2B - Thursday, January 13, 2011
The Michigan Daily- michigandaily.com
2B - Thursday, January 13, 2011 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
.FOOD WARS
Each week, one Ann Arbor staple menu item becomes a
battlefield as Daily Arts editors butt heads over which restaurant
makes it best. Where should you go for your burger, fro-yo or
garden omlette? Daily Arts will fight for the truth.
Dear Jersey Shore,
Thank God.
Sincerely, Miami
Dear Water,
Why are you our theme semester? Is life not worth living anymore?
Sincerely, LSA
Dear Bachelor,
Don't pick her. Trust me, human-vampire relationships are not all they're
cracked up to be.
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TIANCHU
613 East William St.
In a nearly empty restaurant on a snowy,
winter's day, one foodie orders Bi Bim Bop
to stave off the frigid cold. Served in a siz-
zling pan, the steaming dish - chock-full
of salty veggies, lean beef and hearty rice,
- does the trick to bring warmth back into
the atmosphere. But even the glippy-gloopy
eggs that sit atop the mass of deliciousness
can't save this entree from the most impos-
sible-to-use chopsticks in the world.
KANG'S
1327South University Ave.
Don't let the mundane decor turn you
away - the food is the only thing that mat-
ters. And Kang's knocks its Bi Bim Bop all
the waytoPyongyang. The delicious assort-
mentof finely-cutvegetables is so crisp and
juicy, you'd think they have a garden in the
back. Conveniently for the weak of heart,
the dish fallsunder the "NoSpice" category.
But for those looking to kick it up a notch,
there's spicy sauce on the side.
ROD'S DINER
812 South State St.
More famous for its un-turn-down-able
colliders, Rod's Diner does hold its own
when it comes to Bi Bim Bop. The restau-
rant has a homemade vibe - dinerscan hear
the fried egg crackling asthey wait for their
meals. And when the food does arrive, it's
delicious, if a little bare-bones. The dining
hall trays are a nice throwback to freshman
year, and the vegetables are clearly fresh,
though a bit too oily. Slimy ... but satisfying.
MARU
414 East William St.
There's something to be said about
Maru's innovation when it comes to Bi
Bim Bop - it's one of the few restaurants
that adds a little panache to its standard
Korean fare, providing freshly-cut cabbage,
nori and carrots among the typical sprouts,
rice and fried egg. But unfortunately, the
execution was only half there - the meal
was rather bland without the aid oftheaping
spoonfuls of hot sauce.
Sincerely, Edward
" Broadway bloopers: Last Sunday's homage to bad theater in review.
* Weird sighting: Celebrity skater Johnny Weir will sign copies of his memoir this Monday.
- Golden hopes: Daily Arts Editors pick their Golden Globe will-wins and should-wins.
And the winner is: Kang's
TRAILER REVIEW
The indestructible Captain
Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp,
"The Tourist") is back in all of his
swashbuck-
ling glory in
"On Stranger
Tides," the PatesOfthe
fourth install-
ment of the Caribbean:
"Pirates of the On Stranger
Caribbean" O tagr
series. But rKIS
whether or not
the box office Disney
will finally do
him in remains to be seen.
Havingshed his annoyingly
sensitive sidekick Will Turner
(Orlando Bloom, "New York, I
Love You"), perhaps Depp will
finally have full reign of the
screen. He'll certainly need it as
he takes on all those mermaids
and zombies, Blackbeard and
even a feisty Penelope Cruz
("Vicky Cristina Barcelona").
Hey, at least it's not more vam-
pires and werewolves. Captain
Jack appears to have sold outto
some pompous fool ina pow-
Sometimes it's hard to tell
whether Kanye is pulling our col-
lective leg or not. He collaborates
with Jay-Z on
his new latest
single "H.A.M.,"
but the track is
pure Kanye - Kanye West
that is, it's the d Jay
work of a slight-
ly unhinged 'HAM."
creative genius.
It's apocalyptic
and stylish, complete with slick
electronic beats and an orchestral
grandness. Although both rap-
pers aggressively spit about how
they're about to go "hard asa
muthafucker," it also features the
vocal stylings of an eerie cham-
ber singer.
Is the diabolical pair trying
to be satirical? Both superstars'
rhymes are the typical cocksure
fare, with Jay-Z reminding any
doubtful listeners just how "hard"
he is. "I play chicken with a Mack
truck/Y'all muthafuckers woul-
da been moved." After a satisfying
beat in the beginning, the track
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dered wig and is now on a quest
for the fountain of youth - locat-
ed somewhere in what looks like
Sandals, Jamaica.
But that raises a question.
People love Depp's character
for being an outlaw and he's the
appeal of the whole movie. Dis-
ney knows the name "Pirates of
the Caribbean" will draw people
in. Of course they've packed the
previews with sexy mermaids
and glamor shots of the rogu-
ish, swaggering Sparrow. But
who knows if the actual movie
will be worthy of the rest of the
franchise.
-EMILYBOUDREAU
starts to trail offtwhen everything
drops, save the angelic female
vocalist serenading us, before a
blood pressure-raising ending.
It's solid and inventive, which
might be attributable to the
young but talented 19-year-old
producer Lex Luger assisting on
the track. Ultimately, "H.AM.,"
(despite the laughable acronym)
offers upa delectable morsel
from the upcoming album, Watch
The Throne, on which Jay-Z and
Kanye are-collaborating. Iftthis
ridiculously epic track is any inti-
cation, the album is bound to be
explosive.
-CASSIE BALFOUR
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EPISODE REVIEW
VIRAL VIDEO REVIEW
0
When watching Jim Carrey
host "SNL," it might come as a
surprise to know that this was
only his second
gig at Studio
8H. Carrey fit
in amazing y SNL
the cast, keep- Season 36
ing the show
away from its "Jim Carrey/
usual pitfall - The Black Keys"
trying to make
mediocre hosts NBC
funny and writ-
ing shoddy material whenthey
fail. Instead, Carrey was featured
in many sketches and committed
completely each time. He didn't
holdback in his re-imagined por-
trayal of Mila Kunis's Lily from
"Black Swan," showcasing his
awkward and hilarious dancing.
Musical guests The Black
Keys gave a solid, smooth perfor-
mance, but they weren't featured
in any sketches and definitely
didn't have the incredible perfor-
mance of Kanye. It's always nice
to see the musical guest doa little
Some of us are just born to
dance. And some of us, like "Got
to Dance" contestant Happiness,
are born to
flop around
the stage
energyscat "GotToDanm:
number. More Happnml"
Ever
since the http://skyl.sky.com/got-
epic Susan to-dance-more-happiness
Boyle
viral vid,
we've been cautious to judgea
talent-show contestant. Looks
can sometimes be very, very mis-
leading, as evidenced by Boyle's
simultaneous weirdness and
COURTESY OF N Bc unbelievable talent.
Unfortunately, Happiness
John Boehner was a highlight. makes it pretty clear - within
Similarly, the cold open featuring eight seconds - that she has
Fred Armisen's Mayor Bloomberg no talent whatsoever. The two-
responding to New York City's minute clip features our hapless
recent snowstorms was topical dancer constantly karate-chop-
and spot-on, once again proving ping the air while throwing her-
that "SNL" shines when it focuses self to the ground and jumping
on politics and current events. back up again to run around the
-CAROLYNKLARECKI stage in an impassioned frenzy.
more, but The Black Keys can
sing live and that's all anyone can
hope for.
On "Weekend Update," Andy
Samberg and Taran Killam's bird-
slash-fish romance was bizarre,
boring and ran too long, but an
interview with Kristen Wiig's
Nancy Pelosi and Jason Sudeikis's
She's calls it "freestyle."
Happiness's spastic perfor-
mance is interspersed with the
hilarious reactions of the judges
and the show's host. Abandon-
ing any effort at commentary or
impassive expressions, they burst
out into uncontrollable laughter.
Unlike Happiness's uncontrol-
lable energy and enthusiasm,
viewer interestin thisviral vid
wanes about midway through the
clip. The star is now red-faced and
messy-haired, still karate-chop-
ping and flopping with a passion.
But we've seen itall. Happiness
can't offer us anything more.
-LEAHBURGIN