Perfect Weekend Trip to UM

You definitely have to tailgate on Saturday, of course. I enjoy going either to Pioneer High School or the U-M golf course right there by the stadium -- I usually end up at Pioneer. It's a hell of a time. As far as sightseeing goes, just head to central campus and enjoy. Ever since I graduated I enjoy just walking around campus and taking it all in. Walk north on State St into campus; you'll pass by the Law Quad (and you absolutely HAVE to walk through there), the Union, and the Diag will be right there. As far as hanging out and partying, that's wide open. Personally, I think you must go to Dominic's for some sangria. It's on Madison just off of East University -- but it's only open until 10, so plan accordingly. I'm a big fan of Arbor Brewing Company (on Washington) for darts and beer, as well as the Arena (kiddie-corner to ABC). The latter has some nice projectors set up for watching other games, and they usually have some drink specials. Ashley's (on State St) is also great for the beer connossieur -- it has something like 300 different beers. And be sure to raid Steve & Barry's for every $7 t-shirt you can get your hands on. Enjoy the weekend! Go Blue!

A breakfast at Angelo's A sandwich at Zingerman's or Amer's A beer at Ashley's or Ann Arbor Brewing Co. Connor O'Neal's is a good bar for a non-undergrad A post bar slice of pizza at Back Room (behind the Brown Jug, another AA classic but a bit of a dive the last time I was ) I've never been too fond of the bars on S. Univ., but that is just my opinion. As far as parties and tailgates, I'm way too far removed to tell you where to go / who to tailgate with (other than bring your our tailgate and setting up shop on the golf course off of State Street).

Friday during the day dominics. it gets pretty packed at lunch time and right as the sun goes down. have a sangria (its made with mad dog 20/20). If its warm out, follow that up with a constant buzz. If its cold, a bell's two hearted ale. Hike to the heidleberg on north main is a great place to sit back, have to $2 microbrews (may is suggest the scotch ale for strength). After 2 bottles you get all you can eat wings and tacos. my suggestion is get there right at 4 when the lines not too long. I'd suggest Ashley's as well for a beer bar. Their food isn't too bad, but I always hear mixed reviews about the food service. Late night pick up either BigTen Burrito or Quickie Burger. Saturday, Do the tailgating down at pioneer. I have always heard its a good time. I would suggest taking a trip up state street though for at least a view of how the undergrads celebrate football. its both exciting and sad. Bonus points if you can take a 2 story beer bong. Post game, take a tour of central campus. End up at one of the bars, Jug and charlies are good bets early in the day before students start crowding in. Backroom pizza is a mandatory stop for a slice when hungry in the area. Downtown bars and restaurants would be a good finish to the Saturday night. There's several quality restaurants on Main. Some can be a bit expensive though.

Unless you're an MC5 or Stooges fan. Dude, you gotta eat at Zingerman's and Blimpy Burger. Do yourself a favor and order a quad at Blimpy and the Georgia Rueben at Zingerman's. You will not be let down in anyway.

Wings at Mr. Spots and beer at Grizzly Peak (RIP Leopalds)

a sucker for the broken egg. its delicious.

But Leopold's beer sucked. It was a nice enough bar, but seriously, their beer was not good. Especially with Arbor also in town to compare. Blimpy Burger is an Ann Arbor institution. Zingerman's is well known even outside of Ann Arbor as a great deli. Ashley's is a good beer bar. I liked Babs' but I have no idea how that place is now, they've even moved since I was there. Dominicks is another Ann Arbor classic.

Where are you coming from?

but i went there for the gin distillery and the atmosphere. they did have one beer that was kind of good, but everything else was tainted with butterscotch.

Call me crazy, but I loved Leopalds, and felt that only one of their beers was butterscotchy. As far as Ashley's, it's delicious but I hate spending 5+ dollars on a bottle of beer. Any of the microbrews in town are a good call.

Washtenaw Dairy for ice cream. Although 3 twenty-some guys sitting around licking ice cream cones is kind of...eh. Find some girls, then go get ice cream at Washtenaw Dairy.

Ok, so the next question is- which one of you students is going to score Ninja some tickets? I promise not to refer to myself in the third person in real life.

I have been telling people the sangria was made with mad dog for years, but no one believed me... Blimpy burger is a must. I think I used to go with a quad or quint (whatever) the key was top it with chili... And I second central campus and the law quad for sightseeing. UM has an amazing campus. Lots of other great recommendations already listed here. I think it is great to have places in mind, but don't be afraid just to go where things lead you.

I went back to North Campus in 1999 (I graduated in 1994) and the place was completely different. Bell tower, media center, new buildings everywhere. The one thing I didn't go to check out was the pond in front of the Music school. Many a night was spent sweeping the snow off of the pond for some pick-up hockey. Some other places that may be worth a spin: Pizza Bob's (great shakes) Blimpee's (As everyone mentioned, but be prepared for soup nazi style service that pre-dates Seinfeld by probably a decade) And I'll throw an odd one out. If you are in need of a hair cut, go to Coach and Four. Jerry (the old guy) is a bit of an AA legend. Bo was his client for years, Bill Martn is a current client supposedly, the rumor mill there is very good, the haircuts are good (better than I can find in my suburban Chicago town), and every Saturday morning, Jerry offered up a beer with the hair cut.

take a trip to north campus to the FXB. There's a wave field there that's great for a picnic or playing frisbee. Best parties are random frat parties if you're into that sort of thing. Most are on Hill street or there's about. I also recommend mr. spots, but that was more of a 'hot wings and redwings' tradition. There's a huge park (gallup park?) on the east side of town by AAHuron a bit of a drive to get there, but good for rollerblading, or you can rent a canoe. If you're into sunsets there's some hill's north of Plymouth road that offer a nice view of the city at night. Definitely check out 'the rock' if you've never seen it, in front of the ADP house (at least when I went there) on the corner of Hill and Washtenaw. Do all the univeristy sight seeing, bell tower, fishbowl, the dorm blocks around MOJO and the hospital, the dental building, and all of north campus. Check out the spinning cube near the student union. There's the campus Museum. Also a planetarium, but don't expect much from that. If you're in the mood for shopping, Briarwood mall is to the south. Movie theaters are all over, but you might want to go to one of the small one's near main. Go to the diag and just check out all the feaks. Get a hotdog from one of the many street vendors. Also, you can probably get into the stadium on friday or sunday and play around, or sneak in at night, get a girl and try to join the 50yard club. There's always the arboretum if you're into nature. you could take a tour of the nuclear plant, if that's still operational. or there's the deja vu in ypsi. if you get bored.

if you stop by the union or the registrar's office you can pick up a brochure for a self-guided walking tour. nickel's arcade is a nice little spot. also recommend the law quad. You could play a game to see how many places you can get into without an M-card. Libraries and dorms are probably the most interesting. Just wait for someone to come out. You should also partake of the many late night pizza options. Bells, Uno's, NYPD, etc. etc.

A couple of years ago we began trying to schedule our trips to Ann Arbor for football at the same time another UM team was in town (specifically, women's volleyball, but we've done it with hockey later in the season). For example, last year when we came in for the Sep22 football game against Penn State, we also took in UM vball v. Illinois on the Friday night (and, actually, went back Saturday night for the vb match against Wisconsin). Volleyball at the NCAA level is a terrific (and, um, "attractive") sport and you're very close to the action in Cliff Keen arena.

We've found that going to the additional event makes for a more complete weekend. Plus, these lower profile sports are inexpensive. A volleyball ticket is something like $5. Soccer may even be free.

A quick glance of the mgoblue site shows that the UM men's soccer team plays at home Fri Aug 29th at 7pm. Go see that, then go out.

OS, My comment was more about the change on North Campus, not as a stop for a non-engineering grad on a game weekend tour. Stopping by there for me every five years is adequate to see what has changed. If I hadn't spent three years of my life camped out there, I would have very little interest in visiting.

The Alumni Association holds tours of Michigan Stadium Sundays at 11 a.m. (20 min. presentation by book author, then on to the field to chuck footballs around, then into the locker room). Loved this.

But the secret must be out or demand way up this year with the renos, because it's already sold out for the year. Bummer.  Guess you'll just have to get loaded at the game and then run onto the field semi-naked.  On the plus side, you're saving the tour fee and get to see the security office.

Alumni site tour page

the best south of the border food.. Sabor Latino (on main st A2) and breakfast at the bomber (michigan ave) in ypsilanti can't be beat.

I could probably direct you to the first place Ninja ever got laid in the rain in the Arb, but then again there's a good chance that tour's also sold out for the year. Fwiw, the Places Ninja Struck Out Tour is a much better value (more stops), and includes the room where my existence was summarily denied to a girl's father on Valentines day (I wasn't Indian). Never really got over that one- then again, the phone woke us up, so it wasn't all bad. :P In related news, I'm still not Indian.

318, Not only is backroom a decent slice, it is also a life saving device. I can't remember home many nights were spent at Rick's getting way too drunk way until 2am only to realize that I was about to freeze my ass off walking home. two slices of backroom can get you any where on campus without freezing. a nice benefit...

Oh dear lord, if any of you ever meet me in person, remember to ask about my "Michelle Pfifer" story regarding the Back Room. It is something I'm not willing to put out there, (or at least not without some serious attention to the tale if written) but I guarantee you'll be howling with joy, horror and glee if I have a few shots in me before it's told. Perfect for a tailgate. God what a night.

I thought that one was only allowed to go to Fleetwood following a show at the Pig?? It seems those were the only nights/mornings that I wound up at Fleetwood. There is something very good about an omelet and hash browns to kill a would-be hangover...