The Dixboro Project — Restaurant in Superior Charter Township

I am not sure where to start with this one so grab a silly little drink and get cozy, it's going to be a long one.

I was looking forward to this as I had been to the (Dixboro Project) restaurant once before and the food was an absolute smash hit; the pizza, the pasta, the freshest appetizers, and honest to goodness some of the best service I have ever had in this area. This paved the way for my expectations when placing an order for a pizza and a salad, seeing the prices set at a very high 22.00 for a margherita pizza and 17.00 for the full-size spring salad. I recollected on my last visit and how I left utterly dripping in satisfaction and pulled the trigger hoping for a large pizza and a large salad, one would naturally assume as much given the prices and the "smaller" options being just over half the price. Well I was crushed when I saw the margherita pizza in a box no bigger than a medium at any chain pizza company, and inside a pizza that was roughly 12 inches any way you cut it. The salad was in a plastic to-go dish and loosely filled...not sure how to give you a clear picture for the portion but think the small-ish bowl doled out at olive garden. All of this coming to a total of 43.00 and the directions to pick up at their cafe with takeaway service. No option to avoid the ordering patrons to pick-up and ended up standing in a line out the door waiting to pick-up food that could be ready several minutes after you join the queue (if you placed an order online ahead of time). Now this is where I want to give a nod to the quality of ingredients and flavors for both items purchased; wonderful sauce, vibrant and lite cheese, and some sky-high basil for the pizza and earthy, complex, and bright flavors all brought together with what could be one of my favorite dressings...ever for the salad.

Here is the part that left me with sadness, curiosity, and a touch of dare I say...anger? When ordering there is a 3% "Sustainability Fee" added to your total, at the bottom of the receipt, with the option to visit "thepulpogroup.com" to find out more about the fee, and so we did. It appears as if this is a third party fee however upon closer look the same owners of the restaurant run this additional company that claims this fee is "designated to support the long-term sustainability of both our business and our world. It allows us to adapt to changing market conditions without significantly altering our menu pricing," so what about that 22-25.00 medium pizza? So my nearly farm to table meal, complete with almost entirely local ingredients is being taxed and just became political as well, it is also important to note I have a masters degree in technology and am not an economist, so please know this is out of my expertise. It just seems like an odd way to claim something about sustainability when the patrons are noted as stakeholders and they are the ones who have to eat this additional cost on the already higher than average priced food.

If the pizza was a decent size, and the salad was actually filled to the non-sustainable to-go box limits, I would have written an entirely different review and perhaps overlooked the adventure I went on to find out what the sustainability fee truly was.

I have lived here in Ann Arbor for the last 8 years and have had a high percentage of success and satisfaction at Sava's other establishments including the sister portion of this cafe. I am not sure where the future will take me now but I will savor the memory of my first outstanding and stellar visit and try to accept the ever-changing face of the hospitality industry of my lackluster second.

PS: The parking lot is an absolute wreck, the complimentary valet seems like a nice idea until they park cars in active driving areas of the lot...if you have anxiety park across the street or find some way to de-car and walk yourself onto...

We had high hopes for this place. The sign out front beckons: "a place you'll remember." Well that's definitely the case, for all the wrong reasons.

First the good part: Really cool space. Loved the bar fireplace and the dining rooms. That's about as good as it got for us, unfortunately.

The service we received was absolutely, 100% abysmal. We arrived a bit early and decided to get drinks in the bar area while we waited for our 7 pm reservation. I ordered a Paper Plane and my wife got a glass of pinot noir. Bartender told me he couldn't make a traditional Paper Plane because they didn't have any Amara Nonimo. First ominous sign of the night to come. A Paper Plane is a pretty standard bar order. We both ended up getting the wine, which was good.

We got seated about 5 minutes after 7, and our server initially came and greeted us promptly and gave a short run down of the place, as it was our first time there (just moved to A2). It was the last time we saw her for 25 minutes. Meanwhile, the two tops on either side of use had their servers coming and going regularly. When our server finally came back, we ordered two starters (sourdough loaf and risotto) and our entrees (beef tenderloin for me, grain bowl for my wife). Our server came back with our starters and we didn't see her again until just before our entrees came out. Again, the tables on either side of us had their servers coming and going regularly during this time frame. When our entrees arrived, it was clear immediately that my steak had been sitting in the kitchen quite a while. It was barely luke-warm, temperature-wise. Now, you're probably asking why I didn't say something immediately? Well, had our server ever come back to our table, I would have been happy to. She came back after my wife had finished her plate (which he genuinely enjoyed). By that time we were ready to get the hell out of dodge and just asked for our check.

In fairness to the management, the server came back after we asked for our check and inquired if there was a problem with the steak. I told her about the temperature issue. They ended up comping us the steak (which I did not ask for), which was great. Would have been even better to enjoy an actually hot tenderloin and potatoes that I had ordered. They also offered us a couple pastries to take with us, which we declined.

Was really hopeful that this place was going to knock our socks off. My best guest is the steak came off the line perfectly and sat because the server was severely late in picking up to take to the table. That's just my guess, as my wife's food was good.

Not sure if we'll be back. Seems to be a crapshoot based on what server is...

A bit overdue comment, but wanted to get it out there with a big shout out. I was passing this place on my way to Ann Arbor and was always wondering about it. Started reading the reviews, and found a lot of controversial things about the place but I had a tremendous experience.

Atmosphere is fantastic, lots of natural light, very tasteful interior with a European vibe, which I frankly missed. The color patterns, furniture choice all of that created simplistic, yet elegant and tasteful vibe that pairs well with fine dining and a farm. I loved the real flowers on the tables, which seems like a detail, but surprisingly many restaurants feel comfortable putting artificial flowers on the table (unacceptable!). A separate shout out to the choice of china, it is really beautiful and elegant!

Staff was very polite and welcoming, servers treat you like a dear friend, providing good recommendations. I watched the staff and you could tell they follow high standards. When serving wine, servers took the wineglass, inspected in carefully for dust and fingerprints and only then serve you wine.

Food. Well it is truly amazing. I've been to overpriced restaurants where you come out disappointed. That's not the case here. Food is plenty and it is professionally done. I had fish, I think trout, with risotto and it was amazing. We also had pizza as an appetizer, also very delicious on a thin crust (as it should be!). The cherry on top were the beautifully made deserts, rich and tasty with a delicious coffee (the one you can find in Europe, as unfortunately America doesn't pay that much attention to the art of coffee), so coffee was great! I had cappuccino, the foam was thick and firm, the coffee was rich NOT burnt. I assume not only they use good coffee beans, but they also have quality coffee machines and they take care of them.

Overall, the place turned out to be fantastic! We will definitely return during the warmer time to enjoy...