18C - The Michigan Daily - New Student Edition 2006

Food prep 101
Shop smart, eat well
By Dave Mekelberg I Daily Staff Reporter

hile you're cruising
the aisles of Target
and Costco with your
folks picking up college neces-
sities, you're going to notice that
college - and all that comes
with it - is expensive. Really
expensive.
In light of this fact, the aver-
age college student is frugal as
hell, and saves every penny he
can. To help you out, the Daily
did a little price comparison
with a few popular items. May
we present a lesson in bargain
shopping:
MEIJER
3145 Ann Arbor-Saline Rd.

thing. Chess set? Check. Veg-
etables? Check. Pantene Pro-V
shampoo? Check. The only
downside is that it takes about a
20-minute bus ride to get there
plus another 10 to navigate
through the store to find what
you actually went for.
20 oz. Coca: $1.12
10 oz. Cheerios: $3.19
Two Hot Pockets: $2.49
Snickers Bar: $0.62
Coors Light 24 pack: $15.89
CAFE CONNECTION
600 E. Madsion Rd.
(South Quadrangle)

campus that you can use your
meal credits, so they don't get
wasted when you have a craving
for a delivery-pizza dinner.
20 oz. Pepsi: $1.29
Cheerios/Milk Combo: $1.99
One Hot Pocket: $1.59
Snickers Bar: $0.90
BLUE FRONT
701 Packard St.
Though its primary function
is most certainly vending alco-
hol, this market boasts a loca-
tion just two blocks away from
South and West Quadrangle res-
idence halls. The beer selection
is decent, and the frozen-food
section throws a curve ball by
leaving the oh-so-popular Hot
Pocket in the warehouse, instead
offering Stouffer's macaroni and
cheese. Blue Front's ambiance
is a little less comfortable than
most of the others: Its shelves
are too low to the ground, there
are never more than four people
in the store at once and there's
only one person working there
to cover a decent-sized shop.
20 oz. Coke: $1.15
Cheerios: $4.99
Snickers: $0.79
Coors Light: $16.99

20 o.z. Coke: $1.29
Cheerios: $4.99
Two Hot Pockets: $3.99
Snickers: $0.75
Coors Light: $15.49
STRICKLAND'S
1352 Geddes Ave.
This small market is the
closest convenience store to the
Hill. It's small, dark, cramped
and fairly overpriced. High-
lights include the heavyset guy
with crazy eyes who is always
at the counter and the feeling
that you're going to get jumped
inside, outside and anywhere
around the shady little conve-
nience store. While the entire
establishment, including the
help, is intimidating as hell for
people who don't lift weights,
it's not that bad after the first
experience. And if you live on
the Hill, you'll probably grow
to enjoy the smell of moldy
cheese that means your getting
close to the hairy little snack
hut.
20 oz. Coke: $1.30
Cheerios: $4.49
Box of Hot Pockets: $3.49
Snickers: $0.79
Coors Light: $18.99

This lovely spot is located on
Meijer is the mecca of mega- the first floor of South Quadran-
shopping in and around Ann gle Residence Hall and crowded
Arbor. Open 24 hours, nothing as hell during meal times. Now
is as entertaining as stealing a don't blame the friendly stu-
kickball from the bin and bounc- dent staff, but everything at
ing it around the store. Humon- this teeny tiny munchie mart is
gous and brightly lit in sharp overpriced. But one perk that
white, Meijer is the cheapest keeps kids coming back is that
place around, and it has every- this is one of the few spots on

VILLAGE CORNER
DIAG PARTY SHOPPE
601 S. Forest Ave.
340 S. State St.

This cramped market sits
across the street from Central
Campus on the high-traffic State
Street. Though its location is
perfect to grab something in
between classes, Diag Party
may be mistaken for a rural
Arkansas general story/po-
dunk hangout. Very few
items are marked with price
tags and there's usually at
least one homeless dude outside
but maaybe that's the price you
pay to have your pick of three
different types of Kashi granola
bars. They do sell beer, but the
selection isn't large and there is
no frozen food section.
20 oz. Coke: $1.29
Cheerios: $4.99
Snickers: $0.79
IN-N-Out
615 E. University Ave.
In-N-Out lies less than a
block from both East Quad-
rangle Residence Hall and
the eastern edge of Cen-
tral Campus. The market is
always bustling, partly due to
the location, partly due to the
$1 pizza slices it serves. On the
three weekend nights especial-
ly, the place is packed, but to
the shop's credit, the lines gen-
erally move quickly. The same
four to five people always work
the counter, but rarely remem-
ber faces.

This market is a slight size
and quality upgrade over most
of the shops near campus. A
massive wine and beer selec-
tion (though surprisingly no
Coors Light 24 packs) is almost
as notorious as the alleged wall
of fake IDs in the back. Low
ceilings and small aisles hide
the true size of this establish-
ment. Though you can certainly
purchase your snacks here, Vil-
lage Corner boasts the largest
true supermarket in the Central
Campus area.
20 oz. Coke: $1.15
Cheerios: $4.03
Hot Pockets: $3.59
Snickers: $0.75
CAMPUS CORNER
818 S. State St.
Perhaps the most well-
known market, this store has
high ceilings, decent lights and
unfriendly people at the coun-
ters. The most famous aspect
is certainly the beer selection,
though its closeness to campus
- just off the Diag - certain-
ly helps. It's the closest store to
South Quadrangle Residence
Hall, and services almost the
entire area south and southwest
of campus.
20 oz. Coke: $1.39
Cheerios: $3.99
Snickers: $0.79
Coors Light: $15.99

EUGENE ROBERTSON AND DAVID TUMAN/Daily
TOP: A couple purchases turkeys at Meijer. ABOVE: A shopper searches for
cereal at Kroger.
THE NECESSARY
ACCESSORIES
Feel like utensils aren't a necessity, and that
you could easily steal some from your dormitory's
dining hall or nab a couple of handfuls from Sub-
way?
Think what you will, but keep in mind that you're
doing so at your own risk. Any University eating
utensils found in your room will be charged to
your student account, and most residence halls
employ a student guard
who monitors the exits of
the dining halls. Besides,
who really wants to be
branded as the kid who
steals glasses, plates,
knives and forks from the
cafeteria in his double-XL
hoodie?
The bottom line: There's
nothing worse than having
food and finding out that you
lack a plausible way of eating
it, and there's no reason to come
unprepared.
The solution is simple: Buy you
own utensils before you get here.
And yes, that means all of them -
spoons, forks, bowls, knives, cups,
napkins.
The best way to go for the most part
is disposable, but you should probably
have a couple non-disposable spoons,
too - to make coffee, tea, SpaghettiOs
and oatmeal without having chunks of
melted plastic floating in them.
When it comes to plates, bowls and cups,
the usual route to go is paper. You can use
several at a time if sogginess is a concern,
they won't melt, and for the enviromentally
conscious among us, they're biodegradable.
- Ashlea Surles

SHOPPING LIST
Not into cafeteria food? Too cheap to go out?
Have these items handy to prepare quick meals,
sans kitchen.

*CAN OPENER
*ICE TRAYS
*DISH SOAP'
*SPONGES
*ONE GOOD KNIFE
'PAPER TOWEL
'SCISSORS

'BOTTLE OPENER
*MICROWAVE COVER
'DISH TOWEL
'WATER PURIFIER
*MEASURING CUP
*NON-DISPOSABLE
SPOONS

'SANDWHICH BAGS 'SERAN WRAP