Dinner and a Movie
Friday Fantasy and Fish
Friday Fantasy and Fish
By
Steve Herte
St.
Patrick’s Day came inconveniently on a Tuesday this year and
effectively nixed my normal karaoke night. Thanks to my friend Henri,
who learned about the event from his friend, I was invited to a
Saturday evening Karaoke Coffee House event at a Knights of Columbus
hall in Jackson Heights. The hosts, a married couple with endless
personalities whom I would have expected to have met at
Woodstock, knew of Gabby O’Hara’s and my regular KJ, Dave, as
well as many of the more famous karaoke friends I’ve made.
It
was an evening of animated features and CGI this past Friday. The art
of animation has definitely improved on Disney’s side of the
equation, though Warner’s will forever retain the comedy crown. But
computer graphics are gradually insinuating formerly impossible
characters into “live” movies with greater accuracy and
believability. Now all we need are better writers and actors who can
do justice to the scripts.
Frozen
Fever (Walt
Disney Pictures, 2015) – Directors: Chris Buck & Jennifer Lee.
Voices: Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Josh Gad, & Jonathan Groff.
Color, 8 minutes.
In
this animated short, it’s Anna’s (Bell) birthday and Elsa
(Menzel) wants to celebrate it in grand style, but she’s coming
down with a cold (fancy that). Every time she sneezes, she creates
little snowmen that constantly try to eat the multi-layered ice-cream
cake she prepared. Olaf (Gad) the snowman and Kristoff (Groff) along
with Sven the reindeer try to help with the set-up but wind up
constantly guarding the cake and herding throngs of cute little snow
people. Olaf is so taken with his new “little brothers” that he
names all of them and eventually escorts them to Elsa’s ice palace
for safekeeping.
The
party is a big success but the biggest gift of all for Anna is taking
care of Elsa as she succumbs to a fever (definitely fantasy – the
Ice Queen with a fever) and must be put to bed. It’s a charming but
silly story with beautiful animation and a new song, “Making Today
a Perfect Day.”
Rating:
3 out of 5 Martini glasses.
Cinderella
(Walt Disney Pictures, 2015) – Director: Kenneth Branagh. Writer:
Chris Weitz (s/p). Cast: Lily James, Cate Blanchett, Richard Madden,
Derek Jacobi, Helena Bonham Carter, Ben Chaplin, Hayley Atwell, &
Eloise Webb. Color, 105 minutes.
Just
when I thought it was safe to watch a Disney movie . . .
This
is a remake of Cinderella as a non-animated film,
and quite unnecessary. I was perfectly happy with the original 1950
animated version and the 1965 production of Rogers and Hammerstein’s
musical. They are delightful. Nevertheless, I went to see this film
wondering what new things could be done with the story.
My
lack of expectations was rewarded with a back-story at the beginning
of the movie. Narrated by Carter, who later turns up as a slightly
ditzy Fairy Godmother, it describes the happy life Ella (Webb), at 10
years old, had with her father (Chaplin) and mother (Atwell) in their
lovely house on the outskirts of the kingdom.
Even
at this early age, Ella was able to communicate with animals,
computer generated creatures that were the one marvel of this film as
they were seamlessly integrated with the live actors and yet retained
their identity as animals (never speaking). Ella’s mother taught
her daughter to believe everything, especially magical things. Her
father loved to be with his daughter but was compelled to be away
from home on long trips to provide for the family, much to Ella’s
dismay.
But
all is not always rosy. Ella’s mother develops an undiagnosed fatal
medical condition, which leaves a very sad husband and daughter. With
her dying breath she gives her daughter the sage advice, “Always be
courageous and kind,” a phrase that will be repeated ad nauseam
throughout the movie.
Ella
grows up to young womanhood (James) and all is nice again until one
day her father announces that he intends to wed a recently widowed
woman with two daughters of her own. It’s his “second chance”
and Ella is happy for him. Cue the entrance of the soon to be
stepmother (Blanchett), Drisella (Sophie McShera) and Anastasia
(Holliday Grainger). From the onset, these three highborn wannabes
have nothing but disdain for the house, its furnishings and Ella.
Then,
one day, father has go on another of his trips. Drisella and
Anastasia ask him to bring back parasols and beauty cream. Ella asks
only for a piece of the first tree branch that brushes his shoulder.
Her gift is the only thing that makes it home.
With
no money coming in, the stepmother dismisses the household staff and
replaces them with Ella. When Ella offers her bedroom to Drisella and
Anastasia she’s curtly thanked and relegated to the attic, which is
too cold in winter, so Ella sleeps by the dying embers of the fire in
the kitchen. The ashes on her face the next morning inspire Drisella
to call her “Cinder-Ella.”
The
three continue to mistreat Ella until one day in frustration she
gallops away on a horse into the forest where she’s confronted by
the largest computer-generated stag I’ve ever seen. Hearing
huntsmen in the distance, Ella tells the stag to flee and it does.
Something spooks her horse and they gallop off, only to be rescued by
the Prince (Madden) himself. He’s captivated by her from the start
but conceals his royalty by introducing himself as “Kit” the
apprentice. The rest of the story you know.
One
of the few high points of the movie – and the only humorous part –
is when the Fairy Godmother does her magic. “Have you any fruits or
vegetables? Squash? Kumquat?” “We have pumpkins.” Using the
Disney-requisite “Bibbity-Bobbity-Boo!” she turns a pumpkin into
a coach (while still inside the greenhouse – bad idea), the mice
(one named Gus) into four white horses, two lizards into footmen (one
played by Tom Edden) and a goose into a coachman (Gareth Mason). “I
don’t know how to drive one of these – I’m a goose!”
Most
of the dialogue is sappy and trite. It’s a wonder they managed to
get Jacobi to play the king. The music is spectacular, soaring and
beautiful and goes perfectly with the elaborate – almost baroque –
sets. Otherwise, Cinderella is an over-the-top
fashion show set to a fairy tale with great CGI effects. The costume
department is to be commended – probably will win the movie’s
only Oscar – for pushing the envelope to the breaking point in
design. It’s a wonder the prince doesn’t trip over the acres of
blue gown Cinderella wears to the ball. It’s also a wonder that
that dress fits into the carriage. Her glass slippers looked as if
created by Swarovski.
It’s
the perfect film for little girls and Barbie dolls. As for acting,
Blanchett did a sterling job considering the stock lines she was
given and Jacobi was marvelous. All else, well, they were there.
Rating:
2 out of 5 Martini glasses.
Cull
& Pistol Oyster Bar
75
Ninth Avenue (in Chelsea Market at 15th Street), New
York
Aside
from it being a seafood restaurant, the very name of this small
oyster bar tucked away in New York’s Chelsea Market was an
intriguing come-on. On the website I learned that both are fish
monger terms. A cull is a lobster that has lost one of its claws. A
pistol is a lobster that has lost both of its claws, probably due to
predators. Appropriately, the Cull & Pistol Oyster Bar is located
next to a restaurant called The Lobster Place.
Being
a snowy night (hopefully the last we’ll see for the season), I took
the 14th Street
“L” subway line from the theater to Eighth Avenue (the last
stop). The snow made walking problematic, and it took me a while to
locate the correct corner. But where was the restaurant? It had to be
in the Chelsea Market. I wandered a little through the
shopping-mall-like space and asked the security guard, who replied,
“Straight ahead, on your right, next to the waterfall.” They have
an indoor waterfall? I followed his directions and didn’t stop
until I heard the sound of gushing water. In a corner “grotto”
made of bricks was more like a broken water-main pipe leaking into a
pool below. This is a waterfall? Only in New York.
As
I entered I saw two gentlemen. One asked if I had a reservation. I
said had one at 7:45 pm, which it was at that time. He led me to the
last stool at the bar and proudly indicated the coat-hooks located
under the tin-covered surface. For this I made a reservation? It was
a backless stool, but one without a table or a wall to lean on,
bolted to the floor and therefore immobile. I had to arrange my stuff
and myself to achieve a modicum of comfort while purging my brain of
the thought that I had just been cleverly insulted (again).
But,
as I’ve stated before, and must keep reminding myself, I’ve been
to the best, now I’m going to the rest. My server, perky,
dark-haired Jess, who reminded me of a young Liza Minnelli with a
pierced lower lip, brought me the menu and wine list, along with a
jug of water with the restaurant name emblazoned on it. I asked what
gins she had. Surprisingly I’ve never heard of any she listed,
mostly organic or herbal. But then she suggested Hayman’s London
Dry Gin. How have I not heard of an English distillery that has been
in existence since 1863? It was excellent and the resulting martini
(I didn’t have to tell her “stirred, not shaken”) was equal to
any Beefeater martini I’ve had. Things were looking up.
Although
the restaurant was not particularly dark per se, I had difficulty
reading the menu. The bold black font used for the dish titles
was small and just about readable on the cinnamon brown background.
The normal font describing the dishes was even smaller and might as
well have been invisible. I considered getting my mini-flashlight
out, but that was inside my shoulder bag, which was hanging on the
hook under the bar and was trapped by my coat hanging over it. Too
much effort was involved in extracting it. I used the votive candle
in front of me. Still, it wasn’t easy, and I told Jess how
difficult it was to read the menu.
From
the menu I gathered that most New Yorkers do not observe Lenten
abstinence; nearly every seafood appetizer was paired inextricably
with ham, bacon or pancetta. When Jess told me the special of the
day, it also paired fish with meat. I was beginning to feel trapped
again. I explained my dilemma to Jess. She seemed to understand and
pointed out dishes where meat did not figure as even a garnish. I
selected three courses.
The
wine list was equally cryptic to me and before my eyes crossed
permanently, I asked Jess for a chardonnay. She consulted the
resident expert and they recommended the 2012 Heroine Chardonnay from
the Iconic Winery on the Sonoma Coast. It was exactly what I wanted,
crisp, golden and light but with a sturdy flavor and an intriguing
label featuring a Batgirl-like visage.
My
first course was an endive salad – with valdeon bleu cheese, ruby
red grapefruit slices, watermelon radish thinly sliced into fans,
fried almonds, and lemon dressing. I love endives. They make a salad
into finger-food. You can scoop up the other ingredients on a leaf of
endive and enjoy all the flavors together. I found out that almonds
(not my favorite nut) taste a lot better when they’ve been fried.
That with the marvelous pairing of bleu cheese and grapefruit made
this salad fun as well as delicious.
The
second course was the hearty scallop and mussel chowder –
house-smoked scallops, leeks, purple potatoes, celery root, and chili
oil. “Did you see bacon listed under the ingredients? I didn’t
either,” I commented to Jess. “It’s OK,” she said, “You
didn’t know.” It was wonderful, though not a quite authentic,
chowder. The purple potatoes, though tasty, were a little jarring but
the mussels were sweet and tender and the scallops were appropriately
unassertive except for their smoky flavor. The bacon ruled.
On
Jess’ recommendation, I chose the salt baked whole fish –
Mediterranean Dorado (they used the more colorful but affected term
“Dorade”), lemon thyme, and garlic marinade as a main course over
the Lobster Pho (pronounced “feu,” meaning fire)
– a Vietnamese dish with vermicelli noodles, mussels, hake, chili,
Vietnamese coriander, mint, lime, and bean sprouts.
The
headless fish was served, skin on, atop a bed of salt with its tail
end buried in golden-baked salt. Sprigs of thyme were stuffed inside
the fish. The meat was pure white, juicy and tender, not as salty as
I expected or as over herbed from the thyme, just perfect. I have one
caution about this dish, well, actually two. The first is to be
constantly aware of small bones. They turn up around the edges of the
fish unexpectedly. The second caution is to be aware that the fish is
resting on pure sea salt, which is the same color as the fish flesh.
Be careful what you pop into your mouth. I got a couple of
mouths-full of salt – not pleasant. However, do be sure to attack
the meat on the underside of the rib cage. The better half of the
fish is there. I had a great time.
I
sided the fish with Brussels sprouts with caramelized shallots and
aged Gouda cheese sprinkled on top. Excellent.
I
was rapidly becoming sated, and the wooden stool was reminding my
body that it was still there. So, in order to relieve the numbness I
was beginning to feel in my nether parts, I eschewed dessert and
after dinner drinks in favor of paying the check and leaving. Cull &
Pistol is a great place to eat providing you are of age 20 to 35 and
arrive (with a reservation – the place was packed the whole time I
was there) in a group of four. There are no tables for two and
certainly none for one. More than likely I will not return to this
place because of the uncomfortable seating, but I thank Jess for her
efforts to make me less so.
No comments:
Post a Comment