AnnArbor.com News - Category: The Deuce http://www.annarbor.com/ en-us richretyi@gmail.com Copyright 2013 2013-07-26T11:40:47-04:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 From dusk 'til dawn-ish at the Fleetwood Diner http://www.annarbor.com/entertainment/from-dusk-till-dawn-ish-at-the-fleetwood-diner/?cmpid=RSS_link_the_deuce Note: contains some adult content. I picked a bad night to spend dusk till dawn-ish at the Fleetwood Diner. The Ann Arbor Rolling Car Sculpture Show is revving 50 feet away with hungry ZZ Top families casting sideways glances at... 118555@http://www.annarbor.com/ Note: contains some adult content.

I picked a bad night to spend dusk till dawn-ish at the Fleetwood Diner. The Ann Arbor Rolling Car Sculpture Show is revving 50 feet away with hungry ZZ Top families casting sideways glances at the Fleetwood, full of burgers, Greek salads and hippie hash. I feel like a mouse in a cage waiting to be fed to the pet snake in a much bigger cage.

The Fleetwood Diner is an Ann Arbor institution — home to poets, philosophers, punks and psychos. It never closes. It has the worst bathroom in Ann Arbor. It gets really good around 2 a.m. Who better to deliver you a report from the mouth of heck itself?

Continue reading From dusk 'til dawn-ish at the Fleetwood Diner...

]]> Entertainment | Food ~ Drink | The Deuce | Weird 2013-07-26T11:40:47-04:00 Keeping it free: A volunteer's-eye view of the Ann Arbor Summer Festival http://www.annarbor.com/entertainment/who-volunteers-at-the-ann-arbor-summer-festival/?cmpid=RSS_link_the_deuce The volunteer tent at the Ann Arbor Summer FestivalRich Retyi | Contributor“We’re hoping really hard that we can stay open.” Volunteer coordinator Sara Sanders takes me into the lobby of the Mendelssohn Theatre to escape the rain. The weather has... 117879@http://www.annarbor.com/ A2SF Volunteer Tent.JPG

The volunteer tent at the Ann Arbor Summer Festival

Rich Retyi | Contributor“We’re hoping really hard that we can stay open.”

Volunteer coordinator Sara Sanders takes me into the lobby of the Mendelssohn Theatre to escape the rain. The weather has been terrible the last few days. Basements flooding, U-M athletes mobilizing into street-team heroes—and canceled music and twilight movies at Top of the Park, the outdoor component of the Ann Arbor Summer Festival. Sanders and her volunteer crew are optimistic that today’s Friday showers will stop, the clouds will part and the show will go on.

The Ann Arbor Summer Festival is in its 30th year—bigger and better than ever. And that costs money.

Continue reading Keeping it free: A volunteer's-eye view of the Ann Arbor Summer Festival...

]]> Entertainment | News | The Deuce 2013-07-02T10:41:20-04:00 Hitachino Nest XH - for your own sake http://www.annarbor.com/entertainment/the-deuce/hitachino-nest-xh---for-your-own-sake/?cmpid=RSS_link_the_deuce Centuries ago, wood barrels were simply vessels in which to brew and store beer. Brewers spent countless hours scrubbing and soaking barrels hoping to neutralize the wood’s influence on the finished product.... 100388@http://www.annarbor.com/ Centuries ago, wood barrels were simply vessels in which to brew and store beer. Brewers spent countless hours scrubbing and soaking barrels hoping to neutralize the wood’s influence on the finished product.

Continue reading Hitachino Nest XH - for your own sake ...

]]> Food ~ Drink | The Deuce 2012-06-25T10:59:10-04:00 Not dead yet: Heart of the video game arcade still beats at Pinball Pete's http://www.annarbor.com/entertainment/the-premature-death-of-the-video-game-arcade/?cmpid=RSS_link_the_deuce 98223@http://www.annarbor.com/ pinball_petes.JPG

Richard Retyi | AnnArbor.com

Tekken 5 warriors, pinball wizards, pool hall hustlers, skeeball rollers and a sweaty guy with his own water bottle and fluffy white towel playing Dance Dance Revolution 5thMix. 

On a warm Friday evening in May, I made the trip to Pinball Pete’s expecting to write the obituary of the video game arcade:

” Born in 1970s midways, survived by Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 and Skyrim, passed peacefully at home, from complications due to affordable home high speed internet, HD TV technology and the Domino’s Pizza tracker.” 

Instead, I watched cute couples shoot infrared pistols at each other, four high school friends race at Daytona and a woman eat a Jimmy John’s sandwich with her infant in a stroller beside her while her husband camps in front of a vintage Pac Man cabinet. These characters, as well as a lot of others having fun. The video game arcade isn’t dead - it’s just undergone a millennial makeover.

Continue reading Not dead yet: Heart of the video game arcade still beats at Pinball Pete's...

]]> Entertainment | News | Passions ~ Pursuits | The Deuce 2012-05-18T05:58:06-04:00 Michigan wine: An interview with Channing Sutton, tasting room manager at 45 North http://www.annarbor.com/entertainment/food-drink/michigan-wine-an-interview-with-channing-sutton-tasting-room-manager-at-45-north/?cmpid=RSS_link_the_deuce I am the first to admit I don’t know much about wine. I had always been a white wine drinker, whatever was sweet and cheap, getting the two-for-one specials to accommodate my large family at holidays. Recently, however, my friends... 97447@http://www.annarbor.com/ I am the first to admit I don’t know much about wine.

I had always been a white wine drinker, whatever was sweet and cheap, getting the two-for-one specials to accommodate my large family at holidays. Recently, however, my friends had turned oenophile, bringing bottles to the table upwards of 20 bucks a pop and insisting they tasted cherries or cinnamon in the tall black bottles. I tasted cough syrup, and soon after, Diet Coke.

So when I got the opportunity to meet with Channing Sutton, assistant tasting room manager at 45 North in Leelanau Peninsula, I thought I would finally get some insight into how “tasting” wine is different from drinking it.

That’s how I found myself in their parking lot, alone, a large dog trotting determinedly toward me.

Continue reading Michigan wine: An interview with Channing Sutton, tasting room manager at 45 North...

]]> Food ~ Drink | Lifestyles | The Deuce 2012-05-01T05:00:53-04:00 Say no to the show: Learning to love your cheap wedding http://www.annarbor.com/entertainment/the-deuce/say-no-to-the-show-learning-to-love-your-cheap-wedding/?cmpid=RSS_link_the_deuce As some of you know, I recently got engaged. And it's wonderful. I love the giggly, first-date feelings when I put the ring on, I love my fiance, and I love our life together. It took about two days of... 96731@http://www.annarbor.com/ As some of you know, I recently got engaged. And it's wonderful. I love the giggly, first-date feelings when I put the ring on, I love my fiance, and I love our life together.

It took about two days of that before my brain got the better of me.

The minute there’s a ring on the finger, people want to know your wedding date. I get that; it’s exciting, thinking about the dresses and the ceremony and the pomp and foofaraw that a wedding entails. So I dutifully (and stupidly) gave in to buying wedding magazines and watching copious episodes of Say Yes to the Dress on Netflix.

Continue reading Say no to the show: Learning to love your cheap wedding...

]]> Lifestyles | The Deuce 2012-04-17T11:23:15-04:00 Valentine's Day in Ann Arbor starts with the Oasis Hot Tub Gardens http://www.annarbor.com/entertainment/valentines-day-in-ann-arbor-starts-with-the-oasis-hot-tub-gardens/?cmpid=RSS_link_the_deuce Valentine’s Day can be stressful to new and old relationships, but I’m here to offer a secret advantage. It’s not roses - boring! It’s not a romantic dinner destination - who wants to engage in intimate times after a full... 92729@http://www.annarbor.com/ Valentine’s Day can be stressful to new and old relationships, but I’m here to offer a secret advantage. It’s not roses - boring! It’s not a romantic dinner destination - who wants to engage in intimate times after a full meal? And it’s not crafting something special for the one you love, because we know you suck at needlepoint. 

If you’re trying to make an impression and you need to knock one out of the park, look no further than The Oasis Hot Tub Gardens. Seriously.

Continue reading Valentine's Day in Ann Arbor starts with the Oasis Hot Tub Gardens...

]]> Entertainment | The Deuce 2012-02-08T12:01:28-04:00 Ann Arbor's most popular bar in 2012 - 'The Bar at 327 Braun Court' http://www.annarbor.com/entertainment/the-deuce/ann-arbors-most-popular-bar-in-2012---the-bar-at-327-braun-court/?cmpid=RSS_link_the_deuce The Bar at 327 Braun Court Richard Retyi | Contributor Bold predictions require adventurous statements. I'm not one for hyperbole, but Geronimo: The Bar at 327 Braun Court will be Ann Arbor's most popular bar in 2012. Book it.... 92176@http://www.annarbor.com/ The_Bar_Braun_Court.JPG

The Bar at 327 Braun Court

Richard Retyi | Contributor

Bold predictions require adventurous statements. I'm not one for hyperbole, but Geronimo: The Bar at 327 Braun Court will be Ann Arbor's most popular bar in 2012. Book it.

Student bars, brew pubs, cocktail bars, martini lounges — that's the landscape in Ann Arbor. On the surface of things, The Bar isn't much different. It's a cocktail bar committed to high-octane drinks but services the beer crowd with semi-ironic snub-nosed bottles of Genesee.

But people can get their craft cocktails and blue-collar brew elsewhere. What they can't get anywhere but The Bar is a place that feels like the living room of the coolest person you’ve ever known.

Continue reading Ann Arbor's most popular bar in 2012 - 'The Bar at 327 Braun Court'...

]]> Entertainment | Food ~ Drink | The Deuce 2012-02-03T05:56:58-04:00 A new kind of art gallery in Ypsilanti - The Parlour Room http://www.annarbor.com/entertainment/the-deuce/a-new-kind-of-art-gallery-in-ypsilanti---the-parlour-room/?cmpid=RSS_link_the_deuce The Parlour Room There's a new kind of gallery in Ypsilanti exploring alternative spaces to display art. Mary Ayling hopes that her apartment gallery, The Parlour Room can be a place for local artists to exhibit, art lovers to visit... 89951@http://www.annarbor.com/ The Parlour Room.jpg

The Parlour Room

There's a new kind of gallery in Ypsilanti exploring alternative spaces to display art. Mary Ayling hopes that her apartment gallery, The Parlour Room can be a place for local artists to exhibit, art lovers to visit and a gathering place for artists of all disciplines. There will be snacks.

"When I use the term apartment gallery, I get a range of responses from blank stares to intense questions," says Ayling. "Alternative spaces are pretty natural in Chicago, but they seem to be rarer in this area."

Continue reading A new kind of art gallery in Ypsilanti - The Parlour Room...

]]> Entertainment | The Deuce 2011-12-19T14:41:11-04:00 The only place in Ann Arbor to get your Christmas tree http://www.annarbor.com/entertainment/the-only-place-in-ann-arbor-to-get-your-christmas-tree/?cmpid=RSS_link_the_deuce Duke Wagetha (left) and his son Cody. Richard Retyi | Contributor "A lot of people say the holiday season hasn't started until they drink the cheap booze in the trailer," says Duke Wagetha, CEO at Flatsnoots Christmas Trees Headquarters.... 89537@http://www.annarbor.com/ Flatsnoots Trees Duke Wagetha.jpg

Duke Wagetha (left) and his son Cody.

Richard Retyi | Contributor

"A lot of people say the holiday season hasn't started until they drink the cheap booze in the trailer," says Duke Wagetha, CEO at Flatsnoots Christmas Trees Headquarters.

Tree camp, as Duke refers to it, is located at 3500 Washtenaw Avenue across from the Arborland Mall. It's hard to miss — a giant parking lot full of Christmas trees and a multicolored 1951 Vagabond trailer covered in wreaths.

Continue reading The only place in Ann Arbor to get your Christmas tree...

]]> Entertainment | The Deuce 2011-12-13T09:09:09-04:00 The best and worst laundromats in Ann Arbor http://www.annarbor.com/entertainment/the-best-and-worst-laundromats-in-ann-arbor/?cmpid=RSS_link_the_deuce Art by C. Jason DePasqualeIt's not unfortunates who do laundry at a laundromat, but it's unfortunate that people have to use them. Don’t get me wrong — in principle I have nothing against sharing economy-sized super washers with the... 89109@http://www.annarbor.com/ full disclosure web.jpg

Art by C. Jason DePasquale

It's not unfortunates who do laundry at a laundromat, but it's unfortunate that people have to use them. Don’t get me wrong — in principle I have nothing against sharing economy-sized super washers with the rest of Washtenaw county — but I prefer sharing the boring top-loader on the second floor of my apartment building with the 10 other people I occasional nod to in the hallway.


Since college, I've only been without access to laundry facilities twice. Once was in an area north of downtown Chicago called Ravenswood and the other was in Jacksonville, Fla. The laundromat experience was so wretched in Ravenswood that when I had to seek outside laundry help in Jacksonville, I found a nice place that washed your clothes and charged by the pound.

I don't like laundromats, but I realize people have to use them. One of those people is my pal C. Jason DePasquale. I see him check in on foursquare at one of Ann Arbor’s premier laundromats — Mr. Stadium — every once in a while. His check-ins had me missing the good old days of Ravenswood. I wanted to see how times had changed. I wanted to see if Ann Arbor was different. I wanted to slum it.

Jason agreed to accompany me to three different businesses to give three laundromats a spin. Here is our unscientific appraisal.

Continue reading The best and worst laundromats in Ann Arbor...

]]> Entertainment | The Deuce 2011-12-06T11:11:56-04:00 A Canadian's first American high school football game - Pioneer vs. Huron http://www.annarbor.com/entertainment/the-deuce/a-canadians-first-american-high-school-football-game---pioneer-vs-huron/?cmpid=RSS_link_the_deuce 86034@http://www.annarbor.com/ Friday night I attended my very first American high school football game.

For my entree into your high school football experience — and by "your", I mean anyone not Canadian — I chose the annual Ann Arbor backyard showdown. The Ann Arbor Pioneer Pioneers (I know, it looks like a typo but it’s fun to write) hosted the Huron High School River Rats on Homecoming, mixing good old-fashioned American gridiron with good older fashioned European monarchy.

Continue reading A Canadian's first American high school football game - Pioneer vs. Huron...

]]> The Deuce 2011-10-15T09:01:21-04:00 Roller Derby packs Buhr Park in the A2D2 Brawlstars home debut http://www.annarbor.com/entertainment/the-deuce/roller-derby-packs-buhr-park-in-the-the-a2d2-brawlstars-home-debut/?cmpid=RSS_link_the_deuce The BrawlStars’ MVP of the bout, jammer Hermione Gank-Ya, breaks through two Flint City Derby Girl blockers. photo courtesy of Farzin Montazersadgh (FarzinPhoto.com) Tattoos, tank tops, short shorts, lycra, mouth guards armored padding and colors as bright as a... 84278@http://www.annarbor.com/ brawlstars2.jpg

The BrawlStars’ MVP of the bout, jammer Hermione Gank-Ya, breaks through two Flint City Derby Girl blockers.

photo courtesy of Farzin Montazersadgh (FarzinPhoto.com)

Tattoos, tank tops, short shorts, lycra, mouth guards armored padding and colors as bright as a bag of mixed jelly beans.

Saturday was about more than college football with the A2D2 Brawlstars facing the Flint City Derby Girls at Buhr Park in the Brawlstars’ first home bout. Elbows, jamming and insubordination: It was the perfect night for derby.

Continue reading Roller Derby packs Buhr Park in the A2D2 Brawlstars home debut...

]]> Entertainment | Sports | The Deuce 2011-09-19T08:45:26-04:00 Living with an anxiety disorder: The signs were there all along http://www.annarbor.com/entertainment/the-deuce/30-before-30-get-help-anxiety-disorder-ann-arbor/?cmpid=RSS_link_the_deuce A history of mental illness is like a tornado warning at the bottom of the TV screen. It doesn’t guarantee a tornado, or that if there is one, it will do serious damage. Most of the time, it doesn’t even... 83226@http://www.annarbor.com/ A history of mental illness is like a tornado warning at the bottom of the TV screen. It doesn’t guarantee a tornado, or that if there is one, it will do serious damage. Most of the time, it doesn’t even distract you from normal daily programming.

But… it’s there. And while you don’t have to spend your life cowering in the basement, it’s a good idea to have one.

Continue reading Living with an anxiety disorder: The signs were there all along...

]]> Health | The Deuce 2011-08-31T20:00:58-04:00 The brief life and tragic death of one man's summer of funemployment http://www.annarbor.com/entertainment/the-brief-life-and-tragic-death-of-one-mans-summer-of-funemployment/?cmpid=RSS_link_the_deuce When you're unemployed you eat a lot of soup with giant spoons.On Thursday, April 21 at 4:30 p.m. I walked into my boss’s office and resigned. A few hours later, after turning in my keys and cleaning out my office,... 78946@http://www.annarbor.com/ soup_unemployed.jpg

When you're unemployed you eat a lot of soup with giant spoons.

On Thursday, April 21 at 4:30 p.m. I walked into my boss’s office and resigned. A few hours later, after turning in my keys and cleaning out my office, I made a few phone calls and ate a giant plate of General Tso's.
Then I drank three-too-many Manhattans at my favorite watering hole and sent a bunch of emails to myself on my Blackberry. One sent just after 1 a.m. read, “At 11:43 p.m. I realized I was unemployed.” So began my summer of funemployment.

Continue reading The brief life and tragic death of one man's summer of funemployment...

]]> Entertainment | The Deuce 2011-06-27T08:02:53-04:00