Dinner and a Movie
Marigolds and Adalya
Marigolds and Adalya
By
Steve Herte
I
sincerely hope this week’s snowstorm is the last one this winter,
and am doubly glad I do not live in Boston. I have an invitation to
the Spring Gem Show in Manhattan, an event I haven’t attended in a
couple of years. I’ve always seen it as a kind of a harbinger of
warmer weather, for it makes me think of those new irises, tulips and
hyacinths hiding under a foot of frozen water. Perhaps that was part
of the reason why I chose a movie that takes place in a warm area of
the world. It also helped to find a restaurant where it was also
warm. Enjoy!
The
Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (Fox
Searchlight, 2015) – Director: John Madden: Writer: Ol Parker
(s/p). Cast: Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, Richard Gere,
Danny Mahoney, David Strathairn, Celia Imrie, Tamsin Grieg, Dev
Patel, Ronald Pickup, Diana Gardcastle, Subhrajyoti Barat, Fiona
Mollison, Zachary Coffin, Jayesh V. Kardak, Tina Desai, Rajesh
Tailang, Lillete Dubey, Poppy Miller, & Shazad Latif. Color, 122
minutes.
Sonny
Kapoor (Patel) and Muriel Donnelly (Smith) travel from Jaipur, India,
to San Diego to meet with Ty Burley (Strathairn) to secure funding to
buy a second hotel in Jaipur when the first is filled (except for one
room) and nobody is moving out. Ty is more taken with Muriel’s
rough-edged salesmanship than Sonny’s colorful exuberance, but he
agrees to send an inspector to see how things are going at the first
hotel. Since Ty actually said that he’ll send a “guy,” Sonny
assumes the inspector will be male.
When
both Lavinia Beech (Greig) and Guy Chambers (Gere) arrive at the
hotel simultaneously, Sonny concludes that Guy is the “guy” and
he falls over himself trying to impress Mr. Chambers. This seriously
distracts him from a very important upcoming event: his marriage to
the lovely Sunaina (Desai). That is, until the charming Kushal
(Latif) arrives to choreograph the wedding dance, and Sonny’s
convinced Kushal’s real mission is to steal Sunaina from him.
Mr.
Chambers takes one look at Sonny’s mother (Dubey) and is very
interested. She can’t see why and Sonny is shocked. He’s even
more shocked when he learns that Kushal has already bought the hotel
he has planned to be his second location.
Meanwhile,
the other hotel guests are seeking livelihoods in Jaipur. Evelyn
Greenslade (Dench) has become successful as a fabrics merchant, and
her company wants to put her in charge of that department. They send
her to Mumbai to work at her bargaining skills. Douglas Ainslie
(Nighy) has his eyes set on Evelyn, but is working as a tour guide
(with the assistance of a young boy and an ear mic). Madge Hardcastle
(Imrie) is hoping to marry a rich Raja and has two of them wooing
her, while Babul (Tailang) – who really cares for her – drives
her back and forth.
Norman
Cousins (Pickup) and Carol Parr (Hardcastle) are working on an
exclusive relationship. Douglas’ wife Susan (Mollison) arrives
unexpectedly when he’s anticipating his daughter Jodi (Miller), who
is giving a speech in Mumbai. He wants Evelyn to meet Jodi, but is
now faced with Susan’s request for a divorce. She, in turn, is
bowled over that they can’t give adultery as the reason for the
divorce.
This
beautiful and charming sequel is equal to the first in stunningly
colorful cinematography, witty and delightful writing and excellent
acting by a seasoned cast. “You need teamwork to make a dream
work,” says Sonny. And it shows. The interaction between Judi Dench
and Maggie Smith is priceless and Dev Patel’s over-the-top
enthusiasm is infectious. Interpersonal relationships between
characters are performed flawlessly and the audience is easily caught
up in them. The wonderful mix of traditional Indian music and
Bollywood dance scenes add to the joy of this film. It’s a definite
recommendation for anyone’s “must-see” list.
Rating:
5 out of 5 Martini glasses.
Adalya
55
Irving Place (between 17th and
18th Streets), New
York
When I confirmed my reservation at this Irving Place hotspot I didn’t know it was a hotspot. Given a choice of sitting at the bar or at a table, I chose a table. Given a second choice of a high-topped table or a regular table I chose a regular table. I thought I had everything arranged as I entered the blue canvas door and met the two young ladies at the Captain’s Station.
As
I was led to a stool at a high-topped table one can only imagine my
disappointment. I made it clear that I was led to believe I had a
normal table and they made it obvious that I should take it or leave
it. There was nothing they could do. I considered leaving and seeking
another restaurant but then, remembering a Seinfeld episode
referring to car rentals, I threw up my hands, folded my coat over
one of the stools, slid the one near me closer to the wall and
perched on it. The wall was surprisingly warm. It’s the first time
in three weeks I’ve been warm in a restaurant. Maybe things were
looking up.
My
server, Elis, took my water preference and, after presenting me with
the single-card wine and drink list and menu (also a single card),
asked if I would like a cocktail. I chose the “Cellar Door” – a
mixture of Tequila, Mexcal, Lime, Cassis and Ginger Beer. Served in a
tall glass and looking like a simple cola it had a surprising kick
and the ginger beer added a spicy tang to the liquor ingredients.
When
Elis returned I asked his advice. There were several small plates
available as appetizers or tapas. After he explained that most of the
dishes contained in the two categories before “large dishes” were
generally small, I then knew what I wanted. I ordered three courses
and chose a 2010 Corvus Karga Turkiye Kuntra, a smooth cabernet
sauvignon from a vineyard on a small island near Gallipoli. The
manager was ecstatic at my choice and offered his knowledge about the
origin of the wine. It was delicious.
My
appetizer was “Shakshouka” – a Tunisian/Israeli dip with
peppers, onions, tomato sauce, spice, and fried eggs in an iron
skillet accompanied by toasted baguette slices. When Elis told me the
pan was very hot I believed him, and proved him right with the first
bite.
Having
had it before, I love and looked forward to the “Grilled Halloumi
Salad.” Not really a salad in the American sense, just two
beautifully grilled wedges of tasty, slightly salted cheese and
cooked Kabocha squash – a Japanese variety of winter squash with a
taste and color akin to turnip – in cider vinaigrette. The two
flavors were meant to be together. Oh, and yes, there were tiny
little sprouts to add green to the “salad.” Elis told me it was
his favorite dish.
I
must admit that, having seen striped bass on the menu online I was a
little disappointed that it was missing but Elis sang the praises of
the codfish – over onions, peppers, carrots, and capers in a
“limequat” (an interesting hybrid) reduction sauce. The normally
smelliest fish in the ocean was not as odorous, was golden on top and
flaky white inside, with a pleasing flavor. But the carrots amazed me
in being of a melt-in-the-mouth tenderness.
The
really amazing part of the meal came at dessert. There were only two
and the chocolate cake lost out to the rosemary olive loaf with
pistachio gelato. Think bread pudding with olives, a salty-sweet
confection perfect for the end of a Mediterranean meal.
I
asked if they had Turkish coffee but alas, no. The American coffee
was sufficiently dark though and Elis brought Sambuca as an on the
house after-dinner drink. I didn’t want to tell him that using
three coffee beans is traditional (there were only two). I just
enjoyed it.
I should have realized that any restaurant on Irving Place would be packed on a Friday night because of the famous music venue of the same name, and Adalya was no exception. The constant traffic in and out kept the place jumping – quite the opposite of my last restaurant experience. I was happy no one occupied the three other stools at my table (since I couldn’t have a regular table). I was delighted with the meal and even more delighted that I was not physically affected by dining while sitting on a back-less stool. Maybe I’m younger than I think.
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