Only a fool would snub A2 Pub Grub
Most often, students go to bars near campus only after
10 p.m. for alcohol. The popular image of bar food is
"drunk food" - that is, food only edible after midnight
while experiencing a good buzz.
But bar food in Ann Arbor can actually be quite good
for any meal, including our favorite - lunch.
And bar food has a long tradition. It was brought to
America by English colonialists who called it "Pub.Grub,"
a staple of the English diet almost as important as tea and
crumpets. The most popular lunch in the U.K. is the
"ploughman's lunch," a plate of cheese, bread, pickled
onions, chutney, and a tomato or two.
Americans are lucky to be spared from this menu.
Charley's
Since we go to Charley's about as often as you'll find
someone wearing a book bag over both shoulders, we were
curious as to what we would find. Surprisingly, we found
Charley's - located on the corner of Church and South
University - to be coping very well with the departure of
Super-Manager D.J. Resch (for an objective, well-balanced
portrait of Resch, see Mike Gill's column in the March 4
SportsMonday).
Lunching at Charley's has its advantages: you can find a
seat, you can hear the TV set, and you can feel at ease
even if you haven't known all the other patrons since your
childhood days at sleep-away camp.
Of local bars, Charley's serves the best lunch. We found
a surprisingly vast and varied menu. Instead of goldfish
and pretzel nuggets, we found chipatis and Mexican food.
While word-of-mouth says the chipati ($2.60 Mon.-
Thurs. afternoons) doesn't compare to Pizza Bob's
legendary edition, we found that it more than holds its
weight in lettuce. All the other selections are excellent,
including the Mexican bill of fajitas, beef, bean, or chicken
enchiladas ($3.15), and burritos ($3.50). Sandwiches,
ranging from $3.50 to $4.85, include a reuben, a Georgia
reuben, a turkey club and a BLT, and are served with
potato chips. The Chicken St. Croix, a tender, grilled
breast of chicken with bacon, cheddar, lettuce, tomato and
barbecue sauce on an onion roll,is a palate pleaser.
Interesting burgers are offered, such as the pepper
steak, a 1/3 pounder with bacon, scallions, and crushed
black pepper with provolone cheese. But the best deal
may be the "Full Pounder" - a 1/2 pound burger with
fries for just $3.65. Just one question: if it's only a 1/2
pound piece of meat, why do they call it the "Full
Pounder?"
The taco salad ($4.95) is excellent - a veritable garden
of lettuce sitting atop r
a thick pastry shell.
The serving of meat N O A H F I N K E L
was generous as was E R IC O L E M 0N T
the assorted OUT TO
vegetables. LUNCH
Accompanying the
greens was what FOODOCONNOISSEURS
Charley's calls a A T L A R G E.
"taco" sauce, butv
which, in reality, is
French dressing. A u
chipati-type sauce
would have been Be back in
better, but our server 15 minutess
said Charley's policy
prohibited such a'
substitution. _
O' Sullivan' s
As a bar, O'Sullivan's - located on South University
just down the street from Charley's - does everything it
can to recreate the Irish pub atmosphere. And why not?
Irish pubs are second only to German beer gardens as the
world's leading drinking establishments.
Its name begins with an "0'," the wait staff dons green
uniforms adorned with four-leaf clovers, and the decor has
a decidedly Gaelic flavor. And, of course, O'Sullivan's
serves that thick, black and wonderful Guinness stout.
Thankfully, O'Sullivan's does not try to replicate
traditional Irish fare such as wholemeal bread, porridge,
potatoes, milk, and fish. As the authoritative budget travel
guide Let's Go Europe says, "Irish food has a terrible
reputation and it is utterly deserved."
O'Sullivan's fare fares average on the Palate-O-Meter.
But then again, it just might be impossible to make a
decent Tipperary or Cork sandwich.
Lunch offerings include omelettes for $3.45 to $3.95,
sundry 1/2-pound burgers ranging from $4.50 to $5.65
(among the more interesting burgers: the O'Brian with
lettuce, tomato, onion, mushrooms, bacon, Swiss and
cheddar, and the Brendan with grilled pineapples, bacon
and cucumber dressing), and various sandwiches.
While the burgers have a tendency to be overcooked
and certain sandwiches might possess what can be called a
"muted flavor," you won't come away dissatisfied.
For those of Stucchian descent, O'Sullivan's offers its
infamous Leprechaun Combinations - and they're not
just for St. Patrick's Day anymore. Soup and bread, or a 1/2
sandwich with soup or salad,'is available for $4.25.
The potato broccoli soup we sampled had chunks of
redskin potatoes and was well-stocked with broccoli.
The chili, while thick and rich, was too tomato-based.
The Tipperary, a steak and cheese sandwich, didn't
approach its East Coast counterpart - the Philadelphia
cheesesteak.
With all sandwiches, fries are only an extra $.50, onion
rings an additional $.75, and tossed salad or "cup o' soup" a
dollar.
Ashley's
While O'Sullivan's tries to imitate an Irish pub,
Ashley's attempts to replicate its English counterpart. In
some ways, it succeeds.
First, Ashley's - on State near William - serves some
English ales found at few other Ann Arbor bars.
Second, Ashley's food falls short of splendiferous. As all
who have travelled to England know, one should avoid
English food. It is unimaginative, usually just fair in
quality, and lacking in zest. Ashley's manages to retain this
English tradition.
Finally, Ashley's has this all for London prices. For
example, pitchers of beer begin at $5.75 and go up to $10.
The food is slightly less. A cup of chili is $2.75 and a bowl
$4.25. Nachos deluxe are $6.75, and chips and salsa a
whopping $3.50.
At 1/3 of a pound, burgers cost $5.25 and up. It is
however, flame-broiled, juicy, served on a french roll, and
quite good.
Similarly, the Yardbird was also overpriced at $6.50, but
was a good marinated and charbroiled chicken breast with
honey mustard, romaine lettuce, cheese, bacon, and
tomato, on a french roll.
Other sandwiches include a Philly steak sandwich, a
reuben and Georgia reuben, and a disappointing French
Dip with Swiss cheese.
signed their letter of intent as high
school seniors, they were
guaranteed to be on the team.
There were not going to be any
guarantees under Berenson.
Playing for Michigan was a
privilege, and one had to earn it.
In the process of cutting the
veterans, Berenson made a lasting
impression on his assistant, but
in a different way.
"A lot of people were talking
about how he cut those guys,"
-Miller said. "But he never took
away any of their scholarships.
He was very tough about that. A
lot of schools, when they change
coaches, the new guy will get rid
of some players, but he'll send
them home. Red refused to do
that.
"I knew right then that he was
a class act all the way."
Changes in attitude and
philosophy can only carry a team
so far, then the pressure to obtain
some talent arrives. While most
coaches view recruiting as a
chore, Berenson saw it as an
escape from having to endure the
endless string of losses. In his
young recruits, he envisioned the
program which he wanted to
build.
Recruiting is a process in
which the rich get richer, and the
poor get poorer. It's not difficult
to persuade a high school star to
visit a top-ranked school that gets
plenty of exposure. However,
after consecutive last-place
finishes, the process grows more
difficult. The toughest part is
getting started.
For Berenson, the quest for
respectability began with the
signings of Myles O'Connor and
Todd Brost, but for the program
in general, it may have started a
year earlier.
"I think Jeff Norton was an
important recruit for us," said
Miller, who, through endless
recruiting trips, was
instrumental in the signing of all
three recruits. "Norton gave us
some national exposure in hockey
circles. He gave us credibility in
the East, where there are a lot of
other good programs. You can
still see that today, with players
like David Roberts (from
Connecticut)."
Norton was already in his first
year when Berenson took over,
making Brost and O'Connor his
first real coups.
"They were the right kind of
kids," Berenson said. "They
related to what I was saying.
They knew this was a top school
and that we were going to make
this a top program and that they
would have a hand in it."
Another fact that made the
recruiting process difficult was
that Berenson would not take any
short cuts by signing players who
viewed college as merely the
training ground for the pros. He
believed in the college half of-
college hockey.
"I'd tell a kid, 'If you just
want to play pro, don't come
here. If you want to graduate,
that's what Michigan is all
about,"' he said. "I'm not
spending my time at Michigan to
babysit a kid for two years and
then watch him turn pro."
In an incident most Michigan
hockey officials would like to
forget, four players were charged
with sexual harassment of two
female students in the Diag. The
event affected team unity and
tarnished the reputation of all
team members on campus.
"When you're an athlete, you're
visible. I've tried to give our kids
good direction. We've had very
little trouble with our players."
Michigan has managed to put
those problems behind them, and
this season's success has played a
big part in it.
Recruits now beg Berenson to
take a chance on them, rather
than the other way around. Fans
have to come early to sit in choice
seats in Yost Arena. No one on the
current team will be satisfied
with anything less than a
championship program.
"We expect to win now,"
current co-captain David
Harlock said. "1 take a lot of pride
in wearing that 'M' on my
uniform. It feels good to represent
a school like Michigan."
The Wolverines finished
second in a season-long battle
with Lake Superior State for the
CCHA championship. Michigan
also came up just short of
winning the playoff
championship, as the Lakers
aga
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JOSE JUAREZ/Weekend
Mount Clemens' Denny Felsner has helped lead the Michigan hockey
resurrection, which has seen steady improvement in each of Red's years.
A New Ecological Order
The talks are over. Two sides,
long pitted against each other in
moral rhetoric and mortal battle,
have made their peace. An
agreement has been reached.
Rebuilding is about to begin.
I'm not talking about Iraq. I'm
talking about the tropical
rainforests.
While you were watching
reporters pretending to be
soldiers and generals pretending
WALKER to be reporters, high-level
corporate and environmentalist
leaders hammered out a compromise that will determine
the fate of what many have termed "the lungs of the
world." And that compromise is stunning in both its
simplicity and its scope.
The rainforests will be removed and replaced by a
global network of environmentalist theme parks, modelled
after Disney World, but, in the words of park advocate
Ralph Nader, "with a more progressive, less materialist
and acquisitive message." The corporations that have used
the forests, the governments that have urged them on, and
many major environmentalist groups all stand to receive
hefty UN subsidies for their part in the new endeavor,
while the indigenous people of the former forests are to be
hired to work in the parks' hamburger concession stands.
And what parks they will be! Just look at the designs of
the first park, planned for Brazil. In the center, an
enormous, donut-shaped amphitheater (the "0-Zone")
ready for Grateful Dead concerts or any other show that
the parks' owners may wish to sponsor. Outside that, a ring
of greenhouses, so that people might wander through them
and "feel the effect." And beyond those, rides galore! Be
propelled soundlessly by the roller-coaster "Silent Spring."
Explode with delight riding the "Population Bomb." And
look out! You just might fall off this ride, because it's
"Unsafe At Any Speed."
"I think it's a wonderful idea," says park supporter
Jeremy Rifkin. "At a time when the world seems
overtaken by ungodly science, something like this comes
along to show that there still is hope for this sick
civilization. The fact that the parks are government-
funded is also important, as it indicates a growing
willingness on the part of the State to intervene on behalf
of the ecosystem."
Rifkin's fellow environmentalist Paul Ehrlich isn't as
optimistic, however. "Sure, the parks are a good idea," he
says, "but it's too little, too late. Construction won't be
completed for at least a decade, and the oceans are slated
to dry up five days from now. All we really can hope for is to
be saved in the Rapture."
But whether or not hope is justified, most people in
government are happy to see all the parties involved
recognizing their common interests. As one senior EPA
official put it, "Environmentalists are getting state
intervention on their behalf. Corporations are getting more
subsidies. Sure, the environment might deteriorate more,
and sure,rthe corporations won't have to meet any actual
consumer demand to make their profit, but that just helps
us justify still more intervention and subsidies. Not to
mention" - and here he puffed up his chest with pride -
"a greater role for the EPA." And indeed, the EPA already
has a new international affairs desk, so that foreign
ecological problems deemed crises can provoke
intervention, military or otherwise, from the United States
government.
And as the Yanamano Indians are moved into newly-
built public housing and given low-wage jobs, many feel
that hope for these backward primitives may have come at
last. In the words of one Brazilian leader, "These people
lived in the jungle for centuries. Now, at last, they are
being forced to take some responsibility for their lives." A
leader of the AFL-CIO agrees. "They thought that just
because they lived in the forest, it was theirs," he recalls.
"Now, they have something that is truly theirs. A union."
Many activists have left the ecology movement since
the plans began, implying that all is not well on at least
one side of the ledger. But, as one Sierra Club official put
it, "When Washington wants to talk to environmentalists,
they talk to us. Not the people on the street, but the
people who lobby. And we like this idea. For too long, we
have acted as though the only options for the government
were to own everything and keep it pristine, or to own
everything and give it up for commercial exploitation.
Now we know that it can own everything and do both.
What better world could one wish for?"
Part of what has kept the
Michigan players in school may
be the messages they have heard
from their coaches.
"More than anything, I think
our players realized that there
was life outside of hockey,"
Miller said. "We would tell them
that they weren't ready to play
pro hockey yet, and I think they
knew we were right."
While the University has a lot
to offer, it can also be quite
overwhelming to an 18-year-old
rookie. During his first year,
O'Connor was experiencing some
academic problems, which he
brought to Berenson.
"The best thing he said to me
one day was - and remember,
Myles was the top student in his
high school -'Everyone here is
so smart,"' Berenson recalled.
"I told him, 'You couldn't
have said anything better about
Michigan. This is where you
belong.' I remember feeling the
same way when I was a
freshman."
However, the program
underwent more disturbing
growing pains than O'Connor's
classroom difficulties. During the
1988-89 season, just as the team
was changing its image on the ice,
a severe blow was dealt to its off-
ice credibility.
Further adding to the turmoil,
one of the players who was
involved in the Diag incident,
Todd Copeland, was accused of
throwing a brick through a
window of the Kappa Kappa
Gamma sorority house last
season.
"You hate to see things like
that happen," Berenson said.
-CHEFJ
26 years of expe
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March:15, 1991
WEEl N,
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