Dinner and a Movie
From Bears to Benares
From Bears to Benares
By
Steve Herte
My
35 years of knowing Helene have made several of her best traits a
part of me. She could finish my sentences, interpret my dreams and
appreciate the many strange things I like. But the best of her
attributes was her ability to proofread almost at a glance. I realize
that it was her job to read transcripts from court cases and
translate them into readable English that made it so automatic for
her. But it was always fun when we both read a menu and would see who
could find the most typos – some hilariously funny. I remember one
time she just glanced at a menu after a difficult day’s work and
she immediately handed to me. “I can’t read this! There are
too many errors and I can’t concentrate on ordering food.”
I
miss her most of all when I laugh at a “Chocolate Mouse”
(instead of Mousse)
or a “Cheese Bugger” (believe me, I’ve seen it), or just
recently, a “Bread Chicken” (instead of Breaded).
Most famously, I was in a restaurant not too long ago on the top
floor of a building overlooking the Baltimore Harbor where the
word “Chesapeake” was misspelled. All they had to do was
look out the window and see the Chesapeake Lightship docked there
with bold white lettering on a bright red background.
The
Bread Chicken was one of the lighter moments of a very busy week.
Between breaking in my new boss and trying to keep ahead of work, I
was ready for a special Friday night. This included a movie I did not
have to think about, just enjoy, and my favorite all-time cuisine,
Indian. Enjoy!
Paddington (StudioCanal,
2014) – Director: Paul King. Writers: Paul King
(s/p/, story), Hamish McColl (story), & Michael Bond (character
“Paddington Bear”). Cast: Tim Downie, Madeleine Worrall, Lottie
Steer, Geoffrey Palmer, Theresa Watson, Imelda Staunton, Michael
Gambon, Ben Whislaw, Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Madeleine
Harris, Samuel Joslin, Michael Bond, Matt Lucas, Nicole Kidman,
Jim Broadbent, Peter Capaldi, & Julie Walters. Color, 95 minutes.
Cleverly,
this film begins with a black and white “newsreel” relating
explorer Montgomery Clyde’s (Downie) foray into “Darkest Peru,”
where we immediately enter the realm of fantasy. There, he discovers
an extremely rare species of bear (suspend your beliefs,
mammologists) and aims his gun to collect a specimen. But he’s
thwarted in the attempt when the male bear saves him from a scorpion
and obviously demonstrates intelligence. Then, when the bears begin
to imitate speech, he befriends them and leaves his bright red hat as
a gift of friendship. We learn later on that the Head Geographer
(Palmer) has ousted him from the Explorers’ Club in London for not
bringing back the specimen, and he and his wife Agatha (Worrall) and
daughter Millicent are embarrassed and ignored.
In
the next scene we see a young bear picking oranges (in Darkest Peru?)
and he’s very excited that they’re ripe enough. He runs to tell
his Aunt Lucy (Staunton) and Uncle Pastuzo (Gambon) that it’s time
to make marmalade. All three have British accents and have learned
from the records Montgomery left behind. All three love everything
British, hoping to visit London someday. But suddenly, an earthquake
occurs and Lucy and the young bear make it to the shelter, but Uncle
Pastuzo is not so lucky. Their forest is destroyed and the red hat is
passed down to the bear who will come to be known as Paddington
(Whishaw).
Lucy
decides that it’s time for him to “find a welcome home” in
London while she goes to the Home for Elderly Bears. She puts a mail
tag around his neck that states “please take care of this bear,”
and kisses him goodbye. Paddington stows away in a lifeboat of a
freight ship and then in a mail sack and winds up on the platform of
Paddington Station, London, where commuters, coming and going, buffet
him about, obviously with no time for an orphaned bear. That is until
the Brown family happens by.
Henry
Brown (Bonneville) is suspicious of all strangers (especially bears)
that he encounters on train stations. His wife Mary (Hawkins) is
moved to pity for the bear when she sees the tag and convinces her
husband to bring him with them to ultimately find him a proper home.
Daughter Judy (Harris) is desperately afraid of being embarrassed by
her parents, especially in front of her new boyfriend and
schoolmates. She already believes her family to be weird but doesn’t
want to be seen as such. No bear for her. Son Jonathan (Joslin) wants
to be an astronaut and go exploring and trying new (and possibly
dangerous) things but his father countermands any of his attempts.
He’s all for the bear coming home with them. Upon learning that the
bear’s true name is impossible for humans to pronounce, Mary dubs
him Paddington after the station where they found him.
At
the Brown home, Mrs. Bird (Walters) the housekeeper is the voice of
reason, but is rarely acknowledged for her wisdom by Henry. Neighbor,
Mr. Curry (Capaldi) is perplexed and a little scared when he sees a
bear has moved in with the Browns.
Meanwhile,
at the Museum of Natural History, the curator of Taxidermy, Millicent
Clyde (Kidman), daughter of the now deceased Montgomery, learns about
this unique bear coming to London. She correctly concludes that this
was the species her father refused to bring back and thus shamed her
family. She begins plotting how she will capture – and stuff –
Paddington. She concocts a scheme with Mr. Curry using her feminine
wiles to have him call her when the Browns leave Paddington alone and
vulnerable.
After
flooding the house from the upstairs bathroom and nearly burning it
down when left home alone (Millicent actually caused the latter when
she attempted a capture and failed), Paddington’s image has not
improved in over-protective Henry’s eyes. Mary takes him to Mr.
Gruber’s (Broadbent) antiques shop to hopefully determine the
source of Paddington’s unique red hat and thus, who bought it. “M.
Clyde” is the answer. The telephone books yield a long list of M.
Clydes and Mary has everyone ready to search for the real one when
the fire breaks out.
Paddington
hears Henry’s intense concern about the safety of the family and
decides to leave with the list and search on his own. The last one on
the list is – you guessed it – Millicent Clyde. Mr. Curry learns
that Millicent is only interested in him to get the bear and when he
sees her panel-truck door reading “Taxi” close to fully read
“Taxidermy” he understands. He makes a hilarious “anonymous”
phone call to the Browns alerting them of the bear-knapping of
Paddington. And the chase is on.
It’s
a delightful tale of an adorable character very much like the
movie Stuart Little and it plays similarly to
opening one of those giant children’s books you read at bedtime.
The animation of Paddington is beautifully done but, like the story,
the actors’ performances are not believable. Bring the kids.
They’ll love it when Pastuzo puts on the hat and gets a headful of
marmalade. Anyone who grew up with the story of Paddington bear will
experience fond memories. For those of us who didn’t – like
myself – it’s a nice film, full of fluff and minimal substance.
Rating:
3 out of 5 Martini glasses.
Benares
Tribeca
45
Murray Street (between Church and Broadway), New York
Having
dined at the original Midtown location of Benares and having enjoyed
it thoroughly I had big hopes for its sister restaurant in Tribeca.
The brightly lit exterior with the name in hot pink neon clued me
that photography would not be difficult. Once inside, it was
considerably darker but not horrendously so. The blue ceiling with a
symbolic meandering “Ganges River” pattern evoked the holy city
of Varanasi whose modern name is Benares. Then, one’s eyes travel
down the red panels on the walls to the mustard-colored banquettes,
the polished bare-topped tables, and equally shiny hardwood floors.
The young lady at the Captain’s Station led me to a table near the
back at a curving banquette (where I chose to sit). She presented me
with the menu and the wine and drinks lists, both in neat leather
binders. Another server took my water preference. The noise level
from the chatty patrons was high when Dipen, my waiter, arrived to
get my cocktail order. I almost had to shout. I had noticed that the
second best English gin, Bulldog (the first is Beefeaters, of course)
was used in the special cocktails list and I ordered my martini made
using it as the main ingredient.
Dipen
had trouble hearing me and the bartender soon arrived to confirm my
order. It arrived soon after but was puzzlingly watery. It’s not
the first time my martini was wrong so I ignored it and set to the
task of composing my meal. The imposing size of the dishes on the
table next to mine made me cautious. The menu was divided into
familiar as well as unfamiliar categories: Appetizers, Vegetarian,
Vegan and Tandoor Main Courses, Entrées, Biryanis (rice dishes),
Sides, and Desserts.
I
learned from their website that the cuisine of Benares emphasizes the
Western Indian state of Utter Pradesh, known for vegetarian dishes
(there were a good many representations). Chef Peter Beck, who
doesn’t sound in any way Indian, is nonetheless famous for the
Baluchis and Tamarind restaurants successes. The listed dishes were
varied indeed, some from Goa in the south, Kashmir in the North and
one from Tibet. By the next time Dipen returned, I had my feast
orchestrated.
Even
after instructions – which I’m sure he heard – my second
martini was exactly the same as the first. Oh well, no time to teach,
time to dine. Dipen seemed amazed at the list of dishes I ordered but
when I explained that it would be a feast, he smiled brightly. He was
about to run off before I ordered the wine, a 2012 Broquel Malbec
from Argentina, but I caught him. The wine list gave hints as to what
one would experience with each wine and this one proved true, “aromas
of black fruit jam and liquor and a touch of smoke, vanilla and
chocolate followed by sweet full-bodied tannins with a long and
pleasant finish.” A lovely wine.
I
tried to find dishes that ran the gamut of meats on the menu. Thus,
my appetizer was Machali Ke Gole – three ball-shaped fish
croquettes on a bed of garlic, ginger and a lemongrass/tomato sauce.
The two girls at the next table were impressed by the presentation. I
loved the tender fish in the crispy crust on the rich sauce. No
ingredient outdid the others. It was perfect harmony.
My
soup (the only Tibetan dish) arrived with the appetizer and I had to
make the decision of which would get cold sooner. The Thukpa – a
“Spicy” Tibetan noodle soup with cauliflower, French beans,
tomato and chili, served with lamb – was not really spicy at all
but flavorful. The vegetables were crunchy and the noodles (actually
a thin spaghetti) were tasty and slippery, but I managed. It was hot
enough that I could finish the croquettes first.
So
far I had fish and lamb. The entrée was Punjabi goat curry – a
North Indian goat delicacy with onion and tomato gravy – and was
served in one of those large oblong dishes I saw previously on the
next table. The gravy was a pleasant pumpkin orange and the goat meat
tender and almost sweet; again, a non-spicy dish. It came with peas,
Pulao rice – Basmati rice cooked perfectly - and the bread I
ordered, Chicken Tikka and Cheese Kulcha – a flat bread cooked in a
tandoor oven stuffed with both chicken and cheese. Yummy! My feast
was amazing and delicious. Anyone who doesn’t like curry would not
recognize it in this case. I finished all the meat and the bread and
had the remainder of the rice and curry sauce packed up to go. I was
ready for a new dessert (rare in Indian restaurants).
The
Karonji – fresh coconut, poppy seeds and nuts in a pastry shell
with a vanilla/honey sauce – was like a puff pastry turnover with
delicate, sweet-flavored interior. I loved it. With a hot cup of
Masala chai (spiced tea), my Indian feast was finished and I was
delighted. Benares Tribeca had lived up to the standards set by
Midtown with the exception of the cocktail. Maybe I’ll make the
short jaunt from the office to encourage them to perfect the recipe.
Then I can sample some of the many other dishes I’ve not seen on
any other Indian menu.
