f0,. . i - o £ : -0 0 0 86 ThrdaJaur 20, 011 B -d Hail to the Maize and Blue FLAVOR From Page 7B With its large blue awning and heavily tinted win- dows, it's hard to tell immediately that Maize and Blue on south University Avenue is a deli. The exterior of the hulking square i building somewhat resembles the outside of a Gold's, Gym. Throngs of frat boys filing into _ the place donning their Sunday best LILA - sweatshirts, KALICK sweatpants and - Michigan lanyards - perhaps further this misconception. However, once you enter, any doubt dissipates. Maize and Blue captures the zeitgeist of a true delicatessen. Perhaps you haven't heard of Maize and Blue. It, of course, stands in the 4hadows of the most famous institu- tion of Ann Arbor and the world over: no, not the Big House - Zingerman's. Admittedly, my favorite sandwich in this city is still there, and I never miss an opportunity to go. But Maize and Blue offers a great alternative at a slightly cheaper price, about nine dol- lars per entree. Inside, the large glass display case to your left leaves nothing out. Meats, cheeses, coleslaws, chicken salad, tuna salad and cheesecakes sit under plastic containers stuffed with an assortment of Lay's chips. The bottom right corner of the case contains another tell-tale sign of true deli-dom - Dr. Brown's Black Cherry Soda. I could seriously writea mem- oir about Dr. Brown's. If you haven't sipped one of these on the beach while eating a sandwich, it may be safe to say your best days are ahead of you. Though it's located only a couple kdocks from the Diag, Maize and Blue doesn't just attract students. It's typi- cal to walk in around lunchtime and CHEF From Page 6B food item presents. "If you look at an onion or a pep- per, there's not just one way to cut it, there's a thousand ways to cut it - same to cook it," Turchan said. "I've injected into the menu spots where the chefs can be creative. Every week (at North Quad) we have a ten-way chicken where you just have the chicken and can create your own sauce or serving style." Cummings echoes this sentiment, see the brown granite tables packed with youngsters, college kids and a crew of old-timers, all seemingly embroiled in serious conversation at a favorite table toward the back. Patrons congregating at the front desperately wait in line to sample the sandwiches they've been dreaming about since breakfast. The restaurant itself is small. Its tall sood-paneled walls are broken up by a large mural with "Maize 'N Blue Deli" tagged in the middle. They're flanked by the cutouts of a basketball and football player painted in - what else - maize and blue. The mural is covered with the scribbled messages of the deli's hundreds of fans through the years. You'll find no signed picture of Bill Clinton here as you would in Katz's Deli in New York. There are no booths reserved for celebrities as there are at the Carnegie. All you get in terms of decor is a smattering of art that seems better suited for ayard sale - a bald eagle, a majestic mountain range, an old hockey photo cut out from the newspaper. Michael Phelps ate here, so you should, too. Yet despite the lack of celebrity headshots hawked openly at well known delis, Maize and Blue has an array of famous fans. Michael Phelps dropped in with a camera crew to let everyone know how much he loves Maize and Blue, as did Adam Richman of "Man v. Food" last September. A whiteboard menu hangs along the back wall broadcasting Maize and Blue's countless combinations by stressing that it's the little things that make a meal superb. He cites straw- berry sauce-topped cheesecake as an example. Students complained that the sauce was too lumpy and looked unappealing, so Cummings worked with students to modify the topping so that the cheesecake was brought to its full potential. "Everything we do, we try to make it more appealing for our custom- ers, whether it's just a fresh sprig of parsley on a piece of roast turkey or a lighter strawberry sauce for the cheesecake," he said. But for Cummings and Turchan, creativity is only a part of the job. The category. Trying them all might takea lifetime, so it's worth it to ask for rec- ommendations from the staff - some of the friendliest, most helpful people around. The "Maize 'N Blue Awning" - probably the joint's most famous sand- wich - is outstanding. The sandwich is made of roast beef, smoked turkey, Colby, Jarlsberg cheese, honey cup mustard, tomato, onion and green pepper on grilled sourdough white bread. Massive, it almost forces you to dehook your jaw in order to properly masticate. The honey cup mustard adds an inexplicable spiciness to the freshness of the pepper and onion. The "Where's Bo?" - pastrami, fried egg, Canadian Cobat cheddar, mayo, onion and green pepper on grilled challah - is excellence. Those who finish it will be champions. The "Triple Play Reuben" is anoth- er crowning achievement. The sour- dough rye bread is perfectly toasted, bringing together a symposium of flavors - corned beef, pastrami, Swit- zerland Swiss, Jarlsbergcheese, sauer- kraut and Russian dressing. It was so good and filling that I couldn't eat for the rest of the day. There's one major drawback: veg- etarian options are sparse. There is one vegetarian sandwich. Somewhat surprisingly, there is also no egg salad ... weak. But besides these misgivings, Maize and Blue delivers in te-ms of its menu. It's got almost every classic deli delight you desire, plus some specialty Michigan additions. You get what you pay for at Maize and Blue, and that's a massive sand- wich stuffed with deliciousness and a smile from the guys behind the deli counter. It's a happiness that will last you at least two meals. Kalick is looking for a name for her food baby. To suggest your favorites, e-mail her at Ikalick@umich.edu. two chefs also try to instill a passion for the culinary arts in the students they work with and meet in the dining hall. To date, Cummings has collabo- rated with four students who dropped out of the University and transferred to the Culinary Institute of America. But at the same time, the chefs also recognize that not every student working has gourmet aspirations and will also reach out to the casual chef. "I love to teach people," said Tur- chan. "If you want to learn to cook, just ask. You're here for your studies, but you cook once you leave here. You can't eat at restaurants for the rest of your life." home is sometimes reflected in Project Flavor's menus too. "I'll say, 'You guys, I made this awesome black bean thing last week, I think we should try it at the cook date' ... We just have constant teaching-learning experiences," Adams said. Adams started cooking in college after she took a course on the phi- losophy and the ethics of food. "I think that whoever made that class owes me, because I talk about it all the time. It basically changed my life," she said. At the end of the class, she had to cook a meal for all the class members, with an ethical reasoning behind the food that she prepared. "Mine was that I wanted to use all local food for my meal, and from then on I've gone to the Farmers Market pretty much every weekend. I've really changed my lifestyle and become very interested in cooking," Adams said. In fact, the course was so influen- tial for Adams that she designed her own food systems major to accom- modate her interest. "Since U of M doesn't have a nutrition program ... I decided I wanted to major in something I was passionate about, so I wrote my NIXON From Page 7B After two acts of diplomatic meet- ings, banquets and cultural excur- sions, the six principles take the stage during the third act of the show and express their memories, doubts, regrets and insecurities to the audi- ence. This final moment takes away the veil of mystery that separates the common man from the politician on television and turns these mythic figures into relatable human beings. In addition to its importance in the operatic world, "Nixon in China" also has significance on an interna- tional scale. Since the opera's pre- miere in 1987, China has grown from a stubborn Communist nation to a near capitalist economic superpow- er; if anything, the opera has become even more relevant as a topic for artistic analysis. "Nixon in China" captures the moment at which the U.S. re-estab- lished relations with the PRC. In 1971, a year before Nixon's trip, America lifted its trade embargo on China, hoping to facilitate friend- ship between the two nations. Now that the United States's economic own," she said. Project Flavor also tries to use as much local produce as possible. Until October or November, Adams goes to the Farmers Market on Wednesdays specifically to get the ingredients the group needs for its cook date that week. "I think that it's silly for us to be purchasing something like spinach that's from Meijer and has been shipped halfway around the world when we have really great quality spinach in Ann Arbor," she said. "I like and appreciate good food, healthy foods; I feel like stuff you get a lot of times in restaurants is such low quality ... You don't feel good afterward," Isaacoff added. "But when I make stuff, it's fresh and it's a lot of whole ingredients." According to Levine, apart from how good it tastes, there are other reasons why she savors the Project Flavor experience. "It kind of makes you feel good when you make something that tastes good," Levine said. For Project Flavor, it's all in the name. Masterfully maneuvering its way through the kitchen at the Ronald McDonald House to serve a scintillating meal that delights residents' taste buds, the group gives a piquant kick to the vapid and mundane. But in its simplest form, Project Flavor isn't just a club about volunteering - it's a group of stu- dents who really love to cook. fate is inexorably tied to that of China, Adam and Goodman's opera contains a new level of meaning for audiences in 2011. This fact seems to have spurred recent interest in "Nixon in China." In 2009, Naxos Records released a new critically acclaimed Opera Colorado recording of the work. Next month, Nonesuch Records will reissue its 1988 Grammy-winning recording of the original cast. In addition, opera-goers far and wide will be able to witness director Peter Sellars's celebrated production of "Nixon in China" when the Metro- politan opera broadcasts a Feb. 12 performance to cinemas across the globe. Opponents of opera often com- plain that the art form is unrelatable and outdated. Yet new works like "Nixon in China" turn the audience's attention inward toward society and make a fascinating connection between art and current events. Gods and heroes still exist today, yet they take on the form of politicians and celebrities. So while opera may have been transformed over the past 500 years, it still plays on our imagi- nations by giving flesh, blood and a musical voice to the figures we see only on television and in the news. I 4 I