2B - Thursday, November 13, 2014 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com A 2B -Thusda, Noembr13 201 Th Mihiga Daly micigadaiyco Finally, a series of very fortunate events CHEFS ANN ARBOR By GRACE PROSNIEWSKI Daily Literary Columnist Tamagotchis. SkiFree. Almost every single Disney Channel Original Movie. Unfortunately, some beloved media from child- hood doesn't hold up to the harsh light of the present day. However, I still respect and look fondly upon many of my favorite books from childhood. These works laid the founda- tion for my love of reading that continues to this day, and helped steer me away from the vampire- infested abyss that was young adult literature at the time. I had a veritable holy trin- ity of children's fantasy series, which included J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter, Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl and Daniel Han- dler's, alk.a. Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. I even received a signed copy of the final book from "Snicket" reading, "with admiration and dread." Needless to say, I'm still fangirling over it. So I was of course excited and highly intrigued when news broke last week that Netflix would be adaptingA Series of Unfortunate Events into an origi- nal series, with Handler serv- ing as executive producer. This isn't the first time the series has jumped mediums. The first three books were combined into the 2004 film, which though criti- cally successful, featuring such stars as Meryl Streep, Jude Law and Jim Carrey, failed to inspire future movies. Handler's unique blend of dark humor with accessibility for children is a testament to his abilities. One of the greatest aspects of the series is its highly stylistic, seemingly timeless world, which lends a great deal of license and unpredictability to the plot. It's in this ominous and yet strangely enjoyable set- ting that the Baudelaire orphans' narrative unfolds, in what may be best described as a blend of suburban gothic and absurdist fiction. It's a wonderful, if not sometimes depressing, world for a reader to get lost in. But my appreciation for the series is tempered by a fair amount of frustration and disap- pointment over the last install- ment. After reading the 13th and final book, I was left to puzzle out a plethora of unanswered questions, ambiguous character fates and important plot lines that seemed to go nowhere. What's particularly madden- ing is the fact that I do believe Handler had the answers; he just didn't give them out. The companion books to the series alone prove that he has awell- thought out and complex world of characters and backstories at his disposal. So is there a greater meaning to his omissions? Perhaps. Do I care about that? No way. Give me closure or give me death. It's because of these loose ends that I'm particularly excit- ed about a potential television series, especially with Handler as an executive producer. In adapting and reworking the series for television, perhaps he'll shed more light, advertently or not, on some of the unan- swered questions that have both- ered me and other readers since the release of the final book. I don't have any nostalgia- fueled misgivings abouta potential series. Plenty of tele- vision shows have proven that they can hold up to, and even in some ways, improve upon, the original source material. Game of Thrones, Outlander, Justified, Boardwalk Empire, Friday Night Lights, the list of popular and critically acclaimed shows based on books stretches on and on. And there's no reason to think that this trend will be changing anytime soon. With an increas- ingly volatile television land- scape, networks will continue to gravitate toward works with established fan bases. Though I suspect there will always be talk among the snootiest - and insufferable - of bibliophiles on the possible phi- listine nature of turning books into television shows, I for one, see no cause for alarm. While some elements are no doubt lost in translation, the transforma- tion from one media form to another often results in a differ- ent understanding of and deeper appreciation for, the original work. Also, we should not under- sell the ability of media forms like television to bringnew readers to the literary source material. There are benefits for creators in both mediums when television looks to literature for inspiration. And maybe one day this literary influence will result in a television series in which Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne, in an odd couple/ bromance vein, travel around solving mysteries, some super- natural in kind, all the while throwing massive shade at tran- scendentalists. We can only hope that day comes sooner rather than later. Prosniewski is watching 'Smart House.' To join, e-mail gprosniewski@umich.edu. 2 i I Takashi Yagihashi won the "Best Chef in the Midwest" award in 2003, given by the James Beard Foundation. Slurping Turtle chef brings authentic Japanese to A2 By GRACE HAMILTON Daily Arts Writer Takashi Yagihashi grew up in Mito, Japan, about 45 minutes outside of Tokyo, playing baseball, watching American movies, reading popular novels and immersing himself in his schoolwork. He imagined the Hollywood-built wonders of American life in his future, although none of these dreams included a kitchen. However, with high school came the pressure of earning some pocket money, and so Takashi took the dirty jobs of dishwasher and kitchen helper at a local restaurant. "I never wanted to be a chef when I was a kid, but I realized once I started doing things in a kitchen, I was pretty good at it," Takashi said. After receiving adegree in, interior design from the Tokyo Design School, he was offered a job to work in Chicago with his former employer. Working his way up through the kitchen hierarchy, Takashi opened his own first Chicago restaurant, Tribute, in 1993, followed by Takashi in 2007 and Slurping Turtle in 2011. Slurping Turtle proved to be an instant success, and in April 2014 Takashi opened a second branch in Ann Arbor, on East Liberty. Slurping Turtle is inspired by Japanese street-food and home cooking, providing a unique and varied menu, pleasing to anyr patron's taste buds. "Iloved ramen, Iloved noodles. So that's one of the reasons we opened Slurping Turtle. When I was young, I ate noodles every day. One day ramen, one day udon, one day soba," he said. "It's authentic Japanese, but with a contemporary, modern twist. It has a unique spice. It's a different take on usual Japanese food and traditional noodles," Takashi said of Slurping Turtle's menu. Indeed, the range of dishes on the menu is impressive: A selection of ramen meals for lunch, ceviche with octopus, scallops, shrimp, squid and yuzu dressing or yellowtail tacos with truffle soy and taro root shell as tapas. A list of sushi rolls is available, listed above the sides, which include Kani cream croquettes. For dessert, try a raspberry wasabi macaron or a slice of cheesecake. The restaurant's menu will change with every season. Each of Takashi's establishments has a different executive chef who oversees these changes, working closely with Takashi as well. "We try to use fresh ingredients, which is especially easy in the summer, when there are lots of local markets. As winter comes, a lot of things are coming from California across the country, but we do the best we can," Takashi says of ensuring the quality of ingredients. Fresh noodles are rolled and made daily in the basement of Slurping Turtle, where the action happens. When I asked about his career highlights, or proudest moments, Takashi had too many to name. What started as an afterschool job has proved to be as smooth sailing and marvelous as the Hollywood stories the future chef was once so intrigued by. In 2003, he received the "Best Chef in the Midwest" award from the James Beard Foundation. In fact, just two hours before our interview, Takashi received his fifth Michelin star, a coveted award given by the French company, Michelin, for more than one hundred years. "I know that college students have a lot of study to do and not much time, you need cooking to be easy. But when you have a day off, instead of going for fast food, find a local market. Get some fresh ingredients and make a simple salad," Takashi says to college students struggling with the challenge of eating well. "Ithas been amazing," Takashi says of his career, walkingup the stairs of, his Chicago Slurping Turtle in order to better hear me on our telephone call. His love and dedication to his work, which he treats as an art, shines through in his words, and evidently, in his food. This is a man you can count on totake the extrastep: "If you stop by the restaurant, please be sure to give me a call on this number and I'll make sure to give you something extra. We'd love to have you." Chances are, they would love to have you too. WE'VE SEEN YOU BOOKWORMS OUT THERE. SO CRAWL ON OVER TO DAILY ARTS AND WRITE A BOOK REVIEW E-MAIL AKSE@UMICH.EDU FOR AN APPLICATION Moment of Opportunity: Reducing Health Disparities and Advancing Health Equity TV TRAILER REVIEW J. Nadine Gracia, M.D., M.S.C.E. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health U.S. Department of Health and Human Services "Girls"has officially set the date (Jan.11, 9p.m.)givingus just over two months to obsess over the recently released trailer for season four. Hannah 'GirIs' is back inthe Midwest at Returns the presti- Jan.11 gious Iowa City Writer's Workshop, and strug- gling to maintain any fictive distance ("The main character is agirl with a lot of tattoos named Anna"), but she's always had boundary issues so what would we expect?And where Hannah goes, Eli follows in well-tailored shorts, includingto what looks like a frat version of season two's "I Love It" night out, except with paint wrestling instead of iPad DJ's (this is Iowa). Shoshannahas a cute new bob (actually I counted atleast five 1 Reservations required: http://chear.org/meister-lecture Sponsored by The Child Health Evaluation and Research (CHEAR) Unit, a collaboration of the Schools of Business, Dentistry, Information, Law, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Public Health, Public Policy and Social Work in the trailer, clearly "Girls"is gettingwiththe Lobtrend post- mortem) but post-grad corporate life is cramping her style. This is ridiculous because if there is a character made forthe peplum- friendly world of office fashion and all things jewel-toned, it's her (love ya, Shosh). Adamis taking the reverse Charlie trajectory and becoming less attractive in relationto his increasing douchiness and also doing some much needed soul searching. The most importantaya- huascalifestyle muse/trust fund boheme/stick-and-pokehobbyist of ourtime isthe same, by which I mean Jessa's absent from most of the trailer,notably showing up to slap Hannah while wear- ing another cool lingerie romper thing that Free People will prob- ably sell now. Marnie is Marnie, blah, and still doing the indie-folkthing, but she does givethe bestline of the trailer ("Just so you know this is not one of your mostconvinc- ing fake showers"). - CATHERINE SULPIZIO 0 f ~1 I