Eating Chinese in the Year of the Lamb Nominated for Five Doodys! As intellectually active and probing as this campus is, certain questions linger just below the surface of everyday conversation. Questions that have plagued local thinkers for generations. Questions such as: Why is the sky always gray? Why must students pack their notebooks with two minutes left in class? Why don't professors yell at these people? Why is that concrete divider/ "thing" on the comer of South Forest and Hill? Why ask why? Why doesn't somebody, anybody, make a xerox copy of the closed course list in Angell Hall and put it on the opposite wall? Why does it take such a long climb to reach the second floor of the MLB? Why can't Ann Arbor's Chinese restaurants serve hard noodles and a good duck sauce with their meal! To tell the truth, we have a lot of questions about local Chinese restaurants. Soup broths are universally tepid (not to mention Udct Action Sports Wbr TEAM HEADQUARTERS for ALL SPORTS SCREENING NUMBERING 419 E. Liberty 2 BLKS OFF STATE 663-6771 bland, vapid and insipid), egg rolls are most often served sans shrimp, and fortune cookies aren't always a given. But, we're lunchers, and as such will limit our concerns to meals served at the noon hour. We'll take a look at China Gate, Asia Garden, and the Great Wall. All three serve traditional Americanized Chinese food. They're decent restaurants that because of their locations are logical places for lunch - at least some of them are. All three serve moderately priced lunch specials which usually consist of an egg roll, fried rice, choice of soup, and an entr6e. China Gate When we first arrived on campus years ago, we were told China Gate -located on the corner of South University and Church - was the place to go for Chinese food. After all, what other establishment can boast of the critically acclaimed Chef Jan? Excuse us, the "award winning" Chef Jan, that is. The phrase "award winning" must be attached to Chef Jan as often as "aspiring law student" is to a political science major. Not only did China Gate's billboard tell us it was good, so did friends and acquaintances. But then the roof fell in - literally and figuratively. On that fateful night of April 3, 1989 jubilant Michigan faithful reveling in the Wolverines' NCAA basketball championship victory unwittingly collapsed China Gate's awning. The damage was not limited to China Gate's structure: the food quality has been suspect ever since. Those who have accompanied us on our dining excursions have also commented on the decline of China Gate. Yet in 1990, Ann Arbor News readers voted China Gate the town's best Chinese restaurant while readers of the Daily tabbed it the top Oriental restaurant. Perhaps these readers were voting based on reputation. While its food .. . .. . .* .*. : i.* . .... ....* .. .. ...... NOAH F I N K E L ERIC*L EM ONT OUT TO LUNH FOOD'CONNOISSEURS A T" L A R G E Eli ..................................... .......................... Be back in 15 minutes :". , a:": : " doesn't serve the whole "special." It serves the egg roll and fried rice, but spares you the soup - which can be purchased for an extra 75 cents or a dollar. And its entr6e portions are slightly smaller than its competitors'. As for the entr6es, Asia Garden offers a variety of 17, including almond chicken, beef with broccoli and barbecue sauce, and many spicy shrimp dishes. Palate pleasers include chicken with vegetables, shrimp with ginger and garlic sauce, and chicken with hot peppers and peanuts. Great Wall From a distance, Great Wall seems to be your typical Chinese restaurant -red and black decor, Chinese zodiac place mats, and plenty of water refills. Upon a closer look, Great Wall is still your typical Chinese restaurant. But a good one at that. For the luncher, Great Wall offers the most Moo Goo Gai Pan for your buck. The lunch specials are cheap, varied, and served until 4 p.m. The strength of Great Wall lies in its vegetables. They're garden fresh, generously cut and extremely flavorful. These vegetables accompany some of the most tasty and spicy Chinese dishes offered on campus. For lunch special selection there are 22 dishes, compared to the ten served at China Gate and the 17 at Asia Garden. All range in price from $4.25 to $6.25 and come with fried rice, egg roll and choice of won ton or egg drop soup. The Szechuan Spicy Chicken we sampled - white meat chicken with a full spectrum of Chinese vegetables - came in a brown sauce that seems topopup on many of the Szechuan entrees. It's not necessarily good or bad. It's just omnipresent. The Moo Shu Chicken served with plum sauce was another palate pleaser. The fried rice was fried rice but not as greasy as its competitors'. Editor's Note: Remember, it's the Year of the Lamb. Try not to keep writing Year ofthe Dog on your checks. Activism at Michigan is probably at its highest point in years. In fact, campus activism has received so much news coverage lately that the city has recently reserved parking on State Street exclusively for Bill Bonds' news van. So it seems appropriate that at the height of the Grammy and Academy awards season that these proud members of the University CH AC community also receive awards, named after the founder and idol of Michigan activism. So, without any further ado, I offer the nominations for the James J. Duderstadt Awards for Activism Excellence, more commonly known as the Doody Awards. Best Protest Slogan Q "No Guns, No Cops, No Code," MSA Students' Rights Commission -This slogan caught on so strongly that the Dude himself sent letters to all our mommies and daddies dissecting the slogan and attacking it. Q "No Blood for Oil," SAUSI - One of the more popular slogans of these times referring, of course, to the covert sale of crude oil to the University chapter of Alpha Phi Omega in a pint-for-pint exchange with blood donated during the UM-OSU Blood Battle this fall, resulting in our embarrassing defeat to the Buckeyes. Needless to say, this slogan did not encompass all of the anti-war feeling, resulting in the alternate slogan, which was... Q "Defend Iraq," Revolutionary Workers League Q "Support Our Soldiers," a group of the same name. The remarkable thing about this slogan is that both stances on the war claim to agree with this slogan. Yet they both argue that their opponents don't support our soldiers. In fact, this slogan has the same double meaning as our final nominee: Q "No More Vietnams" Most Hated Administrator Q Regent Deane Baker - This man seems to get into more hot water every time he opens his mouth. He has made so many derogatory comments towards homosexuals that he has probably violated the University's own interim anti-discriminatory harassment policy. Many activists have already asked for his resignation, but he's scheduled to stick around for another five years. Q Nancy McGlothlin - Despite working for The Michigan Daily for the last two months, I have never met this woman. Yet she is the woman who has single- handedly undermined the Daily's "100 years of Editorial Freedom." I can't wait to meet her, but I don't know whether or not to expect fangs. Q Mary Ann Swain - The Interim VP for Student Services has been the "fall gal" for most of the unpopular administrative decisions, including deputization, Union events policies, and cancelling "Twin Peaks." She is now rumored to be running for MSA president. IJ James Duderstadt - How could we forget this crowd favorite? The Dude has been blamed for everything from the war to harassment of women to bad haircuts. During the deputization protests, Camp Duderstadt became a favorite hangout spot for activists. Q George Bush - Teach-in organizers still haven't found a conclusive link between George and this University, but needless to say, they are still looking. To most of the activist community, the mention of George Bush's name gets a similar reaction to that of Adolf Hitler and Haman. Favorite Blanket Organization Q Inter-Fraternity Council (IFC) - Responsible for coordinating approximately 40 different fraternities on campus. U University Activities Council (UAC) - Responsible for organizing approximately 20 different entertainment events on campus. Q Revolutionary Workers League (RWL) - Responsibl~or infiltrating a p liberal groups on campus. Most Hated MS Q Jennifer Van Valey, Cui war. Anti-deputization. Anti-a male. Hasn't been pro-anythii Administration. Q Aaron Williams, ex-MS Conservative Coalition - His oppression" are a fashion hit i Banned for running in the fall technicality that he was not a Q Michelle Putnam --Tl election was a year and a half director still seems to be a poj woes. Q Corey Dolgon - This 1 movement on campus has be< call waiting, and many conser annoying. But put a guitar in ] animal. Q Jamie Green and Angie These presidential candidate, now, but you can be sure that improve in three weeks. In the spirit of activism an( choose the winners and will al awards in two weeks. In the n can be used for promotional s( Revolutionary Workers Leagu Doodys)." To vote for the Doodys, sr selections checked off or writ( turn them into Weekend in th Building on Maynard by Wed recognize me by my cheesy p directly to me. If you are one away their time on MTS, you the THE MICHIGAN DAILY. Of course, if you don't beli if you have better things to dc important awards, I'll put the balloons and see which ones t first. Good luck to all nomine( is pretty good, its service quick, and its portions large, there are better places to go for a Chinese lunch. First, China Gate's lunch specials are expensive. The "special" runs $6.45 for soup, egg roll, fried rice, and a choice of entr6e. But it's special, mind you. Second, the lunch menu is limited because only ten choices are offered. Among them are sweet and sour chicken or pork, almond boneless chicken, pepper steak, chow mein, mushroom chicken, Kung-Pao shrimp, Yu-Shan pork, triple delight, and shrimp with vegetables. Only the Kung-Pao shrimp and Yu-Shan pork are served spicy. While served in decent-sized portions, the food, especially the entrees, lacked zest. Even the nominally spicy ones, such as Triple Delight - chicken, pork and shrimp served with brown sauce - had muted flavoring. Another dish, chicken with cashews, could easily be served with flavor, but it too was lacking. The sweet and sour chicken was well flavored, but its pieces were so small that some consisted of breading only. Asia Garden Located on Packard near State Street next to Blue Front, Asia Garden may be a bit too much of a hike for some. But for those who don't have an appetite hearty enough for the large (and consequently sometimes expensive) lunches at other local Chinese restaurants, Asia Garden may be ideal. Asia Garden is, in a word, cheap. The specials range from $4.50 to $5.95. But almost all save shrimp dishes can be bought with less than a five-spot. The catch is that Asia Garden Eln sh Class Adopts Some Soldiers PLAY IT AGAIN RECORDS, TAPES, CDs "The most New Wavest store around" Continued from page 4 The usual pangs felt while missing loved ones were replaced with a tense worry bordering on despair. "We didn't know where he was for a while. Then we found out he was in the Northern Gulf," Anderson explained. "Families aren't ready, and there aren't projection days for when they're coming back. That's a much greater stress on the family - especially the kids." It's not only kids who suffer from heartache, however - a common refrain proclaims, 'Navy wife. It's the toughest job in the 611 S. Forest Ann Arbor 747-6026 - p S i world.' This time the job is even more arduous than usual. "My mom's always in a bad mood. The house is doing fine, but we need my father there to make sure everything is secure," commented Roxanne Basilio, 16, whose father left Aug. 18 aboard the USS Nassau. "My mom is all nervous. She sort of takes it out on us while he's gone," remarked Chivaz Zaporteza, 17, whose father left Jan. 21 to join the USS Nimitz. He understands the cause of his mother's behavior, "That's why I don't give her any talk back." Anna Vigilante, whose father is also in the Gulf, said her mother attempts to dismiss the situation. "When you bring it up, this look comes on her face, like 'What's going to happen?' but she tries to act like it doesn't phase her," she said. Families are glued to the news in order to capture the latest information. Anderson commented that his family is constantly listening to CNN "every hour on the hour." To handle the emotional strain, support groups have flourished in the area. Besides the seven special Mid-East Deployment Support Please see page 10 As students packed for Spring Break, the United States prepared for what Saddam Hussein termed "The mother of all battles." As George Bush set a noon Saturday deadline for Operation Desert S.Storm's ground war to begin, the ..nation braced for a long, bloody, s deadly fight. Instead, students returned to Ann Arbor tanned, fresh, and xxliving in a world of peace. While America celebrated Stormin' Norman and his troops' stunningly decisive and swift victory, one University class, Professor Karis Crawford's English 329, fidgeted with some worry. Not only did they have to worry about peeling skin (yes, a problem to some), but also what they would do for the remainder of the semester. You see, the class had centered the semester around helping the troops in Saudi Arabia. Each semester, members of the class decide upon a corporate project which will aid society. You may remember reading about last semester's class creating the newspaper titled The Homefront, which was sent to troops before Shield turned to Storm. This semester, Crawford's class created a spin-off of the idea, entitled Operation Desert Morale. It adopted the 1461 st Transportation Company, stationed in nearby Jackson. Crawford's self-run class began a letter-writing campaign, including soliciting letters from school children, creating care packages, and videotaping TV shows and sports. The class plans to create a videotape of the troops' families and friends for shipment to the desert. The process is quite complicated, with the class divided into four large groups, consisting of public relations, fundraising, research, and video. Much out of class work takes place. The students prepared fliers, for example, to help solicit money from corporations and local businesses. Then came the Mother of All Battles, the ground war, which quickly became a cooked mother goose for Saddam and his beleaguered fighters. For a while, it looked like the only lesson the class could take from this experience was, "Things change." Plans appeared to go right out the window. After all, these people would soon be home and there would be no need for the work of English 329. Sadly, that's not true. Being a transportation company, the adopted group from Jackson will not be leaving the Saudi sand. Instead, they will sit and endure, working menial tasks, completing the odd tasks and missions left undone. They'll probably miss some parades, questioning their purpose with the war now over. Sit and Wait. Sit and Wait. And the temperature will rise as summer approaches. They will sleep in the desert with their mission already accomplished. Home and loved ones are still miles - and seas - away. There still is a need for support. There will be soldiers still stationed in Saudi Arabia long after most of the yellow ribbon, There will still be troops statio brought out only for special occ the Fourth of July. To quote the already overu quote, this group is preparing I mother of complete boredom.' English 329 has not died an forging ahead, to use a Bush ph effectively, leaving no stone un Ann Arbor establishments a patriotic support cannot die wi They are asked to give more si the window that many current The class will travel on Sati mall to videotape families and their messages and love overse There will be blowpop cand On Tuesday and Wednesda students will be accosted for ft. campus fundraiser - a bucket skip class And don't reroute yo Remember, these people h with a culture and lifestyle fore consists of putting on fatigues v soaking rays. They have put th They have lived without th issue. They have lived without And yes, they've even gone wi cherishes - beer. The fighting might be over to forget them. Y AII l ii l I I I IIIYi March 8, 1991 WEEKEND Page 8 Page 5 WEEKEND Ma: