2B - Thursday, March 24, 2011 The Michigan Daily - michiganclaily.com 2B - Thursday, March 24, 2011 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom a FOOD WAR Each week, one Ann Arbor staple menu item becomes a battlefield as Daily Arts staffers butt heads over which restaurant makes it best. Latte Dear Rebecca Black, Thanks for drawing all the attention away from me. Sincerely, Muammar Gaddafi a Dear snow boots, It's our turn now. Sincerely, rain boots BEANSTER'S Michigan League When itarrives four minutes after order- ing, the Beanster's latte turns out to be a mildly enjoyable espresso drink that never quite passes through the gates into Coffee Greatness. The latte is hot, but not quite hot enough. The espresso doesn't have the pungent bite of truly fresh grounds. The steamed milkhas asmidgentoo muchfoam, and the milk-to-espresso ratio is heavy on the milk. It'll give you a nice jolt, though. CAFE AMBROSIA 326 Maynard Tucked away on Maynard Street is Cafe Ambrosia, home to one of Ann Arbor's fin- est lattes. The milk is light and creamy; the espresso is smooth, but packed with a punch. It's a delicate blend of flavors, aro- mas and agentle sweetness, all packaged in a paper cup unscathed by labels and brand names. Being deliciously obscure is, after all, one of Ambrosia's strong suits - next to crafting lattes. And the winner is: lab 505 East Liberty The latte is coffee's version of the Four Loko, pre-2011: Its mixture of stimulant (espresso) and depressant (warm milk) can be dangerous when improperly combined. While its spices are divine and the foam heart on top is adorable, the specimen sold at pretentiously punctuated "lab" leans so heavily toward the frothy milk side that any attempt to stay awake after consuming this "coffee" drink would be ill-advised. COMET 16 Nickels Arcade Big franchise coffee shops like Espresso Royale, Biggby and of course, Starbucks, make millions selling milky, overly sweet- ened coffee-like drinks. To coffee lovers looking for a latte that tastes like it's actu- ally part coffee, Comet's latte might just might be heaven in a cup. It's smaller than you may expect, but you taste the difference immediately. It'ssbolder, yetstill smooth and rich, a comfortingdose of near-perfection. CAFE AMBROSIA Dear Barack Obama, You're a really tough act to follow. Sincerely, Rick Snyder 0 ,, > . Dear Glenn Beck, What do you mean you may get your own network?! Sincerely, Oprah What's in a name? For Nashville-via-Murfreesborc Tenn. gang of Southern feu fatales known as Those Dar- lins, you'd Tose DadI be forgiven for assum- "Be YourBro" ing some- Screw Get Lo( thing with a little less firepower t the group's newest sir "Be Your Bro." But once J Nikki and Kelley Darlin get track cookin', drawing as m from early-'60s girl grc like The Supremes as they from trashy drunk-rocd Guided By Voices, they em< as anything but safe. Darli Sure. Girly? Maybe, but d let them hear you say it. 3 Darlin sings, "I just wanna and play in the dirt with ys You just wanna stick it in"V the wry, boyish wit you m DO YOU KNOW WHAT BOOKS ARE? DO YOU LIKE THEM? COME WRITE ABOUT LITERATURE FOR US. E-mail join.arts@umich.edu for information on applying to Daily Arts.