The Michigan Daily - Weekend etc. - Thursday, February 2, 1995 - 6 Washington is worth By Melanie Schuman Daily Arts Writer On Washington Street in Ann Ar- bor one finds the most originally named restaurant in town - Wash- ington Street Station. % As unique as the name may be, it breeds ambiguity as to the type of food it serves. I suppose it's Ameri- can, continental perhaps, but don't take my word for it. Burgers and sandwiches, potato skins and good old fashioned cheese- cake fall into those parameters. But starting with the large list of imported beers and the wine list which is mostly French, a cloud of doubt begins to rise. At first the menu appeared to offer what I call "bar food." This includes a plethora of fried appetiz- ers, nachos and. a half dozen or so burgers. Then there is a page of entrees which are served with a small salad and french bread. They are what I believe is regional American cuisine such as Creole shrimp and baby back ribs. One can also order pork loin, fresh fish or a variety of chicken. Three pastas augment the selec- tion, two of which include seafood and two with cream sauces. I asked if the chicken and wild mushroom pasta could be prepared without cream. After reluctantly agreeing that he would check, our waiter completely forgot, even when I mentioned I had changed my mind. Which brings me to my choices. With a friend, I shared the barbecue chicken pizza. Small enough for one (they should serve it on a smaller plate to deceive customers), it was, in STUDENTE TRAVEL BREAKS, 663-4400 Stamos Family of Travel fact, a unique blend of chicke pers, mozzarella and feta che much cheese, not enough tas barbecue sauces rather than1 all on sourdough crust. I wou enjoyed it more had our food - and entrees -- not arrived m later. I had thought about orderi of three moderate-priced co tion platters, but I thought it w too much food. Besides, spicy shrimp did not seems to blen with chicken in a hoisin-ginge So I opted for the latter by itse Sausalito chicken, so its called with a choice of rice pilaf o mashed potatoes and fresh vege The chicken was abo tenderest and juiciest I have h restaurant and was clearly fres the oven. The sauce was not c some, but a tad sweet. The p were more than enough - in q and butter. The garlic was a bi (perhaps it should be roaste but they were still good. The' were quite crunchy, which is negative when you consider th squash and zucchini, two fairl less veggies when under coo raw. Overall, it was a large portion which made me not reE price of approximately $13.0 The burgers are also quite ous, and the one with onio mushrooms was yummy. So this traditional favorite was1 pick up. It comes on an onion nice break from the tradition and also has lettuce, tomato,z ion (raw) in case you like to pi Served with french fries (not t bit greasy), this was worth 1 dollars. Our waiter was cordial, s ken and jovial. He did forget t us water, but compensated byl a carafe at the table. It was har how he would be if the restaur betting on n, pep- crowded, but he seemed to struggle ese (too with the four tables. te) and We overheard someone else or- tomato dering Washington Street's specialty ld have - a triple chocolate cake and ordered - salad that even though the cheesecakes oments (blueberry and regular), carrot cake and fruit cup looked appetizing. It ing one was in fact, one of the better choco- mbina- late overloads I've had. A flourless ould be chocolate cake, topped with a layer of Creole mousse, and then a layer of white nd well chocolate mousse was sealed with a rsauce. hardened fudge exterior and shav- elf. The ings. It was sinful, but should have d, came been served closer to room tempera- r garlic ture. As our waiter acknowledged, etables. "guarantee, it'll bring you back." ut the The comfortable atmosphere of had in a Washington Street was relaxing and h out of tranquil. On a busier night it might get umber- awfully loud because the charming otatoes brick walls and flat ceiling might not uantity absorb sound too well. Then again, it t strong might be nice to hear others around d first), you chatting instead of the basketball veggies game in their accompanying bar. The only a bar is serves food until 1 a.m. and has ey were darts and TVs. Still, if you're going to y taste- eat, sit at one of the many booths. )ked or Smoking and nonsmoking are very dinner separated. The giant bay window ac- gret the cented by a draping teal curtain and 0. one of two beautiful flower arrange- gener- ments adds a soft touch as does the ns and brass light fixtures and fans. juicy, It really depends on what you look hard to for in a restaurant if you'll like this n roll, a one and I can't promise you'll find it. al bun, Still, it's definitely worth a shot. *I *I JOE WESTRATE/Daily Washington Street Station is well worth a try, the atmosphere will draw you in and keep you coming back. and on- le it up. he least the five aft-spo- to bring leaving d to tell ant was Valley' is not an uphill journey for viewer Y i \\ p *Bagels *Frozen Yogurt *Muffins (Gisd-Glace) *Pasta Salads *Vegetable Salads *Soups *Fruit Salads Mention this ad for 10% off your order!!! 715 N. University mow. Street Station 116E. Washington Hours: Mon-Thurs 11:30-10, Fri- Sat 4-12, Sun 10-3, 3:30-10 Price: $4.89-15.29 Notes: Not vegetarian friendly Non-smoking,available Handicap accessible Rating: MMMI (It won't kill you/ Mmmm mm good) By Matt Carison Daily Arts Writer One of the greatest motion picture directors of all time was never known for his rapport with his actors, never known for his brilliant camera frames filled with exquisite detail, never Homey Entertainment Center known for his method of direction - mixing gritty realism with fantastical tales. No, Russ Meyer was never known for these things. What Russ Meyer was known for was breasts, breasts and more breasts. Large breasts, small breasts,jiggling breasts, firm breasts, white breasts, black breasts. Meyer, director of dozens of the most popular sexploitation films from the '60s and '70s (including "Faster Pussycat, Kill Kill!", "Mudhoney" and "Beneath the Valley of the Ultra- Vixens), created a 1970 opus that defies description. "Beyond The Val- ley of The Dolls" shocks the senses with its three second camera shots that predated MTV by a decade. But Meyer had monumental help from an unlikely source - Roger Ebert. Yes, the Roger Ebert, of Siskel & Ebert fame. Ebert, already a known film critic, was the Quentin Tarantino of 1970. His over-the-top screenplay replete with stunning dialogue and freakish characters pushed Meyer's film style to new highs, mutating "Beyond The Valley of The Dolls" from a giant breast to one of the best parodies ever put to film. The movie follows the travels of The Kelly Affair, an all-woman rock band on their quest for stardom that, eventually lands them in Hollywood, the classy and trashy town that never sleeps thanks to hard-stompin' par- ties, a reservoir of drugs and a den of sleazy sex. The Kelly Affair is a solid '60s rave and roll outfit, a howlin' kick in the butt glossed over by slick produc- tion and L.A. glitz. Harris, the band's manager and Kelly's lover, knows the group is headed for stardom. But the stardom is one of ultimate de- struction, for the seething underbelly of Hollywood takes more than it dishes out from those who are unable to love their own lives (or so the film would have us believe). The maudlin moral- izing at the end will convince you that the film is one big joke, if the trans- vestite Superwoman doesn't first. All the film's characters are viv- idly portrayed by actors that would never work in Hollywood ever again (other than Charles Napier who found his way into a few low-budget flicks including "Rambo"), a hysterical irony considering that the movie is an all-out attack on Hollywood excess. There's Ronnie "Z-Man" Barzell, the "Teen Tycoon of Rock," who guides the renamed Carrie Nations to gold records and superstardom and spews forth dialogue in a Shakespearean rant. There's Lance Rock, the male-prosti- tute who shacks up with a naive Kelly and who loses his head at one of Z- Man's peyote drenched psychedelic costume-orgies. There's Ashley St. Ives, a voracious pornographic film star who uses men for the pleasure they can give her. There's Roxanne, the man-hating lesbian who is forced to give head to a loaded gun (c'mon, you can see the metaphor) at Z-Man's apocalyptic orgy. There's Randy "The Man" Black, the heavyweight boxing champion of the world, who walks around shirtless for half the film. And these are just the supporting charac- ters. Along with assorted transves- tites, sluts, studs, freaks and hippies, every character dazzles the eyes and mind with utter inanity. "Beyond The Valley of The Dolls" is more than mere trash, however. The film attacks Hollywood's gar- bage-in, garbage-out method of pro- duction by giving the studios what they ask for - trash, trash, trash. It assaults the schlepps who have given o o G4