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.
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.
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.
