! Hashcapades

50 Cities 50 Hashes: Jen Heigl at Fleetwood Diner in Ann Arbor!

It seems the Fleetwood Diner on the corner of Ashley and Liberty in downtown Ann Arbor is a legend that has somehow managed to escape my hometown radar for some 30 odd years. It’s the place you’d hit after catching a show at the Blind Pig, or some morning when you woke too late to make it to class.

A greasy diner full of love that remains a local favorite. It’s a metal box really, reminiscent of boxcars of old, a checkered floor that’s seen a better day, a mere 20 seats in the whole place, including six at the white formica counter. It’s everything you want a diner to be.

On my Hashcapade mission during a recent visit home, I picked the Fleetwood for their Hippie Hash, a simple but tasty conglomeration of veggies, meat (or a meat substitute), and feta cheese. Set in the heart of the University of Michigan community, a few students lingered over a table behind us that snowy Monday morning, loading up on coffee and flipping through books, while a set of parents talked courses and friends with their daughter at the counter seats.

Digging in, I thought about the number of students, locals, and visitors that had wandered through the diners doors over the past sixty six years of business. How many had ordered the Hippie Hash with friends, slapping down one of the many stickers along the walls where Bell’s Brewery, Leftover Salmon, and Wall Drug are all represented, a brief stop along the road of life. Few places these days have that kind of history, and it was lovely to be a part of it one December day.

We ordered the gyro Hippie Hash at the recommendation of a kind gentleman propped in the corner of the diner who noted the Fleetwood was his home away from home. Per the official menu description, the hash includes a bottom layer of hashbrowns topped with grilled green peppers, onions, tomatoes, broccoli, and mushrooms, with a handful of feta on top. Meat-ish options include gyro meat, corned beef hash, and tempeh.

Jennifer Heigl is a writer, photographer, and entrepreneur originally from the Midwest. She is the former co-owner of Zen Kitchen Catering, an award-winning organic catering company in Portland, Oregon, and theauthor of Career Diary of a Caterer. In addition to Daily Blender, Jennifer has been published widely and is also the principal and owner of Jen Heigl Creative. You can catch Jennifer’s stint behind the bar as part of Jim & Rocky’s Barback Pro-Am, courtesy of the Small Screen Network, and read about Jennifer’s Portland picks – or “Best Evers” – on Google HotPot. She has also previously been profiled as a Thursday Thirsty Girl.Follow Jen on twitter: @DailyBlender and @JenniferHeigl.