Banking on Davio’s
By Steve Herte
Groundhog
Day always reminds me of a Peanuts episode where
Snoopy is looking very proud of himself and Lucy is touting the fact
that it's "His Day.” That is until she’s corrected by Linus
and has to embarrassingly explain to a deflated Snoopy that she
thought it was “Ground Dog Day.” As the day did not repeat
itself over and over as it did with Bill Murray, I was happy. For
some reason all my search engines are failing to find the Internet on
my new laptop. I had to use my Kindle Fire for references. I will now
search for solutions. But first I wanted to keep you up to date on
the movie and dining scene. Enjoy!
Saving
Mr. Banks (Walt Disney Pictures, 2013) –
Director: John Lee Hancock. Writers: Kelly Marcel, Sue Smith. Cast:
Tom Hanks, Emma Thompson, Annie Rose Buckley, Colin Farrell, Ruth
Wilson, Paul Giamatti, Bradley Whitford, Rachel Griffiths, Jason
Schewartzman, & B.J. Novak. Color, 125 minutes.
Usually
I lose interest in movies that keep flashing back and forth in time
but this film is an exception. The opening scene is set in 1906 and
P.L. Travers is a young girl (Buckley) in Australia with a great
imagination fed by her endlessly fantasizing father. Everything seems
ideal until we learn that Daddy is also an alcoholic and cannot seem
to keep a job for long. The family has to move from the lovely little
suburb to the Australian version of the little house on the prairie
in Allora (the end of the line on the train) where Travers (Farrell)
has his new job working for a bank.
The
scene switches to 1961 and Thompson plays the adult Travers who has
written the extremely popular “Mary Poppins” two decades ago.
Money from the royalties apparently is drying up (she had to let her
maid go) and Walt Disney (Hanks) has been trying yearly to get her
permission to make the book into a movie. She has been resisting his
offers stubbornly up to now but her agent convinces her to travel
from London to Los Angeles to meet Disney.
She
doesn’t go quietly but she goes, haughtily refusing every courtesy
offered her along the way even to the point of rudeness in one
instance, asking a mother on the plane if her child will be a
nuisance during the flight. When she arrives in Disney’s office the
whole conflict of the movie begins. It’s a classic example of
“irresistible force meets immovable object” and the games begin.
She takes the unsigned contract, places it in her purse and goes with
him to meet the team of writers she will be consulting. In the
beginning she is dead set on the movie being a musical, certainly not
with Dick Van Dyke, having any animation or even the hint of a
cartoon, and employing the color “red” anywhere. The team endures
one frustration after another until slowly, cleverly, and with Walt’s
help, they cajole and coax her to see their way of thinking that the
movie takes shape. It isn’t easy. Every step of the way she’s
looking back in memory to her father, whom she adores and envisions
as the father figure, “Mr. Banks” in the book. Meanwhile, Walt is
doing the same, but Mr. Banks is his father, Elias Disney, who made
him deliver newspapers in the worst Missouri winter weather.
It’s
not until they have a heart-to-heart talk about this in London (she
stormed out of his office upon learning of the scene where Van Dyke
dances with animated penguins and took the first flight home) that
she signs the contract and the movie is produced.
It’s
a beautiful film that uses the frequent flashbacks to explain some of
the outlandish things Travers does as an adult. For example, she
throws all the pears included in a fruit basket in her hotel room
into the swimming pool from her balcony. Why? The last thing her
father asked her for before he died was pears, and he died before she
could deliver them. Thompson does a superb job of playing the Aussie
girl (nee Ginty Goff) who takes her father’s first name
for her last as an author, and plays the prim and proper English lady
totally at odds with anything American. Hanks does such a great
performance as Disney that several times I forgot who he was. Only
the roundness of his face brought me back to Hanks. (I remember
Disney as having narrower cheeks.) The supporting cast was wonderful
in its reactions to the intractable English woman, as well as the
subtly all-powerful Disney. There were two scenes of pathos, so bring
a handkerchief or a tissue or two. Otherwise you won’t survive the
Hollywood Premiere scene or the prior scene when she dances to “Let’s
Fly a Kite.” Giamatti plays the lovable and ever-present Ralph, the
chauffeur who becomes “the only American I ever liked” in an
autograph of “Mary Poppins” that is presented toward the end of
the film.
Saving
Mr. Banks is in entertaining study of interpersonal
relations, prejudices and the effects of childhood experiences on our
growth into adulthood. Amazingly it accomplishes this without
violence, vulgarity and sex. Both music and cinematography are
beautiful and used effectively when switching time periods. Be
warned, the movie is over two hours long and will be a guaranteed
sleeper for small children. The story is geared to adults.
Rating:
4½ out of 5 Martini glasses.
Davio’s
451
Lexington Avenue (45th Street), New
York
When
searching for new and exciting dining places I discovered that a
restaurant in Boston where I had two lovely dinners (in two
locations) had opened another in Manhattan. Davio’s is a Northern
Italian Steakhouse, a unique combination that melds the creamy
cuisine of Alpine Italy with the hearty flavors and side dishes of a
grand steakhouse. The Boston location on Newbury Street has been in
operation since 1985 and since then restaurants have opened in
Philadelphia, Atlanta, and of course, New York.
The
entrance to Davio’s on Lexington Avenue is understated to say the
least, just a glass enclosed space and a small patio with a table
upon which is a silvery floral arrangement. Inside is an elevator for
handicapped patrons and a stairway down to the restaurant.
The
young man at the Captain’s Station led me to my table in the back
from where I had a perfect view of the entire space. The décor is as
understated as the exterior with the exception of the far wall, which
had a mural depicting a typical hillside town in Italy (possibly
Amalfi) with an outrageously colorful sky. Otherwise, the colors are
burnished with deep golds and olive greens and large, disc-shaped
chandeliers for lighting.
My
waiter, the affable Rupert, brought me the menu and wine list and
took my water preference and cocktail order. The menu is organized in
the usual Italian style; Antipasti (appetizers), Insalate (salads),
Farinacei (pastas), Caserecci (a new term for me – main courses
literally “homemade”), Carni (meat dishes), Pesce (fish dishes),
Salse (sauces available for steaks), and Contorni (sides). There is
even a gluten-free menu for those who don’t know what “dining
out” really means. I learned this when I opened my menu and found
out I had the wrong one. The wine list is impressive and one can
certainly find an affordable one to satisfy one’s tastes among the
several over-priced bottles. Wines by the glass are available and a
good selection is listed. One notable difference in Davio’s is the
list of more expensive “reserved” wines by the glass that they
are able to serve without removing the cork. Rupert demonstrated this
device for me which looks like a larger version of a cork remover,
only it pierces the cork with a slim metal “proboscis” (it
reminded me of a mosquito piercing skin) that allows wine to be
pumped directly to the glass. When removed, the cork fills in the
minor hole it made and it is as if the wine were never opened. I’m
rarely that amazed – and I got to taste a new wine in the process.
Rupert
asked if I would like to hear his list of favorite dishes and I said
“yes.” Within five minutes he described my three-course meal. It
was like having a psychic waiter. A few more minutes of mulling the
menu while sipping my perfect Beefeater martini and I was ready to
order. Rupert gave me his favorite side dishes but didn’t mention
the one I had my heart set on.
I
ordered the wine first, a 2011 Mendocino County Zinfandel from
Edmeade vineyards turned out to be the best bet for my meal. I still
say I’ve never met a zinfandel I didn’t like. I chose it because
I’ve already tasted (and liked) the two other zinfandels on the
menu. A delightful amuse-bouche later and the bread dish arrived with
homemade focaccia, a substantial bread stick and a slice of crusty
dark bread, accompanied by a selection of three spreads, an herbal
butter, a garlicky eggplant spread (Delicious!) and a roasted peppers
topping. All were wonderful.
The
Pan-Seared Foie Gras, resting on three Fig-Stuffed Gnocchi (potato
pasta) in a Vin Santo sauce, provided a delightfully sweet start to
my meal. The bite-sized trio was more like having dessert first. The
gnocchi shaped like pillows were different from gnocchi I’m used to
but were obviously homemade.
Next
was the Cappellacci (“large hats,” supposedly inspired by one
worn by Lucretzia Borgia) pasta dish with slow roasted squash, and
Amaretti cookie and in a walnut cream sauce. Again it’s obviously
homemade, and the flavor? It was earthy, slightly sweet and sinfully
creamy. I loved it and used the bread to get every drop of that
fabulous sauce.
The
main course was the Veal Tenderloin rolled in Urfa Biber (a rich
pepper flake from Turkey with a smoky, earthy, spicy flavor) with
Romanesco (an heirloom Broccoli) and Salt-Roasted Potatoes in a
Barolo wine sauce. The upright tender cylinders of medium-done veal
were easy to cut, chew and savor before swallowing. Davio’s has
transported me once again to sunny Italy. Of course, the Roasted
Brussels Sprouts with carrot purée and almonds helped make that
vision complete.
Did
I need dessert? No. Did I have dessert? Yes, indeed. The Affogato
(gelato and whipped cream with espresso poured over it) was there to
be enjoyed, especially with a glass of Grappa Torcolato. “Affogato”
is “drowned” in Italian, but it just might have meant finished
and happy for me. Salute, Davio’s!
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