Flying Fire Fighters and Fabrick
By Steve Herte
This
weekend I had the opportunity to attend a small family reunion at my
sister's house in Milford, Connecticut.
My
niece Julie and her husband James were up from Florida with their
one-year-old daughter Annabelle. When they named her I immediately
thought of the beautiful poem by Edgar Allan Poe. When I heard that
her middle initial was "E" (for Elizabeth) the reference
was complete - Annabelle E! She's a very serious looking child,
absorbing everything in her surroundings, and not leaving Mommy or
Daddy (she can walk) until she decides it's safe to do so. In that
way she's like I was (and still am partially). My guard is always up
until you prove trustworthy. Probably that's why I have less than 100
on Facebook. But being cautious has worked for me in general. The few
real adventures I engaged in were exciting but not life threatening.
But over the years I've gained the ability to trust certain sources
that were reliably consistent. One of these is Pixar (even though the
Mouse that Roared swallowed them up) and the other is David Burke.
Which brings me to this week's Dinner and a Movie. Enjoy!
Planes
2: Fire and Rescue (Disney, 2014) - Director:
Roberts Gannaway. Writer: Jeffrey M. Howard. Cast/Voices: Dane Cook,
Ed Harris, Julie Bowen, Curtis Armstrong, John Michael Higgins, Hal
Holbrook, Wes Studi, Brad Garrett, Teri Hatcher, Stacy Keach, Cedric
the Entertainer, Dale Dye, Danny Mann, Barry Corbin, Regina
King, Jerry Stiller, Anne Meara, Curtis Armstrong, Corrie
English, Matt Jones, Fred Willard, Bryan Callen, Danny Pardo, Erik
Estrada, John Ratzenberger, Rene Auberjonois, &
Kevin Michael Richardson. Color, 83 minutes.
It’s
always amazing when a sequel out-entertains the original because of
the extreme rarity of the occurrence. Planes 2 succeeds
where others fail through the professionalism of the film artists and
animators at Disneytoons. Although both Planes movies
are spin-offs of Pixar’s Cars, the production
rights go to Disney Corporation under the directorship of Roberts
Gannaway. When I was anticipating seeing this film it was for the
spectacular camera angles that were so realistic they swept me into
the action of the moment and made me forget that the characters were
talking vehicles (there’s not a person nor animal in the entire
flick). My expectations were met and exceeded. I was glad I didn’t
see it in IMAX or in just 3D, when I joined the audience in following
(or preceding) Dusty Crophopper (Cook) as he soared in daredevil
maneuvers between pylons, under bridges and in loop-the-loop flying.
It was breathtaking and a little dizzying.
Dusty’s
days as a racer plane are over when he tries a stall climb and strips
a gear in his gear-box and learns from his able mechanic, the
forklift named Sparky (Mann) that the replacement part isn’t being
made anymore. Though his friends Dottie (Hatcher), Skipper (Keach)
and Chug (Garrett) try to console him, he leaves their company and
goes flying after dark, trying to push his engine “into the red
zone,” which he was warned never to do again, stalls out, and
careens into the local gathering place for his friends, setting it on
fire. Mayday, the fire truck (Holbrook) can’t put the fire out by
himself and enlists the help of both planes and cars to topple the
water tower and extinguish it that way. This sparks an investigation
by Ryker (Richardson) of TMST (“This Means Serious Trouble”
suggests one character) Transportation Management Safety Team, with
the result being that Mayday needs an overhaul because of his age and
the “town” needs a second firefighter. Feeling guilty for being
the cause of this, Dusty flies off to Piston Peak National Park to
become trained and certified as such.
There
he meets Blade Ranger (Harris) a serious helicopter, Maru (Armstrong)
a whiz of a mechanic forklift, Windlifter (Studi) an enigmatic and
stolid Cherokee helicopter, and Lil’ Dipper (Bowen), a star-struck
tanker plane who has followed Dusty’s career avidly. Also in this
group are Cabbie (Dye) a huge transport plane, and the Smoke Jumpers,
Dynamite (King), Pinecone (English), Avalanche (Callen), Blackout
(Pardo) and Drip (Jones). After Maru trades his landing gear for
refillable pontoons Dusty starts his training with the reluctant
Blade Ranger.
Meanwhile,
Park Superintendent Cad Spinner (Higgins), a fast-talking luxury SUV,
is holding a huge gala at his lodge and is expecting attendees and
celebrities from all over (including Boat Reynolds and the Secretary
of the Interior – voiced by Willard) and he doesn’t want to hear
anything about a forest fire heading straight toward his lodge. This
becomes the major challenge for the fire-fighting planes and the
still uncertified Dusty, who has to prove himself in a real
emergency.
I
loved Planes 2 for the sheer scope of the film and
the cast of excellent characters and their famous voices. In addition
to those I’ve already discussed, Stiller and Meara voice two
elderly recreational vehicles, revisiting the place where they first
met. Estrada revisits his television role as a Police helicopter
side-kick Nick ‘Loopin’ Lopez in CHoPS with Blade Ranger.
Ratzenberger revives his part as Brodi and Auberjonois joins the
cast as Concierge, a French-accented forklift at the lodge.
Bring
the children to this movie and have a great time, though I would not
suggest bringing babies. There are several scenes with loud noises
and the babies in my audience did not react well to them. The film is
squeaky clean with regard to language and any sexual content and the
violence is played down. The worst expletives I heard were “Chevy!”
and “Stick Shifts!”
Rating:
5 out of 5 Martini glasses.
David
Burke Fabrick
47
West 38th Street (between 5th and
6th Avenues), New York
Having
dined at david burke and donatella (yes, all lower case, but now the
David Burke Townhouse), Fishtail, Kitchen, and David Burke Prime at
Foxwoods Casino, I was delighted to see a new David Burke
establishment called Fabrick in the Archer Hotel. You could say I’m
a fan of the chef, especially after meeting him at Kitchen in the
James Hotel downtown. He’s a great personality with a zeal for
innovative cuisine. I really should visit his restaurant in
Bloomingdale's department store, once called Le Train Bleu. It’s
the only one I’ve missed.
The
Archer Hotel is recessed from the main sidewalk on 38th Street
to allow for a sidewalk café attached to Fabrick. Inside, the bright
red chairs and yellow banquettes at bare wood tables are arranged
informally to create an indoor “outdoor” experience. The dark
wood and open brick walls lead to a beautiful skylight over the
“shack” that is the kitchen in the back. The ceiling over my
table was a colorful tapestry from which twin antique fans hung and
spun. All of David Burke’s restaurants have some unusual decorative
accent such as the glass “balloons” at Townhouse. Fabrick has a
wrought iron chandelier enclosed in a birdcage hanging from a coiled
rope that was purchased from an outfit known as Restoration Hardware.
(Thus I was informed by my waiter Erik, with whom I was on a first
name basis by the end of the meal).
After
a fantastic Manhattan infused with maple syrup (the perfect Welcome
Back drink after my stay in Vermont), Erik assisted me with the menu
which was organized into four categories: Mostly Veg, Meat, Fish, and
Sides with the smaller sized dishes listed first and the larger ones
second in each half of a category. I told Erik what interested me,
how big my appetite was and how slow an eater I am and that I was
looking at a three-course meal. When he heard my choice of entrée,
he added a course and I agreed. I asked for the wine list and chose
the 2012 “Geyserville” Zinfandel from Ridge Vineyards in Sonoma
County – a delicious deep red varietal consisting of mostly
zinfandel (71%) and rest is Carignane, Petit Syrah, Alicante Bouchet
and Mataro (Mourvèdre) – fruity yet authoritative without being
heavy.
While
Erik was off attending to my order the executive chef arrived with
the Amuse Bouche, a delicately sliced fluke dish with a
citrus sauce and basil olive oil – a nice beginning, understated
but tasty. But then my first appetizer arrived – a Foie
Gras Torchon (goose liver paté formed into a patty) on a
small bun with a peach sauce – a special for the day. It was
wonderful as well as strange. Really, eating foie gras as
if it were a burger! But that’s David Burke. The two girls at the
next table were being served the candied bacon suspended by
clothespins on a miniature washing line.
Next
came the dish Erik recommended, the Red Snapper Ceviche in
a fiery grapefruit sauce and topped with fried plantain chips. I was
amazed how something so fruity could be so spicy at the same time.
Various spicy items raced through my thoughts as I tried to isolate
what was causing the fiesta in my mouth (probably some hot pepper
essence).
If
you’ve kept up with my reviews you would know by now that octopus
and I are old friends. The Angry Tacos featured grilled octopus with
garlic, soft tortillas, an avocado purée, chipotle aioli,
and pico de gallo. Though a bit messy to eat, they were
fun to construct and delicious. I particularly loved the little iron
pan the octopus was served in.
Erik
brought a formidable steak knife for the main course bearing the
David Burke logo on it. I would compare it to an amalgam of a steak
knife and a meat cleaver. The Lamb Chops and Ribs were served on a
cutting board with the grilled ramps. The curried shoestring fries
were in a neat paper cone supported by a silver bowl nearby. As Erik
advised, the Vindaloo barbeque sauce on the ribs was not the Indian
style hotter-than-hot sauce but a respectable spicy topping. The
curried fries however, were seriously addicting and the lamb almost
did not need the horror-film knife.
Of
course I was ready for dessert after this and normally I retain the
slip showing what I had, but this time, for some reason I was really
enjoying myself and neglected to do so. Let it just be said that in
involved exotic fruit flavored sorbet, meringue and a slice of dense
sweet pie looking like a sailing ship with caramelized sails. That
and a cognac finished a truly David Burke dinner-experience. Fabrick
has only been open for a month but I can see it going for a long time
with Chef Burke at the helm.
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