Event: Euchre Tournament

When: Wednesdays 8pm (weekly)

Where: BTB Cantina

Details:

It is a round robin format. there is a $8 per team entrance fee. First place gets a $30 bar tab Second place gets their $8 back. There are various specials for those playing, including discounted food, and beer.

For those non-midwesterners out there, Euchre is a fantastic card game and you should learn it (link to rules).

State Theater

The Location: 223 S. State (at the corner of State and Liberty)

The Facts:

An iconic Ann Arbor location, the State Theater has been around since 1942. In the 80s the balconied theater was divided to have four different screens. In the late 80s, the owner sold the lower half of the theater as retail space (now Urban Outfitters). The State tends to screen newer independant films during the week. Films generally start at 7 pm and 9:30 pm-ish. On Saturdays, the State has it's Midnight Movie, screening a different cult classic each week.

Other Info:

Screenings are $9 for adults, $7 for students, and $6 for Saturday and Sunday screenings before 6 pm. You can buy a membership that will reduce your ticket price to $6.50. On Tuesdays, student tickets are only $6.

Review: The State is not my favorite venue. Because each of the screens are the remains of the balcony getting chopped in two, all of the seats seem at an angle. The seats are comfortable enough, but the lack of leg room forces taller people to be a little cramped. The screen is smallish, but no disproportionate to the amount of seating. The audio system is a little hit or miss. I've been there times when it was fine, but other times (screening the same print) it's been terrible. The State is think is an underutilized resource for students, though. Considering it's location, the pricing is nice. If I believed in 'buying things for girls' on dates I'd take a date there, hell, even if I wasn't very interested in a girl, but she offered to buy me a ticket, I'd go there with her...

I'm a big fan of the Midnight Movie. All of the screenings are 35mm prints, and they show some great flicks. 'Back in the day' (25+ years ago) they used to alternate screening Harold and Maude and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Now they mix it up much more, though Rocky Horror is always screened Halloween weekend. It's the only time when there are two Midnight Movie screenings in one weekend (Friday and Saturday).

I give the State four stars. It's something that should not be missed if you spend more than a few days in Ann Arbor per year. After UofM, the State Theater (along with the Michigan Theater) are the first things to pop into my head when picturing Ann Arbor. Fight Club is screening this Saturday at Midnight, if you're looking for something to do and can't find a party, I'd recommend going.

Links:

http://michtheater.org/state.php

Event: Brian Regan

Brian Regan, one of my favorite comedians, will be doing a set at the Michigan Theater at 7 pm on Sunday, September 28th. Tickets are $39.50.

Family friendly (but still funny, trust me).

Quickie Burger and Dog

The Location: 800 S. State (corner of State and Hill)

The Facts:

Quickie Burger and Dog is a fairly new place to eat in Ann Arbor. It replaced Tubby's Grilled Subs last winter. Quickie serves burgers, hot dogs, fries, rings, etc. all made to order, with tons of different toppings available. They are open late night, generally until 3am to 4am every night, and staying open all night on Fridays before home games, and grilling outside on home game Saturdays.

Other Info:

Quickie is in the process of acquiring a liquor licence. The basement of Quickie will be converted into a bar. They have stated they plan on having 15-20 beers on tap, with a few rotating taps.

Review:

For those of us who have low cholesterol (or at least don't actually know their cholesterol and just say it's low), Quickie is probably the best food location in the world. I've eaten 5 straight meals there. The key to enjoying your Quickie experience is experimenting. You can get anything they have on anything. Bacon on your Dirty Cheesy Dog (cheese on a Coney dog)? No problem. Egg and cheese on your fries? Not an issue. You just have to ask. Divine inspiration (or an intoxicated late night food run)  can strike you with some of the most delicious Cholesterol Cornocopias ever dreamed up.

A lot of Ann Arbor purists have shunned QB&D in favor of Crazy Jim's Blimpy Burger. Now, don't get me wrong I like Crazy Jim's, but they close at 10... in a college town. That's like buying a girl dinner at Chop House, and when she asks you if you want to come up to her room, without a word, you throw her out of the car, slam on the gas and go home, alone, to wank-it to snow sculputres of polar bears.

Quickie knows that it's in a college town, and adjusts it's hours accordingly.

A Burger Joint for the People.

I rate QB&D five stars. Not only does it excell at being what it is (a late night greesy food joint), it strives to be more (a late night greesy food joint that you can get hammered at). When they finally get their liquor licence, I don't know what I'll do. The scale only goes up to five stars, but maybe I'll give it a 5+. Who knows.