Food as xenophobia

Wandering around the back alleys of the internet (having just this evening dined at a first-class restaurant, review to come) looking for something food-related, I happened across this excoriating review of Langan's Brasserie in London. It was notable not for the restaurant, which apparently had seen much better days, but for its delightful essay and rich language. I present it here for your gratuitous enjoyment.

Langan's Brasserie Review

The Joshua Wilton House: Groane Belche Groane!

As part of the celebration of my dear wife's most recent trip around Sol, we dined yesterday at the Joshua Wilton House in Harrisonburg.

Ooh, la la! This is a restaurant de grand luxe, with prices to match - but first class is first class and you don't get quality like this without paying for it.

Dinner for two was into the three figures, but you will never find menu items like this at the local Squat 'n' Gobble. We both started with a divine sweet vidalia onion soup, my wife had a quail appetizer and duck ravioli, while I enjoyed veal sweetbreads and a filet mignon that just about melted and ran off my plate. When my companion ordered a peach crostata with basil-flavored ice cream [that was a taste sensation], they brought it with an elegant candle and a strip of marzipan that read "Happy Birthday".

Being teetotal we couldn't pass judgment on the wines, but I did notice that their wine selection seemed absolutely vast. If I were wealthy beyond the dreams of avarice, I would eat here on a regular basis. Seven thumbs up!


Sausage-stuffed quail


Veal sweetbreads


Duck ravioli


Filet mignon


Peach crostata with thai basil ice cream, birthday presentation

ToniAnne mentioned that it's probably good I'm not affluent enough to eat here more often, for a number of reasons - even the extraordinary becomes mundane when partaken of too often, and then there's the heart-attack factor...

Still, this was a gastronomic adventure I will be thinking of with pleasure for a long time to come.

Movie Review: The Sorcerer's Apprentice

How delightful to go to a drive-in... there are so few left and I hadn't been to one for 30 years. A sudden downpour delayed our departure from Harrisonburg - I'm talking Noah's flood here - so we got there a few minutes late, but given the nature of the story we didn't really feel as though we had missed anything critical.

Haven't been to any of the review sites to read what people are saying about this film, but if I had to guess - and I'll check when I'm done writing this - I'd say it was probably underwhelming. I'm one of Nicolas Cage's few remaining fans in the world, no matter how many hack movies he appears in, largely based on his perfect performance in "Guarding Tess". You know, some movies are designed for some people - "Dances With Wolves" was just the right rôle for Costner, because his personality was Dunbar's - and "Guarding Tess" was just right for Cage. "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" wasn't - but what the heck. It was worth the hour's drive up. The effects were fun to watch, and there are a couple of real knee-slapping moments in the film, two cultural references that I didn't expect at all. But I won't spoil those for you. The acting wasn't terrible, but even the powerful Alfred Molina seemed hampered by the average quality of the character he was given to work with.

This is a film probably best seen on DVD - from Redbox - if you haven't already seen it. For a buck, you'll probably feel entertained and not ripped off.

Overall Rating: Five and a half stars out of ten.

Movie Review: The Last Airbender

When you drive an hour to experience a drive-in, you might as well go all the way and watch two movies. We had planned on seeing Sorcerer's Apprentice and Toy Story 3 (which I had already seen) but ToniAnne's daughter had also seen the latter show twice before, so we moved to the second screen and watched "The Last Airbender" instead. Wife said after we came home, "Please warn me if you're planning to take me to another movie by Shymalan!" Heh - I had to chuckle about that - but here's where the expected flaying takes a slightly different turn.

I actually enjoyed it. As I think about the reasons why, I think it was because I had never seen the original cartoon series (and I knew in advance that the movie was trying to cram too much information into a single film) and the effects were good. Make no mistake - the acting was abominable, with all due respect to the players. That, at least, was apparent from the very first moment; and, it seemed more because the cast selected was unknown and untrained, rather than well-known or top-drawer actors being poorly directed. But as the film progressed, I found myself being drawn into the story, which is probably more of a credit to the source material than the live-action version.

At this point, I want to watch the animated series. I just looked at a preview on Amazon, and I'm saddened that Shymalan's version was so poor - because it could have been spectacular. [Small rant: Two of the most visually impactful scenes which were shown in the theatrical previews didn't even appear in the movie. Snarl! I hate it when they do that...]

On a more general note, I'm not sure what's up with Mr. Shymalan. Sixth Sense, of course, was perfectly executed. His reputation of being a one-hit wonder or a one-trick horse doesn't seem entirely deserved, because I've perceived that his films are not meant to be horror by nature, but rather excursions into the human mind. I enjoyed Unbreakable and Lady in the Water - and even The Village and Signs were entertaining enough - but he just hasn't been able to get things to click since his first major hit. I'm hoping he's got at least another blockbuster in there, because when he does it right, it's phenomenal.

Overall Rating: Six stars out of ten.

Movie Review: The Night Listener

Based on a true account, this is a disturbing psychodrama, but a well-executed one that asks some good questions about the nature of relationships and how far we will go to create/preserve them. Williams is convincing in the role of a gay radio host who gets drawn into a relationship with a woman and her son. Williams' character is struggling with the breakup of his own relationship, and he forms a connection with Donna Logand, in order to help her adopted son Peter, an abused boy who is very ill from AIDS. As the story unfolds, Williams' character begins to have stronger and stronger doubts as to whether the boy exists at all. To say more would be to take some of the zing out of the viewing experience.

The most unusual thing about this film is that it doesn't begin to compare with the strangeness of the circumstances surrounding the actual events.

The subject material is gritty, and the language is free-flowing and coarse, but you couldn't tell this story honestly without it. Probably not for the faint of heart who like unicorns and flowers.

Overall Rating: Eight out of Ten Stars