Last summer, I was so proud of the way Michigan responded to COVID-19. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer joined other Midwest governors in swiftly implementing stay at home orders.
Meanwhile, the University of Michigan suspended in-person classes. Coupled with the shutdown, Ann Arbor turned into something of a ghost town.
The effect was terrific. While Detroit struggled at the beginning of the pandemic, it eventually got its cases under control, and the state’s positivity rate fell into low single digits.
There were days here in Washtenaw County when we had no new cases.
With so many locals wearing masks, and with big events like the art fairs and Michigan football games canceled, it seemed relatively safe to go to the grocery store and even to dine inside restaurants, although outdoors was preferable.
Buttoning up, again
Well, those days are over. And our restaurants are now under a cloud..
In the past week, Michigan has recorded the highest daily cases of any state in the country as well as the highest weekly case load.
Hospital emergency rooms are reaching maximum capacity, including St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, where many townies here prefer to be treated.
It’s happening even though upwards of three million Michiganians have gotten at least one shot, and about two million have received both.
My two-week waiting period after my second shot is over, and I’m now considered vaccinated.
Feeding the spike in cases
There are several reasons for the spike. First, Michigan is dealing with a vicious outbreak of the B.1.1.7 variant. The first case was actually diagnosed in Ann Arbor, after a University of Michigan athlete returned from the U.K. over the Christmas holidays.
Second, there have been several hundred outbreaks among school children ages 10-17. The culprit seems to be team sports, which resumed this winter, amid demands from parents to let them play.
Third, vaccinations aren’t happening fast enough. For months, only people age 65 and up were eligible for vaccines, with exceptions for front line workers, family caregivers and those with health problems.
Restaurant workers were not eligible until just this month, and it’s been hard for many people who aren’t tech-savvy to book appointments. Even when they can get them, there are long lines of people turning out.
Whitmer is pleading with the Biden Administration for more doses. Washington has offered assistance in administering vaccines, but for now, the White House is sticking to its population based distribution formula.
Ironically, despite her plea for more shots, a significant number of people are refusing to get vaccinated.
The fear is that as much as 30 percent of the population won’t go for shots, about equal to the number who have resisted wearing masks. I’m frustrated by the number of young people around Ann Arbor who don’t put on masks when they go out, even though they are an at-risk group.
Now, the governor is issuing recommendations — not orders, because it’s likely that she’d again face the kind of resistance that resulted in armed protestors descending on the state Capitol last year, and which resulted in a kidnapping plot against her.
On Friday, she suggested that state residents refrain from dining inside restaurants for the next two weeks, and get carry out or dine outdoors instead.
Why not a mandate?
Whitmer has faced intense pressure from some restaurant and bar owners to allow them to operate at 100 percent of capacity (the current limit is 50 percent). That isn’t true for everyone: a number of places, particularly fast food restaurants, still aren’t open inside.
Others have found a way to rely on carry out, with weekly specials, delivery and all manner of food combinations that can result in several meals.
All of it makes me sad. Until a few weeks ago, it seemed like the restaurant world was coming back to life. I enjoyed my most recent trip to Zingerman’s Roadhouse, where I felt reassured by all its sanitary steps.
In fact, now that Maxine and I are fully vaccinated, we were talking about having lunch at Knight’s Steakhouse or Nick’s Original House of Pancakes.
And, I was even plotting a trip to Chicago, where I was looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting some new restaurant people.
It’s on hold for now. And, we couldn’t go even we wanted to.
Nick’s closed on Saturday and Sunday because he didn’t have enough staff to work shifts. Meanwhile, Side Biscuit, a brand new place that began as a pop up, is closed until April 28 because a staff member tested positive for Covid.
I can’t help but worry about more people coming down with Covid-19, before they can get vaccinated. Sometimes, the situation feels like waiting for the invasion of Normandy. You know help is coming, but the attacks continue.
This has to end sometime, and we have to get our restaurants back up and running. But, we also have to stay safe. So if it means not dining inside, I’ll go find a picnic table under a shady tree.
Assuming it doesn’t snow. You aren’t in the clear in Michigan until mid-May.
Some Good Restaurant News, For A Change
You’ve met chef Michael Gulotta here in the newsletter, and I hope you’ve read my stories about him in Forbes.
He’s the New Orleans chef with two good restaurants, MoPho, which is a casual neighborhood noodle spot, and Maypop, a more-upscale place in New Orleans’ business district.
Maypop earned him a James Beard Award finalist spot as Best Chef-South. But he put it on hiatus at the beginning of the pandemic. With tourists and convention business gone, it made no sense to keep operating.
However, he refused to give up on his dream restaurant. And last week, his persistence paid off. He plans to reopen Maypop on April 22.
Business in downtown New Orleans is picking up, and many of his regulars have pleaded with him to reopen. So, he figures the time is right.
It will serve dinner only for now, and he is figuring out whether he can resume serving lunch, as well as weekend brunch, which featured dim sum.
All I want back is his gumbo, which uses local seafood but includes an Asian twist. And eventually, when I feel safe traveling, I’ll take a trip down.
World Travel: An Irreverent Guide
By Anthony Bourdain and Laurie Woolever
I still remember my shock learning two years ago that Anthony Bourdain had died by suicide.
Although I never met him, he was kind to some of the food people that I know, including Mike Monahan, the owner of Monahan’s Seafood in Ann Arbor.
I once heard travelers described as falling into two categories: rocks and sponges. Rocks fail to absorb anything from their trips. They’re more ticket punchers, collecting experiences but not letting them truly affect them.
Bourdain was absolutely a sponge. “Travel changes you. As you move through this life and this world you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life — and travel — leaves marks on you,” he said.
His death left a gaping hole in travel and food television that Stanley Tucci can only partly fill.
If you are a Bourdain fan, then you’ll be happy to read World Travel: An Irreverent Guide. The book was conceived before his death, with the idea of offering travel advice for 43 of the countries he featured on his CNN and other programs.
After he died, the book became more of a Bourdain compendium. There are quotes from him, and reflections from numerous other people about him. It’s much more an oral history than a how-to guide.
Mainly, it is a way to remember him and hear his voice in our minds. Since we can’t travel as freely as we once did, it’s nice to read about destinations and dream about putting them on our lists.
The link will take you to Nicola’s Books here in Ann Arbor, my beloved local indie book seller. They will be happy to reserve one for you.
Our Shy Cookbook Winner
There is a winner in our contest for the Milk Street Tuesday Nights: Mediterranean cookbook, but they are shy. So, I’ll thank you for your support and send off your prize. More drawings are to come for our CulinaryWoman Community members. How to become eligible? Read on.
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Stay healthy, get the vaccine if you can, keep wearing a mask and see you next week.