Ann Arbor, MI — Last Saturday was full of adventure and great food! My travels would take me to Ann Arbor to meet with my sister for lunch at a popular meat shop and barbecue haven. Later in the day, I would go on to have dinner with my friend Erika at a top-notch Italian restaurant that’s really one with the community in Macomb Township. So let’s kick things off with the lunch adventure to Biercamp! The full breakdown of my dinner adventure to Testa Barra will be in a follow-up post.

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I was met with minimal traffic, save for the US-23 juncture as I drove westward along I-94. Midday weather was perfect, with the sun shining brightly overhead and temps in the lower 80s. It was a perfect day for barbecue! I got off the interstate and went north along State Street until I reached my destination, which is just south of Stadium Boulevard. I walked toward the establishment from the parking lot, which was a dirt lot that was surprisingly fitting for the occasion. I observed the exterior, snapped the photo seen at the top of the article, and enjoyed the outdoorsy vibe of Biercamp. I was fortunate enough to snap a photo at the ripe time in a gap of patron activity. The tables just to my right of view were packed with people and platters filled with barbecue, and the second you rounded that corner of the fence at the entrance, the few tables in the front were all packed with families seeking shelter in the shade. Stepping inside felt like walking into a beehive of barbecue activity, with folks beelining about ordering/picking up food or shopping among the various meat, cheese, and salsa/sauce options also sold at Biercamp.

My sister Gina and I quickly analyzed the menu and decided to split a variety of foods. We went with the chili cheese tots, loaded potato bratwurst, chorizo smoked sausage, Backwoods brisket sandwich, and a pulled pork sandwich. We would soon find out; however, our eyes were much bigger than our stomachs!

While we waited for our food, my sister and I caught up at a table outside and discussed everything going on in our respective lives. It’s always great when I get to see my sister. The last time we saw each other was up north in Traverse City when we were part of a large family outing for a Mother’s Day dinner. We were especially excited about the food we were about to devour, as this place came at my sister’s recommendation. She saw/heard about my blog endeavor and supplied me with a list of eateries to check out in the Ann Arbor area. Biercamp was at the top of her list, so it was a quick and easy decision for our first foodie meet-up!

Not before long, our buzzer went off, and it was food time! I jumped up with youthful speed to collect our platter of goodies from inside. I returned to our dope outdoor table with a nice shade covering with a quickened pace due to the mouth-watering food on the tray before me. I immediately grabbed several napkins and visually charted my sampling course around the tray. I knew this meal was about to be off-the-charts delicious.

I started at bratwurst o’clock, with two quick succession bites to really get a full scope of the flavor. The loaded potato was quite potent throughout, and my sister and I were genuinely impressed with how they could incorporate such a generous amount into the bratwursts as well. The creamy potato acted almost like a sauce on the brat, combining with the juices of the meat with every bite. The hints of bacon and cheddar complemented the savoriness of the brat, rounding out this absolutely solid choice to split. I moved on to the chorizo sausage and got a great spicy and cheesy delight from this link. The sausage had a notably great cook and crunch when biting into the casing, which encapsulated a lot of great heat and flavor into the sausage. The spice from the chorizo was nice and not too overwhelming. While nothing exceptional stood out, it was still a pretty darn good sausage.

Between those links and the decent enough chili cheese tots, I was already rather full. The tots fell apart a bit too easily, likely from the weight and heap of toppings. The basket ended up being a bit more of a mash of everything, but overall the chili was solid and forkings of the tot-mash were still pretty good! Next, I was on to the main event, the Backwoods brisket sandwich was on the clock and I knew I would have to attempt at least a few bites! I managed about four bites, and let me tell you…

WOW! The brisket was absolutely terrific and had a great marinate/drizzle of the barbecue sauce married into it. It was a slice of delicious meat with a peppery kick, accompanied by an exquisite sweet jalapeño mustard sauce. It overpowered the barbecue sauce a bit, but in a way that worked and enhanced the barbecue sauce by adding some heat and zest. It honestly just worked, especially when coagulated with the crunch and textures of the pickles, onions, and stacked coleslaw! The pickles were fresh, and the coleslaw had the right approach staying a bit drier as to not oversaturate the sandwich, which was already drenched primarily in sweet jalapeño mustard. It was a marvelous range of flavors and was very generous in the portioning department.

I also sampled a hearty bite of the pulled pork from my sister’s sandwich. I found their pork to be slightly saltier than I would have preferred, but it still had a great resonating flavor and added a rather filling dimension to the sandwich. My sister really enjoyed everything as well, and like myself, she needed to get a box to take some of the leftovers home. She also bought a few things to take home for her husband. Enjoying both the food and atmosphere of Biercamp, my sister acknowledged that her two boys, Noah and Miles, would definitely enjoy that place, and she vowed to take them soon!

FULL SECTION: MI Foodie Barbecue Adventures

The meal was outstanding and lifted my barbecue hopes for Michigan. Outside of even the food, the fact that this shop sells a plethora of meats and cheeses, cheese curds, salsas, pickled items, etc… I mean, what more could you want out of a meat shop?! On top of that, they have beers on tap for sale to accompany any (and every) barbecue endeavor. It’s truly a wonderful little spot off an obscure winding part of State Street, but worth the stop in every way. From a wonderful catch-up with my sister to delicious and returnable bite-worthy food, Biercamp will forever be an Ann Arbor destination in future adventures! And don’t just take it from me; check out their outstanding Google reviews below!

To learn more about Biercamp, click here.