12B - The Michigan Daily - Weekend, etc. Magazine - Thursday, November 29, 2001
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Launch Boards provides quality gear for A2 skaters
The Michigan Daily - Weekend, etc. Magazine
UndisCovered 2nd Sabor Latino
captaizes on what Taco Bell isn't
By Chris Lane
For the Daily
In Tony's Hawk's autobiography,
Hawk Occupation: Skateboarder, nearly
two chapters contend with the frivolous
popularization of skateboarding as an
"extreme" or death wish sport like
bungee jumping. But since the now
renamed "X-Games" is an annual event
on ESPN2, there is a huge market once
again for the fringe sports. Despite the
timing of Launch Boards' Nov. 3rd
grand opening, perish any thought of the
bandwagon. Launch may become the
only retailer in Ann Arbor with a staff
that doesn't want to sell you the trend.
Snatching up the prime vacancy left
by Underworld Comics on South U.,
Launch Boards finally gives Ann Arbor
a closer alternative to Modern Skate and
Surf on Washtenaw Ave. A sweet loca-
tion and competitive prices on complete
decks for $115 should give Launch's
fingers some green. Mail-order compa-
nies like CCS or Skate Shack actually
charge less, but tack on shipping fees
and are notorious with a capital notori-
ous for delays and out of stock mer-
chandise.
To their credit, Launch has a variety
of deck selections from companies that
are committed to the sport. The big deal
rides from California like Element,
Consolidated, and Hook-Ups line the
main wall. But the locals get shelf space,
too. Choices from Daykare may catch
your fancy since they're coming straight
out of Ann Arbor/Ypsi/ Brighton.
Launch also has a strong set-up base that
might include Indy trucks and Habitat
wheels. All the gear needed for grinding
the Dennison curbs or clearing the B-
School four set.
In terms of snowboards, the sturdy
picks like Burton and Allian are not yet
on the floor, but will be soon. Because
of a late start, Co-owner and manager,
Chuck Nagy, told the Daily that the
snowboard section is "not quite where
we'd like it to be." Bindings, however,
like Tech-9 and Switch, and a fair share
of goggles are already on display.
Clothes and shoe grabs are at the
moment small, but still respectable.
Volcom, We, Vans, 4ce, and Savier cur-
rently take up about three racks and a
quarter of a wall. Nagy assures that the
store will also carry staple skate shoe
companies DC, eS and Emerica. Nagy
also said that the store would carry girls
clothing, as well.
Although, the twenty-something
male dominates the popular image of
skateboarding and snowboarding, the
skate/snow parks that have recently
popped up betray that image. When
asked about customer base of Launch,
Mike Tedrow, an LSA junior and Art
Library handrail bomber, said that in
only two weeks he had seen a broad
base of Ann Arbor come into the store.
Nagy added that many "older guys"
had shown an interest in bringing back
the long boards of the '70s.
Immediately before answering that
question, a man came in asking for a
specific graphic on a deck for his
young daughter. Nagy said he would
try and find it.
One of the most recognizable fea-
tures of any skate shop is a friendly,
laid-back environment. Launch has this
number dialed. A huge cardboard
cutout of Brit-ripper Geoff Rowley
welcomes you in with metal. The Clash
provides the soundtrack. A local video
of Flint skaters plays behind the regis-
ter. Chairs and a TV with a Dreamcast
ALYSSA WOU/D aily
Engineering junior and Launch Boards employee Eric Hardin (left) shows LSA senior
Greg Larkin (right) some merchandise.
sit conspicuously in a corner, open to
all.
Engineering junior Eric Hardin, who
skateboards and snowboards said
Launch "won't be just another place to
shop." Rather, the staff hopes for a
place where kids can hang out, watch
skate/snow videos, meet up, practice
and learn tricks, etc. The staff even
plans to sponsor local skaters for a
Launch Boards team.
I I
10,01"
$10 Rush Tickets on sai
the day of the perform
before a weekend even
Office.
50% Rush Tickets on sa
90 minutes before thee
Performance Hall Box0
de 10 am - pm
ance or the Friday
t at the UMS Ticket
le beginning
event at the
Office.
Joshua Redman Quartet and
Brad Mehldau Trio
If you ask them, the staff of Launch
will tell you the real goal of the store, in
addition to selling merchandise, is to
create a better environment for the Ann
Arbor skate scene. It is an optimistic
goal, considering that skateboards can-
not even be used for transportation on
campus, according to DPS. "The skate
scene here is big, but it's invisible. It's
not unified," Nagy said.
Hardin agreed, "There's nothing to
bring kids together. Hopefully, the shop
will bring people together and promote
the scene."
It is fitting that one must descend
below street level to enter Launch
Boards. Skateboarding is once again lift-
ing its shredded palms, bruised hips, and
unique athleticism to the surface of the
mainstream, while somehow retaining
that underground, fringe status. Launch
captures this spirit by committing its
counters, racks, and walls to more than
just the trend.
Rest assured, the contemporary
equivalents of Nash and Variflex will
remain at Toys 'R' Us, and Launch will
do everything it can to not be "extreme."
A look at the
underside of U of M
www.universitysecrets.com
"Don't let your
H A I R
get ahead of
BARBERS
ESTABLISHED 1939
615 E. LIBERTY OFF STATE
668-9329
M-F 8:30-5:20
SAT UNTIL 4:20
By Michael Grass
Weekend, Etc. Food and Drink Critic
Back in 1998, two guys in my
Spanish 101 class did their cultural
project on Mexican food. Although
they were supposed to make the
food themselves, I spotted them the
night before at Panchero's buying a
massive amount of quesadillas and
tacos.
I snickered during their presenta-
tion, as they blamed the inadequa-
cies of their visual aids on that they
got up at 6 a.m. to start cooking and
were "tired."
So we were fed cold, rubbery food
that morning in class. Not that big a
deal because you can rarely expect
much from take-out Mexican.
Back then, there were only two
places close to campus to get
Mexican/Southwestern/Tex-Mex
food: Panchero's and the East
University Ave. Taco Bell.
You could also get delivery from
Tio's, but the wait during the dinner
rush was always long and the walk
to their Huron Street location was
not worth it.
-Then, the campus Taco Bell
appropriately fell victim to culinary
Darwinism and withered away -
Panchero's was the only game close
to campus.
While I will always enjoy
Panchero's for a late night snack
when I'm on that side of campus,
there's a new place in the State
Arbor
Airport, and ten times
better than the drive-
thru swine feed you'll
get if you "run for the
border."
Sabor Latino, which
opened this semester,
takes the place of the
vacated Park Avenue
Cafe and Raw Juice
Bar, and is the restau-
rant's second location
in Ann Arbor (the other
being downtown at 211
N. Main St.).
If I'd have to rank
Tio's and Sabor Latino,
both restaurants tie for"
first place. One restau-
rant does not surpass
the other; each has their
SABOT
LATINO
(SECAON O ZTCI
A1 S'TIT ST
AKA-OOYN $. -1' I
t 7 4- 7795
"I ESIONS
specialty.E
Tio's is best known for its deliv-
ery and its hot sauce tasting events.
The food is standard fare; it's a good
place if you want quesadillas, tacos,
etc. without the effort of walking
there.
Sabor Latino, which only has
take-out and sit-down, has daily
specials which are always a good
bet.
Street area that brings a fresh atti-
tude to Mexican food. Listen up
campus (especially the Daily's
Sports staff), Sabor Latino
Taqueria, at 211 S. State St. is a lot
closer than the Taco Bell by the Ann
boasts a selection of Mexican
drinks, like horchata, jumex and jar-
ritos.
You won't see any Taco Bell hard
shell tacos here. In fact, you won't
see anything that resembles a drive-
thru here. It's nice to know there's a
new place on campus that serves
quality Mexican food, without the
drive-thru indigestion.
On top o
about the f
makes thec
the best un
on State Str
Perhaps
Besides soda,
restaurant doubles
raw juice bar and
Municipal
f that, there is something
ood at Sabor Latino that
dining experience one of
ndiscovered dining spots
reet.
it's the family recipes,
maybe it's the quality
of the ingredients or
the generous portions.
Dinners run about
$8-$9. Try the
ranchero steak dinner,
enchilada dinner or
tamale dinner. But you
can also order a num-
ber of a la carte items
to make your own
combination.
Quesadillas are
$1.95 each and com-
bined with a burrito,
taco, tostada or burrito
supreme, you can theo-
retically have a com-
plete meal for around
$6.
Sabor Latino opened a second restaura
the
as a
also
Jazz greats, Joshua Redman and Brad Mehldau, team up for
a concert which features the two ensembles in separate
sets, as well as ajoint performance to close the evening.
Handel's Messiah
Ring in the sounds of the Christmas season with the UMS
Choral Union and Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra
performing Handel's beloved oratorio, Messiah.
Kirov Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre
Valery Gergiev conductor
Alexander Toradze piano
PROGRAM
Debussy La Mer
Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 2 in g minor
Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5 in e minor, Op. 64
+J E U1s TICKET OFFICE LOCATED IN THE MI LEAGUE,
Tur s 764 .253 8 | HOURS M-F 10AM-6PM, SAT 10AM-PM
C A valid student ID is required. Limit two tickets per student, per event. Rush Tickets are not
Soctt offered if an event is sold out. Seating is subject to availability and box office discretion.