same Punjabi hometown as the woman who owns the place, and she said it was just like mom makes back home. After all, everybody's "ethnic" is somebody else's "home cooking!" And I like knowing it was authentic.

So yesterday my sister Ann and I were downtown planning for an event, and decided to head over to Cuppa Joe Warehouse Lounge, in the Warehouse District just off the Grandview Parkway. I drive by there all the time, on that parkway heading somewhere else, and I'd read about the restaurant's opening this summer. Little did I get it, that tucked just a couple blocks off that thoroughfare was a place offering delicious ethnic food.

Owner Shayne Daley says he based the menu on international street food found on his travels, and he's got several new items in store. We talked to him about sourcing locally, and he tries to do what he can, although sometimes it's a challenge. If not local, he aims for Michigan.

Ann ordered the tofu & bean curry, and I ordered a falafel. Yum! We enjoyed every bite. A friend emailed to me, "Cuppa Joe's - awesome Nicoise salad and Asian noodles...take it boxed into Right Brain and try a microbrew...delicious girlie porter with raspberries." I'll have to get that next time. And there will definitely be a next time. So if you haven't checked it out yet, and you're pining for some ethnic food, do yourself a favor and stop by Cuppa Joe Warehouse Lounge. It's not just for coffee anymore!

The Warehouse Lounge is at 221 Garland St., Suite D. Open Tuesday through Saturday, 8 a.m - 10 p.m.; Sunday 9 a.m - 3 p.m.

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