Ann Arbor, MI — Downtown Ann Arbor has a new live-music bar featuring country music, vibes, and solid food options. The Ranch Honky Tonk features a variety of Southwest-inspired dishes and ingredients, including green chiles, birria, carne asada, and a Sonoran hot dog. Music preferences aside, I was definitely intrigued by these menu items after living in Phoenix, Arizona, for 5 years.
I was graciously invited to the grand opening of The Ranch Honky Tonk on March 26th, but was unable to attend the opening weekend due to other pre-scheduled events and a planned vacation. So I circled back after I returned and headed to Ann Arbor for an evening visit on April 18th.
It was one of the rare decent-weather nights for mid-April, as I parked and briefly walked for about 30 seconds over to The Ranch Honky Tonk, located right at the northeast corner of West Washington and South Ashley streets. I enjoyed the cool spring air as I walked into the bustling restaurant around 7 p.m. Thankfully, my visit was pre-arranged, because that space was BUSY. There was a live band playing in the corner, with more scheduled to play later on in the night. The ambiance was electric; folks seemed pretty stoked to be there and were having a good time, as evidenced by the energy, music, vibes, and tables filled with large-portioned burgers, burritos, and other menu items.
I met with one of the managers, Keith, and got an introduction and tour of the restaurant. Weaving through packed tables and throngs of people enjoying beers and cocktails at the multiple bars, I found a much larger space than anticipated, because the folks who own The Ranch Honky Tonk also own Grizzly Peak Brewing next door! The two establishments also share a kitchen, but you’ll know you’re on the The Ranch Honky Tonk side because the bar has unique display and seating options! Another cool facet of The Ranch is its basement bar space (which I would check out later after my meal) with a dance floor, DJ booth, tons of tables, and a lengthy bar.
After checking out the restaurant space, I sat back at my table and pored over the menus, including the specials and drink menus. I noticed a particular southwestern theme in several of the food items, including Pork Green Chile, Elotes Queso, Quesadilla Birria, Carne Asada Fries, and Sonoran Dog, to name a few.
I learned from Keith and some of the servers that the Pork Green Chile was a popular menu item and was favored by many of the staff, as it’s a family recipe passed down through generations of the Head Chef. Since green (Hatch) chile dishes are rare in Michigan, and this one had such a personal touch, I decided to order the Pork Green Chile as my starter to get the foodie adventure off to a rocking start. I also decided to order the Quesadilla Birria to continue the southwest/Mexican theme, but I changed it up for the entrée and went with Andre’s Nashville Hot Chicken sandwich.
As I awaited my food, I sipped on the Ash & Ember cocktail. A bold, mezcal-based drink with a blast of sweet and spice. The pineapple in the beverage helps neutralize some of the mezcal’s smokiness, so it balances more smoothly with the sweetness from the pineapple and Aztec chocolate bitters. This drink was dangerously smooth, but very refreshing and definitely got me feeling more lively!
The energy was picking up even more throughout the bar. The downstairs portion opened at 8 p.m., so people began heading down shortly after. People were definitely ready to get their dance on! As soon as a group would get up to depart, a new round of folks would immediately seize the table. A new band was gearing up to play, so a lot more people had begun to arrive to grab a drink and enjoy the live music. As all this environmental joy amplified around me, my first round of food arrived!
The Food
After such high acclaim from Keith and several staff members, I knew I had to experience the Head Chef’s family recipe. When these recipes are handed down through generations, they take on even greater significance and meaning because you’re experiencing the story of someone’s family. These uniquely tailored recipes are the stories and shared memories we all hold dear from our loved ones; sometimes, that extra ingredient that makes the dish is the story behind it.
While it’s been a few years since I’ve been able to enjoy a proper green chili pork stew from New Mexico or Arizona, I’ll attest that the Pork Green Chile at The Ranch Honky Tonk is actually perhaps the best I’ve ever had. I loved that the cilantro, onions, and radish slices were raw, providing the most pungent flavors to put the zesty broth into flavor overdrive. There was a generous amount of mid-level heat, and the portions of onion, cilantro, and pork were plentiful. I really enjoyed every spoonful of this dish and had to force myself to stop halfway through so that I would have room for the next two rounds on the way.
The Quesadilla Birria arrived a well-timed minute or two after I ceased dining on the Pork Green Chile. While the onion, cilantro, and radish slice garnish was more limited with this starter, the quantity of birria beef and melted Monterey Jack cheese on the interior more than made up for it. The dish comes served with a side of consommé, a dipping broth, with a good heap of Pico De Gallo in it. The staff also suggested that if I wanted to add some heat, I try a side of tomatillo salsa, which had quite a kick.
The Quesadilla Birria was quite good. The birria-soaked beef had a rich, juicy consistency throughout, which paired nicely with the buttery, creamy Monterey Jack cheese. I poured the consommé and salsa over the quesadilla slices and really enjoyed the depth of flavor from the broth and the heat from the salsa, which immediately came knocking at the taste buds. With the slices fully sauced and covered, this dish packed quite a punch for a second round. After two slices, I decided to add the remaining two slices to the leftovers pile and prepared for the final wave.
The last round of food was Andre’s Nashville Hot Chicken, which featured a buttermilk-marinated chicken breast (excellent breading), hot chili + spice oil, garlic aioli, a jalapeño coleslaw, bread & butter pickles, on a Grand River Bakery brioche bun. All the handhelds come with fries and a pickle spear, but I decided to upgrade my fries to hand-cut sweet potato fries.
The chicken sandwich landed similarly to the quesadilla; it was really good all around. I really enjoyed the softness of the brioche buns, and I loved that these buns came from a local bakery as well. The breading on the chicken was also really enjoyable, with a deliciously moist, perfectly cooked interior underneath. The chicken breast was quite proportionate as well; I could only finish about half of the sandwich! I really like the enhancement sauces, but admittedly could have used a bit more heat in the jalapeño coleslaw. From the vast range of garlic, to spice, buttery pickles, and tender chicken, this rendition of the Nashville Hot Chicken holds its own.
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I wanted to give a special shout-out for the hand-cut sweet potato fries, because without a doubt, these were among the best sweet potato fries I’ve ever had. I was so excited about them that I got out of my seat to tell my server, who came by to ask how I was enjoying my entrée. The fries were thick-cut, which really let that sweetness shine through when you bit into them. The fries were lightly sprinkled with sea salt, so the crystals were larger and added a slight crunch, a marvelous textural contrast to the incredibly soft interior. Given the lightly fried exterior, one might have expected the interior to be denser and starchy, but it had a consistency nearly identical to that of butter. I really enjoyed these fries and will only order these for my side whenever I visit The Ranch Honky Tonk!
Before heading out, I swung through the downstairs to check out the vibes. It was a lengthy basement space with a long bar just beyond the dance floor. There were already quite a few groups gathered at tables and the bar, with only a few spots left that were quickly disappearing as I did my walkabout. The high-top tables and spacious booths were all fine quality and comfortable as well. The DJ hadn’t quite started yet, but I knew from The Ranch Honky Tonk’s Instagram posts that the dance floor gets quite bumping at night!
I really enjoyed my first experience at The Ranch Honky Tonk. The ambiance, service, and food were all exceptional, and everything was enjoyed from the moment I walked in until I left. I was really impressed by the Pork Green Chile and sweet potato fries, and based on that, next time I would aim to try either the Green Chile Bison Burger or Birria Beef Burrito with elote queso added — with an upgraded side of the hand-cut sweet potato fries, of course! And as always, much appreciation to the staff and team at The Ranch Honky Tonk for inviting me out to check out their establishment. I can’t wait to saddle up for a return adventure!
For more information about The Ranch Honky Tonk or their upcoming live bands, click here.
MI Foodie Adventures 