A spotlight from Kerrytown
Miss Kim
Ji Hye Kim's Kerrytown Korean kitchen — where farmers-market fermentation meets ancient Korean culinary texts
I try to imagine, if a Korean grandmother suddenly finds herself in Ann Arbor, Michigan, at a farmers market, what would she buy and what would she make?
— Ji Hye Kim, Chef & Managing Partner
From a food cart to Kerrytown
Ji Hye Kim came to the United States from Seoul as a teenager, studied at the University of Michigan, and worked in hospital administration before switching careers in 2008.
She trained inside the Zingerman's Community of Businesses and cooked at the Rome Sustainable Food Project, then ran the San Street Korean food cart in Ann Arbor for four years. Miss Kim opened as a brick-and-mortar in Kerrytown in November 2016 — Zingerman's first partner-run restaurant led by a chef of color.
Korean cuisine as a living tradition
The menu reads like a translation project. Kim spends her off-hours with ancient Korean culinary texts and long-form fermentation, then lays those techniques over what's ripe at the Kerrytown Farmers Market a block away.
Cacio e pepe tteokbokki, sweet-chile baby back ribs that nod to galbi, soy-butter rice made with Calder Dairy butter — every plate treats Korean cuisine as a living tradition that keeps adapting. Miss Kim also runs a no-tipping model with tax and service folded into the menu price.
Kerrytown, expanding
Kerrytown is Ann Arbor's oldest commercial corner — a cluster of red-brick market buildings, a year-round farmers market on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and small food businesses that grew up around Zingerman's Deli since the 1980s.
Miss Kim sits on N Fifth Ave between the market shed and residential streets. In 2025 Kim opened the fast-casual Little Kim next door, giving the block a second door into her cooking.
Order this
The dishes that made Miss Kim
Tteokbokki
Chewy Korean rice cakes in a house gochujang caramel; a cacio e pepe variation runs on the seasonal menu.
Bo Ssam-style Pork Belly
Slow-braised belly with fresh napa, ssamjang and quick pickles — meant for the table to build.
Korean Fried Chicken
Double-fried, glazed to order in either soy-garlic or gochujang.
Good to know
Miss Kim, answered
Where should I sit?
Sit at the counter if you can — Kim's team plates in the open kitchen and will walk you through the ferments of the day.
Do I need to tip?
Menu prices already include tax and a living wage; no tipping expected.
What should I order?
Order two rice cakes — one gochujang, one seasonal special. That's the fastest way to understand the kitchen.