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OUT & ABOUT
The Red & Black | Thursday, August 31, 2006 | 3B
Raising Cane’s chicken
is tasty, nothing special
SCOTT CHILDS | The Red & Black
A Yi Mei Liu, 19, a child and family development major from Atlanta, serves a meal min
utes after the opening of Raising Cane’s on Aug. 23.
By ABBI LIBERS
alibers@randb.com
Baxter Street has it all.
From books to cheap eats,
it’s the place to be, and Todd
Graves knows it.
It’s been 10 years since
Graves opened the restau
rant Raising Cane’s in his
hometown of Baton Rouge,
La.
But for the company
founder, who graduated from
the University back in ’94,
the opening of a restaurant
in Athens has been a long
time coming.
Graves said he was wait
ing for the perfect location,
and that’s just what he got.
Just up the Baxter Street
hill, Cane’s sits on the same
lot where Guthrie’s used to
stand and boasts the same
claim to fame — great chick
en fingers.
In a college town like
Athens, students have plenty
of places to fill their craving
for chicken, be it at a chain
like Chick-fil-A or somewhere
more homegrown like Weaver
D’s.
So, I couldn’t help but
wonder, what makes this
place any different?
Graves said his restaurant
RAISING CANE’S
Grade: B-
Verdict: Good for a standard fried
chicken meal, but nothing to write
home about.
offers higher quality food at a
faster speed than any other
chicken restaurant.
“Our chicken is fresh,
never frozen, and we make
our special Cane’s sauce
right here in the restaurant,”
he said.
A self-proclaimed fried
chicken lover, I decided to
see for myself.
Cane’s is set up in typical
fast-food style, but I could
tell by the decorations and
University paraphernalia that
they were trying to reach out
specifically to college stu
dents.
University posters and
even a signed Widespread
Panic album adorn the walls,
while loud rock music blares
from the overhead speakers.
As I stared up at the
menu board, I couldn’t help
but note there wasn’t much
to choose from and what
they offered was nothing
original.
The menu consists entire
ly of different chicken finger
combinations that come with
a drink and four sides: fries,
coleslaw, Cane’s Sauce and
Texas toast.
The prices are reasonable,
running between $6 and $8.
After I decided the origi
nal box combo would be my
best bet, a friend of mine
who doesn’t eat chicken
ordered.
She came solely for the
french fries and wanted to try
their famous Cane’s sauce.
Because of diet restric
tions, she asked the cashier
what was in the sauce, to
which he replied, “It’s a
secret.”
After explaining she need
ed to know for health rea
sons, he relented that he did
n’t actually know what was in
it.
We were off to a bad start.
As my friend pointed out, the
employees should know
what’s in the food they are
serving.
However, after trying my
food, I couldn’t deny that the
chicken was delicious.
I could tell it was fresh by
the large pieces of white
meat I got. The batter was
much lighter than other
places, not thick and greasy.
Cane’s sauce may be a
secret, but it tasted no differ
ent to me than Zaxby’s sauce
or any other “secret sauce”
from a chicken joint I’ve
tried.
My friend, who considers
herself a french fry connois
seur, said the fries were not
up to par — she said they
didn’t have enough flavor —
but did comment on the
fact that they weren’t too
greasy.
After we had sufficiently
stuffed ourselves, a friendly
employee came up to us to
ask if we enjoyed our meal
and even offered to remove
our trash for us.
After leaving Cane’s I was
stuffed, but not overly
impressed.
For a run-of-the-mill
chicken dinner, Cane’s will
do. Otherwise, I would prefer
a more unique, locally owned
restaurant.
‘Stars are Blind’ -
and tone-deaf too
Paris' self-
titled debut
lacks talent
By ALEXANDRA WALKER
awalker@randb.com
Once upon a time, some
one was usually famous for
the contribution of his or
her talent to America’s vari
ous forms of entertainment.
In this day and age, tal
ent plays a very small role
in the degree of celebrity
one receives. Therefore, we
have people who are
famous for being famous.
Behold the queen of
those famous-for-being-
famous people: Paris
Hilton.
Her future inheritance
and good looks have made
it relatively easy for her to
get her own reality show,
get paid ludicrous amounts
of money for appearing in
clubs and have her own
accessory line.
With so much success
coming from these arbi
trary, futile careers, why not
record an album? Everyone
else is doing it.
The first words that
Hilton’s ridiculously synthe
sized voice sings on “Paris”
are “That’s hot” on the
track “Turn It Up.”
For most of the song, her
voice is nothing more than
a sensual whisper.
The album proceeds to
the song “Fightin’ Over Me”
featuring Jadakiss and
Fat Joe. This club track
consists of a bland beat
under a conceited socialite
talking about how “All the
silly boys, they wanna fight
over me,” because she’s
“hot to death and so, so
sexy.”
Hilton received co-writ-
ing credit for that song.
However, the next track’s
infectious reggae beat and
its departure from the hip-
hop genre catch one’s
attention quickly.
The wonderfully catchy
lyrics perfectly capture the
familiar feeling of the
excitement of a new rela
tionship.
The fabulously struc-
PARIS HILTON
“Paris”
Grade: D
Verdict: If it weren’t for “Stars
Are Blind,” this album would
have failed miserably.
tured “Stars Are Blind” was
the perfect first single.
The remaining songs are
a mess of Hilton’s experi
mentation with different
genres and awful songwrit
ing.
On “Jealousy,” where
Hilton is rumored to be
singing of her notorious
feud with ex-B.F.F. Nicole
Richie, her lyrics sound like
they came out of a sixth
grader’s diary — “I thought
you were my best friend /1
felt we’d be together ‘til the
end.”
When Hilton dabbles in
the pop-punk genre on
“Nothing in this World,” she
sounds exactly like Hilary
Duff, and it’s almost hard to
make music as prosaic as
Hilary Duff.
Hilton even takes excur
sions into different decades,
experimenting with the ’70s
on “I Want You,” which
samples “Grease” by
Frankie Valli, and then
again with the ’80s pop-
esque “Heartbeat.”
Hilton’s goal on this
album is to achieve the
kind of pop perfection of
the likes of Gwen Stefani
and Deborah Harry.
The only time she even
comes close is on “Stars are
Blind.”
While some of it is
catchy, this album is horri
bly inconsistent, and with
all of the studio tricks that
were needed to smooth out
her voice, Hilton probably
has about as much vocal
talent as Milli Vanilli.
Sorry, Paris, but it looks
like you’re still just famous
for being famous.
‘Heroes’ conquer rap - and gym class
By PT UMPHRESS
pumphress@randb.com
With their newest release,
“As Cruel As School
Children,” Gym Class Heroes
— a hip-hop/rock foursome
from Geneva, New York —
are out to prove that hip-hop
isn’t all about bitches, hoes,
drive-bys and drinking 40s.
Their style and lyrics show
that rap can be funny, self-
deprecating, emotionally
honest and musically varied.
As if that isn’t enough of a
reason for haters of rap
music to give them a chance,
Gym Class Heroes actually
play their own instruments
(on album and live), making
them legitimate musicians
and not just lyricists getting
by on tape loops, hot produc
er beats and scammed sam
ples from ’70s hits.
There’s no violence,
misogyny, radical political
agendas or otherwise socially
regressive messages to be
found on the album.
Most of vocalist Travis
McCoy’s lyrics center around
anxiously self-conscious
romanticism, reflections on
trying to make it in the
music industry and relations
(good and bad) with old
friends.
In fact, of the 14 tracks on
GYM CLASS HEROES
“As Cruel As School Children”
Grade: B+
Verdict: Though not every track is
and instant hit, this album is defi
nitely a strong step forward in the
evolution of hip-hop. Not for
everyone, but definitely for those
who enjoy danceable beats,
inventive lyrics and are tired of
ignorant and low talent main
stream rap.
“As Cruel As School
Children,” four of them are
freestyle interludes about the
aforementioned topics that
are occasionally funny and
never a letdown lyrically.
Never ones to take them
selves too seriously, Gym
Class Heroes decided to
name all the song tracks on
the album after school peri
ods. The interludes — which
are actually titled “Sloppy
Love Jingle” (parts one
through four) — are called
lunch, study hall, yearbook
club and detention.
As for stand-out tracks,
“New Friend Request,” a
song about falling in love
with a girl on MySpace, is
irresistibly catchy and dance-
able, as are “The Queen and
I,” which sports a very Ricky
Martin-esque Latin hip-
hop/dance vibe, and “Clothes
Off!”
“Clothes Off!,” which
already borrows from (and
bastardizes) Jermaine
Stewart’s “We Don’t Have
To Take Our Clothes Off,”
also features guest vocals by
Fall Out Boy’s Patrick
Stump.
Gym Class Heroes could
be called, “hip-hop for emo
kids,” but anybody with an
ear for progressive and tal
ented hip-hop that makes
you want to shake your ass
would enjoy this album.
The emo connections are
well-founded though, as the
album’s label, Decaydence,
is owned by Fall Out Boy’s
Pete Wentz, and the track “7
Weeks” has backing vocals
courtesy of The Academy Is
singer William Beckett.
In addition, “Taxi Driver,”
a song off their 2005 release
(“The Papercut Chronicles”),
uses indie/emo/hardcore
shout-outs as lyrical ammu
nition.
All that aside, non-scen-
esters who enjoy hip-hop and
rap on par (or possibly better
depending on if your judg
ment goes beyond produc
tion quality and takes lyrical
content into consideration)
with Kanye West and Jay-Z,
will respect Gym Class
Heroes.
One great thing about this
album is its variety of moods
and sounds.
"Viva La White Girl" stands
out as the sexiest song on
the album. A smooth, slow
jam about naughty fun, the
track stands equal in quality
and purpose with Kanye’s
“Slow Jamz.”
“Shoot Down the Stars” is
another chill track that
shows great production
prowess and adds a great
degree of diversity to an
album that already sets itself
apart from 99 percent of the
violent “shoot you in the
face,” misogynistic “gimme
that [female genitalia] ” and
talentless “Laffy Taffy” crap
rap that’s out there.
Alternative food stores add zing to everyday meals
By MARY MATHENY
For The Red & Black
Food is essential for life,
but many students eat the
same meal over and over
without realizing there is
more than just Kroger or
Wal-Mart to get the ingredi
ents that add zing to make a
perfect meal. Whether you
are a food connoisseur, an
international student trying
to get a taste of home or just
the normal college student
who loves to eat, there are
places in Athens just for you.
For a spicy night with the
amigos, students should
check out Los Compadres —
a local Spanish food grocery
store that prides itself on its
authentic selections.
Laura Jimenez, the man
ager, said they are a cheap
and varied alternative for
shopping for Spanish foods.
“About five percent of the
things here you could find in
Kroger, the rest you could
not,” Jimenez said.
Los Compadres’ Prince
Avenue location makes it a
quick and easy stop along
your shopping route.
Spanish foods are not the
only ethnic foods you can get
in Athens that are cheap and
easy.
Fook’s Foods on the cor
ner of Baxter and
Rocksprings streets carries a
large assortment of Asian
foods. Whether you desire a
taste of home or just want to
test your sushi-making skills,
store owner Karen Fook
encourages students to come
out and “support the local
businesswoman.”
If you want to support the
local businessman too, you
can always swing by The
Tuscan Market on Baxter
street in the Eckerd shop
ping center. Antonio Zenere,
the owner of this little taste
of Italy, carries a wide assort
ment of high-quality meats
and cheeses.
“Quality is critical,”
Zenere said. “My products
are from artisan companies. I
try to stay away from large
commercial products.”
You also can find sand
wiches, salads, soups,
lasagna and desserts at The
Tuscan Market. A couple of
in-store shoppers said the
store has very reasonable
prices.
If you are looking to cook
an all-natural meal and don’t
know exactly what you’re
looking for, Phoenix Natural
Foods Market on the corner
of Broad and Pulaski streets
might be able to help you.
Employee Stacia Knowles
said the employees are
trained to help shoppers find
what they need.
“We have the largest vari
ety of bulk herbs in Athens
and the employees with the
knowledge to help you find
them,” Knowles said.
She also said more than 50
percent of the store is organ
ic and 100 percent is all-natu
ral.
Buying their bulk prod
ucts of herbs and grains is
usually cheaper than shop
ping at a regular grocery
store, she explained.
“By having stores like
(Phoenix), you can afford to
eat healthy,” she said.
Grocery shopping in
Athens is more than just
popping into the supermar
ket. There are many locally
owned stores in town that
offer the ingredients neces
sary to make a great meal.
“Shopping (at Phoenix
Market) and at any other
local store is voicing your
opinion and putting in your
vote,” Knowles said.
Come by hotel Mon - Thurs 8:30am - 4:00pm
Inquire at lobby front desk how to purchase permit.
Interested in Physical
Therapy?
Come talk with Dave Lake
from Armstrong Atlantic State University
Oct 17, 10am-2pm Grad School Info Day,
Tate Student Center
Sept 12, 7-8pm Rho Tau Meeting in 224
Ramsey Center
or contact him at:
lakeda vi@mail. a rmstrong. edu
Hull & Broad St, now has available Fall 2006 Semester
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rnmmUlU and Faculty
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