<p>“I do think Alexandre is aiming higher on the food chain than I am. Guess I might need to find a new partner.”</p>
<p>I am not so sure about that bclintonk. Most of those inns have two restaurants, one formal (haute cuisine) and one casual (bistro style). Both restaurants serve excellent meals but with very different philosophies. Not every meal that patrons have at those inns is meant to be formal. Formal meals take a long time to complete (3-4 hours) and can be very expensive. Most of the times, patrons want a casual meal. If you peruse of websites of the links I provided above, you will see that several of those properties have casual options in addition to their Michelin starred restaurants. For example, can see clearly that Maison Troisgros has a bistro of its own (Le Central), as well as Maison Pic (Le 7). Michel Guerard’s property, Les Pres D’Eugenie also has one (La Ferme Aux Grives). </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.troisgros.fr/english/central_cafe.php”>http://www.troisgros.fr/english/central_cafe.php</a>
<a href=“La maison Pic - Anne-Sophie Pic | Site officiel”>La maison Pic - Anne-Sophie Pic | Site officiel;
<a href=“http://www.michelguerard.com/table/ferme-aux-grives/”>http://www.michelguerard.com/table/ferme-aux-grives/</a></p>
<p>Those serve excellent meals to patrons seeking a more casual (and less expensive) experience. So, are we still on?! ;)</p>
<p>“But I think Ann Arbor could support both my restaurant and his, and it would be a better place for it. It’s surprising it’s not more of a “foodie” town than it is–all those faculty and university administrators, plus lots of other professionals.”</p>
<p>I agree bclintonk. And it is not just University administrators and faculty. Ann Arbor is home to thousands of professionals and executives of major companies like Ford, Kellogg, Dow Chemicals, Dominos etc…Furthermore, there are 10s of thousands of wealthy alums who return to Ann Arbor annually for game, reunions, family visits etc…With so many potential diners, Ann Arbor is easily able to sustain several excellent restaurants. </p>
<p>Also, and this speaks more to the Michelin starred type restaurant, Ann Arbor, particularly its Eastern section, is located less than 1 hour drive from several relatively affluent Detroit suburbs, such as Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Farmington Hills, Grosse Pointe, Rochester, Troy etc…People would gladly drive 40-60 minutes for a world class restaurant. Finally, a restaurant of type would attract foodies from all over the US, and even from other countries.</p>