ANN ARBOR, MI — Zingerman’s Roadhouse, 2501 Jackson Ave., will host a special dinner Tuesday, June 16, honoring Ella E. Hall, a Black cook and landlord who lived in Ann Arbor during the early 20th century, according to a May 8 email.
The event, titled “A Juneteenth Event: From Freedom to the Table,” will commemorate Juneteenth and present the first published edition of the “Ella E. Hall Recipe Book.”
Chef Bob Bennett designed a multi-course menu that draws from Hall’s legacy and celebrates Black food traditions. The meal begins with appetizers including pickled green tomatoes with country ham and fried local apples. Family-style entrees feature Mississippi cornmeal fried catfish with ramp remoulade and sorghum-glazed pork loin. The dinner concludes with Lady Baltimore cake, a layered fig and pecan vanilla cake that appears in Hall’s original writings…