Izzy’s Hoagie Shop
1924 W. Stadium BoulevardAnother weekend. Another figure skating competition.
This past weekend we were in Ann Arbor all weekend for the Dr. Porter Classic at the Biggby Coffee Ice Cube – Ann Arbor. L skated on Friday afternoon, B skated on Sunday afternoon. We had some other things to do in the area and the kids wanted to watch their friends on Saturday so we just decided to stay the whole weekend.
We got to town around 1:00 on Friday. Our teams rent out a conference room at the Wyndham Garden on Jackson Road right off I-94. The rooms are fairly cheap and a lot of the other Kalamazoo families stay there too so we got a room for the weekend.
We got L to her team to do hair, make-up, and get dressed before they headed over to the rink. That left J, B, and I with some time. I was hungry. Everyone else got breakfast from Dunkin’ before we left Kalamazoo but I wasn’t really feeling that.
I knew we were somewhat close to the University of Michigan campus. I love college towns and their food. I started looking for a place and quickly found a sandwich shop not too far from our hotel.
Izzy’s Hoagie Shop is in a strip mall on Stadium Boulevard south of Arbordale Street on the southwest side of Ann Arbor. The restaurant is described as a “staple” in the community having been around for over 30 years. The shop just came under new ownership back in February of this year when the former owner unexpectedly passed away. He had run the shop since 1989 and made the cheesesteak’s well known in the region.
The shop offers online ordering but I wanted to get away for a bit so I decided to just order once I got there. I wanted to make a change to a sandwich and I didn’t see a way to do that online.
There’s a big order counter when you walk in. There’s no menu posted anywhere but there paper menus on the counter. I pretty much knew what I wanted but I grabbed a menu anyway just to make sure.
I put in an order for a 10″ cheesesteak without onions but added Hot Pepper Relish, a small order of fries and a grilled cheese on white bread for B. The total cost was right around $30 before tip.
There’s a pretty good sized dining room just off the order counter/kitchen area. It’s pretty simple but recently remodeled. There’s both booth and table options and plenty of space for a big lunch or dinner rush.
It took less than ten minutes for my name to be called. I grabbed the bag then went down the street to the Speedway to grab a couple of bottles of Pepsi before heading back to the hotel to eat.
I pulled B’s grilled cheese out of the bag first. Of course, he found one of his friends at the hotel and they were running around making a movie on his iPad when I got back. I called him over to eat at least half of his sandwich. It was a pretty simple grilled cheese on white bread with gooey American cheese. He quickly ate his half then J grabbed the other half so it didn’t go to waste and she had something before we headed to the rink for the afternoon.
I got in to the bag of fries right away. The first thing I noticed was the small size was pretty small. They were just simple frozen restaurant fries that could have used a little more seasoning or something to dip them in. Nothing wrong with them. It was just a pretty small order and pretty basic. It was a nice compliment to the sandwich and I didn’t feel like I overate when I got done with everything.
I’m so glad I went with the 10″ cheesesteak instead of the smaller 6″. The grilled Italian bun is stuffed with thinly sliced steak..and it is loaded with the steak. There is liquid cheese mixed in with the meat make a delicious mess of food. The Hot Pepper Relish was piled on top of the meat and gave the whole sandwich a little bit of peppery heat. I was actually a little disappointed when I got to the end. This sandwich was good…really good. I wanted more and was so glad I ordered the 10″ and not the 6″ like I originally planned on.
I’m so glad I found Izzy’s Hoagie Shop. Whenever we travel I like to find the local while my kids prefer quick, known to them fast food. This weekend was kind of a mix. I got a couple meals at local spots and they still got the Jimmy Johns and Wendy’s they’re used to.
SW Michigan Dining 