The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Thursday, December 8, 2011 - 38 PAUL SHERMAN/Daily Yelp allows anyone to contribute reviews of food establishments. LOG IN From Page 1B "People seem to be doing a lot more now to express their opin- ions about the places that they like and what they don't like," Hegwood said. "So for someone that's managing a restaurant, I obviously want to have a finger on the pulse of what is going on, what people are saying, so that we can make corrections if we need to or so that we can give the positive feedback to the people that work at BTB." h Hegwood said BTB probably has a review posted on Yelp once a week or every other week. He recognized that Yelp has opened up dialogue between customers and restaurants, and thinks the prominence of this new dialogue is still growing. "I don't think it's at the point where people are just immediate- ly saying, 'Oh, I went to your res- taurant so I'm going to go on Yelp and write a review,' " Hegwood said. "It's become more popular over the last couple years and it's something that I monitor more often now than I did maybe two or three years ago." According to Hegwood, Yelp can only continue to inspire dia- logue if restaurant management teams are willing to monitor the posts and respond when neces- sary, which is why he has been keeping tabs on BTB's presence on Yelp. By connecting customers and management, Yelp is helping to break down the barrier between creators and consumers. This culinary democratization is also found in other online food initia- tives. An education in fine cuisine Another Internet-based com- munity centered around food has evolved within the Univer- sity: Wolverine CuiZine. This food blog covers a variety of food-related topics during the academic year and publishes one print publication every spring. LSA junior Kay Feker, editor in chief of Wolverine CuiZine, made a point to distinguish Wolverine CuiZine from profes- sional food criticism. Wolverine CuiZine welcomes writers of all interests, and contributors do not necessarily need culinary backgrounds. "Obviously, the people who write for Wolverine CuiZine are people who live to eat rather than eat to live," Feker said. "So we're kind of trying to share that with the community and get people interested in what they're putting into their bodies, or making it easier for them to be interested." "Even if you aren't interested in cooking yourself, most people are attracted to food in some way, shape or form," she added. There are obvious differences between professional food crit- ics and amateur student writers. Feker said there are pros and cons to both perspectives. The professionals have more exper- tise, but can sometimes seem patronizing, whereas publica- tions such as Wolverine CuiZine have more freedom and can be less formal. "I feel like a lot of the stuff is very technical or shootingto talk about a much more complex pal- ate," Feker said of professional restaurant reviews. "I feel like food blogging is more fun, and I think the main thing is that it's not exclusive." The writers of Wolverine Cui- Zine are students just like their readers. Feker said they are all interested in sparking a dialogue about food and events in the Ann Arbor area, such as the emer- gence of new restaurants and new food fads. "None of us have a culinary degree," Feker said. "We're interested in food, you're prob- ably interested in food, so we'll share what we know and you can give us feedback, and hopefully that will either spark interest or (you'll) tell us we're wrong." According to Feker, the blog has a vast diversity of cover- age and therefore is broken into three sections. In one section, columnists write weekly on top- ics of their choice. For example, writers who studied abroad over the summer decided to base their series on the cuisine of the area where they studied. A "Food in the Media" section explores recent food fads and trends, such as upcoming chefs and movements like the "food truck revolution," which has been morphing the concept of food trucks toward a more gour- met experience. The final section of Wolver- ine CuiZine is called "Local Fla- vor," and Feker described it as the section that directly involves the University and Ann Arbor. This s review produ reviem studer "I t neces< great local Arbor to do what hand, have you're you do to get dinne Unl reviex also said t CuiZi to loc ing fc featur for pe and f focus they restri Fek are e) that I the In that n social ter an blogs "Fo popul home neces backg it's ju for th nutrit play w and aI LSI person gry B She st sopho keep friend in Au: her bl things ed to Her m to try in An made the bl ection includes local food of the places she has and hasn't es, information about local visited. ce and farmers and food "I've always enjoyed food and vs from other cities that I really like educating people nts venture to, like Chicago. about the different types of food hink a lot of students don't available in Ann Arbor," Hsu sarily realize how many said. food establishments or Hsu said her father used to sources we have in Ann own a restaurant, so she has so a lot of our writing has always had a passion for food. with exposing students to She uses her blogto fuel her pas- we have immediately at sion and share it with others. " Feker said. "You don't "I think food blogging is a to travel far to get what way to show just how much you missing from home, or love and appreciate food," Hsu on't have to break the bank explained. something to make your Hsu said she thinks there are r." many different types of food like most professional food blogs: Some teach how to cook, ring, Wolverine CuiZine some feature reviews and some seeks to educate. Feker just feature photography of food. wo key goals of Wolverine The last type of food blog is con- ne are exposing students sidered by many food junkies as al resources and provid- "food porn," intended for people bod education. The blog who simply want to look at food es information on options and appreciate its aesthetics. ople with specific allergies Foodporndaily.com and food- ood needs, with a special gawker.com are two popular on showing people what examples that post pictures of can eat versus what their all different kinds of foods with ctions are. links to other culinary websites. er mentioned that there Hsu explained the link ven more food resources between the different kinds of have surfaced, thanks to food bloggers and professional ternet. Aside from the fact culinary critics by saying that estaurants are using more they share a love for food. How- media tools such as Twit- ever, she said she feels her blog d Facebook, personal food offers a more personal perspec- have taken off. tive than reviews done by expert od blogs are becoming so food connoisseurs, with an Ann ar," she said. "So now, for Arbor perspective of food. chefs - people who don't And Ann Arbor has a lot to sarily have any cooking offer in the food world. The new round but enjoy food - . media landscape of Yelp, Wol- st such an accessible way verine CuiZine and personal em to learn about both the food blogs such as The Hun- ional aspects and how to gry Beluga have revolutionized vith recipes in a very easy the way restaurants, foodies or pproachable manner." casual customers interact with food and culinary critique. A personal palate Janik, Feker and Hsu all echoed the sentiment that food A senior Amie Hsu runs a unifies people. Whether it's by nal food blog, The Hun- exploring recent fads in the eluga, in her free time. food industry or expanding the arted the blog during her accessibility of food reviewing, more year as a way to the Internet is strengthening in touch with one of her the connection between us and s who left to study abroad the food we eat. stralia. When she realized With something as univer- og focused mainly on the sal as food, it only makes sense she was eating, she decid- that the ever-accessible Internet turn it into a food blog. plays a crucial role in moving host ambitious objective is the culinary world away from to eat at every restaurant elitism to more of a people's n Arbor. She has already movement. And now, not know- significant progress, and ing where to eat is a problem og displays a running list that can be easily solved. Going gaga for Mother Monster That special someone we all know as the only soul confident and famous enough to wear a 50-pound dress made of beef to the MTV Video Music Awards occasion- ally imparts quotes as- common- place as the follow- JULIA ing: "I'm SMITH- obsessively EPPSTEINER opposed to the typical." Consideringher fiery, auto- biographical and nearly 14-min- ute music video "Marry The Night" as the cherry on top of the most demented-but-terrific cake, words hailing from Mama Monster's mouth have never made so much sense. Gaga herself is a trend - of music, of fashion, of dance, of rebelling against anything and everything and of embodying herself - far beyond the edge of glory. I'm under the impression that the gal's mojo comes from a bit more particular of a place than opposition to anything typical. With a fair share of Gaga research under my bedaz- zled belt (just kidding, I'm not a little monster myself), it seems she digs people who find a place of personal acceptance they may have been told to hide away from the public and themselves. More than acceptance, she craves for them to rock it. As Gaga told the Los Angeles Times, "I want women - and men - to feel empowered by a deeper and more psychotic part of themselves. The part they're always trying desperately to hide. I want that to become something that they cherish." The best part about Lady Gaga making eccentric cool and making crazy-off-your-rocker even cooler is that she does it with good ethics and class. By good ethics, I mean that she seems to be against all judg- mental qualities. She has met with President Obama to pass anti-bullying legislation. Some- times, it'll take an enchantingly screwy woman to galvanize important change. By class, I mean that she would rather die than remove her heels, and as wild and dark- ly twisted as her imagination is, she remains on top of her game in interviews and onstage. Mother Monster is trendy to the world at large but even trendier to her massive and startlingly devoted fan base. As of this speck of a moment in time, Lady Gaga of New York, N.Y. has a running total of 16,707,599 monsters, including myself, who follow her on Twit- ter. To put that in perspective, that's almost twice the popula- tion of the state of Michigan. We were all introduced to the power of Gaga's strangeness in 2010's "Telephone," in which she took her chemistry with Queen B and an unconventional manner of expressing the prob- lems with 21st century America to a certain level. This was only a precursor to the madness that persists in the recent "Marry The Night." In that album, we get a wacked-out narrative about her dark past meetingup with flaming cars and an'80s dance throwdown. To listen to her music without the image and the moves behind it is a dras- tically different experience because she's one of those few singers who doesn't separate her career life and her life-life. She is an iconic character to the end of the earth. She might be different, but she was born this way. Her character quality lends itself to trendiness, especially on evenings like All Hallows' Eve, when women of a range branch out and try to inhabit their way of living like a spunky spirit animal on the regular. It's not only on the night-to- be-someone-you're-not when females fashion themselves after Gaga; she also has a fash- ion line at Barney's New York. Whether it's with high fash- ion, glittering jean jackets or Jo Calderone impersonations, this Mother is leading pop culture of today's society, having been named one of the most influen- tial people in the world by Time Magazine last year. What's most impressive is that no one else has been so outrageously successful in working honestly with their own creativity to the outcome of products that could easily be referred to as avant-garde. "I'm interested in taking what's underground and mak- ing it overground," Gaga said in an interview with Ryan Seacrest earlier this month. Gaga is fame: a trend in motion, with her head screwed on the perfect amount of crazy. Smith-Eppsteiner is gaga for Lady Gaga. Go gaga too by e-mailing her at julialix@umich.edu. ANNA SCHULTE/Daily LSA senior Amie Hsu runs a food blog, The Hungry Beluga, in her free time. Thornton Wilder -and Ken Ludwg's adaptationof ILL taagem By George Farquhar Directed by Priscilla Lindsay Department of Theatre & Drama December 8at 7:30 PM December 9& 10 at 8PM December 11 at 2 PM Power Center Reserved seating $26 & $20 Students $10 with ID tickets.music.umich.edu League Ticket Office 734-764-2538 C f M 1(ilii -,, "n 9 MNuSir"IIi:ii iD I~irrt Wolverine CuiZine helps students discover the local flavor of Ann Arbor.