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6B - The Michigan Daily - Weekend Magaine - Thursday, April 15, 2004
The Michigan Daily - Weekend Mak
Frank's Restaurant a
classic Ann Arbor gem
By J. Brady McCollough
Daily Arts Writer
Pete Poulos has personally pre-
pared every meal served at Frank's
Restaurant for the last 20 years, but
he's not in the business of cooking.
"I'm just here to please people,"
Poulos said.
Frank's has been pleasing its
patrons since 1969, when Frank
Petropoulos partnered up with
Poulos, his brother in-law, to open up
an authentic Greek restaurant near
the corner of Maynard and East
-William streets.
Whether you're in the mood for a
Western omelette, a plate of French
toast or a cup of freshly brewed cof-
fee, park yourself at Frank's, voted
the Daily's Most Underrated
Restaurant in Ann Arbor.
Odds are, you and your friends
have never even noticed Frank's.
While the restaurant's menu claims
that, "Like the Acropolis, the forti-
fied high point of Ann Arbor is
Frank's," the high-rise Tower Plaza
apartment building shields it from
plain view.
Fortified or not, the one thing you
can always count on at Frank's is
familiar faces. Employing only three
people (including himself), Poulos
has effectively created a family
atmosphere. Usually, patrons find a
two-man show: Pete on the grill and
either Paula, a long-time friend of
Poulos or Athena, Poulos's daughter,
standing on their heads to take
orders from every table.
"The thing that keeps me going is
the people," Athena said, looking
tired from another hard day's work.
The 69-year-old Poulos is the
heart and soul of the joint. Aside
from getting the chance to see old
friends and meet new ones, Poulos
loves his job because it keeps him on
his toes.
"I'm still young enough, and I'm
still capable to do my work," Poulos
said. "It's enjoyment. It takes con-
centration to cook. You have differ-
ent varieties. Somebody wants this;
somebody wants that."
Growing up during World War II
and the Greek Civil War in the
1940s, Poulos left his family in
Artemision, a village near the Greek
town of Tripoli, to come to the
United States in 1952. It was an
"interesting" experience for the 16-
year-old, who didn't know a word of
English. Poulos visited a retired
school teacher in his new home of
Muskegon every day to learn the lan-
guage. Within two years, Poulos
knew enough English to enroll in
10th grade at Muskegon High
School, where he would graduate in
1956.
The nextstop on Poulos's odyssey
was Fort Hood, Texas, where he
spent about three years in the Army.
Hanging on the wall at Frank's is a
newspaper clipping from 1960 when
Poulos was named Outstanding
Soldier.
"I've been making the papers all
along," Poulos said, laughing.
Poulos went back to Muskegon
after his time in the service and
worked in the shoe business until
getting his first chance to cook at a
restaurant in '63. After taking the
time to learn the restaurant business
in Muskegon, Poulos moved to Ann
Arbor to join hands with Frank, who
moved back to Greece in '73.
Luckily, Frank or no Frank,
patrons know that when they walk
down Maynard Street and see the
fluorescent sign in the window flick-
ering on and off frantically, Pete
Poulos will be inside behind the
grill, as dependable as the Acropolis.
I
Wild atmosphere marks 'U'
athletics as one
CHRISTINE STAFFORD/Daily
Pete Poulos, a local legend for his culinary expertise at Frank's Restaurant, hopes
to please his patrons through his creations.
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Best of Michigan Sports
By Josh Holman
Daily Sports Writer
The University is certainly a fine
academic institution with years of tra-
dition and prestige to back it up. But
let's face it - for many students out
there, Michigan just isn't Michigan
without its sports.
This campus - and this town -
lives for its athletics, and that's evi-
dent by the fact that many view Foot-
ball Saturday as the finest tradition in
Ann Arbor.
There really is nothing that can com-
pare to the sights and sounds of football
in the fall here in Ann Arbor. Tailgates,
marching bands and students out of bed
before noon on a Saturday aren't things
that happen with great frequency.
Maybe that's why those six or seven
weekends between September and
November feel so special to those who
get the chance to experience it.
"I think my favorite part of Football
Saturday has got to be those 20 minutes
to first kickoff," LSA sophomore Nick
Benson said. "It's just a window of pure
ecstasy when you're standing in a bub-
ble of the utopia known as Michigan
Stadium, and nothing can go wrong."
Although there is always a slim
chance that the Wolverines may not
emerge the victors on any given Satur-
day, everything else about those Satur-
days seems perfect. Some of the
weekend hullabaloo begins as early as
dawn, when the first sounds of the
Michigan Marching Band start pouring
off of Elbel Field, signaling the start of
another exciting day. Granted, for some
of the bigger games, some students
elect to never go to sleep, but that's just
part of the experience. How many
chances do you get to fire up a grill at
9:30 a.m. anyway?
"As big an event as it is around
here, if you're not up by then, I think
there's something wrong with you,"
Benson said.
Sacrificing sleep is just something
that goes along with the job and is no
hassle for the average football fan.
But surprisingly enough, football
fans are not the most hardcore at the
University. Even with all the
and, spectacle that goes alon
Football Saturday, you have
hop, skip and jump away fron
House down to cozy Yost I
before you find the real pa
Michigan fans.
A chance to watch the N
hockey team is one of the toug
ets to get at Michigan. YostI
only seats 6,637 - a relativ
number for a national power
the Wolverines - but that
fieldhouse environment only a
rowdiness that the fans exude.
"The atmosphere is really
LSA sophomore Jeremy Bron
"The students are louder t
where else. Plus it's indo
they're organized enough tha
sage gets across."
That message normally con
form of some profanity di
opposing players. It's par
of 2 's best
tradition makes the Yost crowd so famous - or
ng with a infamous. The student section is always
to take a ready with a laundry list of profanities
m the Big for opposing players sent off to the
ce Arena penalty box, and they're always ready to
assionate call the visiting goalie a "sieve" at the
drop of a hat.
Michigan "I like the 'goal count' because it
ghest tick- takes up so much time and really rubs it
Ice Arena in," Bronson said. "I'm also a fan of
vely small 'ugly parents."'
house like It's not the friendliest atmosphere in
crowded all of college hockey - in fact, it's the
adds to the most intimidating. The Wolverines went
19-3-0 this past season at home and
unique," only 5-7-2 away from Yost Arena. The
nson said. atmosphere creates a degree of home-
:han any- ice advantage rarely seen anywhere else
Fors, and. in the country.
t the mes- But then again, if you could experi-
ence the unique feel of a Michigan
mes in the hockey crowd or a tailgate behind the
rected at Big House anywhere, it just wouldn't
t of what be that special.
Sze.
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