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8B - The Michigan Daily - Weekend Magazine - Thursday, October 2, 2003
SUSHI
Continued from Page 76
cold Ann Arbor months. The menu,
with a helpful guide for those unfamil-
iar with Japanese food, has so many
options it is almost intimidating.
One of the menu's best choices,
though, is the dragon roll. A deli-
cious combination of eel and avoca-
do, the dragon roll has so many dif-
ferent flavors that it'll make your
tongue dance. It is easily one of the
best rolls in all of Ann Arbor.
From the salad to the entree, Miki
does a wonderful job of both presenta-
tion and delivery. While it is pricier
than some of the other sushi restau-
rants in Ann Arbor, it is a case of pay-
ing for what you get. At Miki you'll
pay more, but in terms of quality and
taste, you'll also get more.
Sushi.come
When you want sushi, and you
want it fast, Sushi.come crafts sushi
in such little time that you wonder
how they did it. Open for more than
two years, this restaurant has won
Best New Business in the Daily's
Best of Ann Arbor poll. But, with
Totoro just down the street now,
competetion is sure to ensue.
With the expansion next door,
lengthy waits are eliminated. Inside,
the decor is way overdone, with
Japanese prints, fans and an ava-
lanche of sushi photographs dominat-
ing the walls. But, it's the food that
counts. More than a year after some
mishaps (such as sketchy incidents
with oddly-colored tuna), it's evident
the management has made a con-
scious effort to redeem itself.
Patrons smile with delight when
the free soup and salad is brought to
the table and the wait staff will
make suggestions, depending on the
type of fish a customer likes. The
presentation of the sushi isn't so
grandiose - rolls are simply placed
on a wooden slab with wasabi and
ginger - but it will do for a growl-
ing stomach.
Sushi.come is trying to find a
happy medium. Inconsistency is a
drawback, and diners can never be
sure of how much mayonnaise will be
in the Spicy Tuna or how much rice
will surround each piece. For exam-
ple, the Sushi.come roll, a seemingly
decent roll of spicy tuna, crab salad,
avoocado and salmon wrapped in
cucumber looked delicious, but the
mayonnaise overpowered some of the
bites and made for a messy, unattrac-
tive eating experience.
Still, the restaurant has sushi
worth trying. The Alaskan (salmon,
asparagus, cucumber and crab meat)
is a popular roll and doesn't leave a
fishy taste. The New York is an
explosion of tuna, red snapper crab-
meant and avocado wrapped in
cucumber, and it is really pretty to
look at.
With new competition just a block
away, Sushi.come will have to stay
in peak form to remain a student
favorite. One way it is trying to stay
an edge ahead is with their new
bonus cards, where you are credited
10 percent of your bill onto a card.
Once $10 worth (or, $100 worth of
sushi) is saved, you can use the
credit towards your bill. Still, its
close proximity to campus and the
prices cause one to expect that this
restaurant will continue to succeed.
The Michigan Daily - Weekend Maga
Tk Wutasty, not vegetarian friendl
By Sravya Chirumamflla
Daily Arts Writer
Herbivores, beware. There is yet another restau-
rant near campus that fails to understand the con-
cept of vegetarianism. While some Ann Arbor
venues have progressed so far as to offer home-
made vegan brownies at cafes, many restaurants
still provide inadequate options and services for
non-meat lovers.
Admittedly, serving food for hungry and often
annoying customers is not the most exciting occu-
pation, but a waiter has a certain responsibility to
ensure that the food served is that which is
ordered. While it is a choice to not eat meat, and
even though eating meat will not seriously injure
many people, it does not excuse the mismanage-
ment of orders.
Clearly, Ann Arbor needs not another establish-
ment that fails to recognize dining preferences, but
lo and behold, the newest addition to the revamped
Liberty Street area includes Tk Wu, a Chinese
restaurant that can be described as a couple of tools
short of a toolbox, or, as a meal lacking a fortune
cookie. In fact, the meal was missing fortune cook-
ies, which had to be specially requested from the
large yet vacuous staff members.
Entering the restaurant, patrons are greeted with
wood paneling and fine decorations. The light col-
ored hues of the wood accent the pots of flowers and
hand-painted vases. The host leads customers up a
ramp to the seating area and provides a food menu
and a bubble tea selection card.
The menu is not helpful in describing the dish-
es, as only the contents of the specials are
explained. The staff is poorly trained and is not
sure of what each entree includes and they offer
no help when one is ordering a meal.
Within the time frame of a short bathroom break,
in which patrons can peek into the mercifully clean
kitchen, the soup and spring rolls arrived at the
table. Only after three different waiters were asked
for hot sauce did some arrive in a small bowl.
The two spring rolls are surprisingly small, yet
crisp and more flavorful than their larger counter-
parts available elsewhere. The egg drop soup is thick
but not greasy and a very inviting escape from the
horrid weather outside.
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JOEL FRIEDMAN/Dai
A server at Tk Wu tries to persuade a customer to indulge in the venue's Chinese fare.
DAVID TUMAN/Daily
At Saica, customers can feast on good sushi and appreciate the decor.
I A
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The meal arrived with a noticeably large shrimp
sitting on the top of the vegetarian tofu. As this was
an unexpected and unwelcome addition to the meal,
the waitress was summoned to explain the miniature
sea creature. She returned within a minute with the
same plate, stating that only one shrimp could be
found and, presumably, she had taken it out.
For hardcore vegetarians who would rather die
than eat something that touched meat, this would be
the most atrocious act worthy of a stormy retreat
from the restaurant. However, for the sake of this
review, the food was consumed and no more com-
plaints were made.
The portions for the food are exceptionally larg
and presented in a creative manner. The Genera
Tso's chicken arrives on a bed of broccoli and :
tender enough to be cut by a fork, unlike tl
chewy variations at other local venues.
While the quality of food and cleanliness of tli
eatery is considerably better than others availabi
in Ann Arbor, the experience would be greatli
benefited if the confused and lackluster staff wet
trained. Be it the sanitary yet out-of-place bath
rooms, or the durable yet unexciting take ou
boxes, Tk Wu is missing the extra touch that woul
make it complete and worthwhile.
Studying abroad gives students a new perspective
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STUDY
Continued from Page 3B
experience extends beyond the
classroom. As a member of a new
community, both academically and
geographically, you're given a once-
in-a-lifetime chance to live and
study abroad for an extended period
of time and become more .than just
your average tourist. Your new home
can also become your base for set-
ting off and exploring other nearby
countries. Laks said one aspect she
liked about living in Europe was
"having easy access to so many
countries and cultures in such a
small geographical area."
Of course, not everyone can take
off for a semester at the drop of a hat.
While studying abroad takes a lot of
planning for any student, those with
particularly demanding schedules or
obligations outside of school might
find it hard to leave Ann Arbor dur-
ing the school year. Summer pro-
grams are a good alternative to
spending an entire semester abroad
and are a way to still experience life
overseas without missing a semester
at the University.
Besides time, money is another
factor that influences students' deci-
sion to study abroad. If you go
through a Michigan sponsored pro-
gram, you will either pay normal
Michigan tuition, or pay your host
university directly (which in some
cases can actually be cheaper for
those out of staters). Financial-Aid
recipients can use their assistance for
any Michigan program and scholar-
ships are available. According to
Dickerman, the OIP office awarded
over $400,000 last year in scholar-
ships for students studying abroad.
For those willing to plan and are
ready to discover a new part of the
world, studying abroad can be an
invaluable experience. Students can
gain both personal and life skills
while adjusting to life in a new
country. Upon returning to Ann
Arbor, some students have a new
outlook on the world. Laks said she
returned to Michigan having devel-
oped some skills that changed her
perspective on life. "Studying
abroad made me more independent.
You get yourself stuck in some
sticky situations that you have to
figure your way out of."
Rosenwasser says his college expe-
rience would not have been complete
if he hadn't spent his time abroad and
encourages everyone who can, to go
for it. "If you're not planning on
studying abroad, you're doing the
wrong thing."
If you're interested in more infor-
mation about the international
options Michigan has to offer, you
can stop into the OIP, located near the
West Quad entrance of the Union any
afternoon for walk-in counseling.
Also, an informational session, Study
Abroad 101, will be held on Monday,
Oct. 13 from 3 to 4 p.m. at a location
to be announced.
What do Howard Dean,
Democratic Presidential
hopeful, and embattled
California Governor Gray
Davis have in common?
visit
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to find out!
When researching, the OIP website
http://wwwumich.edu/~iinet/oip/, i
also useful in determining which pro
gram works best for you.
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