Filled with French favorites handcrafted to perfection, you can tell the owner of The Standard Bistro and Larder has a passion for French cuisine.
"My mother taught me how to cook at quite a young age; [at] about 1, I started cooking pretty regularly. My father bought me a Julia Child's cook book in 1971, and when I moved to Manhattan to learn how to cook, my first job was in a French restaurant, " says Alex Young, the owner and chef of The Standard Bistro and Larder.
Young has worked in several restaurants over the years, but this is the first one he owned himself. The restaurant is open and airy with an art deco feel.
"So the concept was a 1930's art deco Parisian bistro, so the details in the tiles, the color choices in the couches and whatnot ... I've taken a few liberties in that we have a couple of Italian dishes on the menu, we're also doing some of the colonies," says Young.
They also have a mini market inside the restaurant that they call the Larder.
"The larder translates to food storage closet to the kitchen. Since we are doing all of our own butchery, and whole animal butchery, people for the last 15 year living here in Ann Arbor have been asking me, 'Where do you buy good meat?' and so I decided to make it a part of this concept," Young explains.
They sell pork, beef, lamb, and some prepared side items. Some of the items are the exact same as what they use in their kitchen. For example, they sell the Merguez sausage that they feature in their mussles frites.
If you would like to try out The Standard Bistro and Larder, it is located at 5827 Jackson Road in Ann Arbor.