Echelon is the one of the newest and most ambitious high end restaurants in Ann Arbor, a notable feat as Ann Arbor is a culinarily high performing town.
Main Street has always been a prestigious and competitive neighborhood, especially when it comes to restaurants. As Ann Arbor’s newest restaurant, Echelon makes no secret of its aspirations to be one of the best, with a level of quality on a par with the best eats in other famous foodie towns like New York, Toronto or Chicago.
“Sophisticated, vegetable-forward, wood-fired dining,” is how they describe themselves on their restaurant home page.
But what does that actually mean? Echelon is the creation of Executive Pastry Chef Ben Robison, Executive Beverage Director Taylor Johnson and Executive Chef Joseph VanWagner, the who grew up in the area. Before returning to Ann Arbor, he reached the heights of some of the most prestigious restaurants in Chicago and New York after graduating from Michigan State University.
Locally sourced
The menu is not strictly vegetarian, but it is decidedly heavy on the green stuff. The highly professional, gourmet-suited kitchen crew operate with precision in the kitchen, which is visible through the whale-mouth sized counter; while the business casual dressed waitstaff take a great amount of time after they’ve sat you down, and asked if you want still or sparkling water, to explain that Echelon focuses on being sustainable first and foremost, which is why they teamed up with a local produce-focused grocery outfit, Argus Farm Stop.
“At Echelon we’re striving to do as much as possible to limit our waste. It all starts with sourcing local ingredients, which helps mitigate our carbon footprint,” VanWagner said. “We avoid using the ‘big truck’ produce companies, and instead most of the farms we work with are located less than 50 miles from the restaurant. Also, while we have a strong composting program, the goal is to avoid having an ingredient tossed in the first place. We have multiple dishes that are designed to incorporate excess produce while still serving a delicious final product. For example, the composition of the vegetable salad shifts throughout the evening, as vegetables from other dishes are incorporated to make the most use of incredibly fresh ingredients. The shaved produce is tossed with chive oil, lemon juice and fresh herbs, then served on top of a creamy horseradish creme fraise.”
VanWagner added, “Also, all of the beef that comes to us is cut to precise specifications, before the remaining trim is separated out into three groups that are used for steak tartare, grind for burgers and sauces, or fat, which is rendered and used to baste and cook beef specific dishes. This same process is used with all of our whole muscle proteins, creating nearly zero waste, and maximizing the expression of that food’s particular flavor. This is a big deal to us. When we do compost, we have partnered with CO Sustainability, who collects our food waste, turns it into compost, and then returns the compost to us so that we can give the nutrient rich matter back to our farmers. This initiative allows us to further close the loop, stay closer to the growing process within our farms, and literally give back to the community. In addition, we work with Detroit Grease, who comes and picks up all of our spent fryer and cooking oils, turning them into biodiesel, compost, and use in natural gas-creating biodigesters for 100 percent carbon footprint-free recycling.”
Community forward
When Echelon held its grand opening on February 6, the airy art deco décor of the place lit up with soft yellow light, and innumerable ambient touches of pastel colors. Like the food, the comfortable seats and heaviness of the cutlery brings a sophisticated affluence to the restaurant that manages to be a genuinely good, unforgettable experience worthy of your next milestone anniversary or a place to take your next date and indicate to them that you’re serious about the relationship – because you brought them here.
Even the handle for the bathrooms feels substantial. Every single bit of the rather worn feeling of the Mongolian Barbecue restaurant that proceeded it has been replaced with a decor that makes you feel like you’re in an Architectural Digest feature.
RELATED: Argus Farm Stop Celebrates 10 years of Business in Ann Arbor
The grand opening’s food and other products were supplied according to the menu by Featherstone Garden, Goetz Farm, Good Neighbor, Grayling Ceramics, Green Things, Joyful Harvest, Mofo Farms in Howell, Motorcity Seafood, Nordique Chef, Prochaska Farms, Stony Creek Farms, Tranté Farm, and Wolfe Farm. It was not only their hard work, but the generally excellent and detail-obsessed seeming 52 people who work at Echelon with VanWager & Co that brought it all together.
“We wouldn’t be able to do what we are doing to the level we are doing it without Argus. Will and the whole team over there have been absolutely instrumental in menu development and planning. If it weren’t for them, we would need someone to work full time just to liaise with the farms and stay in touch with everything going on,” VanWagner said. “Argus has been such a central location of knowledge and product for us from day one, but they have also expanded our farm network by introducing us to several other people that could even further satisfy our growing food needs.”
Economic equity
Economic equity is also a self-professed big emphasis at Echelon as the preciseness of its uncompromising quality. Ben Robinson, the pastry chef, explained that point in the common problems associated with making chocolate.
“Throughout history, the sourcing of chocolate has been a controversial topic. Many cacao farmers – most of which are third [or] fourth generation producers – have never had the experience of tasting the finished product of their labor. Over the past ten [to] 15 years, there has been a strong movement to create a fair market to provide proper working conditions and compensation for these farmers,” Robinson said. “Cocao beans only grow naturally 20 degrees and above and below the equator resulting in a very limited supply of an ingredient that is seemingly readily available to us. These two factors, along with a recent global shortage, have caused recent spikes in chocolate pricing. Despite the cost, we choose to showcase companies such as Valrhona, who invest in good business practices putting an emphasis of care on their people and product.”
What’s on the menu
Echelon’s menu is highly seasonal restaurant with a menu that will regularly change based on what local farmers have available.
Small plates on the left side of the menu include things like a house bread of “compound butter, pickles and muhammara” for $12, or a steak tartare made out of “beef tallow aioli, crispy suchoke, chive powder and beef chicharron” for $26. The crispy octopus is another small plate which might be just one leg of octopus, but it is cooked perfectly tender with its skin covered in coriander and paprika, with an aioli which really brings personality to the plate.
The $17 vegetable salad that VanWagner mentioned uses a little carving piece to cut the carrot into flower shapes, in the same way that you might use a dinosaur-shaped mold to cut out a dinosaur-shaped cookie while baking at home. But it was the creamy horseradish-infused sauce that makes the meal special.
There is another category of more substantial plates after the appetizer scale small plates. You could choose anything from the Flatbreads at $19 to the $44 filet mignon. More substantial meals come from the to-share options, which range from $89 to $190.
The wine menu is the one thing that is definitely not all that local. They do have a handful of Michigan wines and the A2 Brewing Company makes an appearance. But most of the wines are from overseas, as are things like coffee and tea. You can get a latte for as little as $3. Wines can go from $13 to $32 for a 6 oz glass, $19.50 to $48 for a 9 ounce glass or $52 to $120 for a bottle.
The reserve menu is where the most expensive wines live, and are only available a bottle at a time, starting at $40. The Michigan wines are the Traverse City-based Left Foot Charley; Amoritas Vineyards, Big Little Wines and the Shady Lane Cellars both from the Leelanau Peninsula; and the Buchanan-based Stranger Wine Company. The most expensive bottle is $575 for the Chappellet ‘Pichard Hill’ from Napa Valley.
While the building was being renovated, they had a food truck parked out front with a menu on the outside. It is currently being stored for the winter, however, they are planning on bringing it back once the weather warms. Further in the future, they are also considering a patio option. More details on that later once they make concrete plans. They also are yet to decide if and when they will begin catering.
“The team also hopes to spotlight dishes created by other members of the culinary team,” said Managing Director Emily Habib. “Every Sunday night, we host a workshop where team members are encouraged to put up new dishes or workshop ideas they’ve been working on to receive peer feedback and chef guidance.”
The bar up front is a beautiful, rectangular box – even if it does feel a bit tucked away from the dining room in the foyer of the place, and the cocktail menu is impressive. But the second, much larger bar is intriguing and intended for group events. Here, you and your friends can observe the chefs at work as they prepare your meal.
“The chef’s counter is an intimate eight-seat bar directly in front of the wood-fired kitchen, from which your dishes are prepared. It is a tasting menu experience, with even more luxurious items and things that you wouldn’t be able to get during a dining room visit. Currently, there are only two seatings a night, at 5:30 pm and 8 pm, so we can really get creative with how we are presenting the best ingredients that come through our door that day.,” VanWagner explains. “If you’re looking for an even more elevated, playful and interactive dining experience while having a front-row seat to all the action, that’s what we’ll be offering at the counter. We want it to be something anyone can enjoy, so there are omnivore, vegetarian and vegan options, plus wine pairings from our talented sommelier Taylor Johnson.”
Making a reservation is a good idea for a restaurant as good as Echelon, whether you’re one of Ann Arbor’s more affluent set, or want a memorable place to cherish a graduation or an anniversary.
Drew Saunders is a freelance business and environmental journalist who grew up just outside of Ann Arbor. He covers local business developments, embraces his foodie side with reviews restaurants, obsesses over Michigan's environmental state, loves movies, and feels spoiled by the music he gets to review for Ann Arbor!
