By Steve Herte
This
past week was busy in a different sense than most. I spent Veterans
Day weekend caring for my 91-year-old World War II veteran Dad who
took a spill that Saturday. Thank goodness, nothing broken, not even
bruised (and he bruises quickly); just a stiff neck and shoulder
pain. It precipitated a change in routine but it will be manageable.
The four-day work week was highlighted by our fourth annual
partner/volunteer summit where we invite volunteers to meet the
people from the organizations who provide free tax return preparation
and filing for low-income taxpayers, the disabled and the elderly. It
was a big success, 119 volunteers and about 30 partner
representatives. Then Thursday there was a “members preview” of a
new exhibit at the Museum of Natural History called “The Power
of Poison” – very interesting, and I’ll be writing more about
it. Friday, our computer service division made the last repair to my
office laptop, linking in my scanner and making me fully functional
again. I was definitely ready for my dinner and movie night.
This time it was something new and something old. Both were
entertaining. Enjoy!
Free
Birds (Relatvity Media, 2013) – Director:
Jimmy Hayward. Writers: Jimmy Hayward & Scott Mosier (s/p), David
I. Stern & John J. Strauss (story). Voices: Owen Wilson, Woody
Harrelson, Amy Poehler, George Takei, Colm Meaney, Keith David, Dan
Fogler, Jimmy Hayward, Robert Beltran, & Kaitlyn Maher. Animated,
Color, 91 minutes.
The
first screen before the movie starts is the disclaimer that “Any
historical references in this film are purely fictional. The parts
about talking turkeys however, is real.” Later we hear the main
character Reggie (Wilson): “Let’s face it…Turkeys are dumb . .
. Really dumb” as we watch a turkey obviously entertained by the
wiggling of the toes on his own foot. Reggie is the voice of reason
in his hopelessly ignorant flock. He tries to make them realize that
they’re only being fattened up for the dinner table, but no one
listens and he is an outcast. When the farmer comes to choose a
turkey, they literally cast him out of the coop. Reggie is sure he’s
doomed until he is taken to Washington, D.C., and is chosen as the
Officially Pardoned Thanksgiving Turkey – an honor he almost loses
because of his small stature, but wins with the help (and whining) of
the President’s daughter (Maher).
While
living in D.C., Reggie discovers television, a soap opera about a
character he identifies with who calls himself “El Solo Lobo,”
and the wonders of pizza (which he learns to order in large amounts).
One day he is kidnapped (or rather turkey-napped) by the burly Jake
(Harrelson) and becomes involved in his mission, given to him as a
chick by the “Great Turkey:” to go back in time and take turkeys
off the Thanksgiving menu. Together they break into a secret
underground facility housing an egg-shaped (appropriately) time
machine, acronym S.T.E.V.E. (Space Time Exploration Vehicle Envoy,
voiced by Takei), which takes them back to Plymouth Colony 1621, just
before the first Thanksgiving.
Reggie
and Jake join up with a flock of wild (and surprisingly, not dumb)
turkeys led by Chief Broadbeak (David) and Ranger (Hayward – who
also voices the President, Leatherbeak and several other characters).
It is here that Reggie meets his love interest, Jennie (Poehler),
sister of Ranger and daughter (of course) of Chief Broadbeak.
The
people of Plymouth Colony are starving – with the exception of
Governor Bradford (Fogler) who is obviously well-fed – and they
pressure Miles Standish (Meaney) to round up turkeys for their dinner
with the Indians, whose help they need to survive. It becomes a
battle for survival between the humans and the turkeys. In the
process of destroying the colonists’ firearms shed, Jake takes a
leaky powder horn back to the secret hiding place of the flock and
leads Standish there. A large number of turkeys are captured, the
hiding place is burned to the ground, Chief Broadbeak meets his
demise, and Jennie becomes the new Chief. She rallies the remainder
of the flock and they engage the humans with flaming pumpkin loaded
catapults. In the words of Chief Massasoit (Beltran), “Those are
some really Angry Birds!”
Reggie
meanwhile has gone back to S.T.E.V.E. and learns the he is indeed the
Great Turkey when he meets three more of himself in what should be
the ultimate time paradox. He and S.T.E.V.E. return to 1621 in a
spectacular “Deus ex Machina” that ends the battle and replaces
turkey dinner with (what else?) pizza! While the colonists and
Indians are enjoying their pizza someone spills anchovies on the
Chief’s slice. He takes a bite and speaks the best line in the
movie, “Tastes like old sock, but still better than anything my
wife cooks.”
Free
Birds is
a crazy story but a fun movie for the children (providing the parents
advise them not to take it seriously). If you’re looking for light
entertainment without violence or vulgarity (even the kiss scene is
off-camera) and a mindless film you don’t have to think about, this
is a good choice. It doesn’t even have a moral. But stay through
the credits for the last line. Rating: 3
out of 5 Martini glasses.
The
Odeon
145
West Broadway (at Thomas Street), New York
The
reviews I’ve written up until now have been of first-time visits to
restaurants. This one is a return visit after a long absence. A
little after 1985, when the “Odeon Cafeteria” opened its doors
and Andy Warhol made it his hangout I first dined there around
Christmas time (when the downtown crowd is lighter). Being that my
memory of the experience is sparse, but not unpleasant, I decided the
time had come for a revisit. I do remember that the “cafeteria”
part of the name technically did not apply, since I did not have to
serve myself or wait on a line. “Diner” would have been more
appropriate, what with the Art-Deco décor and blazing neon sign
outside. But The Odeon is more than a “diner.”
Billed
on Opentable.com as “French” (which I also don’t remember, per
se) the restaurant has added a red “air lock” entry to keep the
cold air out in winter and the air-conditioning in during summer. At
7:00 pm on Friday night, it is one of the few restaurants in downtown
Manhattan that is crowded, with every table (about 30 of them that I
could see) occupied by a mixed clientele of old and young, children
and adults. A reservation is definitely a must. The only empty seat
was mine. The young woman at the Captain’s station sat me on a
banquette between a table of two gentlemen and one of two ladies.
Shortly
after being seated, a young man offered me the single page menu
(cocktails and drinks on the reverse side) and the single page wine
list, and took my water preference. Right away I saw a cocktail that
attracted me called the “Sazerac” – Old Overholt Rye Whiskey,
Peychaud’s Bitters, Absinthe and Lemon Juice. A little while later,
my waitress Rachel brought the orangey-red concoction to the table.
It was a little spicy and a little sweet – perfect. Then I had a
“Eureka” moment: the “French” part of The Odeon was New
Orleans, not France. My dinner order was easy from then on.
I
started with the Spicy Chicken Dumplings – six little pasta purses
stuffed with ground chicken, lightly coated with a Tabasco-y sauce
and served with a Bleu Cheese dipping sauce and small frisé salad.
Aside from the pasta part it was comparable to eating Buffalo Chicken
wings without getting messy. Rachel thought the comparison
appropriate. The menu was not large enough to create a three-course
meal and the only main course calling out to me was the duck. But I
had just enjoyed duck the night before and wanted to diversify.
The
daily special was Rack of Berkshire Pork. I ordered it. The 2010
Malbec by the glass seemed a good match and I ordered that. A little
later the two gentlemen to my left were served identical dishes that
I hoped I recognized. “Is that the pork?” “Yes.” “Excellent!”
Soon I had my own hefty serving of inch-thick pork on the bone
nestled in Baby Brussels Sprouts and spaetzle with bacon. My side
order of crispy, thin French Fries arrived soon after with a dipping
sauce comparable only to Russian dressing (hey, don’t knock it if
you haven’t tried it.) The wine was indeed a good match and I was
having a delightful meal. Did I mention the breadbasket? Thick,
crusty slices of fluffy bread, ideal for sopping up any delicious
sauce. I nearly finished it except for a server absconding with the
last slice before dessert.
Rachel
gave me the dessert menu after I had successfully cleaned two plates
to perfect whiteness and emptied the butter dish. The Warm Doughnuts
with Raspberry Jam Maple dipping sauce were irresistible. The fluffy,
sugarcoated confections were almost sinful and definitely New
Orleans. Coffee would have been an anticlimax and a mood changer.
Therefore, a glass of Hennessey VSOP cognac later, and I was happy.
In two years The Odeon will celebrate 30 years of existence and,
considering the short turnover of most restaurants downtown, I will
be there celebrating with them.
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