We loved Lena and were sad when it closed in January to be replaced by Pretzel Bell in April. Today, we finally visited Pretzel Bell while we were downtown for the Ann Arbor Comic Arts Festival. While we still miss Lena (and the baked goat cheese appetizer), Pretzel Bell was an enjoyable meal and we will be back.
Pretzel Bell Food
Pretzel Bell is a casual restaurant with an extensive bar menu. On the weekend, they serve brunch with offerings of breakfast foods, salads, and sandwiches. Entrees are available for weekday lunches and after 2p on the weekends. Prices were fairly typical for downtown Ann Arbor.
Appetizer
Our initial thought was to order the Soft-Baked Pretzel appetizer. In the end, we decided to order the P-Bell Fries appetizer which can be prepared one of 3 ways. We debated between the beer cheese and bacon or the herb-lemon sea salt before settling on the beer cheese and bacon variety. They were good, although most of the beer cheese was on the bottom of the bowl.
Kids Menu
Pretzel Bell has a nice kids menu. My daughter selected Mini Mac which is topped with Goldfish. She had her choice of sides – fresh fruit, potato tots, or fresh vegetables. The fruit option was a big hit – for both of us. The downside was that the kids meal was a little pricey ($8). I am not sure if it included the tip since my husband handled the bill.
Sandwiches
My husband and I both opted for sandwiches. Both of our sandwiches were served with a side of jerk-seasoned chips. They also gave us some chips when we sat down. I’m not a fan of spicy foods, but the chips were not very spicy and were much better than I expected from the description. Even my 10 year old enjoyed them.
I had the Knife and Fork – turkey, bacon, aioli, gruyere, pickles, on grilled sourdough with mornay sauce. I was not expecting to really need a knife and fork. However, the mornay sauce is on top of the sandwich, so you will definitely need to use a knife and fork. I loved the sandwich and would definitely order it again.
My husband ordered the Crunchy Bird – pickle-brined fried chicken, gruyere, mustard aioli, apple slaw on a crusty roll. He enjoyed the sandwich and would order it again. Even though I’m not a pickle fan, I sampled his sandwich and enjoyed it. My daughter also enjoyed the sandwich – she loves pickles, but isn’t a big fan of slaw.
Other Menu Categories
On another weekend, I might sample one of the “breakfasty” options. I had my fill of breakfast food on Friday when we went out for the last day of school and had leftovers to eat tomorrow, so I didn’t want more breakfast food today.
Main entrees are offered on weekdays for lunch and for dinner everyday. The entrees include a Maize Out Mac, Flat Iron Steak, Carnitas Tacos, and much more. The entree menu is quite varied.
The dessert menu was quite tempting. The kids menu dessert is Sundae Funday – a brownie sundae. The adult menu includes an ice cream sandwich, humble pie (a seasonal fruit pie), farm cake (a carrot cake), and a brownie. Since we were short on time for the next Ann Arbor Comic Arts Festival event that we were attending, we skipped dessert today. We’ll definitely be back to try dessert.
