0 The Michigan Daily - Weekend, etc. Magazin 10B - The Michigan Daily - Weekend, etc. Magazine - Thursday, January 31, 2002 PIZZA CHALLENGE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3B Like Bellla Napoli, NYPD's pizza - received high marks because of its high quality cheese. It was equally as molten. The grease stains in my notebook are a testament to the eating experience; but it was quite good and most everyone agreed. The 20 minute turn-around time and courteousness of the delivery guy would garner extra points. ROUND FOUR: THE REMAINDERS The last round was a challenge to get through. Not only were our stomachs telling us they couldn't accommodate much more cheese, two places on our list of 16 were giving us trouble. First off, we couldn't find a working telephone number for Tony Baloney's pizza inside the In and Out convenience store on East University Avenue; and when we called Backroom, (who at one time delivered pizza), all we got were rude clerks who hung up the phone. (On a side note, Jimmy John's is listed in the phone book as a place that delivers pizza. In reality, this is not true.) The final two places on our list, Pizza House and Pizza Bob's showed the extremes in Ann Arbor pizza. The delivery giant Pizza House is known for their pizza. Although I've never been a raving fan, other Challenge par- ticipants gave it good marks. Then came Pizza Bob's. As the delivery guy handed me the pizza, I opened it, started laughing and then closed it. Everyone wondered what was so funny. I placed it on the table, opened it and at first glance, everyone found the comedic value in the pizza we were about to consume. "This pizza is whiter than Michael Jackson, Cullen said. While Pizza Bob's has the best shakes and subs in Ann Arbor, their pizza has major issues. Like cheap plastic surgery, the pasty-white pizza drooped to one side, showing its flaws. "They forgot to include the pizza under the cheese," Taylor-Fabe said. I i We walked the pizza down to State Street to see if any homeless people wanted it. They refused. In a challenge that saw a few excellent pizzas and the majority as average, Pizza Bob's pizza was, hands down, by far the worst pizza creation in the city - even worse than dining hall pizza. It's no won- der that on Pizza Bob's coupons, the word "more," in the phrase "more than just pizza" is underlined. THE FINAL TALLY: FINDING THE BEST AMONG THE MEDIOCRE After counting the votes, the following four establishments showed their superi- ority in both quality of pizza and deliv- ery. Coming out on top, leading-favorite Cottage Inn, received a superior rating in "The Michigan Daily Ann Arbor Pizza Challenge." Tying for excellent rat- ing were New York Pizza Depot and Bella Napoli. Bell's received a very good rating. Although there were a few abysmal pizzas, the pizzas in the middle were pretty much the same. For the price, going to average places will yield a good pizza experience. At places like NYPD and Bella Napoli, you'll pay a bit more, but you'll get a fantastic pizza. VERY GOOD: At Bell's, you'll get a great affordable pizza in a relatively short amount of time. They run a pretty efficient operation there. If it hadn't been for the half-Hawaiian screw-up, Bell's may have come in second. But to make CONTINUED ON PAGE 1 2 B 20 menu items priced under $4 every day. Unlimited, FREE fresh-baked Breadsticks and Soft Drink refills with every dine-in order. * Ask about our delivery options Mmm ... lettuce. YN O~TI/al Campus vegetarians struggle to find palatable alternatives By Autumn Brown Daily Arts Writer Jackson " / -13 s AZOLS 0 ANN ARB OR.: 2245 West Stadium Blvd. (between Liberty and Jackson) Phone: 734-623-82O2 On campus, many vegetarians have vehemently expressed their concern for their nutritional well-being. "In most places, there are limited options, espe- cially at formal events with courses, such as weddings," said LSA sopho- more Corrina Christman. "A lot of times, the only thing I can eat is dessert, which is not a good habit to get into." Christman cites hypocrisy and the murder of animals as the primary motives for her decision to become veg- etarian. "I respect people who actually hunt and kill their own meat, but I con- sider most people hypocrites ... they could never kill an animal, and they dis- guise the meat they eat with names like 'beef' or 'ham.' I think I would eat meat if I was really capable of harvesting my own meat." Other students cite religion and health related issues as reasons for abstaining from eating meat. However, LSA soph- omore Shruthi Sriram is quick to caution that these are not the only concerns. "At first my religion (Hinduism), but later environmental reasons, strength- ened my belief in vegetarianism," she said. "The act of killing and eating an animal is not wrong in itself in my opin- ion. It's more the artificial breeding and mass slaughtering that does not seem environmentally or morally correct to me." An obvious concern of many vegetar- ians living on campus is the availability of palatable vegetarian options in University meal plans and in area restau- rants. "Some days it's hard, but I can always eat yogurt, cereal and salad in the dorms," Christman said. "A lot of restau- rants such as Seva, Jerusalem Garden, Mongolian Barbecue and Tio's have good vegetarian options." For those vegetarians who live off- campus and are interested in cooking healthy meals, specialty food stores like Whole Foods Market offer variety at low cost. "(Many people) think our prices are a lot higher than other stores, but in fact, our prices are lower than other major stores, and we have many food items that they don't carry," said owner David Boulette. He stresses that the store has a commitment to "give people the option whether or not to buy healthier food and promoting a healthier environment." In addition to formal restaurant vege- tarian options, many students have rec- ognized the appeal of vegetarian food items offered at fast food establish- ments. - "(Subway's) 'Veggie Delight' is one of the best options in fast food because it is low in fat and is healthy," Sriram said. Not surprisingly, many pizza restau- rants have followed suit and have offered appealing vegetarian options to the University community. "We sell more chipatis than pizza," said Todd Patten, manager of Pizza House.