4C -TheMichigahDM Wee hd:etc Magazine- rursd ; Aprit13',t2000 W
North Campus eatery 1s worth the bus de for sushi fans
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TheMichi gan eiiy -Wekend,
By Darren Rngh l North Campus. A Japanese restaurant up
Daily Arts Wnter there called Saica serves the freshest
sushi in town. It is located in a shopping
Most Central Campus students at the center at 1733 Plymouth Rd. (just next
University don't take advantage of the door to Blockbuster) and is a must for all
other side of our school: North Campus. sushi goers. The word "saica" is Korean
On my own, I've met people who didn't for flowers of many colors and varieties.
even know that North Campus exists. The name symbolizes the restaurant's
For all you oblivious individuals, I now objective to serve wide varieties of peo-
have a reason for you to venture up to ple a wider variety of food.
The interior of the restaurant is color-
ful and trendy, implementing authentic
Japanese decorations with bright orange
and blue tones. It has a cozier atmosphere
than sushi restaurants such as Miki and
Godaiko, authenticating the Japanese
theme with the food and dishes rather
than the decor. This more casual
ambiance is more conducive to dating.
The dishware the restaurant uses is dif-
ferent for every dish. For example, the
dishes the soups, salads, sushi, teriyaki
entrees and appetizers come in are all of
different shape, size and color. This helps
distinguish courses from each other.
The menu is extremely extensive as it
consists of a large number of appetizers,
sushi, sashimi, noodle soups, fried and
lighter dishes. I started out with a miso
soup that was flavorful, yet not too salty
(like so many versions of this dish). It
included a well-proportioned blend of
green onions, tofu and seaweed. My next
dish was a salad appetizer in a ginger
dressing. This dressing is so popular
Saica even decided to sell it in 12 oz. por-
tions for S3 and 2 oz. portions for S1.
After soup and salad, I tried one of my
favorite dishes, a combination of beef
and chicken tataki. This dish consisted of
paper-thin slices of cooked chicken and
rare beef over raw onions with a ponzu
sauce dripped on top. Ponzu sauce is the
house Japanese sweet & sour, but with a
much thinner consistency than typical
sweet & sour sauces. This appetizer start-
ed off the meal in stellar fashion.
Next, my wide array of entrees arrived.
I started with a large platter of sushi and
sashimi. The sashimi, which is small
bite-sized portions of raw fish, included
yellowtail tuna, octopus, salmon and
mackerel. The yellowtail tuna was my
favorite of the four with a natural texture
that tasted almost buttery or oily. A true
sign of good sashimi is the persistence of
the fish's natural flavors and not a gener-
alized fishy or ocean-like taste. The yel-
lowtail was definitely exemplary quality
sashimi. The octopus was tasty, but the
texture was very rough and took an
annoyingly long time to chew. If you're
on a date and need an excuse to avoid
talking to an obnoxious companion, just
order the octopus and you'll be orally
occupied for plenty of time. The next
piece of sashimi I tried was the pleasing
and worthy salmon, but the last one I tast-
ed, the skin-on mackerel, was my least
favorite; it was too salty and had an over-
whelmingly fishy flavor. Overall, the yel-
lowtail and salmon were definite winners
and quite impressive for inland sushi.
The next dish I received, salmon
smothered in teriyaki sauce, could have
easily been my favorite at Saica. Many
times, cooked salmon has a stringy tex-
ture that breaks apart too easily, but this
salmon was atypical. Its texture was extra
See SUSHI, Page 11C
ZEMKE
Continued from Page 10C
that I'll never park in a handicapped spot.
Then a three-day train trip to Encino on
crutches introduced me to warm weather
in January, a national championship and
the bar on New Year's Eve.
The most interesting people I know, I
met bussing at Sweet Lorraine's in late
January '98. That's where the lesbian line
cooks were unshaven and clad in flannel,
and the words "drama queen" didn't only
apply to the females.
The owners are so crazy they hang
their certificates next to their college
degrees. One of my managers was the
butt of every tasteless joke - an obese,
gay black man named Orlando who was
Jewish to top it off.
That summer my heart was broken by
a lofty host named Penney who played
volleyball. She had the looks to kill, the
strength to make it possible and the spite
to actually do it.
And even with all that drama I was still
bored enough to be the Upsilon's hege-
mon, cover volleyball, serve 40-plus
hours a week and take 15 credits. My frat
house was condemned twice our first
week. I crashed my motorcycle, watched
friends sniff their lives away, saw the
great coach Gio retire, ran the Zemke
Family Values Tour and then turned 21.
An average night's tips that winter
were $200, so I'd hit Eightball, Cavern
Club or TC's Speakeasy with JenO and
close the bar with barely triple digits left.
That Lent I gave up drinking after a
Daily road trip to see an old friend in
Evanston on springbrea. Tien I
watched my big brother Alex, whom I'm
older than but still look up to, graduate.
But I still keep in touch with one old high
school friend - Case has been my
Eastern connection and Windsor buddy.
Last summer I ended up in Ann Arbor
again, liberated Andrew Bushey's batting
helmet from South Bend, Penney turned up
again, I lived with a pint-sized lipstick les-
bian dominatrix, drank till the Daily ceiling
tiles were full, was fired for being 13 min-
utes early and covered WWF with Rom.
Now, I'm finishing my last year. The
'year iaid mybills with my
a three-day (and person) tri1
in my stick-shift S-10, had a
thinks she's a dog and inspir
Jon Zemke in IM football.
The most beautiful persor
feminist who intelligently
me, smiled through her
improved my mood with a
made my day with a night <
the winter I opened up and
out for JenO. Then I watche
I've partied with my bes
fought off my nemesis Hal
SUSHI
Continued from Page 6C
smooth and its tenderness allowed it
break up into perfect, distinct bites.
In addition to Saica's food - which,
as a huge fan, I prefer over Miki and
Godaiko - the elaborate presentation of
the food is what really separates Saica
from most competitors. Every dish fea-
tured many fresh fruits and vegetables,
for a total of about seven or eight differ-
ent colors each. The carrots were sliced
to shoelace size, the orange peel raveled
up in a circular formation, the cantaloupe
sliced into bite-size pieces, the noodles
placed in a spiral and the sushi and sashi-
mi arranged on the platter with such pre-
cision and perfection. As illustrated, the
presentation was phenomenal, and
makes Saica worth a trip by itself.
The master sushi chefs behind this
extraordinary venture both have more
than ample backgrounds to argue their
superiority. One trained in Korea for
years before moving stateside; the other
worked at Miki for ten years. Obviously,
with Saica exuding its presence in Ann
Arbor, the move from Miki was the way
to go. My only complaint with Saica was
its mediocre service. Although this might
be due to cultural differences, my waiter
was not so friendly and accommodating,
nor my water filled as frequently, as
desired. However, the manager was so
obliging, it wasn't really an issue. Aside
from the service, Saica serves the best
sushi I've had in Michigan and nothing
can obscure that. Anyway, ifI wasn't tak-
ing notes at the time, I could have thrown
down a few sake bombs and taken the
meal to a whole different level. When it
comes to going on a fun and interactive
date or just hanging out with friends,
sushi and sake is most a surefire way to
go. If this is your choice of plans for a
weekend night, just remember three key
words: Sushi, sake ... Saica.
«I nieverthht
I coti1d teac
JESSICA JOHNSON/Daily
Saica, a restaurant near North Campus, dishes some fine sushi meals,.
LIVE AND LEARN
JAPANESE.
The /aseda Oregon Transnational Program, Fall 2000 and
Spring 2001, is a comparative US-Japanese Societies study
program that mixes US-based and international students
with undergraduates from the prestigious Waseda
University, Tokyo, Japan. Three levels of Japanese language
instruction are offered in addition to US-Japanese Societies
courses in the humanities and social sciences. Scholarships
of up to $1000 are available! For more information, contact:
Waseda Oregon Programs Office
(800) 823-7938 (503) 223-7938
info@opic.or ww vidpie.org
Kathy Henderson had never considered herself a
teacher. But when she heard that many of her daughter's
third-grade classmates couldn't read, she decided to do something
about it. She joined AmeriCorps and took charge of the school's
volunteer tutoring program. Seeing the students' grades soar showed
Kathy she had the ability to change lives. Now the director of a literacy
program, Kathy says, "AmeriCorps was the most rewarding experience
I've ever had. Service will always be a part of my life."
o,
Please visit AmeriCorps at:
Education Job Fair
Thursday, April 13, 2000
12:OOpm-4:3Opm
Michigan Union
For more information, contact
Courtney Nicholas at (312) 353-0574 or
E-mail: cnicholas@cns.gov
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