12B - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, January 6, 2005 0 0 4 m~bm~mf A 'RUSH' OF FLAVOR TAPAS RESTAURANT AND BAR SPICE UP MAIN STREET By Lauren Smith For the Daily Among Ann Arbor's infamous melange of restaurants, nestled between the blue siding of Conor O'Neill's and the characteristic green - of a local Starbucks, 314 S. Main St. adds a taste of Chicago flair. New to the dining scene, Mike Hanna's new restaurant, Rush Street, combines the subtle taste of urban chic with Mediterranean tapas-style dining. After enjoying these bite-sized dishes, guests can experience the unique transformation from restau- rant to the scene of the adjacent bar, 800 North. At Rush Street, custom- ers find the distinctive flavor of fine wine and tapas style; after 10:30 p.m., next door, 800 North provides classic martinis, live music and a spirited night scene. "People always ask me: 'Who is your biggest competitor?' I can only say, 'There is none,' " said Jordan Buescher, Rush Street manager. While both warm and inviting, Rush Street profits from its up-to- the-moment flash that the restau- rant scene in Ann Arbor previously hadn't seen. Hanna, who also owns D'Amato's, another Ann Arbor restaurant, and its sister martini bar Goodnite Gra- cie, decided that Ann Arbor needed a bit of Chicago on its streets. His son and daughter both spent time liv- ing in the city, and he and wife Betsy fell in love with Rush Street, Chica- go's infamous bar scene. According to Buescher, Hanna wanted to add a dash of Chicago's "urban" feeling. The black and white photographs of the Chicago River combined with the large black letters of the poem "Passers-By" by fabled Chicago writer Carl Sandburg lining the walls give the restaurant the feeling of a metropolitan modern art museum. The wide, expansive restaurant bar, with glowing racks of liquor and wine bottles on the wall, along with the open kitchen peeking out from the back of the restaurant, reminds the guest that behind the sleek atmo- sphere is some good food and drink. The food stays mostly true to its Mediteterranean origin, as chef Pat- rick Shaw claims. Their Sardinian feta and olive salad features tiny pieces of cucumber, tomato and red onion drizzled with red onion and lined with kalamata olives. Tapas combines the Italian, Greek, Israeli, Spanish, French and Middle Eastern flair in smaller por- tions. Meant for sharing, the appe- tizers range from skewered chicken at $3 a portion to seared scallops and smoked salmon at $5 each. The tiny portions encorage menu experi- mentation; order three or four, have a bite of each and pass them around the table. Rush Street's dishes become their own art form, with a flair for the extraordinary. "I feel like an artist. It's an art form, there's just more instant grati- fication," said Shaw. When it comes to desserts, Rush Street offers dishes that border on the extravagant. While chefs Rick Roberts and Patrick Shaw main- tain classics such as tiramisu, they ALEXANDER DZIADOSZ/Daily Rush Street, a new tapas bar on Main Street, serves its thirsty customers. add a personal twist to items such as chocolate mousse, serving it in a martini glass with chocolate shav- ings, and even serving an imported Italian favorite, gelato. Also, the trio of creme brulees changes periodi- cally, inviting tastes of three differ- ent types of flavored creme brulee. Dinner at Rush Street follows the same mix of old and new. It offers both classic dishes such as the spicy tuna nicoise and beef tenderloin with truffled potatoes, to a taste of Hawaii: Mako shark with French lentils, wild mushrooms and buerre noisette. "It's actually a really popu- lar dish," Buescher added. Rush Street's wine list compli- ments its expansive menu selection. "The wine list is big enough to suit any taste. You can find the right wine for any meal," Shaw said. Ranging from a glass of Crit- alino Brut at $6 to a Simi Reserve Chardonnay at $12, to bottles main- taining an Italian or French origin or influence, Rush Street keeps its stylish edge by adding bottles from the Russian River Valley and South Africa, which Shaw calls the "new trend" in wine-drinking. In addition, Rush Street serves "wine flights," two-ounce selections of four different types of wine. From "A Taste of Tuscany" to "Champagne Flights," it gives guests a dhance to sample different tastes of wine in various varieties. The wine flights change monthly, with each month featuring a red selection along with a white. Walk from Rush Street to 800 North, how- ever, and leave the wine glass behind to pick up a marti- ni. Maggie Carps - is a bartender at 800 North Sunday through Wednes- day, and can usu- ally be found hip-swinging Sier- ra Nevada bottles and Key Lime Pie martinis. Even Wednes- day nights, she claims, are slammed with - ~-, martini-imbibing crowds and jamming with the live music from musicians with guitars and violins. "It's wall to wall with people," she said. "And I get to be back here doing what I do best, just slinging drinks." But don't walk down Main Street on a Wednesday late-night and expect to see the entertainment of 800 North. Hidden from the street, Lacomb said the fact that the bar feels "almost secluded" from the street adds to its allure. "There's a special draw, a special privacy," said Brian Conway, bar- tender at Goodnite Gracie. But the success and unique- ness of both 800 North and Rush Street goes beyond their martini list, cheese selection and offering octopus and duck on the menu. The restaurant and bar, however, didn't create themselves - the hard-work, dedication, and passion of Hanna, Buescher, Terry Martin and others rendered this innovative experience a possibility. "There's been nights where Terry and I fell asleep on the bar benches. It's been challenging, but it's also been fun," Buescher said. Fortunately for Ann Arbor's Main Street, the sleepless nights of deci- sion-making and barstool-napping has paid off. "It's first rate," Conway said, "but it's also unpretentious. The real draw is the food and the atmosphere." Whether its an afternoon cocktail, a late night martini with some live gui- tars, or an evening dining with friends, Rush Street and 800 North offers a sampling selection of Chicago's taste buds on the streets of Ann Arbor. ALEXANDER DZIADOSZ/Daily ABOVE: Tapas cuisine combines flavors and foods from many different cultures. 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