INTRO: Ann Arbor is known for its foodies. Those are people who live to eat. For the past 16 months, a couple there has opened their home to friends and their friends’ friends. It’s called Friday Mornings @ Selma. It offers not just good food. But all of it is locally grown. Michigan Now’s Chris McCarus went in for a visit.
They serve breakfast only…. between 630 and 10am on Friday’s. Each week, Selma features a different chef. Recently, it was David Klingenberger.
“So this is deep earth nutrition all from our food shed. You know you’ve heard of watershed. This is our foodshed. This is all grown within our own little foodshed bio-region. Wild foods mixed with cultivated foods. All complete spectrum of mineral vitamins, deep earth nutrition.”
Klingenberger grew up in Ann Arbor. Last year his girlfriend tempted him to move to California. He let her go and started his own fermented vegetable business. It’s called the Brinery.
“How much more of this you gonna need honey?”
That’s Jeff McCabe. He and Lisa Gottlieb own the house and run the restaurant.
“Well you can use it if you need to. I’m making a double batch of soufflet right now.”
McCabe is from Seattle where house restaurants are more common. He added rooms, windows and skylights to handle 25 diners at a time.
“This is greens from Jeff’s greenhouse. Really great salad greens. This is a little bit of sage. We put in edible flowers, johnny jump up flowers and chive blossoms. But everything is edible. Everyone’s encouraged to eat their garnish. These are wild morels as a topping for the fritata, found in the woods just north of Ann Arbor.”
A shoulder of pork is displayed on the kitchen counter then two 3 inch white ovals. All are ready to eat.
“Can you believe how big these things are? What are those things? Goose Eggs. Goose eggs.”
Lisa Gottlieb will feed 130 people a day. Many are friends. They are asked to pay $12-$15 each. Much of the money goes to support local gardens and farms. Gottlieb is in her early ‘50′s. But has the energy of a younger woman.
“Hi. What you doing there? I’m making more souffle. We’re running out. So I’m making a new batch.”
One customer is smiling, clutching a knife and fork. It’s Mike Perini, the host of a local radio food satire show.
“I picked the spinach soufflet with hoop greens and bacon. There’s also a morel spinach cheese and asparagus fritata with nettled pesto and hoop house greens with bacon which makes me want that too now. And there’s the blueberry bread pudding and the waffles. Or yogurt. Yogurt parfait which is granola and fruit. I’m gonna actually order one of these in sequence for the next two hours. I’m gonna eat until I drop. Eat for two hours? Eat for two hours straight. Five courses. And I won’t eat again for five days and I’ll be the happiest man alive.”
Susie Beatty-Sterns may be just as happy. She’s the hostess who greets people at the side door of the house.
“To me it’s a privilege to be the first person they see.”
Beatty-Sterns gives customers paper name tags. She takes them back when they leave. So many people have eaten here that she’s stuck hundreds of name tags on the cabinets of the family mud room.
“This is where community is happening right now in Ann Arbor. It’s so easy to plug in here. There are so many cool people that come through this door everyday.”
And so the difference between Selma and a real establishment?
“When something’s a business there is a capital motive behind it. Here it’s a party. Just throwing a party every week. Here we can be more toned down. Things don’t have to be as perfect as they would be in a restaurant.”
David Klingenberger grows a lot of his produce at Tantre Farms near Chelsea. Deb Lentz runs the farm and made her first visit to the weekly event put on by Lisa Gottlieb.
“Can we just take a minute and show some appreciation for a farmer who is bringing us amazing food every week. Deb Lentz. (applause)