03 Oct 2008, Posted by Chris Kaufman in Reviews, 4 Comments
Review: Argiero’s Restaurant, Ann Arbor
Rating: 
A few years back Food Network’s (now defunct) Best Of featured Argiero’s Italian Restaurant in Ann Arbor as one of the best places to eat spaghetti and meatballs in America. I had always planned to give Argiero’s a try, but never got around to it until today.
The garlic toast was sub-par, the gnocchi was bland, and the spaghetti and meatballs: Average at best—oh, and they look nothing like the photo on their website.
It’s becoming clear to me why Best Of is no longer on the air: Their assessment of “best” is about as accurate as throwing a dart at a map and proclaiming, “yep, that’s the place”. After all, this was the same program that named Buddy’s as one of the top 10 pizzerias in America…if you look hard enough you’ll realize it’s barely one of the top 10 pizza joints in Detroit, but that’s another post.
For some of the best Italian in the Detroit area, I recommend Antonio’s, Giulio’s (thanks, Matt), or for a true “this place has to be owned by the Mafia” experience, head to Detroit’s Roma Café.
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4 Comments
October 3, 2008 7:08 pm
Matt
Chris, I’m with you.
Having attended the University of Michigan and lived in Ann Arbor on and off for years, I’ve pretty much eaten everywhere in A2. There are a lot of fantastic eats in Ann Arbor, but Argiero’s isn’t one of them.
Funny thing is that people were raving about this place 10 years ago when I went there (first and last time) and it was still unremarkable. I scratched my head over what the fuss was. I think I could have gotten better Italisn at Fazzolis.
So you didn’t hit a down night — it’s always been like this. Every night seems to be a down night.
I don’t get the appeal either. But they seem to attract plenty of business … mostly from college students. Maybe four years of Ramen Noodles and Spaghetti-Os will do that to your tastebuds.
You know I love Guilios in Livonia, but if you are looking for solid Italian in A2, I still recommend the standbys: Palio, Gratzi and if you want something unique, Bella Ciao.
Best overall restaurant in Ann Arbor right now is still Eve. It’s a special occasion-type place, but very good, consistent and intriguing.
Funny that Food TV’s “Best Of” has now steered us wrong twice – Argieros and Hog Heaven in Nashville. Like you said, I guess that explains why they are defunct.
October 3, 2008 8:49 pm
Jen
Definitely nothing to rave about. Far better Italian can be found without much effort. And I agree Buddy’s is good but definitely not one of the 10 best pizzerias in America.
October 5, 2008 7:37 am
Matt
I don’t get the Buddy’s thing either. I think it’s that we have mediocre pizza in Michigan for the most part, and native Michiganians have never really had a sublime slice … unless they traveled out of state to San Fransciso or New York.
I do like the pizza from that party store down the street from me though … Bellybusters. And Tomatos a Pizza is rock solid (as both of you know.)
November 20, 2008 10:04 am
Ann-Marie
I agree with you Kauf. Argiero’s doesn’t even come to mind when I think good eats in Ann Arbor. But don’t let one bad restaurant sour your foodie experiences in my favorite city.
There are lots of fantastic choices, like my new personal favorite, Eve. Our buddy Jarrett recommended Eve to me some time back and I never had the pleasure of enjoying a meal with him there, but I did recently go with Larry and our chef friend (who was trained at the famous French Culinary Institute, mind you). It was frickin’ awesome! Everything was delicious and I can’t wait to return. The only slightly negative was the drinks. Tasty, but not exactly strong on the alcohol. And frankly, if I’m paying $10/drink, it better be strong!
My two cents…
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