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Monday, August 2, 2010
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Vegging out @burger

A2's newest burger
joint is forbidden fruit
for vegetarians
By EMMA JESZKE
Managing Arts Editor
Veggies ... beware.
East Liberty Street's latest
lovechild, @burger, is kind of like the
Noodles & Co. of burgers - order at
the counter, deliver to the table, no
tipping, etc. - but the comparison
stops there. With a menu extremely
inaccessible to the iron-deprived, you
wouldn't even know that any of its
beef-on-bacon burgers could be made
vegetarian.
They can, though - but in truth,
that's nothing to write home about.
Unless, of course, you're writing
home to tell your loved ones good-
bye, because there's no way you'll live
through the incessant stomach pain
induced by @burger's poor excuse for
a veggie burger. (But, then again, will-
ingly eating at a restaurant opened by
former owners of Big Boy is probably
asking for it.)
Cooks at @burger should make
sure all vegetarian patties are kept
away from the sizzling cow juice on
the grill - even small amounts of
unfamiliar meat product ina vegetar-
ian's body can throw their system out
of whack for days.
Aside from the actual eating part,
though, @burger isn't so bad. Despite
a serious identity crisis in the vibe
of the restaurant - it's struggling
between being a pseudo-sports bar
with a 4:1 ratio of plasma TVs to walls
and another hipster hangout with
minimalist design and modern, angu-

lar furniture - the overall @burger
dining experience is rather pleasant.
The waitstaff is extremely attentive
and friendly and the men in charge
are accessible and eager for feedback.
The place is Stepford-wife clean, and
they cook their fresh potato chips in
non-hydrogenated oil.
If @burger is doing anything, it's
standing up against traditional A2
burger culture: You don't leave feel-
ing like you need to take a shower and
don't need to undergo harassment for
your meat-free treat.

Unfortunately, though, these
minor details don't have a prayer of
winning over your average veg-head.
With places like Seva (portabella and
tempeh options) and Sava's (black
bean and lentil options) just a spit
away, an over-processed Morning-
star patty on a fancy bun isn't enough
to cajole the veggie masses to dine
with @burger.
Needless to say, @burger is going to
have to make some adjustments if it is
aiming to please the soy-hugging hip-
pie crowd of the Arbs.

G N T E TM
GETTING TO THE MEAT OF THE MATTER ...

KIDS
From Page 9
anearly'90s film addressingthe iden-
tity crises of marriage dissolution.
There's something decidedly raw
and familiar about the emotions
revealed toward the second half of
the film, with the very real threat of
neglect and divorce looming in the
distance. In this way, "Kids" becomes
much more relatable than your typi-
cal quirky-family comedy. The film
doesn't scream about its sexuality - it
simplytakes it as fact. The film indus-
try has been slow to embrace the
concept of a nuclear family beyond
the whole heterosexual picket fence
thing, so it's refreshing that "Kids"
can be so daring yet conventional at
the same time.
Yet herein may lie the problem.
While the script is stunning, tossing
off well-thrusted barbs like a skilled
javelin thrower, it can get a bit sketch-
oriented and comedic. Yet once trag-
edy hits the family, something goes a
little off - it's like the mood doesn't
know where it wants to be. The best
genre to place "Kids" in would prob-
ably be tragicomedy, but Cholodenko
has a problem with transitioning
from the tragic to the comic. There
are some really huge misfortunes
that befall this close-knit family, but
WAVVES
From Page 9
haze, King has a distinctive, most-
ly fuzz-free sound that veers the
Wavves project in a new direction.
This time around, Williams's voice
is actually discernible (and uncan-
nily reminiscent of Blink 182's Tom
DeLonge) amidst the synth clutter.
He's distinctively less morose, too.
If Wavvves represented Williams
at his most despondent and with-

@burger is somewhat more accept-
able for non-vegetarians. Each of the
aspiring franchise's eight "soon to be
famous" burger basics can be made
with patties of beef, chicken or veg-
etables (although the veggie option is
hard to locate on the menu).
The beef-pattied Southwest Jack
burger oozed with enough homemade
guacamole to satisfy the entire Ari-
zonaborderpatrol, andthejackcheese
was satisfyingly melted into the meat.
The beef itself was tolerable if some-
what dry - the ample do-it-yourself
sauce bottles on the tables sort of made
up for that.

Other burger options include the
classy basil-mozzarella-pesto-tomato
Caprese, the intriguing Savory Garlic
Mushroom and Swiss and the Trash
Can - a veritable festival of ingredi-
ents including fried egg and banana
peppers.
@burger's meat is nothing spe-
cial - what gives the joint hope is the
creative eclecticism of its menu and
its cook staff's willingness to change.
With a bit more direction, @burger
has the potential to fill Ann Arbor's
burger niche -nthough granted, it's not
the emptiest of niches at the moment.
SHARON JACOBS

it takes the audience a little time to
readjust from the jibes in order to
realize the true emotional gravity of
the characters' decisions.
Acting highlights include the ever-
radiant Moore ("A Single Man") and
Bening ("The Women"), as well as
Mia Wasikowska ("Alice in Won-
derland"), who plays their teenage
daughter Joni, but really - the entire
cast is brilliant. Mark Ruffalo ("Shut-
ter Island") is wonderfully rough as
the "I just live my life, you know?"
sperm donor Paul. Josh Hutcherson
("Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's
Assistant") is vulnerable and con-
fused as their younger son Laser.
Cholodenko has a knack for pulling
out genuine performances out of her
actors, and yougetthe sensethat all of
them are not playing types but actual,
three-dimensional people. Also, fans
of the reality show "America's Next
Top Model" will be surprised to see
cycle three runner-up YaYa Dacosta
make a brief cameo as Paul's young
and leggy love interest.
Although several of its turns might
come off as erratic, "The Kids Are All
Right" is a charming piece of cinema
with some real emotional meat to it.
Boasting stellar performances from
each of its characters, major or oth-
erwise, the film quashes whatever
expectations you might've had from it#
by giving you a little something extra.
drawn, then King shows his sun-
nier, extroverted side. Instead of
lamenting the goth scene and his@
lack of future prospects like in pre-
vious records - "Got no car, got no
money" - Williams takes on a more
blatantly sarcastic tone, even during
his favorite, oft-mentioned topic of
self-reproach.
On"GreenEyes," (essentially alove
ballad, in the style of Wavves, any-
way) Williams claims that all of his
friends hate his guts. He's obviously
kidding, as the sentiment is accompa-
nied by an extremelyup-tempo guitar
riff and drum beats. Introspection is
definitely not a key trait of Williams,
who seems to have a predilection for
taking it easy (via copious 420 refer-
ences, Garfield memorabilia, et al).
This is not to say that everything
about Wavves has changed. Wil-
liams's impishness remains inher*
ent throughout the record. The lead
track, "Post-Acid" features his sig-
nature snide snarls. He's "just having
fun with you," though. No worries.
Worrying is not something in Wil-
liams's vernacular, anyhow.
Williams's laissez-faire attitude
has served him well - musically,
at least. And while his personal life
has definitely had its ups and downs
(often documented in the lyrics of his
songs), they sure make for one hell of
a summer album.

.--
r '


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