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Archive for June 2016

Eating Barcelona – Catalana

Jun29

Restaurant: Cerveseria Catalana

Location: Carrer de Mallorca, 236, 08008 Barcelona

Date: June 14, 2016

Cuisine: Catalonian Tapas

Rating: Excellente!

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Not only was this place recommended on Chowhound, but my parents independently “blundered” into it and loved it.

So I had to go back and try it with them.

Very “typical” super upscale Barcelona Tapas bar scene with a gorgeous wood interior.

And lots of sit at the counter space.

The layout of “white” salad (consisting of stuff in mayo).

A lot of the tapas are out in a halfway prepped form.

And more.

And seafood.

And veggies.

And pinchos (stuff on bread) like these croqueta.

On anchovies and peppers.

Or walnut cheese spread and pineapple.

Or these amazing salmon and cream cheese.

And of course, Jamon.

Or Jamon with other stuff, like peppers.

Mushrooms can be selected and cooked up together.

More types, including mushrooms with Jamon (capitalized because in Spain, Jamon is a proper noun).

Boquerones en vinagre. One of my favorite traditional tapas. Super fresh here with that nice tang.

Crab salad on toast. Like an upscale spanish version of a Subway “seafood salad” sandwich.
 Salmon and cream cheese or cream fraiche. Awesome.
 Jamon.
 Tomato bread.

Steamed shrimp. Super fresh and tasty with that bright briny flavor.

Sautéed mushrooms. Colon sweeper! Yummy with garlic and olive oil.

Asparagus with sea salt.

Duck cannelloni. This is the raw form. They cooked it up.

To this amazing, rich, béchamel wonder! Soft and creamy.

Coconut flan. To die for.

And cappuccino.
 There was even a dessert bar.

Overall, Catalana was fabulous. Very straight up, nothing too modernist or anything, but really good, really fresh Catalonian tapas and a great atmosphere.

Click here to see more Eating Spain posts.

Related posts:

  1. Eating Barcelona – Paco Meralgo
  2. Eating Barcelona – Ca l’Isidre
  3. Eating Barcelona – Montiel
  4. Eating Barcelona – Mian
  5. Jaleo Bethesda
By: agavin
Comments (4)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Barcelona, Catalana, eating-spain, Spanish Cuisine, Tapas

Eating Barcelona – Ca l’Isidre

Jun27

Restaurant: Ca l’Isidre

Location: Carrer de les Flors, 12, 08001 Barcelona

Date: June 13, 2016

Cuisine: Catalonian

Rating: Awesome, best we had in Barcelona

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This traditional family run Ctaalonian resteraunt I found off Chowhound and was recommended by many as one of the best in the city.

Classic city exterior.

A classic but updated interior.

The Menu.

A round of Cava to start.

Followed quickly by some Albarino. This crisp white from the corner of Spain above Portugal has turned out to be one of my favorite start whites and is a perfect tapas wine as well. This specific bottle was the 2013 Tricó Rías Baixas.

Bread with tomato. My son likes this classic.

Croquette with chicken and ham.

Anchovie from Cantabria. The salty kind.

An elaborate bread box.

Bread. Olive and rosemary I think.

Seabass tartar with parsley oil. A lovely “western” tataki or even a poke if you like. Soft fish and nice parsley notes almost like a pesto.
 Toasts to go with the tartar.

Tomato salad with onion, capers and tuna. Classic Catalonian salad.

“Gazpacho” Vegetables cold soup with lobster and sea fruits. Before the soup…

And after. This turned out to be one of the best gazpachos I have ever had. It wasn’t super vinegary, but had an exquisite balance.

Simple pasta for “the boy.”

And accompaniments of cheese and red sauce.

Olive oil.

Langostin raviolis with lime and ginger vinaigrette. Deliciously light and aromatic with a serious spa vibe from the flowers and herbs.

Morel mushrooms with duck liver cream. Rich and stunningly delicious. Fresh morels too, in season, and that duck liver sauce… oh my.

2013 Ferrer Bobet Priorat Denominacio d’Origen Qualificada. An unusual blend for priorat, big and grapey.

Fries. You can find them at almost any Spanish restaurant, from street corner to Michelin 3 star.

Grilled wild turbot with potatoes and garlic.

Codfish with “romesco” sauce.

Beef tartar. Surprisingly spicy. Lots of capers too. The meat was very good but the spice was a touch distracting.

Roast baby goat with small onions. Very tender (for goat) and decently strong.

Fillet of beef grilled.

Fries and crisps (for the tartar).

A selection of Spanish cheeses!

Vanilla ice cream.

Apricot tatin with milk ice cream. Very nice “cobbler.”

Eggs with chocolate fondant and sabayon with rum. The sabayon was inside the egg with the chocolate at the bottom. Yum! Didn’t quite get that interesting Marsala/citrus blend that my favorite Zabione gelato gets – but still deliciously eggy.

Catalan cream with burned sugar. Consistently a little looser than creme brule. Same flavor, but I prefer the firmer custard (or even flan).

Chocolate soufflé with vanilla ice cream. Several of us thought this was the best chocolate souffle we have ever had. It was VERY intense though and perhaps needed even more ice cream (not pictured).

Coconut milk ice cream with toffee. These not only looked cool, but were awesome — ice you like coconut ice cream (which I do). Basically coconut ice cream rolled in coconut and then (optionally) dipped in toffee.
 Gels and little cakes.

There was some contention in the group about Ca l’Isidre, with the pescatarian contingent not feeling the love and the rest of us thinking they knocked it out of the park — particularly with the starters and desserts. This is basically classic Catalonian as far as I can tell, with a touch of modern prep and presentation. The execution and ingredients though were really top top notch. Many dishes (like the gazpacho and morels) were really singing.

Click here to see more Eating Spain posts.

Related posts:

  1. Eating Barcelona – Paco Meralgo
  2. Eating Barcelona – Montiel
  3. Eating Barcelona – Mian
  4. Eating Senigallia – Uliassi
  5. Eating Positano – il Tridente
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Barcelona, Ca l'Isidre, Catalonian cuisine, eating-spain, Spanish Cuisine

Eating Barcelona – Mian

Jun24

Restaurant: Mian

Location: Carrer de Girona, 49, 08009 Barcelona

Date: June 12, 2016

Cuisine: Chinese

Rating: Tolerable Chinese

_

On this Sunday night we didn’t have a prearranged reservation and so did a quick internet search not long before. Having had a bunch of straight Spanish food we picked a place that appealed to be “Asian influenced tapas.”

Mian turned out to be more or less straight up Chinese food with portion sizes adjusted for the Spanish market. But my loyal readers know, I’m a fan of Chinese food so let’s see how this Barcelona version stacked up.

Fairly modern interior.

The menu.

We ordered this rose, which turned out to pair well.

Seaweed salad.
 Curried shrimp rolls. These springroll like things were one of the better appetizers. Hot and fried, they had a nice mild curry flavor.

Xiangsu battered ribs. Little pork riblets deeply fried. VERY fried, and with lots of gristle and bone. tasted pretty good though.

XLB. The classic pork dumplings. Coating was way too heavy and the filling had very little flavor.

Shrimp dumplings. Better than the pork, but still not amazing.

Vegetable Noodles. Sort of a lo-mein. Passable.

Beef noodle soup.

Vegetable fried rice. Ok.

Shrimp noodle soup.

Garlic eggplant. A mushy somewhat mediocre version of this dish. Not that garlicky or spicy. Not horrible or anything, but nowhere near a great version — and I’ve had some great versions.

Crispy noodles with seafood. Edible, but not like the amazing Elite Seafood version.

Mapo tofu. MSG laden non spicy version of this classic. If I’m going to take the MSG hit, I’ll go for it like this. Or make it myself.

Sir fried chicken. Simple, but one of the more effective dishes.

Beef with scallions. Soft and tasty meat. Pretty good.

Duck Conbao. Not bad, not great.
 Egg fried rice. Is what it is.

So Mian ended up being a middling Chinese place — kind of like Westside Chinese with slightly smaller portions. Prices were reasonable and it was fun enough, but they used lots of MSG and I had a big headache an hour latter. So, since I’m spoiled with great Chinese it was just acceptable — because Chinese is rarely so bad as to be awful.

Click here to see more Eating Spain posts.

Related posts:

  1. Eating Barcelona – Paco Meralgo
  2. Eating Barcelona – Montiel
  3. XLB – Soup Dumplings!
  4. Eating Hoi An – Brothers Cafe
  5. Lunasia Dim Sum
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Barcelona, Chinese cuisine, eating-spain, Mian

Eating Barcelona – Montiel

Jun22

Restaurant: Montiel

Location: Calle Flassaders, 19, 08003 Barcelona

Date: June 11, 2016

Cuisine: Catalan

Rating: Great meal

_

For my birthday, we decided to “upscale” from tapas to Montiel, a gastronomic recommended by my pal Sebastian (and also extremely highly rated online).

 The frontage on a tiny cute street in an older quarter. You can’t even drive in here and the cab had to let us out several blocks away.
The space is sleek with that Euro-modern fusion of old materials and new.

The menu.
 A bottle of cava was first up!

Cucumber sorbet with…

Strawberry gazpacho. Awesomely refreshing in combo. Neither the sorbet or the gazpacho was super sweet. The strawberry had a hint of vinegar as well as so was a true gazpacho in some way. The texture on the sorbet was pleasantly grainy.

Amberjack ceviche. Tiger’s milk sorbet. Peppers. A very bright and zingy treatment of the raw fish, super clean. The peppers packed a bit of short duration punch too. Best all in combo like the previous dish.

Catalan cheese. Our 7 year-old enjoyed this plate of special local medium aged cheese.

After the cave, I explored into Priorat bianco, which is made from white Grenache. Interesting and full bodied, like a white Rhone.

White asparagus from Navarra. Wild mushrooms and egg from their own farm. A classic mix of seasonal asparagus and egg and mushroom.

Tomato and pesto salad.

Cat of the day. Fresh prawns with rice and jamon iberico. Paella rice and shrimp taken up a notch by the fatty ham.

Different less shellfishy fish of the day with olives.

2001 La Rioja Alta Rioja Gran Reserva 890 ‘Selección Especial’. On the nose, notes of dark cherry, mushrooms, aged oak. Similar notes on the palate, plus some dirt/tar, wet stones, and evolving tertiary notes. Even after several hours of decanting tasted younger than 2004 La Rioja Alta Rioja Gran Reserva 904, with plenty of tannins, even though well integrated. Clearly, not anywhere close to its peak yet, can easily cellar for 10+, if not 20, more years. Excellent balance and complexity.

Duck and pears ravioli. Foie Gras. Liquor of wine sauce. Delicious and super rich of course. I could have eaten several (and suffered for it).

Suckling pig with cauliflower creme. Perfectly tender with crispy skin. Not at all leathery.

Paella rice with vegetables and fish.

Paella rice with just vegetables.

White vermouth sorbet. Citric and red vermouth. A delightfully refreshing intermediate.

Chocolate textures with hazelnut praline. The tubes of gelled chocolate were stuffed with the creme. Then there were all sorts of extra textures.

Birthday cake. For my birthday I received this bonus third dessert which was a rich nut cream and delicious.

Petite fours. White chocolate citrus, chocolates, and a rum thing.

Here is my (present) immediate family, looking slightly heavier than when we entered a few hours before.

Montiel served a delightful meal. Rooted in Catalan tradition, with a bit of modernism, but every dish was very tasty.

Click here to see more Eating Spain posts.

Related posts:

  1. Eating Barcelona – Paco Meralgo
  2. Eating Colle di Val d’Elsa – Arnolfo
  3. Quick Eats – Bar Pinxto
  4. Eating Saigon – Hoa Tuc
  5. Eating Rome – La Pergola
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Barcelona, Catalan, eating-spain, Montiel

Eating Barcelona – Paco Meralgo

Jun19

Restaurant: Paco Meralgo

Location: Carrer de Muntaner, 171, 08036 Barcelona

Date: June 10, 2016

Cuisine: Spanish Tapas

Rating: High quality tapas

_

Our first night in Barcelona kicks off with the highly rated Paco Meralgo tapas bar.

The frontage.

The tapas menu is extensive.

Paco Meralgo is typical of the modern Barcelona type of tapas, with a sleek modern space and lots of stools all around the room.
 Albariño makes

Gazpacho. Tasty, but a little less intense then I really prefer.

Tomato bread. Our 7 year-old loves this.

Sephardic special. Salmon, toast, and creme fraiche. Really good.

Egg and tuna salad.

Local salami. Taste the pig!

Anchovies on toast. These are the salty darker ones. I prefer the vinegary white ones, but these are tasty too, if you don’t mind swelling up.

Cod fritters. Very light and fresh.

Fried squash blossoms stuffed with cheese. Delightful and light version of this Italian dish.

Brie on toast (melted).

Squid and beans. Lovely chew and a great slightly spicy flavor.

Fresh prawns in garlic sauce. Hear in Spain you always get the heads.

Filet mignon in garlic oil. Amazing garlic flavor and tender meat.

Check out the oil.

Vanilla ice cream.

Chocolate truffles.

Crema catalana on its home turf. A bit more liquid than creme brule under the crispy sugar top.
 Profiterole with ice cream and chocolate sauce.

Overall, great classic tapas. One of the two best straight Barcelona-style tapas we enjoyed on this visit.

Click here to see more Eating Spain posts.

Related posts:

  1. Eating Positano – Saraceno d’Oro
  2. Eating Positano – il Tridente
  3. Eating Rome – Metamorfosi
  4. Upstairs 2 – Modern Tapas, Lots of Wine
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Albariño, Barcelona, eating-spain, Paco Meralgo, Spanish Cuisine, Tapas

Quick Eats – Qin

Jun17

Restaurant: Qin West Chinese Cuisine

Location: 1767 Westwood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90024. (310) 478-8829

Date: June 5, 2016

Cuisine: Western Chinese

Rating: Certainly good for Westside

_

This regional Western Chinese place has cropped up in Westwood and I figured I’d try it, even though most places west of the SGV aren’t really worth it.

It’s in a little alcove on Westwood Blvd right next door to he old Sunnin and down the street from the early Flektor office I had in 2006.

The small menu of mostly noodle based Western Chinese dishes.

Steamed dumplings. Perfectly yummy steamed pork potstickers.

Guilin Soup. Spicy rice noodle soup with beef pickled Chinese cabbage,vegetable and peanuts. It wasn’t super spicy even though I got max spice, but it was tasty and interesting. Sort of like a spicy Pho with lots of Chinese pickled vegetables.

For super fast Chinese this was pretty “authentic” and interesting, and certainly very authentic for Westwood. Everyone in there was Chinese — always a good sign. I have to come back and try more, particularly the soup with beef bone and snail broth!

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Quick Eats: Tofu Ya
  2. Quick Eats – Da Jeong
  3. Quick Eats: Chan Dara
  4. Quick Eats: Sunnin
  5. Quick Eats – Pho 2000
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: noodles, Qin, Qin West Chinese Cuisine, West Chinese Cuisine, Westwood

Chinois – Oldie but Goodie

Jun15

Restaurant: Chinois On Main [1, 2, 3]

Location: 2709 Main St, Santa Monica, CA 90405. (310) 392-9025

Date: May 6, 2016 and August 5, 2021

Cuisine: Asian Fusion

Rating: Still good decades later

_

When I first moved to LA 22 years ago, Chinois was already a vibrant pillar of LA’s hot high end dining scene. It represented the kind of cool “fusion” of east/west cuisines that was so novel at the time, and almost never seen (by me) back on the East Coast.

The interior has been kept up, and still has that funky late 80s hip modern style. And while this is a long way from the starker more “rustic/urban” decor that is popular now, I

From my cellar: 2003 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut. VM 95. Light yellow. Powerful, complex bouquet evokes fresh peach, pear, floral honey, green almond and smoky minerals. Deep, palate-staining citrus and orchard fruit flavors show outstanding vivacity for a hot vintage, picking up ginger and talc notes with air. The strikingly long, sappy finish features zesty orange pith, smoky minerals and an echo of honeysuckle. I’d be in no rush to drink this one. Speaking of waiting, I had the chance to revisit the 2000 Vintage Krug and it has begun to pick up the smoky, weighty and nutty character that long-time fans of this producer crave. It’s still plenty young but already unmistakably Krug, with a chewy texture and a sexy floral nuance dominating right now.

The menu.

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Crispy Lobster Spring Rolls. Comes with stir-fried lobster and vegetables.
 Tempura ahi tuna sashimi with fresh uni sauce.

Uni sauce.

Softshell crab special with cilantro sauce.

Stir fried Sonoma lamb with crispy garlic and mint.

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Shanghai lobster with curry sauce and crispy spinach. This classic has been on the menu forever (or at least since the mid 90s). It was still my favorite of the night. There is a whole bunch of fried rice under the lobster with the tail meat.

Roasted Cantonese duck with fresh plum sauce and steamed bao. I’ve had a lot better Chinese ducks.
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In Aug 2021 the duck came with these crepe-like pancakes, not as light as real spring pancakes.

In 2016 the duck came with steamed bao.

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Whole Sizzling Fried Catfish with scallions and soy glaze.

Whole steamed sea bass with scallions and soy glaze. Simple, but well cooked.

Peek inside.
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BBQ Baby Pork Ribs with soy honey glaze.
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Grilled Szechwan Beef. Classic dish. With spicy shallot cilantro sauce. Nothing at all Szechwan about this, however.

Vegetable fried rice.

Stir fried green beans with black bean sauce and garlic. A great version of this dish.
 Dessert tease. We were too full to order any (in 2016)
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But we got a whole tray in Aug 2021.
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Macadamian Nut Tart.
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Flourless chocolate cake.
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Pots au Creme.

Overall, in 2016 Chinois still has a sharp kitchen and good service. They were a little slow refilling the wine (which they had shoved in a chiller on the other side of the room — I had to grab it and do it myself). No biggy though. Food was fairly on point if no where near as “innovative” as it was 20+ years ago. Some of the dishes were still super tasty though like the lobster and string beans. Of course it’s way more expensive than “unfused” Chinese (aka normal SGV style Chinese). I think the decor has aged great and is actually more unique now.

In 2021, we ate outside because of the pandemic. Except for the busy traffic just past the barrier on main street, this was quite nice. Service was still great and food was on point for what it is.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

 

Wines from August 2021:

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1A4A1268
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1A4A1263
1A4A1264

Related posts:

  1. Golden Oldie – The Legend of Zelda
  2. Krug at Il Grano
By: agavin
Comments (3)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Asian Fusion, Champagne, Chinois, Fusion cuisine, Krug, Lobster, Wolfgang Puck

Dark Souls III vs. Bloodborne

Jun13

DS1-noscaleTitle: Dark Souls III

System: PS4 (also on Xbox / PC)

Genre: (A)RPG

Developer: From Software

Publisher: Bandai / Konami

Director: Hidetaka Miyazaki

Date Played: late April / early May 2016

Rating: Amazing

_

After the delicious time I had playing Bloodborne, Dark Souls III was a no brainer. Which understates the matter since I preordered it and was playing the day it was released.

Which leads me to both review this latest (and supposedly final) entry in From Software’s legendary Action Role Playing Game genre. But in the process, explore the small but important differences between Dark Souls III (DS3) and Bloodborne (BB) as a detailed exploration of the genre.

If you think of Bloodborne as a modern day Castlevania, then DS3 is a contemporary Ghouls ‘n Ghosts.

Bloodborne = Castlevania

Bloodborne = Castlevania

Both From Software games are born from the same DNA, but the biggest difference is:

Thematic (not gameplay) Genre. BB draws its roots from Lovecraftian horror while DS3 purports to derive from more traditional D&D-esque stock. But, not really. Both games are so dominated by Hidetaka Miyazaki’s specific auteur imprint that their differences are of a most subtle degree. And while Dark Souls is the older franchise, I’d actually argue that in BB the idiosyncrasy of his particular style more closer overlaps with the explicit genre. BB is so “perfectly” Japanese Lovecraftian, while all three Dark Souls pull fantasy much closer to horror. I don’t mean to imply any particular criticism in this observation. I adore both games, and both sub-styles. And while DS3 is more vaguely medieval and BB more vaguely gothic, they just share so much stylistically.

Dark Souls = Ghouls & Ghosts

Dark Souls = Ghouls & Ghosts

Style. BB is creepier, but DS3 is certainly creepy. The washed out colors and particular/peculiar shapes and forms are very similar, designed to vaguely discomfort. DS3 tends a little more toward matte while BB likes shiny. Certain textural material motifs are common and some are  different. BB likes cloth, leather, eyes, and fur more while DS3 likes metal, fire, stone, and dragons. BB has more 19th century architectural and costuming elements. But both are so dark, gothic, and “churchy”. Plenty of enemies or objects could almost be used in either game. Half the sound effects ARE used in both games.

dark_souls_3_hr_gundyr_battles_playerGraphics. Like BB, DS3 is a gorgeous stylized game. The art design is magnificent in its bleakly weird way. Giant vistas abound and strange unique shapes and distorted silhouettes. And although the engine (used by both games) seems perfectly competent, the art direction is more important than the tech. You just have to like dark and weird. Creatures with flowing forms, hidden eyes, and faces, weird mutations, and a generally ruined, graveyard, gothic sort of look. I’d give a slight nod to BB for uniform of graphical style and theme but a slight nod to DS3 for scale and awesome visual scope.

Sound Design. Fabulous music and minimalist but effective fx. The thud of sword on shield, or the grunt of blade on flesh are all fabulously telegraphed.

Dark-Souls-3-Siegward-Mission-04Gameplay. The broad strokes of the two games are nearly identical. You explore a interlinked world where levels fold back on each other. Monsters and death abounds. You fight through and die. And die. And die again. Eventually you may reach continue points (bonefires/lamps) or open up shortcuts that allow you to circumvent areas already explored. Item collection is persistent across death but experience (souls/blood) is lost on death, with a single chance at reclaiming it by fighting through to wherever you lost it. Souls/blood both serve has currency for leveling and item purchase. Weapons can be upgraded and fit with stones/gems.

Combat, controls, & mechanics. The combat in both games is masterful and varies slightly in important little ways. In DS3 it’s realistic, even typical to carry a shield and block attacks. In BB you can carry a gun, but it does low damage and is useful mostly to interrupt and stun. In both, weapons usually have a 1 and 2 handed mode, but in BB these vary more substantially (at the cost of far less weapons). BB has the “regain system” in which you have a few seconds after taking damage to “take back” some or all of your lost health by attacking again. This encourages a more aggressive style of fighting. In DS3 it is perfectly advantageous to play much slower and more defensively. And since in early levels, BB has 20 healing potions and DS3 only 3-4 until upgraded, the beginning DS3 game requires damage avoidance for survival. BB allows you to charge the big weapon strike and has a dedicated potion button. DS3 allows for much more magic use, opening up very different play styles. But for simplicity I stuck to melee.

I started the original Dark Souls as a caster and paid dearly for it. Only the most advanced players should consider investing in magic during their first playthrough. Melee combat is just so much easier at lower skill point investment. By a New Game+ playthrough, having acquired most of the spells and a lot more skill points, hybrid or caster roles are perfectly reasonable.

Subtle level design decisions also make for combat differences. In BB, you can easily be mobbed by groups of enemies and crowd control is simultaneously more difficult and more important. Same with AOE and sweeping attacks. In DS3 enemies are less clumped, usually only 1-2 at a time — unless you like dying.

Both combat systems are extraordinarily satisfying. The feel is generally excellent, with a slight edge to BB‘s faster, more nimble style. But blocking is highly gratifying as well.

dark-souls-3-screenshot-12.0Story. Both games offer minimal and extremely mysterious story. Yet BB actually has boss intro scenes, substantially more cinematics, and even a few vignettes with multiple characters talking. That’s not to say that this fleshes out a single character, or offers even the slightest clarity as to their motivations, just that you see them introduced and they therefore have more “personality.” Definitely I liked this in BB. And the weirdness all fit together more weirdly, lending to a sense of more odd and mysterious goings on. Yet DS3‘s plot is even “grander” and more unknowable. Perhaps mostly because nothing makes any sense at all. Listen to the above intro trailer to get a taste. That’s not to say that lines like “The fire fades. And the Lords go without thrones” or “And so it is that ash seeketh embers” don’t give me goosebumps — no, I love them — but they don’t exactly make a lot of sense. Except perhaps if you have eyes growing inside your skull. Anyway, slight nod to BB for “plot” and “character” — if you can call it that.

That said, DS3 has MORE NPCs and more complicated “questlines” (good luck actually understanding them or following them without online help as they are so much looser and less defined than in other RPGs). There is a veritable rat’s nest of guys you need to nudge weirdly along their stories in order to open up as much vending as possible. So a nod to DS3 for complexity (a good thing in this case). BB‘s equivalents feel undeveloped and there are only 1-2 of any magnitude.

Both games have multiple mysterious endings too. In both cases I used my internet prowess to achieve the “most difficult” ending. Yet I’m still not sure what being the Lord of Hollows really means :-).

Dark-Souls-3Gear. DS3 has a LOT more gear to collect than BB, but the emphasis is quite different. BB‘s armor is mostly leather or cloth and mostly cosmetic. Some have particular resists, but that’s about it. The weapons in that game are relatively few, but highly differentiated. There are two main types: trick weapon and firearm. In DS3 there is an enormous variety of both weapons and armor with four main weapon types: melee, talisman (for spell casting), bow, and shield. Supposedly all of the weapons are viable, but they aren’t necessarily highly differentiated as there are many similar ones. The armor tends to group into light, medium, and heavy. Unlike BB, weight is a meaningful factor in DS3. I personally went with fairly heavy armor, but it was unclear that the poise attribute (which is supposed to all for heavier armor to prevent you being staggered) was fully functional, or at least worth investing in. The weapons system does suffer from a touch of imbalance. Early on I got a Deep Axe which was fairly powerful, but not very upgradable. It took me a good while to find a weapon and upgrade it to a level where it surpassed this early stage find. It’s hard to know which gear to invest in. DS3 also has MUCH better boss gear rewards. Each boss gives you a soul which can be traded for a choice of two high power items, usually weapons. In DS3, there are a plethora of rings (you can wear 4 at once) that add additional powers. In BB these are replaced by runes (you can wear 3). They are fairly similar but the DS3 system is better in all ways. And overall, I’d give DS3 the win for gear, as it has more stuff and particularly more types of stuff with the shields and whatnot.

Gear Upgrading. BB‘s gear upgrade system is a little simpler than DS3‘s. They both have the same four tier currently +3,+3,+3,+1 normal upgrades, but DS3 has 2-3 additional side currencies for upgrading different gear. Boss gear, and other special types fall into at least 2 “non normal” upgrade paths. It also has a more generous supply of gear upgrade items, although split among all these types. BB only has 1-2 of the top upgrade per play-through, DS3 has at least 4-5. The different types are a little confusing. There are also gems that can be socketed on (most) weapons/shields that modify how the items scale. The use of these depends on your build and I only ended up trying 3 of the 15 or so types. In BB, each weapon has a couple sockets for different gems that can either tune the scaling or boost the damage output (a lot!). I liked this additional ability to pump up the power of even a level 10 weapon, so I give BB the edge here.

e9386bce455b00ad4380af046e247f1aOther collectables and upgrades. In my opinion, as far as RPGs go, the more you can upgrade the better. DS3 allows you to upgrade both the number of flasks and their potency, which BB doesn’t do at all, so this is a big point in DS3‘s favor. It also has more random items and consumables. However, they generally seemed less useful than those in BB. Maybe this is due to BB’s slightly higher overall difficulty level (or just the fact that I got better at this sort of game between). There are lots of spells and whatnot which I didn’t experiment with. DS3 has the whole “ember” system by which you can spend this limited but reasonably available currency to gain max health until you die. I mostly used it for bosses. You need it for multiplayer. There is also the whole hollowing thing, which even as the Lord of Hollows I didn’t totally understand. Somehow dying hollows you out more, and you have less multiplayer ability when hollowed. This is a change from the much more brutal hollowing of Dark Souls where the game just got harder the more often you died.

crystalsage1_tcClasses and leveling Mechanics. Being an RPG, both of these games have means by which you level up and improve your characters. These are extremely similar but differ in subtle ways. BB has two currencies, blood and insight. Insight is earned mostly from bosses. Often you can buy the same things with both. Insight subtly changes the game’s look and play, which is very weird but cool. DS3 really just has the souls, which are almost exactly like blood. In both cases, you collect them like XP and can spend them for gear or to level up your character. Their persistence is similar in both games in that you lose them on dying, and have a single life afterward to try to retrieve them from the spot (in DS3) or spot/monster (in BB) where you lost them. This means that if you die with a decent number of points you really need to focus on retrieving them conservatively. If you get cocky during one of these missions you will often lose the batch and end up howling at the TV.

Leveling is frequent, but a painfully small boost to your power. You have to chose which point to invest in. DS3 has more types of points, with higher differentiation, and far more defined character builds. In BB mostly you could go for strength or dexterity builds, with a few people investing in arcane for a weak kind of magic. In DS3, besides the basic stats shared by both games like health, endurance, and item discovery, there is a weight carrying stat and three different magic stats driving (in some combo) three different sorts of spell-casting abilities that can be mixed with melee. These “classes” are a bit odd and nebulous compared to something like World of Warcraft or Diablo, but they are definitely more interesting in DS3 and overall I really like the RPG mechanic.

For me, the leveling mechanic adds to the game on so many “levels,” (haha) which is one of the reasons I always like RPG mechanics. First of all, it gives you more things to progress, and therefore have that “sense of achievement.” Second, if an area gets too difficult, you can always grind somewhere and level up to make it easier. Overall nod is to DS3, but the systems are pretty similar.

Dark-Souls-3-2-980x551Level Design. DS3 has more levels, and somewhat larger than BB (particularly if you exclude the DLC). The levels are fabulous in both, but quality goes to DS3.

However, BB has the whole chalice dungeon thing which allows for A LOT of extra levels to help farm blood and with their own powerful gem upgrades. There is a lot of content here, but the problem is that it’s boring in comparison to the normal levels. Somehow the featureless dungeon levels, half randomly constructed, are both extremely difficult and very dull. I never really enjoyed playing them.

Creature design in both games is fabulous and while DS3 probably has more, the variety is very good in both cases. Each creature tends to have considerable differences in attack and defense styles, which interplays delightfully with the generally awesome combat mechanics.

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This boss you kill by bursting the sacks hanging between its legs!

Boss Design. Both games focus a lot of energy on bosses. There are many. They look fabulous. They play well, and require significant investment to master. DS3 has more bosses (particularly without DLC), and both games have a lot of excellent dramatic bosses. The BB ones felt more differentiated, mostly had cool intros, and seemed harder. Maybe it’s because I often co-oped the DS3 bosses, maybe I got better between games, maybe not. BB bosses seemed to absolutely require reading strats and watching videos to conquer. Some, like the Orphan of Kos were so insanely hard I still get shivers. Nod to BB for bosses just for sheer evilness.

Hubs. BB has a dedicated “Hunter’s Dream” hub while DS3 has the hub located in the “regular” world. Both have continue points that allow for teleportation, but DS3 allows you to teleport straight from one to the other without returning to the hub. Given the lengthy load times this is a significant plus. In addition, DS3 lets you reset a level at the bonfire without a load.

Co-op Multiplayer. I don’t really do much PVP (if I can avoid it), so I’ll discuss co-op. The system is very odd in both games, and not well “explained.” But it was much easier to summon co-op help in DS3 and I used it extensively to get past bosses. Actually I didn’t even discover it until about 7-8 bosses in, but I used it on most times after that. DS3 bosses are WAY easier with 2 players. More people seems to increase the hit points of the boss more than its worth. Neither of these games bother to explain their odd mechanics. You pretty much have to read about them online. But anyway, DS3 wins here. It also has more bizarre multiplayer factions than BB. In both cases the why you should join them and what they do is vague. You have to read the wiki online for a full explanation. I don’t focus on this kind of thing, but on regular leveling, bosses, gear, etc.

Ascended Winged KnightBalance. The sort of vague mysterious quality to both games makes for a somewhat diffuse balance. But that being said, the gameplay itself is intense and spectacular. Even though the bosses are huge and terrifying, or maybe because of it, I tend to prefer the levels. These are just awesome sauce and I also like the high level of challenge and the collecting and “upgrading.” These are just very satisfying games if you invest the time. BB felt a little tighter and more focused, but the increased scope of DS3 is fabulous too.

Mystery. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again. These games are oddly mysterious, ambiguous, and “ill documented.” In that, they don’t explicitly teach the player about what’s available through clear tutorials, and they don’t even telegraph the availability and consequences of major branches, mechanics, decisions and whatnot. For example, if you were playing a spell-caster, opening up the vendors that sell most of the spells requires an odd sequences of dialogs and encounters, none of which is clear. You could easily goof or miss out on these. That’s just the way this game is. I happen to like this vague quality and find it highly immersive. But I also love David Lynch films. If you like everything very neat and well telegraphed, or don’t enjoy pouring over the online wiki descriptions, these games might be extra super hardcore frustrating. If, like me, you embrace it, they have a flavor, complexity, and immersive quality much different from a more explicit game.

dark_souls_3_boss_how_to_beat_dancer_of_the_boreal_valleyOverall, these are just some of my favorite games in recent years — true masterpieces. If you don’t mind your games hard (very very hard), and you like fantasy combat and aren’t easily creeped out, you must play them.

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By: agavin
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1960s Barolo at Officine Brera

Jun08

Restaurant: Officine Brera [1, 2, 3]

Location: 1331 E 6th St, Los Angeles, CA 90021. (213) 553-8006

Date: June 2, 2016

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Some of the best (new?) Italian in the city!

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Officine Brera is one of LA’s hottest 2016 openings and I’ve been waiting for an excuse to haul myself Downtown for months. Another modern “rustic” Italian by the team that brought us Factory Kitchen, including master chef Angelo Auriana, plus Brera brings in some new blood in the form of Mirko Paderno who rocked it at Oliverio.

The actual restaurant is behind us, but like many recent hot openings (including Factory Kitchen), Brera is located in the “Arts District”, a bombed out region of DTLA not far from skid row that is rapidly up and coming.

The area offers a mess of old brick 40s warehouses and factories which are being lovingly converted, allowing large spaces at reasonable rents (for now).

And inside the gigantic warehouse/factory space has been reconfigured with highly attractive duct work. Who would have thought that grungy 70 year-old factory windows could look so good?

Tonight’s special dinner was organized by Sage Society wine guru Liz Lee (left), shown here with Francine Ferdinandi the wine director at Officine and Factory Kitchen. The theme: 1960s Barolo and Barbaresco!

Tonight’s special menu.

1998 Taittinger Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne. VM 95. The 1998 Comtes de Champagne is a different story altogether. This is a sexy, up-front Comtes endowed with lovely richness in its fruit and open, expressive aromatics. It remains an impressive, inviting Comtes that should also continue to develop nicely in the bottle for at least another decade plus.

Farinata. Chickpea “pancake” cooked in the 750 degree wood oven.

This simple dish of chickpea flour and olive oil is fabulous covered with strong black pepper.

Flight 1:

2010 Borgo del Tiglio (Nicola Manferrari) Collio Friulano Ronco della Chiesa. AG 94. Borgo del Tiglio’s 2010 Ronco della Chiesa shows what this hillside site in Cormons can do in cooler vintages. Still bright, focused and intensely saline, the 2010 bursts from the glass with grapefruit, lime, mint and crushed rocks. The 2010 will probably be appreciated most by readers who like tense, vibrant whites. Next to some of the other vintages, the 2010 lacks a little mid-palate pliancy, but it is quite beautiful just the same. I especially like the way the 2010 opens up nicely in the glass over time.

From my cellar: 2010 Paolo Bea Arboreus. 90 points. This is a very special and somewhat odd wine. Very floral and fruity nose with strong apricot and honey notes. On the palate this seems like a different wine with a much drier impression with quite high acidity. This makes the wine seem somewhat confused about what sort of wine it wants to be. This is not objectively speaking a great wine, though it is good, but I just can’t resist the charm of the aromas. 90-91 points, based mainly on the nose.

Salmone Crudo. Copper river salmon, green apple, mustard seed, lovage, oil. A lovely and interesting salmon tartar which paired fabulously with the Bea Trebbiano.

Porcini Salad. Shaved foraged porcini mushrooms, sunchockes, Grana, Culatello, fried parsley. A wonderful early little “salad” that went better with the cooler more herbal Borgo del Tiglio.

Flight 2:

1967 Prunotto Barbaresco Riserva. Very dry and tannic.

1967 Gaja Barbaresco Sorì San Lorenzo. 90 points. The best of this flight, with good balance, some fruit, and strong tannins.

From my cellar: 1964 Gaja Barbaresco. JG 93. Cloudy. At first a little disjointed and flat. An hour or so later lovely, perfume nose. On the palate, this is sweet upfront with a metallic hint. Long finish. Improves in the glass, turning savory and long, richer and sweeter. This is really interesting and enjoyable. Better with food than by itself.

Nastrini al Sugo Divitello. Homemade egg tagliatelle, oxtail veal shoulder sauce, aged reggiano. A wonderful example of traditional braised meat ragu. The meat reduction at the end was to die for.
 Risotiata Officine Brera. Carvaroli Arborio Rice, Summer Black Truffle, Fine Herbs, Snail Ragu. Perfectly firm and creamy rice with a really interesting snail center.

Flight 3:

1967 Giacomo Borgogno & Figli Barolo Riserva Antichi Vignetti Propri. 94 points. Gorgeous stuff. I have always really liked 1967 in Piedmont, and this was a great example of the vintage. It had an intriguing nose, starting out earthy and meaty, with a whiff of smoke in here, then showing flecks of exotic spice, like cardamon and cloves, and a little boiled herb, and after some time, sweeter red cherries and flowers. Lovely, complex stuff. It was on the palate where the wine shone though. There was still some richness to the wine, with lovely sweet fruit flavours of red cherries and berries – something that I often associate with the better wines of the vintage; but this was also wed to a wonderful clarity and purity of expression, with a nice transparency underpinning the fruit, so that the wine came across as elegant without being precious about it. After a fine midpalate with a little smoky undertone, the wine then settled into long, gentle finish that started with a twist of black tea and ended in a little kiss of spice and herb. There was just that remnant of masculine structure as well, otherwise, this could well have been confused with a Barbaresco with its sweetness and elegance. A delicious Barolo, seemingly at peak, this was absolutely singing on the night.

1967 Cantina Mascarello Barolo. JG 95. Color was initially pale red, with orange bricking to the rim. darkened considerably as the night went on. Initial mustiness on the nose blew off. Nose was classic barolo- roses, tea, cherries and slightly decaying leaves- waves upon wave. The palate was fantastically alive with a warm velvet texture, pure cherry fruit with considerable elegance and amazing persistence. awesome wine.

From my cellar: 1967 Francesco Rinaldi e Figli Barolo. JG 94. Dried cork that took a bit of effort to extract. There’s a good bit of earth and dirt on the nose, a hint of manure, and some ripe fruit elements. The palate is quite jammy (somehow) with plenty of fruit. This is a pretty big Barolo, even at almost 50 years old. The tannins are still present, and you can feel them quite prominently on the palate. Here’s hoping that the bottle funk will blow off in the time before dinner. (Dinner) This now displays gorgeous ripe red fruit on the nose, with a few light high-toned elements. The palate has a good balance of the same ripe red fruit, earth, and animale. Fully resolved tannins, this is good to go now. I would suggest a half-day decant before consumption. This bottle did clean its act up quite nicely in those few hours.

agavin: best of this flight IMHO.
 Cannelloni Gratinati. Braised Beef Cheeks, rolled pasta, swiss Chard, Black summer truffle. Rich and delicious.

Flight 4:

1964 Cappellano Barolo. JG 94. Smoky black cherries on the nose. Elegant and expansive in the mouth. Still has some tannin. Long, elegant. Still has some richness and sweet fruit.

1961 Franco Fiorina Barolo. JG 92. I thought our bottle was a touch corky. Others thought it wasn’t cork. Not sure, but it definitely had a cardboardy nose.

1961 Giuseppe E Figlio Mascarello Barolo. 93 points. Lots of sediment. Beautiful, full, round, and lush old barolo. Really fantastic, and exactly what I am looking for in a wine like this.

1961 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo. VM 93. Fascinating. Amazing color. Virtually no browning for a 51 year old wine. Fruit was vibrant and in tact. Earthy bouquet, round and pure on the palate. lengthy and elegant finish. Many years ahead for this wine.

Carne Borina. 24 days dry aged rib eye, corn polenta, natural jus, fried piopini mushrooms.

Gianduiotta. Hazelnut choccolate creme, candied nuts. Classic Italian flavors if not the most traditional form factor.

Overall another amazing evening.

Food. The food at Officine is very good. It’s very Italian, with a fairly non Italian “vibe” to the place and a more modern share plates style. Tonight it was particularly on point, individually plated as it was, with each dish being tuned (many off menu) by Chef Angelo himself. This was a different meal in style than my previous visits, with less variety (family style you get more tastes) but more tuned up cuisine. Anyway it was fabulous and I was plenty full.

Service. Service was great and we were treated like family. Wine service in particular is a real standout. Opening and managing all those old Baroli is quiet a chore and Francine spent most of the evening with us.

Atmosphere. I love the big factory look. It’s a little loud, but not as bad as some (Bestia!). We had 8 people in the back where it wasn’t quite as deafening.

Wines. We didn’t have a bad wine tonight. Some a little tannic, one maybe partially “corky” and one a little oxidized. Pretty amazing for 50ish year old Nebbiolo! The pairings were perfect as the cook tasted, chose, and cooked every dish to match!

For more LA dining reviews click here.

More Sage Society dinners.

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By: agavin
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Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Angelo Auriana, Barbaresco, Barolo, Francine Diamond Ferdinandi, Mirko Paderno, Officine Brera, Sage Society, Wine

Game of Thrones – Episode 57

Jun07

20160226073939!GoT_season_6_official_posterShow: Game of Thrones

Genre: Fantasy

Watched: Episode 57 – June 5, 2016

Title: The Broken Man

Summary: Lots of great character development

ANY CHARACTER HERE

NOTE: SERIOUS SPOILER WARNING. This review/discussion contains tons of spoilers about the episode and even ones crossing over from the books. It’s really my free-for-all musing given all the information at my disposal.

Plot threads are unraveled and discussed one by one.

The Hound – Guess what, or favorite Clegane is back! Turns out like so many GOT characters when Arya left him to die… the Hound only “mostly” died. The mysterious Septon Ray (name changed from the books where he was Septon Meribald) found him where Arya left him and nursed him back to health. The Septon is played by vetran British actor Ian McShane, who was so awesome as Swearengen in Dead Wood (and countless other roles).

This thread is broken into several segments, but essentially Seption Ray runs a kind of refuge commune of various regular folks made homeless by the war. He inspires them to live well (he does wear a Septon’s star) and works alongside them as they build a tower, prepare food, cut wood etc. He’s a humble guy and keeps engaging the Hound in conversation. They’re both amusing. Ray: “What kind of big f**ker was man enough to take you down?” Hound: “a woman.” It’s also clear even from the beginning that Sandor is changed man, less angry than before. Septon Ray talks of his past as a warrior and his transformation into a holy man. One could parallel this with the High Septon’s story but overall Ray is certainly less manipulative and fanatical. During one of these speeches three men from the Brotherhood arrive on horseback. They ask for money, food, etc but are nicely turned away. The Hound is touched by Ray’s sentiments, but speculates that they should be prepared to fight.

GOT607_082415_HS__DSC76711-1140x759

Chopping wood for 2 and a half years

Next time we see him he is cutting wood off by himself when he hears screaming. He returns to camp to find every soul shot through with arrows. The Septon dangles from his tower by a noose, even his star having been taken. The Hound grabs up an axe, set back on the warrior’s path.

While I’ve always liked the Hound (not as a person, but as a character), and I enjoyed McShane’s Ray, I was not totally satisfied with the handling of the group’s demise. It looked as if a magical force swept in, shot everyone, and vanished. Stuff was still laying about, and it takes some “dedication” to kill everyone. Even the Mongol Horde missed stragglers (and sent back a special party to mop them up). This sort of atrocity certainly wouldn’t be in character with Dondarian’s Brotherhood, but more work of the ilk that clustered around the older, bigger, meaner Clegane (aka Fraken-Gregor before Quburn got to play with him).

It should be noted that this whole segment is so much clearer (as usual) in the show than in the books where it’s told from the POV of Brienne, who doesn’t know the Hound. In fact, the written interaction is mostly between her and the septon and the presence of the Hound is only inferred, and the septon technically says he is dead. But he may be speaking metaphorically, implying that the hound changed — which given what the show is doing is presumably the case.

Alas poor Ray, I knew him well

Alas poor Ray, I knew him well

Margaery & Olena – The younger Tyrell is back hanging with the High Sparrow in his chapel. She is reading from one of the seven holy books, and quotes from the “The Mother.” If, as suspect, she’s acting, she’s doing a great job of it. She discusses her “new self’s” views of her “old self” in a very convincing way. The Sparrow inquires about her sex life, mentioning that she and the king haven’t “been together” — despite having been together. He encourages her to do her duty, as the king must have an heir. Certainly, medieval royalty were pragmatic about this, but it felt slightly forced. He also implies that Marg’s grandmother, the Queen of Thorns, had better watch out.

Later, Marg is back in the Red Keep with her Grandmother and under the watchful eye of Septa Unella. Olena is furious at her granddaughter’s pious stance and wants the septa gone — clearly they haven’t been alone. Marg sticks to the holy program, responding to Olena’s suggestion that she return to Highgarden that her grandmother should do the same. Then Marg slips her a note.

I knew it!

I knew it!

Oleana, never a dunce, instantly changes her tune. Outside, she opens the note which is revealed to be merely the Highgarden rose. Still, this is proof that Marg still sides with her house.

Later, Cersei and Franken-Gregor visit Olena, who is packing to return to Highgarden, finally having gotten the message to move out of the Sparrow’s reach and leave the scheming to her protege. They have an amusing exchange where Cersei, continuing to be subdued after her walk of shame, argues for an alliance. Olena blames her for the mess, which Cersei, in a bit ofrelatively new self awareness, agrees. But Olena reminds her that they have both lost, and that Cersei is without any support. Her uncle forsakes her, her son has gone to the Sparrow, and her brother is off fighting.

Jaime – and his Lannister army arrive at a Riverrun which due to budget, has grown more elaborate and picturesque since we last saw it way back in season 3. And Bronn is with him to continue their bromance. Jaime “convinces” Bronn that he should take over command of the siege and play his right hand man — since he’s short in the hand department. The Frey army investing the castle is as lame as the Freys themselves. The hooded creeps are taunting the Blackfish (who watches from the battlements) with his nephew, the hapless Lord Edmure. Threatening to kill him if the gates aren’t opened. The Blackfish isn’t about to flop.

So when the Frey’s back down on their threat, Jaime approaches them and takes command by one part royal order and nine parts confidence. He orders them to have Edmure bathed and fed. His putting the smack on the Freys is quite amusing. They don’t put up much of a fight.

Don't mess with us Freys!

Don’t mess with us Freys!

The same can’t be said of the Blackfish. Jaime goes to the castle gates alone and unarmed and treats with him. Kingslayer and Blackfish. They take the measure of each other, and the Blackfish is not impressed. Jaime offers terms (letting the Tully men go free if they surrender) and the Blackfish states that he was born in the castle, and he’s prepared to die in it. The walls are high, the fortress well provisioned, and the commander is seasoned. This won’t be a quick siege and Jaime knows it.

These are fun scenes, even if Bronn is merely amusing and not in prime form. But the Jaime / Blackfish interactions are great as is him putting the Frey’s in their place.

Kingslayer vs. Blackfish

Kingslayer vs. Blackfish

Theon – and his sister Yarra party in Volantis, allowing us to again check out the cool shop-covered bridge and the whore houses. And while the Theon of old was a big brothel lover, alas, the newly trimmed version isn’t so keen on the carnal affairs. Which can’t be said of the enthusiastically lesbian Yarra — apparently instact Greyjoys are a lusty sort. But for all her bravado, Yarra is fairly sympathetic to Theon’s plight, in her Ironborn way. Still, as she puts it, if he’s so far gone he ain’t coming back he might as well end it all. Euron (sounds like urine) is hunting them, and they’re going to sail all the way to Meeren to ask Dany for help talking the Iron Islands back (little do they know she’s out horseback — I mean dragonback — riding). This tough love works on Theon, and he nods, on his way back from the reeky depths.

Runs in the family

Runs in the family

Jon, Sansa, Davos – are trying to get the north back together. First step is to convince the Wildlings to join them in this fight. Here Jon does pretty well, making a big speech about the Wildlings being toast if they don’t knock Ramsay out. Tormund acts as backup singer and Wun Wun the giant chimes in by saying “Snow!” Victory one.

Wun Wun steals the scene again

Wun Wun steals the scene again

Next up is Bear Island, which is a cool spot with icy waterfalls. There Jorah’s cousin-he-never-met, the 10 year-old niece of the Old Bear (the Lord Commander before Jon) is the lady. At first, the going is tough convincing her (and her Maester). Despite centuries of loyalty to the starks, She isn’t buying Jon. Nor Sansa. Then Davos pops in with a “I grew up in a shack” story and wins her over. Of course she only has 62 men, but she’s so cute she’s become an instant internet sensation — sort of like the Tormund/Brienne forbidden love.

Too cute to rule!

Too cute to rule!

Stop three is Lord Glover. He listens to them, and might even have a grain of sympathy for the old days, but he’s still a big no despite the trio’s efforts. Robb did them no favors with the way he screwed up, ruined everything over a foreign girl, and then left them to the Bolton’s tender mercies. Now fear of flaying and keeps them in the Ramsay camp.

And speaking of camps, the meager forces of Snow, Start, and Seaworth make camp at that exact unlucky spot where Stannis was blizzarded in, then “forced” to burn his daughter at the stake. A grim locale. Sansa wants to gather more men, even though they have tried and failed at all reasonable options. Jon thinks they need to win with what they have. But Sansa secretly writes a letter (presumably to Littlefinger) and signs it with her direwolf sigil.

game-of-thrones-season-6-the-broken-man-image-6-600x399

Sansa, Snow, and Seaworth

Arya – Finally back to our favorite little Stark. She’s got a new outfit and hairstyle more in her traditional “hanging out at the Red Keep with her Dancing Master” style. Confident and bold, she strides up to some Westerosi ship captains and buys a cabin with stolen coin, then heads up to a bridge to take in a gorgeous view of Bravos and the Titan (the giant statue). Worth noting that this episode has been full of great views. Anyway, an old lady approaches, and we know what’s coming, it’s the Waif wearing a mask, and she stabs Arya 5-6 times nastily in the belly (shades of that other Stark, Robb’s wife). Arya, still being Arya, knocks herself free and over the side of the bridge to disappear into the lagoon and a pool of bloody water.

Thinking herself the Titan

Thinking herself the Titan

Shortly after, she pops up somewhere nearby, swimming in pain, climbs out and staggers through the market clutching her bloody guts.

I was loving this whole sequence until her post-stabbing athletics. I have to imagine that a half dozen long bladed stabs to the intestines and then a bath in bacteria laden waters is pretty much a certain date to meet the real master of the House of Black and White. So, unless she gets some magical intervention next week, I’m having a hard time imagining my suspension of disbelief will hold. The walking at all after such a stabbing already has it strained to the breaking point. But we shall see.

Can we say sepsis?

Can we say sepsis?

Episode Body Count: Septon Ray and his whole crew. Arya’s guts.

Overall, a quieter episode than most, but with a lot of good character development. Really Arya’s encounter was the only major on screen action, but the show doesn’t need constant action for good drama. Containing only 4 major threads, this week moved those stories forward in a meaty way. They are deliberately merging more characters. And this trend will continue next week as Brienne seems to be hopping from the Jon thread to the Jaime thread — and it will be great to see them back together again.

Also thematically, the Broken Man is apt. We have the Hound and then Jon’s party, full of broken men. Jaime and Blackfish both. Or at least damaged. Hell, Edmure too. Theon is pretty much the definition and even Cersei and Marg have been “broken” (or bent) in their own ways.

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Season 1: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]

Season 2: [11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20]

Season 3: [21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30]

Season 4: [31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40]

Season 5: [41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50]

Season 6: [51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57]

Related posts:

  1. Game of Thrones – Episode 37
  2. Game of Thrones – Episode 56
  3. Game of Thrones – Episode 25
  4. Game of Thrones – Episode 31
  5. Game of Thrones – Episode 53
By: agavin
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Tagged as: a game of thrones, A Song of Ice and Fire, Episode 57, Game of Thrones, got, HBO, Season 6, Season 6 - Episode 7

Uncharted 4 – My Review

Jun06

UnchartedCoverMockUPTitle: Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End

System: PS4

Genre: Story based Climber/Shooter

Developer: Naughty Dog

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

Date Played: May 2016

Rating: Best looking game ever made!

_

 

Of course I had to play and review Uncharted 4. It pretty much goes without saying. My collector’s edition box came on launch day and I finished it over the next week. It probably took me about 20-24 hours as I take my time and I’m very thorough. I collected about 95% of the treasures and almost all the journal entries/extra convos etc. So let’s jump into it, topic by topic:

Story 8/10 and character 9/10. The UC4 story itself is superficially generic, involving the return of Nathan Drake’s long lost brother Sam, which precipitates Nathan leaving his “retirement” and (temporarily) Elena. Nathan is thereafter thrown into pursuit of the “biggest pirate treasure in history,” an adventure that takes him to Panama, Louisiana, Italy, Scotland, Madagascar, and (largely) Captain Avery’s nearby pirate island and its requisite “lost city.” There are also a couple flashbacks to the Drake boy’s younger days. Mostly the story is an excuse for modern pirate adventures and more importantly, character development between Nathan and Sam & Elena. This development, basically constructed from constant back and forth between the (usually two) party members seamlessly accompanies nearly all of Uncharted‘s gameplay.

Elena, like my wife, lets Nathan play video games

Elena, like my wife, lets Nathan play video games

In fact, Drake is almost never alone, and for good reason. This “buddy system story telling” at Naughty Dog was born out of Jak & Daxter. The idea with Daxter was to provide the “witty repartee” to help liven up the game, an idea we basically got from Disney movies and their endless string of comedic sidekicks. They intervening 15 years has seen the concept grow in sophistication, but the core idea is the same. In UC4, the dialog is not just funny (although it often is), but genuinely character building.

UC4 isn’t as somber, emotionally wrenching, or deep as Naughty Dog’s other similar-genre hit, The Last of Us (TLOU), but the level of character interaction between Drake and his family does bring out real warmth and personality. Basically, the game lives up to being a Raiders / Die Hard type summer blockbuster. It’s kinda about the action, but really excels because you care. Please note that this depth is rarely present in video games (does Call of Duty evoke any emotion?) or even summer blockbusters where creators too often believe 40 minutes of slamming through buildings develops character.

So while UC4 is not the story/character masterpiece that is TLOU — it’s also a lot lighter hearted.

That Sam is just a bit more selfish than Nathan is telegraphed by his slightly shiftier features

That Sam is just a bit more selfish than Nathan is telegraphed by his slightly shiftier features

Voice Acting & Animation 10/10. Taking into account the current state of technology, video game character rendering just doesn’t get better than UC4. I’m sure Sony’s eventual PS5 and Naughty Dog’s eventual PS5 title will improve on it, but barring that, the characters just look and move superbly. The voice acting is really stellar too, particularly given the sometime “cheese” factor of the pirate story. The quality of the writing and delivery sell it time and time again.

The Drake brothers have very strong forearms

The Drake brothers have very strong forearms

Graphics 11/10. The elephant in the room. No, the titanosaur argentinosaurus huinculensis in the room is how gorgeous the game looks. UC4 isn’t the most stylized game ever, but for hands down gorgeous “realistic” graphics there is no better looking game yet made. It’s even better looking than Witcher 3: Blood & Wine (which is pretty gorgeous). The UC4 graphics aren’t really that naturalistic either, as the color and detail are pumped up in a sort of HDR hyper-realistic way. It’s just not that obviously stylized. My good friend Erick Pangilinan (he’s the art director!) describes it as “hyper reality but very balanced in terms of detail. Every camera shot is very directed in terms of gameplay clarity and artistic composition. Following a lighting color script was also key to tie in the mood and story beat.” The textures and lighting and everything else are just so ridiculously pretty, which because of a technique called physical base rendering allows the materials to respond to light properly, making them consistent and realistic (and therefore more awesome).

Let us not forget the amazing view distances, epic scenes, crazy mud/water/everything else type effects. Oh, and the animation, which while not 100% lifelike is about 98% — and therefore about as good as has ever been done. Plus did I mention all the insane shaders and little details. The look of the game, it’s stunning slickness, and jaw-dropping beauty actually makes it more fun to play. Seriously, even the corner of some cave is gorgeous. Frame rate is 30 hertz in Single Player. They couldn’t really squeeze this crazy look into 60 on the PS4. It doesn’t bog much, so gameplay isn’t affected. Sure it would be a little more fluid at 60, but there are a lot of uglier games that run at 30 (or less).

Yeah, that's what the game looks like

Yeah, that’s what the game looks like

Controls 9.5/10 and core mechanics. I’m a control guy. I programmed most/all of the controls for the Naughty Dog games before Uncharted 1 so I know a little bit about video game control :-). The UC4 controls are great, particularly the climbing controls. Basically, the controls break down into a couple types: Running/jumping/climbing, shooting, hand to hand, and vehicle. I’d say the basic “moving drake around” and climbing controls are 11/10. Some of the new mechanics, like the grappling hook, slides, and piton integrate spectacularly. The way in which Drake reaches for handholds and you can subtly feel them out: perfect. The shooting and “hiding” controls are maybe a 9/10, as is the driving. It all responds well and some elements like the slipping and sliding of the jeep in the mud are crazy good. Occasionally I’d pop out of stealth oddly when trying to shift positions. The hand to hand fighting is more like a 7/10. It’s fine, and the animation is gorgeous, but it doesn’t have the visceral contact quality of say, Bloodborne, where you can confidently fight multiple opponents at the same time. There is an increased emphasis on stealth gameplay, possibly coming over from TLOU. I liked hiding in the grass and quietly taking guys out, and to this UC4 adds pulling and kicking guys off ledges and out of windows. All are quite satisfying when you pull it off.

The fighting / shooting gameplay isn’t immensely varied. There aren’t that many enemy types. Basic mercs, armored mercs, sniper mercs, maybe a few other similar types. This ain’t like Dark Souls III with tons of highly varied fantasy monsters (I love me some fantasy monsters). So enemy variety gets a 3/10. Enemy AI is excellent though.

You can actually slide around in that mud!

You can actually slide around in that mud!

Gameplay balance. Naughty Dog describes Uncharted as a “summer blockbuster you play” and this is fairly accurate. It’s a slightly throwback Spielberg-style Indian Jones / National Treasure blockbuster at that. But the actual gameplay is divided between exploring, climbing, puzzle solving, driving, moving along the plot, and a mixed stealth & gun fighting gameplay were you beat up on clusters of mercenaries. The balance between these activities has been slightly adjusted from previous Uncharted games. The driving (boat and jeep) has been added, but the percentage of climbing seems to have been increased and shooting reduced. I really prefer climbing / exploring to fighting in this particular style, so that’s all good by me. Also, it seems that there is more “moving the plot along” stuff, by which I mean relatively trivial things you “do” (like dragging a water bucket down to the puddle to fill it up) that is needed to move along the plot. Interestingly, these tasks, as mundane as they are, do add to the verisimilitude. They almost “feel” like puzzle solving, even though the game usually tells you exactly what to do. That being said, there are half a dozen real puzzles in the game, along the lines of a more complicated Raider‘s map room. You can either “puzzle” them out or google them.

The climbing can really get complicated

The climbing can really get complicated

It’s also worth noting how this balance is different than in TLOU, which has a lot more stealth, no formal puzzles, and a much less “forgiving” hit and recovery system. TLUO also has collecting materials and crafting useful “tools” like grenades, shivs, healthpacks, etc. and a rudimentary RPG system where you can level up weapons and certain abilities. I really like collecting and “leveling”, and it gives you a reason to explore the gorgeous environments, so one of my biggest “beefs” (in the context of a fabulous game) with UC4 is the scarcity of pickups. Basically, there are the treasures, and these are pretty few and far between and often rather hidden. Naughty Dog deliberately uses this as a differentiation point from TLOU, but I miss collecting. There is also very little weapon progression in Uncharted. You grab what guns are at hand. They all kinda work. I usually take whatever has the most ammo, generally staying away from the grenade launchers and the like. There are some bigger guns toward the end like the RPG and Gatling gun, but they don’t have significant strategic use. Overall, the choice of weapon in Uncharted is far less relevant than it is in TLOU, where the varied characteristics are almost mandatory choices for different encounters. Only on a couple occasions in UC4 do you actually NEED to be using a high impact weapon (shotgun) or a sniper rifle. And there exists no choice of knife, bow etc. All stealth kills are by hand (or foot).

Interestingly, while UC4 still has levels in a dim sort of way, it pretty much eschews the whole boss concept. At most, there is one at the end. And there are big set piece levels like the truck chase, but there even the single boss isn’t exactly like Bloodborne or Dark Souls III‘s 15-20 massive traditional bosses. This isn’t a game about repeatedly dying so you can figure out a difficult series of reactions to lethal moves.

Pirates love puzzles!

Pirates love puzzles!

Sound 10/10. The sound is just seamlessly there in UC4. There is just a LOT of it, and it just sells this giant adventure as you’d expect. The music is right on style. Don’t underestimate how much work this was.

Check out the view!

Nathan likes to be “on time”

Technology 11/10. It’s easy to just say that UC4 is the best looking video game ever, and that the animation and control, and shaders are perfect (given the current state of PS4 tech). They are, but a lot of people had to work really hard to make that happen. And the kind of tech that squeezes that much performance out of the same hunk of hardware that all those other PS4 games run on is impressive — which means impressive programmers. Some Naughty Dog programmer(s) had to code all those cool rope and jeep and mud physics, allow for the ridiculous shader passes, sit there with the artists and work out the luminous shadows and lighting, blend all the different joints, wrangle the data so the load times are barely there, etc etc etc. Most PS4 games have abysmal load times! The power of current machines and engines has sometimes allowed all that vast amount of code to slip onto the perceptual back burner, but I’m sure it’s just as hairy as it was twenty years ago in the Crash Bandicoot era. Which brings up:

Holy Mickey Mouse: Castle of Illusion -- gear climbing!

Holy Mickey Mouse: Castle of Illusion — gear climbing!

Crash Bandicoot revival. Idea 12/10. Execution 9/10. Just having a bit of Crash in here was so cool and so apropos — particularly given the Indiana Jones nature of Uncharted and obvious reference of the boulder level. It also must have been a helluva lot of work. Crash‘s code and assets are incredibly complicated. I don’t even know if they emulated it or recoded it. I suspect the later as per the 1 point execution ding, which is that the “feel” is just slightly off. The game inside the game looks and sounds pretty much exactly right — except maybe for Crash’s spin which looks a little weird — but the control is just slightly funny. I even went back and popped in the real deal to check. True, this is Crash 1, and Crash 1‘s controls are significantly stiffer and harder than Crash 2 and 3 (where reworked logic and the analog stick vastly improved them), but it still feels just a tiny nitpicky bit different. [ update 6/6/16: Neil Druckmann tells me that one guy recoded the whole sequence (using the original art/sound assets). No wonder it’s just a touch different, but amazingly impressive getting it so close. ]

Multiplayer. I haven’t tried it. Not usually that into death-matches, but that’s just me. I like co-op.

Overall 9.5/10. Uncharted 4 is a spectacular game, and any PS4 owner that doesn’t play it better be the kind that only buys sports games or have a severe allergy to pirates. It’s a solid 20 hours of ridiculously high production value fun. It’s spectacularly polished. It’s the best looking video game yet made. It’s a romping good story and better than most blockbuster movies (which kinda suck these days). It’s just not quite as much a ground breaking masterpiece as TLOU which is the best “story game” made so far. Nor actually to my taste does it offer as much fantasy creeptastic evil challenging monster killing gameplay as equally masterful but less polished Bloodborne. But that last game is far more niche and I’m a dark fantasy lover, so consider me weird. UC4 is like Back to the Future in terms of its mastery: perfect execution and awesome entertainment, just not the deepest thing in the world.

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I guess he had "fear of heights" surgically removed

I guess Nathan had “fear of heights” surgically removed

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By: agavin
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Posted in: Games
Tagged as: Adventure game, Nathan Drake (character), Naughty Dog, Sony Computer Entertainment, Uncharted, Uncharted 4, video game review

Cui Hua Lou – Authentic Spice

Jun03

Restaurant: Cui Hua Lou [1, 2, 3]

Location: 920 E Garvey Ave. Monterey Park, CA 91755. 626-288-2218

Date: May 28, 2016

Cuisine: Szechuan Chinese

Rating: Awesome!

ANY CHARACTER HERE

Chinese food is incredible regional, and we are blessed in SoCal with a lot of very specific restaurants (mostly in the San Gabriel Valley). My Hedonist group has returned to this little known spicy Szechuan in the corner of an undiscovered Monterey Park strip mall. We love Szechuan for its spicy/smoky flavors. This is a cuisine that packs a real punch and is one of my favorites in China and CHL is seriously “local.”


The storefront, as usual, isn’t much to look at.


A menu with fairly literal translations.


And the usual minimalist decor.

But we weren’t even in the restaurant proper, but across the parking lot in “the room.” When we arrived some staff or friends were eating (and drinking A LOT of beer). They cleared out as soon as we walked in.

Domaine de la Pépière (Marc Ollivier) Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine Clisson. Light and fresh.

Salted peanuts.
 Cucumber with Jelly Fish. Not bad for jellyfish. The cucumber had a nice marinated crunch.

From my cellar: 2011 Veyder-Malberg Grüner Veltliner Weitenberg. 92 points. Excellent. Opened about 8 hours prior to drinking. Pale-mid straw in colour with a nose of green apples and stones. Bone dry and predominantly mineral in the mouth with green sourish apple, vegetal and wet stone overtones. Medium acidity with a distinct tartness which is very refreshing and long in the aftertaste. This is still a very young Veltliner which is several years away from reaching its peak. When it does I estimate that it will deserve a higher score, maybe substantially higher

Beef tendon with chilies. Nice chili flavor with very gelatinous tendon slabs.

Bean noodles with cucumber and mustard sauce. Nice bright mustard flavor.

2014 Weingut Josef Leitz Riesling.

Cumin garlic skewers. Intense and delicious.

Mushroom and “Chinese Hot Dot” skewers. The hot dogs were awesome, tender and a little sweet. The mushrooms were a little chewy.

Lamb and chicken wing skewers. Tasty.

From my cellar: 2006 Mas Martinet Priorat Clos Martinet. VM 92+. Saturated ruby. Pungent aromas of cherry, black raspberry, sassafras, licorice and vanilla. Pliant cherry and dark berry flavors are braced by a zesty mineral quality and framed by silky tannins. Becomes smokier and deeper with air, picking up black tea and herbal qualities on the finish. The finish is sweet but a bit clenched, with fine-grained tannins lending grip. This seems to be holding back today but I like its balance and concentration.

Stewed Lamb in Casserole. This is one of the house special dishes. It comes like this and then heats to a boiling (and spicy) temp. Below the mutton (the meat is incredibly tender, although on the bone) is a seething pit of chili sauce, cabbage, soft tofu, and glass noodles. The sauce has an incredible flavor with a good bit of numbing Szechuan peppercorn. It’s incredibly delicious and unique to Szechuan cooking.

2007 Dönnhoff Kreuznacher Krötenpfuhl Riesling Spätlese. JG 92. honey lemon, grapfruits with hint of perfume floral and Mosel like mineral tones. Juicy intense palate with rich lemony, citrus notes and hint of sweet yellow fruits that firmly supported by the mineral backbone with bright acidity that flow on to the very clean, grippy finish with ripe acidity to go along.

Pan Seared Chili Pepper. Maybe Jalapeño. Delicious with a good middling heat.

Pork belly with garlic. Like super fatty bacon in garlic sauce.

From my cellar: Dr. Loosen Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Spätlese Goldkapsel Auction. 93 points. Great stuff.

Kung Pao Shrimp. As good a version of the classic as you can find. Not that spicy.

Potato with Chili. Looks and tastes a bit like al dente noodles. A nice subtle flavor too.

2012 Turley Zinfandel Cobb. VM 91. One of the more immediate, fleshy wines in this extensive lineup, the 2012 Zinfandel Cobb Vineyard is an excellent choice for drinking over the next handful of years. Suave, silky and juicy on the palate, the 2012 is built on a core of open, resonant fruit. Sweet spices notes add nuance in a distinctly supple Zinfandel with tons of near-term appeal.
 Hot braised eggplant with garlic sauce. Awesome garlicky flavor, with some significant heat (of both sorts).

2001 Marquis Philips Shiraz Integrity. 94 points. Notes of mint/eucalyptus, leather, plum and dark fruit with a very subtle funky/bretty undertone that is rather enjoyable. Medium- to full-bodied with nicely integrated tannins and flavors of spice, vanilla, blackberry liqueur, and herbs. Hint of leather coming in on the finish. The most complex and ready of the four- solidly in its window and probably won’t improve in my opinion. Should hold at this level for a couple of years, but I see no reason to wait.

Sweet and sour spareribs. Little sweet bits of porky yum.

Boiled fish in chili sauce. A great version of this dish. The fish was very tender and the broth was delicious.

Dan Dan Noodles.

Wilson mixing it up. One of the biggest challenge is getting only part of the noodles and an even distribution of the chopped meat at the bottom. Clearly, when Marco Polo brought noodles back to Italy this became the seed for Bolognese sauce, as aside from this being quite spicy, there is a definite similarity. This particular version wasn’t the best I’ve ever had, and doesn’t have the nutty sesame quality the dish sometimes does, but it was certainly enjoyable.

Tomato and egg. Classic Chinese breakfast.

Cabbage with preserved shrimp. A nice mild cabbage with just a hint of salty dried shrimp.

Fried corn. Slightly sweet and could have almost passed for a dessert (certainly in Chinese terms). It blended great on the plate with other items like the above tofu, adding a bit of crunch, salt, and sweetness.

The “private room” has a karaoke machine.
 And even more terrifying, a meat band saw.
 Yeah, this is the kind of thing killers might use to dispose of the body!

In conclusion, Cui Hua Lou, while apparently totally undiscovered, offers up some fabulous traditional Szechuan fare. Yarom thinks this is the best Szechuan in the SGV. I’m not sure I’d go that far, but it’s certainly one of my favorites. They don’t use MSG. The flavors are great. It has a slightly different mix of dishes than some. But I like a lot of the top Szechuan places, and they are each a bit different.

The service is really great, particularly as Chinese restaurants go. Our hostess Elaine really took care of us, spacing out the dishes, bringing us whatever we needed.

We went crazy overboard and ordered up about 50% more food than we needed, still this feast, including tax and tip, only set us back $25 a person! If you like spicy, you should try this place. It’s not big, but it was still busy at 10pm!

For more LA Chinese reviews click here.

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

We went close by to Salju for some awesome snow. In this case pineapple snow, passionfruit, strawberry, almond jelly and boba.

Coconut snow with blueberry, mango, and condensed milk.
 And more coconut snow with mochi, gumi bears, and rice balls!

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By: agavin
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Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Cui Hua Lou, hedonists, Salju, Sichuan, Szechuan

Game of Thrones – Episode 56

Jun01

20160226073939!GoT_season_6_official_posterShow: Game of Thrones

Genre: Fantasy

Watched: Episode 56 – May 29, 2016

Title: Blood of my Blood

Summary: Great stuff, slightly rushed execution

ANY CHARACTER HERE

NOTE: SERIOUS SPOILER WARNING. This review/discussion contains tons of spoilers about the episode and even ones crossing over from the books. It’s really my free-for-all musing given all the information at my disposal.

Plot threads are unraveled and discussed one by one.

Bran – and Meera flee desperately through the snow, picking up where they left off last week. Bran is still in his trace and we are treated to a rapid-fire montage of visions. Mostly bits of White Walker footage from previous battles (like Hardholme) and stressful highlights (like Ned Snark’s final moments) but also a touch of new footage including the mad king screaming “burn them all” and some Wildfire explosions (is Wildfire a key to fighting the undead horde?). Back in the real world, given storm and terrain, Meera is having a tough time with the sled. Bran wakes, but the zombies are coming out of the woods. Just as things look bleakest, with the dead about to strike, a horseman with a fiery censor/thurible appears and makes short work of the shambling nightmares. At last, the long awaited appearance of Coldhands!

The long lost uncle (mostly)

The long lost uncle (mostly)

Later, this mystery figure (who in the books helped out Sam and Gilly in the North and later Bran before he got to the tree), is beheading a rabbit — yuck (tie in with Sam and Gilly dialog). But he soon reveals himself to be Benjen Stark — achem, a little worse for the wear. Seems he was stabbed by a White Walker at some point, but was saved when the Children of the Forest used an obsidian dagger (shoved in his heart) to turn him into some kind of “good white walker.” He has apparently worked for the Raven since. The details of his transformation are unclear, presumably some similar magic to that which Leaf used to make the original White Walker. We fans have long suspected that Coldhands was Ben, and now it’s confirmed.

Overall, this is some great stuff and more of the rapid-fire reveals, particularly with regard to the Walker/Raven/Children mythology so long on slow IV drip. Ben didn’t look all that “transformed” and I would have preferred he appear more “wraith-like” or at least they showed his black hands. An elk/reindeer as opposed to a horse would have been cool too. The show is slightly uneven in how it embraces the high fantasy elements. Certainly they do, and in increasingly large measure, but it doesn’t play them to the LOTR max (and I mean good LOTR, not the Hobbit).

Does he look dead enough?

Does he look dead enough?

Gilly & Sam – Ride in a very fancy carriage through the southlands as they approach his ancestral estate of Horn Hill. They talk of trees (being green and different down south). Sam is a nervous talker and funny as usual. “A person just doesn’t feel welcome after that [being told to go to the wall or die]”. They inform the audience that Sam didn’t tell his family she was a Wildling (just a Northerner) in his letters and that his father hates Wildlings. Eventually they approach the house, which seen in the background is a giant complex I’m convinced was inspired (architecturally) by either the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi or by the older examples of Roman villas (put through a “medieval filter”).

Horn hill in the show

Horn Hill on the show

The Basilica of St Francis

The real life Basilica of St Francis, begun in 1228AD. Coincidence?

A typical large scale Roman villa, certainly an influence on the later Basilica

A typical large Roman villa built over a 1000 years before the Basilica, but both are Italian

Either way, Horn Hills looks imposing. Inside we meet Sam’s mother and sister and baby Sam is introduced as his son. Later, Gilly is amusingly awkward in a fancy dress. She looks quite different without that greasy/stringy hair, but she’s always been a cute girl (under the dirt). Sam’s dad is at dinner. I thought he might end up being Ian McShane, who is supposed to join the cast for one episode, but no, he’s dour and underplayed. There is hunting talk and the father is on Sam’s case from the first instant and Sam just shrinks into his chair. It’s tough to watch because Sam is such a sympathetic character and he has come such a long way over the years — but clearly not with regard to his father. This I can believe because it’s easy to retreat to old behaviors (good or bad) when seeing important people in your life you haven’t in a long time. Much like how you can hang with old college buddies decades later and it feels like “no time has passed” in certain regards. Anyway, the dad “points out” Heartsbane, their family Valyrian steel blade. Gilly can’t help but defend Sam and taunts the father with her Wildling origin (as a side note she mentioned rabbit hunting which is deliberately paired with Coldhand’s rabbit butchering above). Sam’s dad calls her a whore and demands that while she and the baby can stay, Sam has to go at first light. Sam just takes it all. But later, after talking to Gilly, and even though she forgives him, he comes back and grabs her to leave — stealing Heartsbane on his way out!

It’s good to see him getting his backbone back, even if he just took the verbal assault, and even if he does it on the sly. I liked these scenes, but my biggest problem was how black and white “nasty” Sam’s father was without any nuance or complexity.

Not the most relaxing family dinner

Not the most relaxing family dinner

Arya – is back at the theatre in Bravos, watching another political drama, I guess a sequel to last week’s. This time it’s the Purple Wedding and the death of Joffrey. She enjoys getting to see him get his just desserts. It’s clear that as the Cersei actress (Arya’s target) says her lines that the younger one playing Sansa covets the part. Next, Arya sneaks back stage and puts her poison in the lady’s rum. On her way out she runs into her target. The actress is actually quite friendly and assumes Arya is a wannabe actress. So when the actress settles down to drink her rum Arya can’t bring herself to let it happen knocks the glass from her hands. I could tell this was coming as the writers weren’t about to make Arya into a soulless killer. But it’s still a big decision for her. She runs to her rocks and digs out needle (presumably to run away from the House of Black & White).

Later, the Waif reports to Jaqen H’ghar. She’s always had it out for Arya, but Jaqen is bummed. Still, he tells the Waif to kill her (but make it quick). So Arya is “free”, but a wanted woman. Like many of this week’s scenes I thought this was good stuff but a touch rushed. And while Arya will soon be on her way “back” (presumably to join one of the other threads of the story) it doesn’t feel to me that she has learned enough skills. She has better emotional control. She is better with the quarterstaff. But she hasn’t learned any secret Death God magics. Or maybe in the confrontation coming up (with the Waif and maybe Jaqen) she will steal some masks or mask magic. We shall see.

Hope we've seen the last of silly hair

Hope we’ve seen the last of silly hair

Walder Frey – For the first time since season 4 we return to the loathsome Walder Frey. This segment serves mostly as exposition as he’s dressing down some of his indistinguishable hooded sons about having lost Riverrun to the Blackfish. Walder orders them in no uncertain terms to take back the castle — although easier said than done for a bunch of lackluster men against a seasoned commander like the Blackfish. Having sufficiently cowed his underlings he trots out a barefoot and bedraggled Edmure Tully (Cat’s brother and the Blackfish’s nephew) so they have some added leverage against the Blackfish. This is no surprise to me, as I knew they had him in custody. It makes sense to have held onto him because he was never a practical threat, but might prove a useful tool.

3 years of gruel in the tower room!

3 years of gruel in the tower room!

Tommen – is talking to the High Sparrow again, about Margaery in particular. This week the king is allowed to see her. Cleaned up, in her homespun robe, she looks younger. And she sure talks the penitent talk. Hard to tell if she’s become a convert or is playing along. Last week, she seemed in full charge of her facilities, so I have to wonder. They talk about Loras and she draws the convo back to the Sparrow.

Jaime – supervises the arrival of the Tyrell army, nominally under the command of the ridiculously armored Mace Tyrell — who gives a rather lame speech. They march on up to the Sept where the Sparrow has Marg out on the steps. Even the Queen of Thornes is there (in her armored coach). Jaime rides up the steps and confronts the Sparrow, demanding that there shall be no walk of atonement. The Sparrow pulls out his trump card and trots out a pet Tommen, superficially yielding on the walk issue, but showing his domination of the king. He announces a new union between church and crown (including both king and queen). Olenna is the only one seemingly aware that he “won”.

I wanted to see the walk!

I wanted to see the walk!

Back in the throne room, Jaime strips off his Kingsguard armor in echo of the similar action by Barristan Selmy at the end of season 1. I think he was more fired than quit. He is being stripped of his command but sent with Lannister forces to deal with the Blackfish at Riverrun. Basically this is getting him back on track with the books.

Later, he’s furious when talking to Cersei. He wants to launch an all out attack on the Sept and knock out the High Sparrow. But this time she’s the one arguing for restraint. She isn’t worried about her upcoming trial because she can force it to “trial by combat” and have Franken-Gregor mow through whoever. They kiss passionately and reaffirm their Lannister Twin Pact.

Jaime fills out a uniform well

Jaime fills out a uniform well

Dany – marches through the desert with her army, talking about how many ships they will need to bring the hordes to Westeros. Suddenly, she spots a dust devil and her spider senses tingle. She makes the rather silly looking gang of Dothraki wait while she runs around the corner. I do have to note that the whole Dothraki look is just a little over the top and always looks silly in a group. Khal Drogo himself looked great, totally badass, but the gang of them just don’t pull off the rough warrior ethos. Maybe it’s because the extras they drum up aren’t really nomadic horse warriors. Plus it doesn’t help that when we see them close up, it’s only a few guys.

Anyway, after Dany runs around the corner she reappears a minute later on top of Drogon (who has been eating WELL since we last saw him) and lands in front of her “horde”. Here, she proceeds to give another of her excellent foreign language motivational speeches, this time in Dothraki and with parallel lines to the awesome oath Khal Drogo gave before the Mother of Mountains in season 1.

The speech itself I liked, but I somehow thought they could have come up with some better way for her to hook up with Drogon than to “feel” he was hiding around the corner. Plus the cheering horde had that silly Dothraki extra look.

Drogon-Dany

Episode body count: Zombies, Arya’s career as an Faceless Man, and Jaime’s pride.

Overall, a good episode with a lot of stuff happening, mostly dealing with the threads that were not addressed last week. My issue, as I’ve said above, is that these events felt like good moves from a plotting department but weren’t entirely fleshed out in execution. I wonder how much this has to do with the shift of the “scene writing” from GRRM to D&B. The former is a master of wrapping up his plot turns in the context of great scenes. Examples would be things like the Red Wedding or even a simpler scene like where Cat captures Tyrion in that inn in season 1 or where Ned ends up stabbed in the leg by Jaime. At the plotting level we have the turnabouts, but GRRM really sells the moment. By contrast, turning the corner and just finding Drogon isn’t a sexy way to get them back together — even though their reunion is a desirable thing.

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Personality of a lobster

Personality of a lobster

Related posts:

  1. Game of Thrones – Episode 53
  2. Game of Thrones – Episode 28
  3. Game of Thrones – Episode 25
  4. Game of Thrones – Episode 36
  5. Game of Thrones – Episode 37
By: agavin
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Posted in: Television
Tagged as: a game of thrones, A Song of Ice and Fire, Episode 56, Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin, got, HBO, Season 6, Season 6 Episode 6
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