2B — Thursday, January 14, 2016
the b-side
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Looking at the Ann Arbor 

Restaurant 
Week 
website, 

it doesn’t really seem like 
there are many choices. But 
then you realize there are 56 
participating restaurants this 
January, and you do some 
math — in order to attend all 
56, you’d have to eat out 11.2 
times every day, and probably 
spend somewhere in the field of 
$1,300.

Plus tip.
Okay, so you can probably get 

rid of some of them — there’s 
never a reason to go to bd’s 
Mongolian Grill; I have never 
walked by Ama Bistro and seen 
more than one person in the 
restaurant; Neopapalis, what?; 
and if you don’t have a car (or 
friends with cars) that takes 
off 
Bigalora, 
Carlyle 
Grill, 

Carson’s 
American 
Bistro, 

Guy Hollerin’s, Mediterrano, 
Metzger’s German Restaurant, 
Old Carolina Barbeque, Seva 
(although, 
if 
you’re 
vegan, 

I would highly recommend 
checking out Seva when you 
get 
the 
chance), 
Weber’s 

Restaurant and Zola Bistro.

So, what’s left, then? Only 38 

restaurants. That takes it down 
to a manageable 7.6 meals out 
per day. Doable, I’d say.

In all seriousness, I have 

developed three main strategies 
to getting the most out of your 
restaurant 
week: 
high-end, 

dabbling and procrastinator-
ender.

High-end

The most obvious, but also 

probably the most intelligent 
and the best way to really get a 
good value is to use RW to dine 
out at all the notoriously super-
pricey Ann Arbor restaurants 
that you would normally only go 
to for a super special occasion, 
or when your parents come into 
town.

The Earle (classified under 

“T” on the RW website), is one 
such 
place. 
Normally 
their 

entrees 
by 
themselves 
run 

anywhere from $26 to $28, but 
during RW, you can get a three 
course meal for $28. (This is 
the standard pricing for all 
restaurants during the week. 
$15 for lunch and $28 for dinner 
across the board, although 
some restaurants have a two-
for-one deal on this — two for 
$15 or two for $28.)

“We will give you exactly 

the same food,” said Dennis 
Webster, owner of The Earle. 
“We don’t cut down on the 
quality of the food. We don’t 
reduce the portion size. We try 
to be very honest about what it 
is.”

The same goes for Logan, 

practically next door to The 
Earle. Thad Gillies, chef and 
owner, touted his restaurant’s 
dedication to providing both 
quality food and the same 
dining experience one would 
get outside of RW.

Another reason to go high-

end is to experience what the 
food culture has to offer.

“What you’re getting here 

is a chef driven restaurant — a 
partner 
driven 
restaurant,” 

Gillies said. “There’s a lot of 
passion behind what we do. This 
is our little baby. You’re going 
to get a different experience.”

James Wilhelm, Black Pearl 

executive chef, echoed these 
sentiments.

“This place is a lot more 

attainable 
or 
inviting 
than 

people think it is … they get in 
and they realize it’s actually 
worth it,” Wilhelm said. “This 
is the place I can come to and 
know that I’m going to get the 
bang for my buck. I feel like 
that’s what a lot of people worry 
about, that they’re going to go 
to a restaurant, have a bad meal 
and spend a fortune. Nobody 
wants that.”

However, while The Earle 

and Logan keep their dishes 
the same, Black Pearl does alter 
its portion sizes to make up for 
the cost difference. Instead of 
the normal eight-ounce piece 
of meat, Wilhelm said it’s about 
six ounces during RW.

“We’re 
not 
changing 

anything because of Restaurant 
Week,” he said. “Maybe the 
portion size a little bit, but 
other than that, it’s still the 
same piece of fish.”

Pros: You get to try something 

you might not have been able to 
afford otherwise, you get a cool 
experience at a high-end, one-
of-a-kind restaurant and you 
get to dress up.

Cons: You might not be 

getting exactly what you would 
be during a non-RW visit, you’ll 
still probably spend a fortune 
on alcohol and you might have 
to dress up.

Other high-end restaurants 

to try: Aventura, Blue Nile, 
Gratzi, The Chop House (also 
under “T”) and Vinology.

Dabbling

Very different from dabbing, 

the dabbling concept involves 
going 
to 
the 
cheaper 
RW 

restaurants and trying a bunch 
of them. The best way to do 
this is the two-for-one deals, 
leaning toward lunch if you 
can to get the highest value. 
This way, you get to try a bunch 
of new restaurants without 
breaking the bank.

Conor O’Neill’s, for example, 

offers two-for-one pricing on 
both lunch and dinner, but 
their dinner spread includes 
appetizer and dessert samplers, 
where you get three smaller 
portions of each to try. Plus, as 
long as both guests are 21, you 
also get a beer sampler. Thank 
you, Conor’s.

“If you’re hungry, it’s the 

place to come. You get a lot of 
food,” said Micheal Dineen, 
manager and chef at Conor 

O’Neill’s.

With this method, you might 

not get to try the greatest, most 
original Ann Arbor restaurants, 
but there’s still a wide variety 
of Ann Arbor-only restaurants 
to choose from.

While 
not 
every 
RW 

restaurant offers lunch, the 
RW website has a nifty button 
that sorts all the restaurants by 
lunch or two-for-one. So, if you 
don’t want to limit yourself to 
the 24 places that offer two-for-
one deals, you can limit yourself 
to the 40 that offer lunch.

Pros: You get to try a lot of 

places; you can hang out with 
a lot of different friends (or 
Tinder dates) and you’ll spend 
relatively little money.

Cons: 
It 
takes 
a 
pretty 

moderate amount of effort, 
friends (or Tinder dates) can 
be annoying and if you go out 
enough, you can actually end up 
still spending quite a bit.

Other dabbling restaurants 

to try: Blue Tractor, Grizzly 
Peak, Marnee Thai, Sava’s and 
Slurping Turtle.

Procrastinator-ender

Have you always wanted to 

venture to Main Street but were 
too lazy and ended up eating at 
BTB instead? Have you always 
thought it would be cool to eat 
at an Ethiopian restaurant but 
couldn’t find someone to go 
with you to Blue Nile? Have you 
always been curious if you could 
actually get into Heidelberg 
without getting carded but it 
was just too far away? Have you 
heard about the exotic truffle 
fries at Jolly Pumpkin but never 
wanted to pay the extra two 
dollars for them? Hey, it’s RW! 
Here’s your chance.

The 
most 
obscure 
RW 

strategy, procrastinator-ender 
involves using RW as your 
excuse to actually go eat at 
places.

In creating his menu for RW, 

Matthew Morrison, executive 
chef at Jolly Pumpkin, said 
while he did put special items 
on the menu for the occasion, 
Jolly’s menu changes seasonally 
and he wanted to showcase 
that. He also made sure to 
choose some things that are on 
the regular menu and highly 
popular, like truffle fries.

“The most popular things on 

our menu are stuff that people 
already know about … truffle 
fries are like the greatest thing 
since sliced bread,” he said.

Pros: You get out of the 

house, you get to eat something 
besides Jimmy John’s and you 
get a new experience.

Cons: None?
Other 
procrastinator-

ender restaurants to try: BD’s 
Mongolian Grill (just kidding), 
Sava’s (if you’ve never been 
there), The Original Cottage 
Inn and The Ravens Club.

The point is, try RW. There’s 

awesome food, and it doesn’t 
shut down half the streets in 
downtown like Art Fair.

For a full list of restaurants 

participating 
in 
Restaurant 

Week and their menus, visit 
annarborrestaurantweek.com.

RESTAURANT WEEK
From Page 1B

By BAILEY KADIAN

Community Culture Columnist
F

reshman year of high 
school, I felt the urge 
to start playing an 

instrument. I always admired 
people who could play the piano, 
so I decided to take it up and 
hopefully learn a song or two, 
create some sort of relationship 
with the instrument. I was 
hoping it would become a 
close friend, more than just an 
occasional visit.

I 
remember 
my 
living 

room being taken over by a 
huge Steinway piano when 
I was about seven or eight. 
I 
recognized 
it 
from 
my 

grandma’s house and didn’t 
give it much of a thought 
beyond its enormity taking up 
a huge portion of the room. 
Those are my early memories 
of the instrument I had so long 
neglected.

In freshman year, my musical 

theater-obsessed self realized 
that my interest in piano was 
becoming quite serious. It was 
time to start developing my 
skills.

I began learning simply by 

watching others play. I was 
fascinated by what I saw and 
honestly 
regretful 
that 
I’d 

taken so long to recognize such 
amazing talent. Then there I 
was, in my living room, rolling 
out the bench of my piano — in 
time, a place I would visit daily.

My 
observations 
quickly 

led to application. I found 
some of my sister’s old piano 
books, from when she took 

formal lessons (prior to my 
instrumental revelation, so I 
never participated in those) 
and began matching the keys 
to letters, learning how to 
move my fingers to each key. 
I’m forever grateful for the 
patience of my family during 
this experimental stage; I can’t 
imagine anything I was playing 
was pleasant to listen to.

These 
beginner 
lessons 

were followed by hours spent 
watching people on YouTube 
play popular songs and talk 
through tutorials. I ditched 
my beginner piano books for 
my own head and began with 
Adele. Listening to songs on 
the radio encouraged me to go 
home and try to play them. It 
was a mixture of learning the 
notes on paper and playing by 
ear. As I spent months doing 
this, I started to learn a lot 
about myself.

Learning 
an 
instrument 

teaches you much more beyond 
just how to play the instrument 
itself. Music is a form of escape 
and relaxation, and as I learned 
more, I began to notice patterns 
in my own behavior. If there 
was 
something 
I 
couldn’t 

figure out, like how to move 
my fingers from one note to 
the next properly, I would have 
to repeat the process a million 
times until it felt easy. Patience 
was something I had never been 
able to develop in any other part 
of my life, until I was sitting 
there at my piano bench.

I feel like most things I’ve 

ever learned to do in my life 

have been guided by some 
sort of set way of teaching 
and learning. You learn how 
to read through established 
techniques, you learn a new 
language from an instructor in 
an organized fashion. But piano 
was entirely up to me. I had to 
decide what worked best for 
me. Watching, listening, taking 
notes, reading practice books 
— there were so many options, 
and through a series of trial and 
error, I found what worked. If 
I couldn’t figure out a rhythm, 
I would just listen. If I didn’t 
know how to move from one 
note to the next, I would watch. 
I learned to teach myself how to 
teach myself.

Learning 
the 
piano 
also 

broadened the scope of my 
appreciation for art. As a singer, 
I 
always 
focused 
narrowly 

on vocals. I could appreciate 
talented artists, classmates and 
teachers, but piano was always 
something in the background 
— until it became something 
that I was absolutely enthralled 
by. Not only was I aware of the 
talent of singers I listened to, I 
was equally enamored with the 
piano accompanying them.

What I love most about 

this hobby is that it’s a work 
in progress. But so am I. I’m 
constantly 
learning 
more 

about myself, noting what my 
strengths are and what needs 
to improve. Piano is the same 
way. It’s a parallel to my life. It 
takes time to figure out what 
brings the most satisfaction and 
enjoyment. But we’re all aiming 
to get there.

So thank you to my freshman 

year self, who decided it was 
time for a new hobby. The 
benefits continue to reward me.

Kadian is learning “that 

song from BIG.” To give her 

a different suggestion, email 

bkadian@umich.edu. 

COMMUNITY CULTURE COLUMN

Teaching myself how 

to teach myself

MUSIC VIDEO REVIEW

 “I love God, I love speed, I 
love drink, I love me / I love 
oceans in the deep, I love 
money, I love me.” God, I love 
Kendrick too. With a boogie-
woogie intro, 
heavy-hitting 
drums and a 
tight band, 
“Cornrow 
Kenny,” as he 
so calls him-
self, basks in a 
pale spotlight, 
rapping about 
mystical “blue 
faces.” The 
rapper never fails to deliver 
a stunning performance, and 
the performance on Fallon 
is no exception — but what 
makes the performance so 
spectacular isn’t the theatrics, 
rather its lack thereof. The 
reserved rendition of “Unti-
tled 2” (save the explosive 
ending) relays a subtle, honest 
and important intimacy that 
can be thought to define much 
of the artist’s late work.
 While often the mix from 
late night shows is lacking, 

Fallon made sure not to disap-
point when Kendrick came 
on — both the band and vocals 
were appropriately leveled. 
The Roots, major players in 
the track, are unafraid to 
interact with Kendrick as 
he rapped over their groove. 
Piano lines float atop the 
track, playing off Kendrick’s 
rhythm and dancing over 
the bar line and through the 
changing time signatures. 
The piano adds to the mix 
an improvisational flare, 

inherited from jazz, the music 
from which Kendrick’s recent 
music is so inspired. How-
ever present the band might 
be, they remain cast in the 
background, save metallic 
shimmering from guitars and 
cymbals. Their submersion in 
the darkness behind the front-
man provides an unsteady 
atmosphere that brings fur-
ther tension to the cutting 
lyrics. Kendrick Lamar, once 
again, is the complete pack-
age. -DANIEL SAFFRON

TDE

I love most that 

it’s a work in 

progress.

A+

Untitled 2

Kendrick 
Lamar

Late Night with 

Jimmy Fallon

New year, new loves: 
Emma Jayne’s EP

By CATHERINE BAKER

Daily Arts Writer

It’s a new year, a new me and 

that means I’m on the hunt for 
new music. While I may not be 
ready to return to the dreary 
world of essays and deadlines, 
I 
recently 
stumbled 
across 

singer/songwriter Emma Jayne 
whose music has made the 
transition back to class much 
more bearable.

Sounding like the lovechild of 

Jason Mraz and Sara Bareilles, 
Jayne utilizes her ukulele and 
a cappella skills to create her 
own unique style. Jayne gained 
her start on YouTube and is 
still producing videos for her 
7,000 subscribers, with just 570 
monthly listeners on Spotify 
currently. 
Despite 
her 
lack 

of recognition from popular 
media, Jayne’s lyrics never 
stray from musings on finding 
herself, being fine on her own 
and traveling on her own 
individual journey.

Her most recent EP, Oh What 

a Life, was released in 2014 and 
opens with “Connie,” a happy-
go-lucky tune guaranteed to 
turn your bad day around. 
“Connie” 
primarily 
consists 

of upbeat ukulele strumming 
and whistling, sounding like 
a summer song in the midst of 
this drizzly winter. (Seriously, 
what is the deal with rain in 

January?) It speaks to idealizing 
another person and stepping 
outside of your comfort zone 
when Jayne sings, “I’m just like 
her, besides one tiny, little thing / 
I write my songs and play them / 
But Connie really sings.”

A strangely syncopated and 

piano-based song, “Rich Love” 
is heavily reminiscent of Regina 
Spektor. Jayne reflects on her 
past loves and what she wants 
from the future, singing, “I want 
a rich love / That you can’t see 
in the movies.” The next song, 
“Dialogue with God,” is a bare 
and honest account of all her 
wrongdoings. With only her 
voice and her ukulele, it is short 
and sweet, forcing you to reflect 
on what your own internal 
dialogue entails.

“Tandem Bike” is upbeat and 

jazzy, featuring self-empowering 
lyrics like, “So I’ll put on my 
high heels / Baby, I will learn to 
walk,” and “Tandem bike? / I’m 
fine on my own,” to encourage 
the listener to make decisions 
to benefit her own happiness. 
Rapper 
Hologram 
Kizzie 

features on a verse that only adds 
to Jayne’s liberating foundation. 
The song finishes with Jayne 
singing a cappella, showing off 
her whimsical and charming 

voice.

“Ten Twenty Nine” slows 

things down and speaks of a 
true 
love 
without 
reverting 

to unreachable ideals. It is 
an 
honest 
account 
of 
her 

own experiences when she 
reminisces, “’Cause you tell me 
when I’m out of line / You see 
through me when I’m doing just 
fine.” Backed only by her piano 
and a violin, Jayne showcases her 
voice on this ballad.

The closing song, “Oh What 

a Life,” opens with swelling 
violins before fading to simple 
vocals and a ukulele. Featuring 
stripped down versions of the 
instruments heard in the opening 
song, “Oh What a Life” brings the 
listener full circle. She looks to 
the future without losing sight 
of the past, singing, “I remember 
there’s tomorrow left for you and 
I to waste / Then I smile, then I 
swear that I grow wings.” Raw 
and pure, Jayne’s closing track is 
a poignant way to end the EP.

While Emma Jayne may not 

have the most subscribers or be 
the most popular, Oh What a Life 
speaks to universal experiences 
without feeling clichéd and 
emphasizes empowerment and 
happiness. And in the end, what 
more could you really need?

MUSIC NOTEBOOK

Freshman year, 
I felt the urge 
to start playing.

“I want a rich 
love / That you 
can’t see in the 

movies.”
Oh What a 
Life speaks 
to universal 
experiences.

It’s a new year, a 

new me.

You’d have to 
eat out 11.2 

times every day. 

Plus tip.

