2B - Thursday, October 17, 2013 The Michigan Daily -- michigandaily.coni 2B - Thursday, October17, 2013 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom New fo Tatch out, Five Guys there's a new ham- burger in town. If you ask me, it's about time. . Ann Arbor, surprisingly, has never really offered much when it comes to burger joints. Of course you can order a burger at NATE nearly every WOOD bar in town, but as far as restaurants that special- ize in the American classic, there are few: Red Robin (way down State Street), Quickie Burger (terrible food) and most recently Five Guys (not a bad choice). My bet is that Blimpy Burger - may she rest in peace - long dominated the campus market for hamburgers with its cult following, effectively, staving off competition for decades. Now that Blimpy's gone, though (at least for now), I wouldn't be surprised if we see a rapid influx of new burger joints in the near future. BurgerFi, Ann Arbor's new- est place to grab a patty and fries, would have us call this the "Burgerfication" of Ann Arbor. The new fast-casual restaurant opened its doors on South University just over two weeks ago. I was excited enough at the prospect of fill- ing the burger-less void in my heart - and stomach - that Blimpy left with its closing. But when I heard that BurgerFi was billing itself as "The Burger Joint for Foodies," I knew it would be love at first bite. The restaurant's interior is industrial-modern. The stools and chairs are made from recy- cled Coke bottles and the tables from milk cartons. Sheets of. hard stone cover the floor, giv- ing way to walls of unstained 2x4 planks of light wood. The ceiling is a patchwork of metal FOOD COLUMN - - BurgerFi is r foodles SPOTIFINDS Daily Arts Writers dig through recent Spotify releases to find the tracks worth revisiting or discovering. grating incand about.' blades, helicop the mi Decor metalt everyw The, this en down- clean a I ord The pa need a and bu superi a super shorta pings c the mo of Burg is the b Hav a fresh breadv knife c of the 1 ing the a dense dough. happe attemp bun, w testam ness. A better, with al cool. Ord Fr sec. an But i thing, t all-natu g with warehouse-like beef dog won't disappoint. lescent bulbs scattered The classic sides here are There's a huge fan with hand-cut french fries and bat- that remind me of a tered onion rings. I wholly pter's looming above recommend the french fries, ddle of the seating area. which are neither too thin nor ations include chains, too thick.and served in gigantic trim and brushed chrome portions. Seriously, a "regular" where. order of fries can feed two to food totally works in three easily. They are cooked vironment. It's no-fuss, for a generous amount of time, to-earth grub that's still which I like, but if you prefer a nd thoughtful. limper fry, be sure to order it as der a burger, of course. such. And just as a forewarn- tties - of which you ing, as you can experience for t least two - are supple yourself, you're going to have ttery. Never frozen, the to add salt. A lot of it. Unless, or local beef makes for of course, you order the Urban rior burger. There's no Fries - Parmesan and herb fries ge of cheese, and the top- topped with garlic aioli - from hoices are endless. But the secret menu. I mean ... what 'st distinctive component menu? gerFi's burgers, I believe, To wash it all down, BurgerFi bun. offers a number of drinks. The e you ever tried cutting chain's known for its selection ly baked loaf of white of craft beers and glass-bottle while it's still hot? The sodas, but there are also wine 'ripples the structure and mixed drinks to be had. bread's interior, smush- For dessert, try the fro- once upright loaf into zen custard. Whether it's in e, dejected ball of warm the form of a shake, a float, a This is exactly what cone or a sundae, you can't go ns when your incisors wrong with this extra-thick, t to puncture a BurgerFi ice cream-style treat (in case hich is nothing buta you're wondering, frozen cus- ent to its extreme fresh- tard is made with more egg s if they couldn't get any yolks than ice cream, the result each bun is hot-branded being a much richer flavor). BurgerFi logo. Super I tried the red velvet frozen custard shake and have no ill ' report. But let us remember: This ler the Urban is a new restaurant. While BurgerFi may knock it out of ies from the the park right now, the joint could - like so many burger ret mnenu for places before it - fall into a downward spiral of poor ser- insider treat. vice. This is how fries become overcooked, orders inaccurate, tables dirty and presenta- tion sloppy. But as long as its f burgers aren't your employees stay on point, as here's also a number of they are now, BurgerFi is here ural hot dogs to choose to stay. 0 0 MONKEYWRENCH "Lightning Bolt" "Shake" Let's just face it: The Pearl Jam ofbygone years has disappeared, replaced with the new version where Eddie Vedder reads soldiers' obituaries in the morning paper. Just so, "Lightning Bolt" bears a lot more resemblance to "World Wide Suicide" than anything from Ten - but hey, out with the old, in with the new. "Lightning Bolt" definitely has its moments, at least - it's upbeat and fun, and you're more likely than not to catch yourself humming along before the song ends. Just don't expect some classic grunge magnum opus. Pearl Jam keeps on keeping on, but those face-melting days might be over. What's that you're hearing? Could it - could I it be? An electric guitar? In a The Head and the Heart song? In the words of the insmortal Kenan Thompson: What up with that? All in all though, don't let the soft touch of technol- ogy fool you - this is the classic folksiness you came for in the new HatH album. So what if there's a touch of raw amp? In an album called Let's Be Still, maybe you should be grateful that a song even exists where lead singer Josiah' Johnson croons, "You won't forget the man who's making you shake." Don't be afraid of a little electricity. ol from. I haven't tried any simply because I'm averse to ordering a dog at a burger joint, but if you must, I'm sure the Wagyu Kobe Wood is chowing down on some BurgerFi. To join, e-mail nisaacw@umich.edu GET YOUR DAILY DOSE IN 140 CHARACTERS OR LESS! GHOSTLY INTERNATIONAL "Awake" Breathe FOLLOW @ MICH IGAN DAILY Under the stage name, Tycho, producer and visual artist Scott Hansen makes calming, ambient techno that's perfect for taking the edge off of procrastinated homework. "Awake," Tycho's latest single, furthers the hypnotic tone of Hansen's 2011 album, Dive, and places his always ambling guitars higher in the mix. Stuck on writing the thesis for an essay that's due in a few hours? Let "Awake" be the calming drug you wish you had a prescription for, and then once it's effects have subsided, make sure to go to the Spotify page for Dive and then start attacking that keyboard. Breathe it in: Birdy's new EP is sure to waft" its way through the speakers of the local Star- bucks, mixing with the hums and whirs of espresso machines like a match made in cof- fee-shop heaven. Though tracks "Shine" and "What You Want" are typical tracklist fodder, crawling through over four minutes of open mic-like croons, Birdy banks on "Skinny Love' - and not only because it's a cover of Grammy- winning Bon Iver's delicate hit. As fragilely angelic as 17-year-old Birdy herself, "Skinny Love" is a piano-laced plea for mercy, just beg-7 ging for another listen. 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