ANN ARBOR, Mich. – A new restaurant featuring wood-fired cooking is set to open in Ann Arbor next month.
Echelon Kitchen & Bar will open at 200 S. Main Street on Thursday, Feb. 6.
The restaurant will be located in a 7,000-square-foot, 100-year-old building and have 150 seats, according to a release.
Executive chef Joseph VanWagner created the menu that features dishes focused on Michigan-grown, raised and foraged ingredients, prepared in a wood-fired oven.
The ingredients will change based on what is in season, but when the restaurant opens, guests can expect to see a salad with shaved winter vegetables topped with chive oil, lemon, fresh herbs and horseradish creme fraiche, and a wood-fired flatbread with roasted beets, preserved lemon, pistachio butter, pistachio gremolata, creamy taleggio and goat cheese.
The vegetable-forward restaurant features local ingredients and a menu that changes seasonally. Even though vegetables are a main focus, Echelon Kitchen & Bar will also feature seafood and meat dishes. (Photo Courtesy: Ben Robison)
And even though this is a vegetable-forward restaurant, guests will also find seafood and meat dishes on the menu.
There will be a handmade bucatini pasta with buttery lobster, butternut squash, preserved oranges, chili and toasted milk solid pancito, along with a dry-aged duck breast.
In addition to standard entrees, Echelon Kitchen & Bar will also have larger dishes that guests can share.
This includes a whole roasted turbot and a whole roasted chicken, which is prepared in four different ways.
Echelon Kitchen & Bar will have larger plates for guests to share, including a whole-roasted chicken served four ways— crispy fried legs, duck fat confit thighs, Peking-style cured and roasted breast, and a stuffed chicken wing. (Photo courtesy: Ben Robison)
Those who prefer to let the chefs choose their meal can partake in the Chef’s Counter experience.
With this, guests will get a six-course meal that isn’t featured on the regular menu, while sitting at an eight-seat counter along the kitchen. This experience is $110, and there’s an optional beverage pairing to go with it.
Speaking of beverages, the restaurant will feature craft cocktails and beer, cider and wine lists that include Michigan-made products.
Echelon Kitchen and Bar’s pastry chef, Ben Robison, will also include local ingredients in the desserts, and guests can expect a dark chocolate ganache and a grapefruit panna cotta served with olive oil cake.
Along with providing guests with a fine dining experience, the restaurant also aims to provide growth opportunities to team members and the wider community.
“The team is presenting a concerted effort to invest in the community it serves by presenting mentorship opportunities at local schools, weekly staff dish workshops, a culinary library for team members, and initiatives to directly benefit their staff, including a “Well Being Fund” that provides additional monthly support to non-tipped workers,” according to the release.
It will be open for dinner Thursday through Monday. For more information, visit Echelon Kitchen & Bar’s website.
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