6B - The Michigan Daily Weekent Magazine - Thursday, October 17, 1996
About Town
Gandy Dancer epitomizes
bourgeois Ann Arbor dining
The Michigan lily Weeken A
By Kristin Long
Daily Ats Writer
For those unusual moments when
spending little cash doesn't matter, the
Candy Dancer offers elaborate
dining -- with price to t
match. Its classic style and "
elegant aImo.phere attract
students and non-students L I
alike. The retaurant offers a
detour from the monotonous
campus dining, as well as a
plethora of character.t
The building itself was
established back in 1886 as
the Michigan Central rail-
road station because heavye
amounts of train travel
required the creation of a depot at the
halfway point between Buffalo and
F
Chicago. Detroit architect Frederick
Speir, who also designed the Kelsey
Museum on campus, developed the
building in the Richardson
Romancsque style: using glacial stones
from Four Mile Lake,
Cearing and Sons of
Detroit made Speir's
F plans a reality.
Throughout the late-
1800s and then into the
1900s, the station served
multiple businesses that
used the railroad as their
primary shipping source.
When train travel was
popularized, business peo-
ple and students used the sta-
tion to hub their journeys.
Famous folks like Benny Goodman and
TSI
1960 Presidential candidates John
Kennedy and Richard Nixon made
appearances there.
In 1970, Chuck Muer bought the
building and transformed it into the
modern establishment it is today.
Following a trend of similar renova-
tions at a fire station in Cincinnati and
another railroad station in Pittsburgh,
Muer kept many of the building's clas-
sic elements intact. Characteristics
such as the fireplace, stained-glass
windows and baggage scale remain
the same; Muer added a kitchen
between the former baggage building
and the waiting room, and he win-
dowed-in the former platform area. He
also originated its name after the
laborers who once worked on the rail-
road tracks.
According to Dan Huntsbarger, gen-
eral manager and executive chef, the
restaurant offers a "blended atmos-
phere of people, with a casual yet
classy setting." Many patrons abandon
their casual dress for more formal
attire, but it is not unusual to see people
in jeans - especially on a football
Saturday.
With a menu of mostly seafood, the
choices change on a daily basis.
Huntsbarger guarantees options like
fresh lake fish, as well as fresh lobster,
crab and shrimp. The menu also offers
some game selections and pasta spe-
cialties. The Swiss-trained pastry chefs
create fine desserts which rotate on a
monthly basis.
Various salads and sandwiches are
offered for lunch for a reasonable
price. Most dinner entrees range
5:30 p.m., where
$10-$13.
For some din-
ers, the Sunday
brunch tops the
list. More than
300 items, rang-
ing from
shrimp cocktail
to fresh-baked
pastries to virtu-
ally every other
culinary delight
under the sun,
are offered weeklyf
meals cost from
The Gandy
~ Where: 401 Depot
V Hours: Monday-Sat
10 p.m.; Sunday -10a
~ Phone: 769-0592
from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
residents, some students escape dorm
food traumas in the establishment. A
graduate student
in the School of
Dancer Public Health,
Jyoti Bhatia,
SSt. said, "The food
not as good as
turday 11:30 a.m.- the cost, but the
a.m.-9 p.m. atmosphere is
great." She was
impressed with
the service and
would like to
JULLY PARK/Daify
Jill Tabachnick, University of Arizona junior, and David Levi, LSA senior, dine at the
Gandy Dancer.
from $15-$19, with specialty items, as a banquet hall for special occa-
such as lobster, priced at around $30. sions.
The Gandy Dancer also offers an all- While most of the restaurant's clien-
inclusive Sunset menu from 4:30- tele includes business people and local
i
I
Members of Luther House and the winning banner they made for the ICC Co-op Month Banner Contest. JENNIFER BRADLEYSWIFT/Daily
:,
' ' >.
_
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The all-you-can-eat extravaganza also
includes orange juice and coffee for
S14.95 per person - what a deal!
Some folks don't come for just the
food alone. A lounge is connected to
the dining room area, where a pianist
entertains guests seven days a week
from 5-11:30 p.m. When the weather
is appropriate, the courtyard is used
make a return visit.
For some, the chance to dine at the
Gandy Dancer requires a special occa-
sion: When parents come to visit, or
perhaps when trying to impress a spe-
cial date. Whatever the circumstance.
Huntsbarger guarantees a comfortable
atmosphere and excellent dining; unfor-
tunately, you will probably leave with a
full stomach and empty wallet.
machine or being a "food czar," co-op
lingo for food-ordering stewards.
Decisions are made democratically, on
individual, house and ICC-wide levels.
House budgets are collectively set by
members. The savings of cooperative liv-
ing mean that co-ops usually cost more
than S1,000 less than dormitories per
academic year. The price of living at a co-
op is what most attracts its members.
Ping Chu, a co-op resident and LSA
junior, was attracted to the co-ops for
many reasons. "The main reason a lot
of people live in co-ops is the econom-
ics. We get a nice room, six meals a
week including snacks and breakfast.
It's a good deal, a bargain, a chance to
meet all these people that I wouldn't
have met in a dorm or apartment. More
amazing is the fact that with so many
people in the house, we all seem to get
along pretty well," he said.
An occasional argument over which
beer to serve at a party or a squabble in
the coed bathroom may occur. Disputes
will also arise during room assignments.
Rooms are given according to seniority
. "It's not a utopia, we have our own
problems. Problems living with the
opposite sex arise too," said Eric
Gellert, a co-op resident and LSA
junior.
Thus, one who expects co-op lifestyle
to be free of responsibilities while
simultaneously allowing absolute free-
dom might be disillusioned. High
amounts of personal freedom are
stressed, but only if a high amount of
group responsibility is also emphasized.
"And incest is strongly discouraged,"
added Gellert with other co-op mem-
bers chuckling. Another inside joke?
When asked to elucidate, it was discov-
ered that incest, in co-op terminology, is
defined as a romantically involved
inter-cooperative relationship. Incest, it
seems, is discouraged in favor of main-
taining the one-of-a-kind camaraderie
formed in the student co-ops.
The special bonds developed among
co-opers are best described by co-op
resident Mike Nellis, an LSA junior,
who said, "The people here are not as
judgmental. You can be yourself, act the
way you are. Everybody can be who
they want to be, act how they want to
act without being fake. ... Really, the
best way to fit in is to just be yourself."
For those still curious, it is rumored
that "guff" is a term meaning free food.
As the Owner's Manual for the Inter-
Cooperative Council says: "As you may
be aware, the dorms and most of the
Greek houses have a nasty habit of
U qil
CASTIN G
CAST OF CHARACTERS WANTED
FOR HOLIDAY PRODUCTION AT
SOMERSET COLLECTION
This probably isn't going to be your big break
where Broadway takes notice. But, we are looking
for people who can bring enthusiasm and some
acting ability to help make the Santa visit and
photo a mcmorable experience for children and
parents. (you'll be playing the part of a
Renaissance lord or lady.) You must be available
from November 17 thru December 24, either days
or evenings. And you must like kids. To schedule
an audition, please call Amy at (810)643-6360.
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