We all know that Mount Pleasant doesn’t
always offer the best entertainment on a nightly basis, but there are
so many things in Mount Pleasant that make it Mount Pleasant. Hence
a list of the best and worst things that make Mount Pleasant the place
we all call home for a few years.

BEST

The Malt Shop, 1088 S. University

The Malt Shop has been a beloved tradition of CMU
students for many years, especially for those within walking distance
of it on a Friday or Saturday night.

Despite the somewhat high menu prices, it continues
to be one of the areas best places to get a midnight snack. The best
thing about the Malt Shop is the pizza. They always have an ample supply
of fresh pepperoni pizza available.

For those who don’t eat meat or don’t like pepperoni,
you can order whatever topping you want and it will be ready in about
fifteen minutes (I personally like the mushrooms). They make their deep
dish pizza with lots of cheese, so that it will be really unhealthy
and taste really good. The slices are huge, so you’re pretty much guaranteed
to be filled after one piece.

The Malt Shop also has a big selection of ice cream,
and I’m not talking about that sissy soft serve stuff, it’s the real
“home made” variety. They have such favorite flavors as, Superman (the
best flavor ever created), moose tracks, peanut butter cup and cookie
dough.

Which brings me to another great thing that they
have to offer- big pieces of frozen chocolate-chip cookie dough, for
only fifty cents. I’m not positive if it’s good for you to eat that
much raw cookie dough, and I know I always feel a little nauseous after
eating some. But damn, it tastes sooo good and nothing bad has come
of it so far!

Now, I have to admit that one of the best things
about the Malt Shop has changed, and that’s its location. I’m not saying
that there’s anything wrong with it’s nice, new, clean looking establishment,
but I miss the small, dark place that the Malt Shop used to inhabit.

For those who went to the Malt Shop last year, you
may understand what I’m talking about, or you may think I’m crazy, but
I miss how cramped and homey the old Malt Shop was. You could spill
stuff on the floor and not worry about it, or crowd next to strangers
at a table and start a conversation. It’s new location is nice, almost
too nice.

Despite that, The Malt Shop remains the weekend party-goers
favorite snack place, because it stays open late on Fridays and Saturdays.
It’s usually packed until about 3:30 a.m. (on the weekends they close,
“when things slow down) with people stuffing $2.25 pizza slices into
their mouths and using their left over quarters to play video games.

My favorite is either playing, or watching someone
else play the race car game; it proves why people should not drink and
drive.

I don’t know what I’d do without the Malt Shop, but
considering it’s popularity among the students here, I don’t think I’ll
have to worry about that.

Stan’s Resturant, 220 E. Broadway

Everyone needs a home cooked meal and Stan’s is the
perfect place to go when you can’t make it home for mom’s apple pie.
It just makes sense, “Where Home Cooking is the Main Ingredient,” is
what the sign says and it ain’t no lie.

Stan’s is also the recent winner of the best breakfast
in town according to the Et Cetera section here at CM Life, but they
don’t just serve breakfast. Their lunch menu is just as good if not
better than their breakfast menu.

All of the sandwiches on the lunch menu are made
on homemade bread, which is the best, I don’t know how they do it- but
all I know is it’s good.

They also have homemade soup which is so good it
could be one meal. The menu even boasts that their soups are known statewide
and its not hard to see why they are know all across this great little
mitten we live in.

The best part about Stan’s (aside from the food)
is the affordable prices. Now I know most would think that home cooking
comes with a price, but at Stan’s the price is low, so low you almost
feel like you’re ripping them off.

There are some downfalls to Stan’s but their so microscopic
it doesn’t take away from the Stan’s experience but are useful factoids
to know like, Stan’s closes at 2 p.m. daily and they only have Coke
products (translation: no Mountain Dew).

But if that’s all Stan’s has against them, it’s easy
to see why their the best eats in town. I’ve said this once and I’m
going to say it again, if you have never been to Stan’s go there now.

New Moon Records, 1901 S. Mission

I recall the very instance when I first heard the
name “New Moon Records” tossed over the phone to me. Being still in
high school, I was witnessing the ecstasy of a college friend bragging
long distance style.

“I got the new (insert obscure indie band) record
at New Moon Records today! It was the only place around that ordered
it for me.”

There wasn’t much for me to analyze about what my
friend had said in his excitement. After all, I was still in the sprawling
outstretches of a Detroit that was as rich with good record shops as
it was with liquor stores.

I had not experienced the sheer desperation and yearning
a record collector goes through when he is confronted with a lack of
selection, and finally finding a safe haven in the walls of some small
record store that provides musical nourishment.

Later on, as a young visitor to the University, I
quickly shuffled together an entourage of peers to escort me to this
“lone provider of vinyl goodness”, and so began my affair.

As a matured (laugh if you must) student of CMU,
I find it much to my leisure to open the doors of New Moon Records and
indulge in the atmosphere, the smell of incense, and the vintage records.

I get that unique vibe of elder knowledge, of jazz
culture, and guitar amps turned to eleven. And when the weekends finally
roll around, New Moon Records opens its doors in invitation of rock
shows, where local and touring bands can perform live for the music
hungry public free of charge- an aspect devoid from every club or venue
in town.

While on the subject of money, where else can a poor
college student go to save a few bucks? Heck, you can survey the used
CD and record bins for that old Def Leopard disc you’ve always wanted-at
half the price, as well as the myriads of other classic and recent musical
releases by other artists. And if you can’t find the records your looking
for, they’ll be glad to order them for you.

The musical selections there are well specified and
labeled for whatever your music tastes, be it everything from Jazz to
Hardcore. Blatant justification for a “best of Mt. Pleasant?” I think
so.

Look no further obsessive music junkies, New Moon’s
got the fix.

-Trevor Naud

Video Nolimited (also known as
Video Unlimited), 2151 S. Mission

I’ve patroned enough video stores around this great
state of ours to know a good one when I see one, and damn it, Video
Nolimited has got the goods.

Although it catches more than its fair share of flack
for having no discernible rhyme or reason to its shelving system (it’s
madness!), Video Nolimited is, in fact, quite refined to the trained
eye. For example, while you’re rummaging through the action section
to find that copy of “Black Dog,” you may run into a copy of Summer
Slam 1987 right next to it, and who doesn’t fondly remember the Mega
Powers. Come on!

And while small, Nolimited has an impressive collection
of cheeseball horror flicks, such as “Gore-Met Zombie Chefs From Hell”
and “Three on a Meathook.”

Nolimited is also enjoyable for the camp value of
hearing other passers through’s rental woes (“oh my god, it’s out!”
said one concerned customer, of “National Lampoon’s Senior Trip,” in
a recent visit). And you’ve got to give them credit because they recently
went to the trouble of alphabetizing their new release section. For
you, the customer!

But perhaps the best feature about Nolimited is its
unsung bargains, which blow Video Land’s pompous 5 for 5 away. At Nolimited,
one is able to get three movies for two bucks for seven days. Do the
math! Yes, that’s six movies for seven days for four bucks.

And it’s on the down low. Now I’m not sure why that
subtle bit of marketing genius isn’t being exploited furthermore, but
I’m a writer, not a doctor.

Upon my graduation from CMU, I will shed tears for
very few things. In fact, a lot of Mount Pleasant I could do without.
But when it comes to Video Nolimited, it’s going to be hard to part
ways. It’s a true one-of-a-kind.

Oh yeah, and they’ve got Britney Spears stickers!

– Adam Graham

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