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The Michigan Daily Weekend Magazine - Thursday, February 27, 1997 -
- The Michigan Daily Weekend Magazine - Thursday, February 27, 1997
W3 Cover Story
It's 2:30 a.m. and you're hungry
Where can students go for late-night, hangout fun?
A weekly
where, what
James Wilson
For The Daily
The scenarios are few and familiar: The party is
over, offizzling to a slow death (which means, if you
happen to be on or near Hill Street, that the keg has
run dry), and all that remains is the treacherous walk
home, over miles of mid-Michigan perma-frost.
Or perhaps the Basement Arts, State Theater or
Michigan Theater late show has just gotten out,
and, again, the only option seems to be tarrying
forth, passed endless neon streams of "Closed"
signs, until you stumble tiredly into your blue-lit
living room. At this point, your housemate and his
occasional, romantic house guest, who have settled
in for a quiet viewing of "Ghostbusters II," greet
you with a frigid, dumbfounded, "What's up?"
before you stumble, embarrassed, off to bed.
Such is how many nights needlessly end for
University students, because they have failed to
consider the plump selection of late-night hang-
outs where they can put off the return home for a
few hours. Ann Arbor offers several locales, of
various quality and atmosphere, to which the hun-
gry, displaced or insomniac student can sojourn.
The perennial favorite is Denny's. Just a few miles
up Washtenaw Avenue from central campus, its yel-
low, illuminated sign promises that patrons are wel-
come at any time, any day of the week. As with most
Denny's restaurants in this hemisphere, the Ann
Arbor one is decorated in simulated wood grain and
plush, patterned booths.
In the last few years, the traditional decor has been
modernized by a neon green light along the ceiling
and an extensive dessert counter. First there is the
optior of smoking or non-smoking. Unlike most
franchised restaurants, Denny's has bucked the trend1
of banning all smoking, much to the happiness of;
many tobacco afficionados.
Only in this one facet has Denny's lagged behindl
the curve. The food selec-
tion, as the dessert counter
addition suggests, has kept
up with the times. In addi-
tion to breakfast and dinner toUsethe
entrees, the discriminating
patron has the choice of as a library
numerous appetizers or a
combination of them all,
with the ingenious "sam- Denny
pler playter" option.
Joe, who declined to
give his last name, is an EMU student and recent1
addition to the late-night Denny's wait staff. He
said that appetizers are among the most popular1
night-time foods. Coffee, unsurprisingly, is the pre-
ferred beverage, though not because of its rich,c
mountain grown flavor. Denny's coffee has a taste,
strong in body, but leaves the palate non-plussed,1
unless much sugar is added.<
For those who desire an alternative to coffee, LSAi
thursda
CAMPUS CINEMA
Some Like It Hot (1959) Tony Curtis and Jack
Lemmon masquerade as women in Marilyn
Monroe's band in order to escape the mob in
Billy Wilder's classic farce. Mich. 5 p.m.
Hamlet (1996) Kenneth Branagh recreates
Shakespeare's masterpiece as 19th Century
high drama in this Academy Award-nominated
film. Mich. 9 p.m.
MUSIC
Fat Amy Modern rock originals from this East
Lansing band. Rick's. 9:30 p.m.
Gov't Mule Featuring members of the Allman
Brothers. Blind Pig. 9:30 p.m.
Sophia Hanifi With Kiss Me Screaming.
Country and folk originals. The Ark. 8 p.m.
$8.50.
Gary Hoey W RIF sponsored show at the 7th
House in Pontiac. 8 p.m. Call (810) 335-8100.
L7 See the girls come out and play. With
Motor Dolls. The Shelter. 7:30 p.m. (313)
961-M ELT.
Live Touring in support of its newest album,
"Secret Samadhi." State Theatre. Call
(810)645-6666.
Baba Maal Sponsored by W DET. The
Majestic. 8 p.m. Call (810)645-6666.
Chris Mills With Bird Dog. Both are artists
from the newly formed indie label, Sugar Free.
Espresso Royale. 1 p.m. Free.
Johnny Socko With Skazilla, Secret Service
and Superdot. Pharoh's Golden Cup. Call
(313) 513-8688.
THEATER
Getting Out The Pulitzer Prize winning play-
wright, Marsha Norman, dramatizes the diffi-
culty of a woman's struggle to escape her
trouble ridden past and to begin a new life
despite her tarnished reputation in the latest
Basement Arts production. Arena Theater in
the Frieze Building. 7 p.m. Free. Call 764-
6800.
Labor Day When two couples are visited by a
mysterious guest, they have a holiday they
won't forget in Kim Carney's latest original
play. Purple Rose Theater Co., Garage
Theater, 137 Park, Chelsea. 8 p.m. $10-$20.
Call 475-7902.
ALTERNATIVES
Nonfiction Reading Fiona Giles reads from
"Dick for a Day: What Would You Do If You
Had One?" Shaman Drum. 8 p.m. Free.
frida
CAMPUS CINEMA
Hamlet See Thursday. Mich. 7:30 p.m.
Botfly With
House in Pc
Nas With g
(810) 645-E
Johnathan I
show. 9:30
Top Kat R&
9:30 p.m.
Getting Out
Labor Day
A
Nonfiction I
"Out of AmE
Africa." Sha
4
CA
Hamlet See
Atomic Nun
American IV
335-8100.
Erin Dewsbury and LSA senior Amit Gaggar hang out and enjoy a snack at the Brown Jug early one morning.
ROB GILMORE/Daily
sophomore Fritz Swanson suggests, "Get as much
lemonade as you want by ordering lemon slices,
sugar packets and water and mixing it all together.
And then you order strawberries and cream for 50
cents and saltines, and you've got a whole meal."
Ypsilanti High School student and Denny's regu-
lar Brandon said "Moons Over My Hammy," a ham
and egg sandwich, is his favorite offering. The five
other members of his party assented, except for fel-
low student Jeff, who said, "I like the salad because
of the ranch (dressing)."
This group seemed typical
of many who frequent the Ann
Arbor Denny's. They were
plae cautious in their praise of the
food, yet remain dedicated,
even die-hard, patrons.
Brandon said his party comes
Joe so often that "you start to rec-
"s employee ognize all the other people."
The most convincing sign
of their devotion to Denny's,
ing to use the place as a library and there get to be
lines out the door," he said.
This time limit seems well justified by LSA first-
year student Ryan Horky's annecdote: "We went to a
Rage concert and, on the way back, we stopped at
Denny's and sat there drinking water until 4 a.m."
The occasionally copious crowds and frugal cus-
tomers are not the only reason for such time limits.
Joe said there have been fights in the past which
have involved gangs, the use of ketchup and mustard
bottles as projectiles, and - most surprisingly,
considering Joe's friendly, passive
demeanor - his decidedly impassive
cousin. Brandon also suggested that .
Denny's was not always the most
secure of late-night hangouts.
"My friend Bruce is scared to,
come here," Brandon said, "because
he almost got beat-up and says I'm not
big enough to protect him." A little dan-
ger is inevitable with a crowd as diverse
as that which Denny's attracts. Though the booths
are relatively uniform in their brown neutrality, the
patrons who sit in them ostensibly come from all
walks of life.
For example, last Sunday, one man, clad in
black, looking like he is in his mid-50s, sat at the
lunch counter, smoking an endless chain of
Marlboros. His head was crowned with both a
black hunter's cap and a pair of virtual-reality sun-
glasses. Not far from him, a saccharine couple sat,
their hands met in affection on the table, as they
absently waited. Larger groups of college and high
school students were spread throughout the rest of
the restaurant, some rushing in and out for a quick
bite, others lingering for hours, in avoidance of
another night's closure.
Those students who cannot, or do not want to,
drive all the way to Denny's, still have several
excellent options.
While Denny's has proven its appeal on a nation-
al level, there are other late-night hangouts par-
ticularly suited to the Ann Arbor scene,
the most traditional of which may be the
Fleetwood Diner. Even now, it
remains the only all-night restaurant
within walking distance from cam-
pus.
mom
.r
.,
/
however, was, that they "notice when the menus
are different than normal," Jeff said. The atmos-
phere, more than the food, is the real draw.
Though Denny's never closes, there is a time limit
on seating, and patrons may be asked to leave if the
management deems they have stayed too long.
Usually, "it is two hours after the food arrives," Joe
said, but noted that only during final exam periods
is the limit strictly enforced. "People come expect-
The slender, white building is
reminiscent of a trailer; this only
enhances its reputation as Ann Arbor's
greasiest greasy-spoon. Located on the
corner of Ashley and Liberty streets, the
Fleetwood seems as though it had been lifted by a
tornado, right out of the trailer park, and planted, by
luck rather than intent, in the midst of more refined,
red brick buildings. Such a locale lends a hardened,
proletarian feel to the Fleetwood atmosphere. It
seems, in coming to this diner, that the patron is con-
sciously rejecting the fluff and luxury of other near-
by restaurants and bars, such as Grizzly Peak or The
See HANGOUTS, Page 4B
M eked I
M A G A Z I N E
Weekend Magazine Editors:
Greg Parker
Elan A. Stavros
Weekend Magazine Photo Editor: Margaret Myers and Kristen Schaefer.
Writers: Dean Bakopoulos, Brian A. Gnatt, Greg Parker and Aaron Rennie.
Photographers: Jennifer Bradley-Swift, Rob Gilmore and Jonathan Summer.
Cover photograph by Rob Gilmore: Bartender Samantha Gerich, ISA senior and waitress Karen Wolownik and head
waitress Harriet Robbins of the Brown Jug offer service with a smile.
Graphics Editor: Tracey Harris.
Arts Editors: Brian A. Gnatt and Jennifer Petlinski.
Ham it up with The Reverend Horton Heat, playing this Saturday at St. Andrew's Hall.
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