August arrives, and with it another teaser. This continues that cool creepy vibe driven by the bluegrass soundtrack.
Author Archive for agavin – Page 83
This video — unfortunately narrated in German — shows many season 2 Game of Thrones FX shots both before and after. I find particularly interesting how they modify real locations, grafting on and extending the world.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvDE1kpm1eg]I was actually just in Dubrovnik last month, so when I next watch Season 2 (bound to happen soon enough) I want to keep an eye out for the locations.
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    My novels: The Darkening Dream and Untimed or all my Game of Thrones posts or episode reviews: 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] |
Me on the walls of Kings Landing — achem, Dubrovnik
This is my own photo of the same wall that is behind Tyrion and Varys as they look out over the sea. I thought so at the time from memory but I didn’t have the shot in front of me to compose it the same.
All twenty-one interior illustrations for my time travel novel, Untimed, are now finished! These are painted by Dave Phillips, an awesome artist I commissioned earlier this year. I thought I’d use the occasion to show two new images. And because I love process, I’m posting both the rough and final versions. To get a close up look at this, click one of the images and it will bring up a Smugmug lightbox. You can use the arrow keys to flip back and forth between the rough and the final to see the differences.
Above is is “Two’s Company, Three’s a Crowd.” Our protagonist Charlie has to go all the way from contemporary Philadelphia to 1725 London to meet a girl, but she has more than her share of baggage!
For those of you who are curious, Donnie, the guy in the middle with the crazy wig, is actually nineteen and dressed as a “Macaroni.” Remember the line from Yankee Doodle Dandy: “He stuck a feather in his hat, and called it macaroni”? In the early 18th century it was in vogue for trendy young men to dress in outlandish colors (Italian Style) and they were called Macaronis. Tim Roth also plays a fantastic and similar dandy in the excellent 1995 film Rob Roy.
Time travel isn’t just about competing for girls, sometimes tiny changes can have big consequences. Well, maybe letting Ben Franklin get killed and leaving the clockwork men to run amuck doesn’t qualify as “tiny.” When Charlie gets back home to modern day Philadelphia (above), things look a bit different then he expects!
Previously released images can be found here and here and stay tuned for more.
Restaurant: Konoba Nevera
Location: Firula Road 17, 21000 Split. Tel: 021/388-736
Date: July 17, 2012
Cuisine: Dalmatian
Rating: Tasty
Our first stop in Croatia was Split, a seaside town in Northern Dalmatia. During the third century AD, the Roman Emperor Diocletian “retired” to Split and built a great pleasure palace by the sea. He had toured all of the known world and pronounced Dalmatia to be the loveliest part of it. It sure seems like a pretty choice spot. The Adriatic is sparkling blue, the weather is warm, but seasoned by a brisk maritime breeze.
As we were fresh off the transatlantic haul, we chose a casual place not far from our hotel. Konoba seems to roughly translate as “tavern” in English and appears to mean a traditional and informal eatery.
Despite the casual vibe, Konoba Nevera rates #3 for split on Trip Advisor. Nothing like a good kitchen!
Konoba Nevera is a block or two back from the water with a delightful breeze.
The interior is cute and casual.
Perhaps leaning a hair toward kitcsh.
This is one of those huge multipage menus. I was lazy and only photoed about a third of it. As latter travels would prove, the contents are archetypically Dalmatian. Menus don’t vary a lot here, but execution does.
Posip (pronounced Poshipa) is a popular Dalmatian white varietal mostly from the Island of Korcula. It’s medium bodied, maybe even full bodied, and not unlike a Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi. Fuller, less sapidity, and more fruit perhaps. A very nice food wine and not boring like many international whites.
This was good home baked rustic bread.
“Caprese.”
“Fish soup.” There is rice, not to mention a lot of olive oil, in this soup.
“Treasures of the sea.” This is a mixed appetizer plate. We have some marinated octopus, sardines, anchovies, fish carpaccio and a bit of salad. The balls in the scallop shell are an awesome tuna salad cousin that is sweeter and more briny than the American standard. This was all nice stuff, all fresh and light.
“Spaghetti pomodoro.” A very light olive oil, tomato sauce with a bit of herbs.
“Seafood risotto.” I love this form of risotto and this was a fine example with a nice bright tomato and brine taste and very fresh shellfish.
Some really tasty grilled vegetables.
“Dorade, grilled.” Salty and succulent, fresh white fish doesn’t really get much better than this. Very very similar to the same dish in Italy or Greece — and probably much of the rest of the Mediterranean for that matter.
This was a great first taste of Croatian cuisine. I found it flavorful, yet light. There isn’t a lot of butter or animal fat in most of these dishes. They lean toward seafood and olive oil. Somewhere between Italy and Greece, literally and a culinary way. I’m liking it so far.
Title: The Alchemist
Author: Paolo Baciqalupi
Genre: Fantasy Novella
Length: 96 pages
Read: July 28-30, 2012
Summary: Nice little short
Having recently read Baciqalupi’s excellent Ship Breaker I thought I’d breeze through his fantasy novella — and breeze I did. Written in first person, yet with a bit of almost Arabian Nights allegorical style, this is a story about a world where all magic has consequences, specifically in that it feeds deadly bramble vines, causing them to choke and strangle the city. As usual for Baciqalupi the world building and the writing is first rate. This a very contained story with a small character count and a lot of focus so it isn’t bogged down by some of The Windup Girl’s problems. The mains are good too, but I did find the villains slightly contrived. Like many shorts there is a bit of a twist.
Overall, the vibe of the story is excellent, and this is conveyed through the skilled use of voice. A tasty snack indeed.
For more book reviews, click here.
Title: Perdido Street Station
Author: China Miéville
Genre: Gothic Steampunk Fantasy Scifi Horror
Length: 710 pages and lots of words
Read: July 16-24, 2012
Summary: Astonishingly Imaginitive
I am in utter awe with regard to the creativity oozing from this novel.
While perhaps not for everyone, and not perfect, this is a first rate work of fantasy. And I mean that in the broadest sense because the book is set in a unique milieu that is part Dickens, part steampunk, part fantasy, part Blade Runner, part Lovecraft and a whole lot more. As one agent said of my first novel’s early drafts: Perdido Street Station suffers from an extreme case of too-much-ness. It has too many words, too many characters, too many points of view, too much description, too many subplots, too many races, too many kinds of magic, too many villains, too many heroes, too many really really big words, or old words (I had to use the dictionary every couple of pages). Still, it works, even rises to greatness.
Amazing things about this book:
1. The prose: which is highly descriptive, deft, and subtle, building elaborate piles of intricacy out of slashes of words.
2. The main characters: Isaac, Yag, and Lin all have some real depth.
3. The world: is just so creepy, slimy, and cool — although not for the faint of heart. This book is dark. It makes The Darkening Dream seem like vanilla icing.
4. The monsters and the weird: nice and creepy. This is a book where human on bug sex is the sweet part!
5. The clarity: for all its length and bewildering array of everything, the book is easy to follow and read (provided you have a dictionary handy).
6. Imagination: No shortage of amazingly cool ideas, images, races, monsters, technologies, places, etc. in this puppy.
Things that aren’t as strong:
1. Pacing: the masses of description, which while evocative, effective, and downright creepy, are constant and unrelenting. The city itself is a character and this slows things down a bit. It doesn’t drag, but it isn’t lightning fast either.
2. The tangents: there are more than a few here, and not all of them worth it.
3. The minor points of view: A number of characters pop in, have their couple POV pages in the sun, and then vanish (usually into the deadpool). This isn’t always maximally effective.
4. The baroque plot: The story is easy enough to follow, but it does take A WHILE to get going and is not always full of classic drama created from thwarted desire. In fact, the first third or so is distinctly short on that, but is fast paced mostly because the world is so fascinating.
5. Actions of the government and other non-protagonist forces: There are some big chunks in here where the government is trying to do stuff, and only indirectly involves the regular characters. This stuff is less effective because of the emotional disconnect.
6. Deus ex machina: oh-too-coincidental happenings and escapes occur a number of times.
Overall, in the same way that Vegas transcends cheese by way of pure magnitude, Perdido climbs to greatness on the strength of its positives, rising above any petty flaws. If you appreciate flights of imagination, good writing, and the weird, it’s required reading. No question. Not for the square, the staid, the boring, or the grounded who do not at least dream of flying.
For more book reviews, click here.
I updated the post on this newish rustic Italian to include twice the yummy pizza, pasta, and old-school Italian delicacies. Click here to see all the details.
Since I’ve created thirteen video games and written two novels I’m often asked how the process compares between the two. This is a complex topic, but here goes one stab at it, focusing on the generation of the idea.
The idea part 1: The What
Both games and novels start with a basic idea, and it’s essential to focus on what’s important. In both cases, this is a creative process, imagining something blurry and only partially formed that calls out to you.
Games are about gameplay, so this is then a question of gameplay genre. Not the Horror vs Mystery type of genre, but what kind of game is it. Generally you start with one of the proven gameplay types: Platformer, shooter, driving game, sports game, etc and then try to bring something new to the table. For Crash Bandicoot, this was “character platform game in the vein of Donkey Kong Country, but in full 3D” (there were no 3D platform games when we started).
This was not easy in 1995!
With novels, the core idea is also genre, but the meaning of this is different. In starting The Darkening Dream, I had this image come into my head – and some might consider me disturbed – of a dead tree silhouetted against an orange sky, a naked body bound to it, disemboweled, and bleeding out. The sound of a colossal horn or gong blares. The blood glistens black in the sunset light. Bats circle the sky and wolves bay in the distance. But sacrifice isn’t just about killing. It’s a contract. Someone is bargaining with the gods. Complex ideas are the intersection of multiple smaller ideas. To this I brought a desire to reinvent the classic Buffyesque story of “a group of teens fight for their lives against a bunch of supernatural baddies trying to destroy the world.” But the twist is that I wanted to ground all of the magic and supernatural in “real” researched historical occult. This defined the book as a kind of supernatural thriller from the get go.
The idea part 2: The Who and Where
Part 1 gives you a core, or germ, of the project, but to start moving with it you need setting.
Again, looking at The Darkening Dream I had this disturbing image in mind. This was a vampire moment, but not exactly your typical one. For years, I’d been noodling on my own private vampire mythos, grounded in a kind of religio-historical thinking. Coppola’s Dracula, for example, has Vlad’s dark power grounded in rage and the Christian god forsworn. But I liked the idea that the most ancient of vampires was far older than Christ, perhaps older than civilization itself. This got me thinking about Neolithic religion. Pre-civilized peoples were essentially shamanistic. The shaman (sometimes called a Witch Doctor) interfaces between the people and hidden powers, both wondrous and terrible. What if one of these men, millennia ago, struck a dark bargain: blood for life. And so was born the idea of the vampire blood gods, dark deities of old forests, of sacrifices bleeding on trees, of gnashy gnashy teeth, slick with blood. This held the key to a ancient vampire explanation grounded in belief. Gods created and fed on faith, instead of the other way around. And the blood gods are not alone. Other ancient gods might still linger, diminished, but still powerful. There seemed a natural synergy between their fate and the syncretistic quality of human religion. As the belief changes, so does the object of said belief.
This meta-idea is very complex, a kind of world setting rooted in history, but reaching back to basics, novels are fundamentally about protagonist and the drama generated by the obstruction of their desire by opposing forces (often antagonist). I tend to think of the antagonists first, but this is a little backward. I knew I wanted a teenage girl, mostly for reasons of contrast with these sinister villains. She too, should be a dabbler in some school of occult-religious power. I like the idea of magic involving hard work and study, call it bookworm power, so I conceived of this studious girl, kind of an older Hermione Granger, daughter of a scholar father with a hidden past. As a heroine, she seeks to use her growing skills to “do the right thing” but all such power if fraught with danger, and her naivety gets her in way over her head.
This magical-religious thinking lead me to a conflict between the old (superstitious?) way of thinking and the modern (technological?) world. I was drawn to a number of cusp points, but settled on the eve of World War I. That war changed the human political landscape, completing the process of casting down King and Church that had been ongoing since the Reformation. It also provided an era with significant room for sequels (WWI, WWII, cold war, etc.) and a freedom from cheap plotting shortcuts like mobile phones and the internet.
The first real Crash
With Crash Bandicoot, the notion of setting was much simpler, but no less important. Back in 1994 when we were visualizing our 3D platform game we wanted to follow in the tradition of using a quasi-animal character. Various factors led us to a sort of Looney Tunes style character design and world. In the early 90s, voice for video game characters was technologically dicey and tended to be cheesy, so we thought to convey strong personality through animation. We also liked the idea of taking a real animal that had a distinct name, yet one rare enough that few people knew what it looked like. In this way, we hoped to “hijack” the animals name and have our character become representative of this real animal. This quest for a cute, well named, and rare animal led us to the Bandicoot, and hence to an isolated island setting full of exotic animals. In the cartoon space it seemed natural for the villain to be an evil genius, misunderstood, surrounded by idiot minions that bungle his brilliant plans :-). Doctor Neo Cortex was born. Since normal rodents are a bit mousy, and not necessarily that cool, we gave him the Evolve-O-Ray program in which he was “enhancing” the animal life of his island. Crash took form as the goofy “bungled” product of these experiments, fighting, in his goofy way, to protect the natural world from this renegade scientific program.
Snowball on the hill
Once you work out the basic creative concept for a big project, the rest of the ideas tend to flow outward from these first principles.
In world of The Darkening Dream I drew on historical and religious settings, people, magics, and sects to provide allies and enemies, creating their motivations out of their own peculiar frameworks. With Crash, the cartoon style of the world and the practical needs of the platform game drove decisions. Platform games (and many other game types) have Bosses and Sub-bosses. If Neo Cortex is the boss, then he needed henchmen (mutated animals and lab assistants) and middle management (the various Sub-boss animals). His island needed varied settings (read variety), but it was a jungle island, so this led us to island-compatible settings like beach, jungle, caves, etc.
In previous posts I discussed the differing importance of story to novels and video games, the origins of the magic in The Darkening Dream, and the history of Crash Bandicoot. Sometime in the future, I’ll probably continue this series by talking about production itself.
Restaurant: Maison Giraud [1, 2, 3]
Location: 1032 Swarthmore Ave, Pacific Palisades, Ca 90272. 310-459-7562
Date: Winter/Spring, 2012
Cuisine: French
Rating: French “home” cooking at it’s best
Maison Giraud is the closest fine dining to my house. Pacific Palisades doesn’t have a lot of great food, but this restaurant/bakery is from acclaimed LA French chef Alain Giraud.
The Swathmore Ave frontage has been revealing itself in stages since at least the 4th of July.
Inside the chef peers down at your from the French-style board.
My wife and I had our Valentine’s Day reservation here, which turned out to be a damn good choice as the day before I crushed the bones in my left hand, and couldn’t have managed to travel further. There was a set menu, which can be hit or miss on this overcrowded holiday, but turned out great at MG.
“Oyster & Champagne Gelee.” Notice the aphrodisiac theme.
“Tender Greens & Beets Salad. Citrus Vinaigrette, Goat Cheese.”
“Burrata Agnolotti. Hearts of Broccolis, Pomegranate Seduction.”
“Scallops ‘Valentino’ Piquillo, Cauliflower, Chorizo.”
“Red Snapper. Saffron-Fennel Broth. Spring Peas.”
“Veal Tenderloin. Spinach Cream, Red Wine Sexy Sauce.”
“Macaron Harmony for Two. Litchis & Rose Cream & Raspberries.” This dessert was absolutely amazing. I love rosewater and this had that classic soft flavor. The texture of the Macaron was also perfect.
Below is a composite dinner built from 2-3 visits.
From my cellar: Fin Amour, a blockbuster wine that redefines that cliché with energy and precision. Those centenarian vines of Grenache and Carignan pictured above are actually located in Maury, a miniscule appellation across the Spanish border in Roussillon that’s traditionally famous for immortal dessert wines (we had a recently released Maury from 1928 in the shop the other day, to give you an idea of their longevity). The appellation is conservative about their stickies, so Case and Shiverick did forgo the classification to make a low-yield Cotes de Catalanes dry red wine of 70% Grenache and 30% Carignan. These Bonsai like vines stubbornly live on an outcrop of chopped up schist, which is ideal for giving the few grapes they produce their incredible Catalonian minerality and aromatically spiced fruit.
“Vegetable Salad. Seasonal Market Vegetables with Coriander and Lemon.”
“Grilled octopus special.”
Pistou is a classic southern French soup, cousin to minestrone.
“Soup ‘Au Pistou’. Farmers Market Vegetables, Pearl Pasta, Almond and Basil Pistou.”
You can see the minestrone resemblance here. The French version is a little milder.
“Farm Eggs. Town and Country. Light Mushroom Custard, Rustic Egg Cocotte.” I like the creamy fraiche inside the egg thingy.
“Loup de Mer ‘Barigoule’. Baby Artichokes, Basil Pistou, Tomato Confit.”
“Colorado Lamb Filet. Spring Onions, Fava Beans, Fennel Panisse, Black Olive Sauce.”
“Side vegetables.”
“Steak special. Sauce Au Poivre.” Simple French classic.
“Classic boulibase.” MG serves a modest sized portion, which actually can be a good thing. I paired this with a nice Provencal Rose.
“Chocolate Soufflé Traditional Soufflé, Crème Chantilly, Crème Anglaise.” A total classic, and as good as any Chocolate Soufflé I’ve had.
“Vacherin Glacé Lavender Ice Cream, Strawberries, Meringue.” This is a Giraud staple and rather wonderful, particularly because of the Lavender thing. It has certain similarities to the Valentines Rose flavored Macaron, but is crunchier.
We also go frequently for Brunch/Lunch.
“French Toast. Brioche, Crème Chantilly, Homemade Preserves.” I’d kill for this Crème Chantilly.
“House Burger Caramelized Onions, Tomatoes, Aioli.”
“Maison Giraud ‘Cobb’ Salad, Blue Cheese Vinaigrette.”
“Le Plateau.” Everyday they offer a set plate with three items. This particular day it included a salmon caesar to the right, scallops in the center, and a bit of bread pudding.
So far, I’m very pleased with Maison Giraud. The food is essentially French comfort food with a bit of international adaption, but everything has been spot on fresh and well done so far, and the bakery is outrageously good. Given how incredibly lame most of the Pacific Palisades food offerings are this is all incredibly welcome.
One of Crash’s more dedicated fans — by the name of Aaron White — used the action figure toys to create this crazy little stop motion fan film set in the Crash Universe. Production values might not make James Cameron jealous, but it sure looks like he put a lot of soul into it. Ray Harryhausen eat your heart out!
Title: Ship Breaker
Author: Paolo Baciqalupi
Genre: YA Sci-Fi
Read: July 9-11, 2012
Summary: Great voice, great characters, great world
Hugo and Nebula wining author of the Sci-Fi novel, The Windup Girl, brings his unique vision of the future to YA. The conventions of this younger demographic solves my biggest problem with Windup, which featured way too many characters and way too byzantine a plot. Ship Breaker has a single narrator and a straightforward enough story. The setting is the American Gulf coast some hundred years in the future after the collapse of our oil dependent technology. This could be the same world as Windup, or is perhaps merely similar. It doesn’t matter, it’s fascinating.
The first 50-60% of the book is absolutely first rate, fantastic. Baciqalupi has a great voice: third person, yet personal, detailed, yet fast paced. I loved the introduction to the world of the ship-breaking yards (see below for more on their real-life inspiration). The protagonist is very likable and the secondary characters mostly well developed. I loved the introduction of “Lucky Girl” (his love interest) and their time together (approximately 30% – 60%, the second act).
However, the third act involves her near complete disappearance from the book. Nailer, our protag, goes after her, but this section felt weaker and more disconnected. Even at the end, she’s only around for about two lines of dialogue. Additionally, this part of the book features more traditional “big action” and this doesn’t seem to be Baciqalupi’s strong point. The early parts of the novel contained a great deal of physical tension and that was handled flawlessly, but I didn’t totally buy some of the final scenes. And the resolution with the primary villain felt slightly off.
I’ll have to go with perhaps 8 out of 10 on this book. Very very good, with a lot going for it, but not a total stunner. Still,absolutely worth reading.
It’s worth a moment’s discussion on real Ship Breaking, a strange and dangerous global market niche which is almost entirely done in Bangladesh, at the famous ship-breaking yards. In these real life places, old tankers and the like are driven aground on the beach and then swarms of Bangladeshi workers tear them apart for raw materials. Many are children and working conditions make 19th Century Cotton Mills look pleasant. Check out these amazing photos here. Old ships contain a wealth of valuable materials, but there is no environmentally sound or automated way to scrap them. The current practice takes advantage of the extremely poor to do it “cheaply.” The cost, of course, is more human.
For more book reviews, click here.
Child labor, still alive and kicking at the ship-breaking yards of Chittagong
Location: 465 S La Cienega Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90048. 310.246.5555
Date: June 7, 2012
Cuisine: Spanish influenced Molecular Gastronomy
Rating: Awesome, but needs to mix it up.
I’m a bit of a Jose Andres groupie as not only have I been three times to Saam, at least 10 to The Bazaar (REVIEW HERE), but also to brunch at Trés, and even to é by José Andrés (twice) and Jaleo in Vegas and several places in Washington D.C.
For those who don’t know, José Andrés is perhaps America’s leading practitioner of my favorite culinary style: Spanish Molecular Gastronomy. This school of cooking, a radical interpretation of the preparation of food, was begun at El Bulli outside of Barcellona. Andrés cooked and studied there with master chef Ferran Adrià. I first encountered Andrés’s cooking in Washington DC at Cafe Atlantico, and its own restaurant within a restaurant, Minibar.
I’ve eaten molecular a number of times in Spain, for example at Calima and La Terraza. The Bazaar and Saam brought molecular style to LA.
Saam is the “secret” prix fixe only room within the Bazaar, open Thurs-Sat.
Tonight’s menu, which follows very closely on the typical Saam/é formula.
Tonight begins with a “Kaviar Kir Royale” which is a deconstructed cocktail consisting of cava. You can see the miniature ”kaviar” (spheres of kir) more clearly here, looking every bit like fish eggs. Basically it’s mostly cava, but at your whim you can bit into the little balls of flavor for bits of kir flavor blast.
From my cellar: “The 2007 El Pecado is 100% Mencia from the DO of Ribera Sacra. Its ethereal aromas are reminiscent of a great vintage of La Tache (readers will surely think I’m exaggerating) leading to a layered, sleek, elegant wine with tons of spice, that seems to melt in the mouth.”
The extraordinary wines of Raul Perez must be tasted to be believed. Words simply cannot do them justice. The problem is that they are produced in minuscule quantities. I was only “allowed” 1-2 bottles of this particular wine and I’m lucky to get even that.
“Beet & Yogurt.” This couldn’t have weighed more than an ounce and has a texture not unlike styrofoam (in a good way). It actually tastes great, tart and sweet at the same time.
“Oyster and Jamon.” A little spoonful of oyster with some ham powder and a crispy crouton. It tasted exactly like it sounds. Like intense oyster and a good dollop of HAM!
“Jicama wrapped Guacamole.” Micro cilantro, corn chips. The vegetarian substitution for the ham.
“Parmesan Macaron.” Tastes like… parmesan.
“Seabeans in Tempura.” Fried and salty, they could have been anything.
“Jose’s Combination.” Jamón Ibérico de Bellota with a blob of real caviar. This ham is regarded as the best in Spain, and among the best in the world. They are fed on acorns. Salt on salt here. A very savory combination.
“Ottoman Carrot fritter.” Apricots, pistachio sauce. Vegetarian substitute for ham. A deep fried ball of flavor, with a very exotic taste.
Deconstructed “patatas bravas.” In spain this is a common dish basically being roasted chopped potatoes with a cayenne mayo. This preserves the flavor, but changes up the texture into a little fried cigar. The inside was fluffy and soft. Quite tasty.
“Chicken Skin & Cigala.” This is a bit of crispy chicken skin with a fresh shrimp or crayfish body on top. It was salty and soft/crunchy, and quite good.
The vegetarian sub for the chicken/shrimp. There are artichokes here.
“Not Your Everyday Caprese.” The mozzarella has been through the same sphere process as the olives above, then we have a peeled cherry tomato, tomato seeds, a bit of basil, sea salt, little crackers, and a very fine house made pesto genovese (with extra virgin olive oil). I’m not even a raw tomato fan and this is delectable. The pesto cheese combo really makes it. This pesto is as good as mine (recipe here).
“Crispy Nigiri.” A bit of red snapper on a blob of crispy Spanish rice.
A fantastic special risotto also using bomba rice, with a chunk of fresh santa barbara uni, some black garlic paste, and a bit of bbq eel. It was tremendously good.
“Mushroom risotto.” Instead of the normal Italian risotto rice it used a premium Spanish one, calasparra bomba, and extra virgin olive oil instead of butter. Very tasty.
“Chipirones en su Tinta.” More or less a classic Spanish dish, octopus in it’s own ink. Plus some squid ink chips. Very soft and tender meat, complemented by the sweetness of the ink.
“Baby beets, citrus, pistachio, goat cheese.” A nice variant on what has become an LA classic substituted for the Octopus.
“Banh Mi.” A brioche bun with wagyu beef, tofu, cilantro, pickles, pickled carrots, and a kind of mayo. Tasty tasty sandwich. A mix of soft and crunchy too, but the pickles give it a very distinct tang.
“Banh Mi, vegetarian.”
“Carrot or Scallop.” Crunchy marinated carrots over seared scallops.
“Brussel sprouts, lemon puree, apricots, grapes, lemon air.” This was a big hit, the sprouts aren’t bitter at all, and have a light cabbage-like texture. The lemon air is the best part, adding a nice zing.
“Mirugai.” A bit of geoduck giant clam, radish, and a watercress puree. This wasn’t my favorite dish, being a bit “clammy.”
“Waygu & Mushroom Escabeche.”
Replacing the beef for the vegetarian was a pomegranate cous cous.
With a poured in broth.
“Wild mushrooms in papillote with duck liver.” Sautéed, then heated with a rich cream and mushroom sauce in the bag.
Pop. These are “lobster mushrooms” with a really thick meaty texture and almost lobster/abalone like flavor. There is some foie gras in there too, which just “juiced” it up.
“Japanese Baby Peaches.” Burrata, hazelnuts, arugula.Really interesting. The peaches were so tart off the trees that they were soaked in simple syrup. Paired with the blobs of burrata (a favorite of mine), the nuts, and arugala it was pretty divine.
“Dragon’s breath popcorn.” The pre dessert. A gimmick, but neat.
Breath on a spoon.
It tastes like… carmel corn, but you can exhale it through your nose for a dragon-like effect.
“Frozen Apricot Timbale with Amaretto.” This is essentially a semi-fredo, and as it was intensely apricot, and I love apricot, was downright amazing.
“Dessert desert.” This is chocolate ice cream and something nutty “powdered,” hence the “desert” part of the whole thing. The flavors were nice but it was a tad dusty.
“Birthday spun sugar.” Tastes… sweet.
The usual Bazaar “sexy little sweets,” a number of flavored chocolates (flat and in domes) and very good pate de fruits. One of the great things about the brunch at Trés is that they have an all you can eat tower of containing all of these!
A little chocolate hazelnut cube and the menu as a “parting gift.”
Overall, Saam is a tremendous meal, even if not every dish is successful (geoduck!). My biggest observation this time around is that both Saam and é need to mix things up more. I ate twice at é nine months apart and that menu barely changed a dish. Saam fared a bit better, since they mixed up perhaps 25-30% of things. The best new dish was the apricot dessert. The first time you eat one of these meals it’s very impressive, and their exclusive nature doesn’t lend itself to repeats (particularly in Vegas). Still, when cuisine is this innovative, they need to keep innovating like Ferran did at elBuli. With the avant garde, stagnation is death!
For a previous Saam meal, click here.
For a meal and The Bazaar proper, click here.
Restaurant: Il Ristorante di Giorgio Baldi
Location: 114 West Channel Road. Santa Monica Canyon, California 90402. 310-573-1660
Date: March 3, 2012
Cuisine: Italian
Rating: Overpriced, but so so good
Giorgio Baldi is a restaurant of extremes. The good: It’s five minutes from our house and the food is spectacular. The bad: It’s at least twice as expensive as it should be, crowded, has an attitude, and outside wine is not allowed. The ugly: Almost every visit has a-list celebrities on display. We’ve seen Spielberg three times, Tom and Katy (before that cratered), and a host of others.
Their wine list is big, well chosen, and very pricey. Parker 92. “The 2004 Barbaresco Gaiun Martinenga is elegance personified. I was quite impressed with this wine’s seamless texture and expansive, ripe fruit and refined bouquet. The style is simply beautiful, as the wine marries modern and traditional approaches with uncommon elegance. There is outstanding depth and lovely integration of the tannins Nothing in particular stands out, just the wine’s exceptional balance. Gaiun is made from a plot adjacent to Asili and shares a similar softness to the Barbarescos that are made in that storied vineyard. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2019.”
This is the kind of dish Giorgio excels at, “truffle risotto.” Wow is this good. Be warned, some truffle dishes are over $100! This one was perhaps $35. I apologize for the poor photos. I had recently broken my hand and forgot a real camera and so had to use the iPhone.
Also amazing, the “white corn agniolotti with truffle butter sauce.” These little bits of pasta melt in your mouth. If you like butter and truffle, this is utterly amazing.
“Asparagus ravioli in butter sauce.” All the pastas here are fantastic.
“Santa Barbara prawn, tomato, and farrow salad.”
“Pumpkin ravioli in butter sage sauce.” A classic of the Vernoa/Mantua area. They do it well. Your tongue will love it, your heart not so much.
“Branzino with artichokes, mushrooms and tomatoes.” They make a great grilled/baked sea bass here. Problem is: $55-60!
Most dishes come with classic potatoes and spinach. Even this is good.
One of my favorites. “Three pound lobster, meat sautéed with tomato, garlic, and basil, stuffed back in the shell.” Just amazing. Over $100!
Classic pork chop.
A side of simple penne pomodoro.
Artichokes.
“Butterscotch budino.” Yum yum!
“Creme brulee.”
“Flour-less chocolate cake.”
These aren’t the greatest pictures, and while I’m sure the food looks good, you are probably saying to yourself: “Looks like an Italian restaurant.” Yes, but this is a very very good Northern Italian restaurant with a huge menu. And they do pretty much everything great. The biggest problem is the price. Everything is at least twice what it really should be and they ream you on the extras. You have to ask for the prices on the enormous list of specials, and all are sky high. Many dishes are over $100! They even charge $7-8 for 7 ounce bottles of water! It’s really painful and I only go these days when someone else is paying. Still, I do love it.
Also on the negative side is the overpriced winelist and no corkage allowed (almost all LA places allow corkage, to exclude is very rare). Then there is the crowd factor. Not only might you be sitting shoulder to shoulder with Tom Cruise, but it’s really shoulder to shoulder. The two-tops are completely adjacent. They have to pull out your table for your date to sit. This places stranger’s conversations about six inches away.
But I can’t fault the food.
Title: The Amazing Spider-Man
Cast: Andrew Garfield (Actor), Emma Stone (Actor), Marc Webb (Director)
Genre: Comic Book
Watched: July 9, 2012
Summary: Characters First! (9/10)
This new Spider-Man has to be one of the fastest reboots in film history. Ten years, just five since the wretched Spider-Man 3! So valuable is this franchise that in recent decades, Sony Pictures has only made money during Spider-Man years.
But the truth is, everyone loves a good origin story. Because of the quick reset, the new Spider-Man doesn’t look radically different technically or stylistically. If anything, the CGI is actually a tad more subtle, even though there is more of it. What the film does differently, is take a tighter even more Peter Parker centric view of the world.
The action scenes have been stripped down to make room for good stuff: character development. Not that there isn’t action, but the fights are the right length instead of being gratuitously overextended. And there is only one villain. The writing is strong and direct. We focus on Peter, his feelings, and his relationships: With his aunt and uncle, with his missing dad, with Gwen (the new MJ replacement), with his mentor/villain, etc. We focus on his life in high school before, then on the feelings of transformation as he becomes the webslinger. Certain elements are mostly dropped, like his photography and the entire Daily Bugle angle.
2012 has been a good year for comic book films. First The Avengers, then this. Maybe it’s karma, maybe it’s the fact that the director’s name is Webb, but it almost seems that Hollywood has learned to focus on story and character. But probably they just got lucky and picked talented filmmakers by accident.
The acting/casting is even better this time around too. Emma Stone is cute, perky, and has real personality and The Lizard isn’t too over-the-top (Wilhelm Dafoe, I’m looking at you!). But Andrew Garfield is the one who really steals the show. In the previous incarnation, only the second film really worked. The one with Doc Oct. The first started off strong, but devolved into Green Goblin nonsense, the third… well we won’t go there. This time around, Toby’s wooden and brooding Peter Parker is replaced with a quirky, smart, funny, everyman who really takes a pounding. In short — and I did read the comic for most of the 80s — Spider-man.
Restaurant: Saddle Peak Lodge [1, 2, 3]
Location: 419 Cold Canyon Rd, Calabasas, CA 91302 (818) 222-3888
Date: July 12, 2012
Cuisine: Modern American
Rating: Great ambiance and terrific game oriented food.
Recently I joined an online club dedicated to hedonistic food and wine dinners. Officially the group is called Yarom & Hedonists and this event at Saddle Peak Lodge was the first I went too — and boy am I glad I did — as it was one incredible evening of debauchery. Each person brings a bottle, and the host okays them in advance. I used this successful formula myself for a series of high powered wine parties in the late 90s. The bar for this event is very high, including numerous 100 point wines, cult cabernets, old Bordeauxs, Grand Cru Burgundies and the like.
Saddle Peak Ranch used to be a game lodge back in the early part of the 20th century. The rich and famous used to come up and hunt Malibu’s finest, such as this poor fellow. Now the deer are just served up on the menu.
The gamey interior has a lot of charm.
Just some of the incredible wines.
I forgot to photo the entree page of the menu, but it’s all online anyway.
The first round begins.
The group eats here regularly and the service was first rate, treating us like royalty.
First off, but unphotographed, was a Billecarte Salmon Rose-NV and then a lovely 2004 Bouchard Corton-Charlemagne. White Burgundy is so much better than all that mere Chardonnay.
The first red was this venerable Bordeaux. Parker 87. “The fully mature 1970 is a fine example of Lascombes–darkly colored, ripe, full bodied, richly fruity, and fleshy, but it has the concentration of fruit and structure to hold for 4-6 more years. It is a spicy, fragrant, and altogether satisfying mouthful of amply endowed wine.”
A vegetable and cream “cappuccino” as the first amuse.
Then this smoked salmon, caviar, and creme fraiche on a blini.
In the foreground is the wine I brought, the 1982 Certan de May. Parker 98! “Consistently one of the most remarkable wines of this great vintage, the 1982 Certan de May has tightened up. It gets my nod as the most backward wine among the 1982 Pomerols, as it is even more tannic than Petrus. The impressive saturated dark purple/garnet color suggests super flavor extraction. The nose offers scents of Asian spices, cedar, black fruits, truffles, and new oak. It is full-bodied and massive, with exceptional concentration to accompany the boatload of tannins. The wine’s thick viscosity and huge, unctuous texture are mouthfilling. It remains broodingly backward and little evolved since its early days in the barrel. Even half-bottles are youthful.
The 1982 Certan de May should easily turn out to be one of the great wines of the vintage. It will come close to perfection. Do not drink it until the end of this century; it will keep easily through the first two decades of the next millennium.”
We were outside and strangely enough for July in Southern California, it began to rain! Several of us resorted to putting our bread plates over our wines to prevent dilution.
“Rabbit roulade wrapped in bacon with huckleberry, shimeji mushroom stuffing, sautéed Fuji apples, and sage.”
Grand Cru Burgundy, always a favorite of mine. “Displaying a medium-to-dark ruby color and a lovely nose of spicy red berries, cracked black pepper, Asian spices, and distinctive notes of cedar, this is a medium-to-full-bodied, velvety-textured, and complex wine. Its enthralling flavor profile offers layers of rich black pepper-laced blueberries and blackberries that are intensely spiced with cinnamon, juniper berries, and hints of eucalyptus.”
“Peeky toe crab salad. Cucumber, watermelon, tomatoes, on a bed of arugala.”
This was probably my favorite red of the evening, and is one of the signature wines of the Northern Rhone Valley. Although not as good as the 1988 I had a couple of weeks ago, it still rocked. “The 1996 Cote Rotie La Mouline possesses the highest percentage of Viognier (17-18%) Guigal has ever included in this offering. The deep ruby/purple color is accompanied by a superb bouquet of spice box, cedar, leather, honeysuckle, and jammy black fruits. It is remarkably tender and soft for a vintage that produced high acid wines. Medium-bodied, elegant, and complex, it is one of the more forward and evolved La Moulines.”
“Fried soft shell crab with cheddar jalapeno biscuit, gribiche, rock shrimp, frisée, and lobster Americana sauce.”
One evening, two pomerols! Parker 96+ “The finest Trotanoy since the 1961, this structured, formidably-endowed, deep ruby/purple-colored, full-bodied, super-rich wine exhibits notes of toffee, truffles, and abundant blackberry, cherry, and currant fruit. It cuts a large swath across the palate, and possesses copious but sweet tannin as well as a chewy, muscular mid-palate and finish. This is a compelling effort from one of the great vineyards of Pomerol.”
“Pan seared squab breast basted in thyme and garlic with chanterelles, artichoke puree, pea greens and truffle bird sauce.”
“Caesar salad.”
After the appetizers, we not only moved inside to escape the rain, but pulled out the big muscled Cabernets.
“The dark ruby/purple-colored 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa is brilliant. Small quantities (7% of each) of Cabernet Franc and Merlot have been added to the blend, giving the wine more aromatic breadth and flavor dimension. Dense and rich, with high extraction, sweet fruit, full body, outstanding purity, and mineral/spicy aromas.”
And then its big brother. Parker 100! “One of the world’s greatest wines year in and year out is Shafer’s Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select. The 2002 was a candidate for perfection the first time I tasted it. The estate keeps this cuvee 32 months in 100% new French oak, so I had a number of chances to see it from barrel. Moreover, I purchased the wine for my own cellar and have had it at least a half dozen times since bottling, and it just gets more profound with each sip. This wine is beyond belief for how it balances its extraordinary richness, purity of personality, and the elegance and finesse of the Stags Leap District with massive cassis fruit, spring flowers, toasty oak and earth. The wine is fabulously concentrated, multidimensional and built like a skyscraper, yet nothing is out of place. The wood, alcohol, acidity and tannin are all in perfect balance. This offering is a tribute to the greatness of Napa Valley, which was recognized by men and women hundreds of years ago, and to the modern day genius of the Shafer family. This 2002 has 50 years of life ahead of it – but why wait!”
But my favorite of the trio was the Thorevilos, also Parker 100 points! “The classic 2002 Thorevilos, which comes from the white tufa volcanic ash soils of this site, exhibits notes of barbecue smoke, bouquet garni, incense, Christmas fruitcake and gobs of blue and black fruits. It is voluptuously textured and full-bodied, with sweet tannin as well as a flawless integration of acidity, tannin, wood and alcohol. Both of these wines are tour de force performances from David Abreu and Brad Grimes. They appear set for 25 to perhaps 50 or more years of cellaring. If you can find them – buy them!
Northern California’s superstar viticulturist, David Abreu, makes between 400 and 600+ cases of a number of wines from various vineyards he owns throughout the valley. Since the mid-1990’s, the Abreu wines have ranked in the top half dozen or so of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines. To his original Madrona Ranch holdings in St. Helena, Abreu has added an adjacent vineyard called Capella. He also co-owns with Ric Forman the Thorevilos Vineyard situated behind the Meadowood Resort. There are 500 cases of the 2002 Madrona Ranch. While the blend is never specified, it is dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon blended with a large percentage of Cabernet Franc, a varietal that both David Abreu and his winemaker/manager Brad Grimes adore. They achieve a level of aromatic intensity and complexity in their wines that few in the world can match. If you have access to these world class wines, don’t hesitate to purchase them if you can afford them – they are that special.”
“Trio of game: elk tenderloin, game hen, and bison short rib.” All excellent with wines of this power.
The elk tenderloin with a sweet onion puree.
The game hen with a cous-cous.
The buffalo shortrib and mashed potatoes.
This 1996 Barolo in magnum had barely begun to open up. This is about the right age to start drinking Barolo — in a normal bottle. This was a fine wine, but the tannins were out in force.
“Grilled Texas Nilgai antelope with brown butter cauliflower, red wine poached pear and truffled cauliflower puree.”
Another fine cab. Parker 96. “Joseph Phelps’ flagship wine is their fabulous Insignia, a wine with a tremendous track record back to the debut vintage of 1974. It is produced in significant quantities (18,000-20,000 cases) for a wine of such quality.
The prodigious 1997 Insignia (83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, and 3% Petit-Verdot) lives up to its pre-bottling promise. Tasted on three separate occasions, every bottle has hit the bull’s eye. The color is a saturated thick-looking blue/purple. The nose offers up explosive aromas of jammy black fruits, licorice, Asian spices, vanillin, and cedar. Full-bodied as well as exceptionally pure and impressively endowed, this blockbuster yet surprisingly elegant wine cuts a brilliant swath across the palate. A seamless effort with beautifully integrated acidity, sweet tannin, and alcohol, it is still an infant, but can be drunk with considerable pleasure.”
“Wild Pacific King Salmon crusted in pistachio with basil oil, glazed salsify, lemongrass foam, roasted pearl onions, Pernod braised baby fennel and poisson velouté.”
“Grilled Kurobuta pork porterhouse with rosemary gnocchi, grilled radicchio, poached apples and pomegranate sauce.”
Getting my drunk on.
“Rack of New Zealand lamb with Swiss chard, Nueske bacon, golden raisins, piquillo pepper and pommes aligot.”
“Truffle parmesan fries.”
This 1937 rose muscat was unusual, sweet, and very very good.
It comes from the town of Massandra in the Crimea which was an ancient Greek settlement. The Tzar had a palace here and for centuries they made special wine for the royal family. Raisin in a glass, this particular vintage must have been served up to Stalin!
“Pierre Robert – triple crème brie France, pasteurized cow’s milk Saba, blackberry. Brigante – semi-soft Italy, pasteurized sheep’s milk Honey foam & pickled green apple. St. Agur – blue cheese France, pasteurized cow’s milk Poached pear & hazelnut crumble.”
1994 was one of the greatest port vintages of recent memory and this Warre’s is just coming into it’s own. A very fine port indeed, and perfect with the cheese and desserts to follow.
“Farmer’s market peach beignets with bourbon caramel sauce.”
“Banana and huckleberry bread pudding served with peanut butter ice cream.”
“Chocolate molten whiskey cake with Guinness ice cream and Bailey’s whipped cream.”
On the left one of our hosts, on the right the young and talented Christopher Kufek, Saddle Peak’s executive chef.
This hedonism dinner certainly lived up to the word. I hung out for a good hour at the end chatting with the chef and drinking water to balance out my humors. But it was a tremendous time. The food was great, the wine amazing, and the company excellent. My liver and heart aren’t necessarily in agreement, but my brain hopes to be back at the next event.
Click here for more LA restaurant reviews,
Or for Foodie Club extravaganzas.
Restaurant: Milo and Olive
Location: 2723 Wilshire Blvd. Santa Monica, CA 90403. p 310.453.6776
Date: June 30, 2012 and June 15, August 9, & Sept 13, 2013
Cuisine: Pizzeria
Rating: Very good neo-Neapolitan
There is a definite pizza revival trend going on. LA used to have no good pizza at all (and this was painful having spent so much time in Italian American dominated East Coast cities) but this has all changed. Like it’s cousin, Pizzeria Mozza, Milo and Olive is of the new generation of third (?) wave Neapolitan pizza.
The place is new, crowded, and tiny. They don’t take reservations so come very early or be prepared to wait.
The menu.
Spiced carrot soup. Delicious, with a bit of coconut milk to richen it up and complement the spices.
CROSTINI house ricotta, blistered cherry tomatoes, basil. Tastes like pizza. haha.
“Marinated artichokes, spinach, toasted pine nuts, capers, golden raisins, goat cheese.”
BURRATA PANZANELLA heirloom tomatoes, house croutons, shallots, tomato vinaigrette.
WOOD FIRED PEAR. Baby kale, pomegranate seeds, goat cheese, pistachio, lemon vinaigrette.
Special: champagne grapes (warm) with crostini and fresh ricotta. A surprising and delicious combination.
Special: fig and ricotta crostini.
Branzino ceviche. Peaches, cucumber, avocado, sumac. While more of a “tartar” than a ceviche, this was delicious.
Salmon tartare. sieved egg, capers, chives, radish, dill creme fraiche. Tasty, but not as light and refreshing as the Branzino above.
WOOD OVEN ROASTED PRAWNS warm farro salad, salsa verde. A nice (and fairly light) dish.
Special: corn and peppers and cheese. Really yummy with a solid kick.
BAY SCALLOPS butternut squash, brussels sprouts, lemon butter, breadcrumbs.
Shrimp with polenta. Very tasty.
“Bucatini Carbonara, Nueske’s bacon, pea tendrils, pecorino romano, farm egg yolk.” This was much lighter than a traditional Carbonara, although it had many of the same flavors. The Bucatini had a really nice chew to it. The whole thing was buttery, and strongly flavored of from the smokey pancetta, but it was not nearly as eggy and cheesy as the “real deal.” Rich enough though.
ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH TORTELLINI. Parmesan brodo, mascarpone, thyme. Very rich and tasty, but there were only five tiny tortellini! The broth was super buttery.
Classic Margarita.
“Mixed mushroom pizza. Fontina, Parmigiano Reggiano, thyme.” The Milo and Olive dough is pretty much perfect in my book: chewy, tasty, and not overly carbonized.
“Burrata pizza. La Quercia prosciutto, tomato, arugula, olive oil, sea salt.” This is basically a burrata, prosciutto, arugula salad on a pizza. The tomato sauce also served to balance out the creamy cheese and add a bit of acidity. I make a similar pizza myself, minus the ham (sigh).
Here is a clear view. Pizzas here are very generous in size, and even though this is a fairly light one, I was very full afterward.
A summer special: Brentwood corn & summer squash pizza. Cream corn, goat cheese, basil, garlic, and oil.
A fall special: butternut squash, cioppino onions, tallegio cheese and aged balsamic.
Special pizza with fresh figs, Niman Ranch bacon, and gorgonzola cream. This is a riff on a particular style of pizza I really like: the salty/sweet/cheesy type. I make versions myself on Ultimate Pizza Night. This one had a soft sweetness to it, dominated by the fresh figs (I usually use dried ones myself). But it was quite nice. The bacon had a serious smoky richness. It was more pancetta or lardons, certainly not crispy bacon.
BIANCA Taleggio DOP, 25 yr aged balsamic, farm egg. Prosciutto added.
One of my favorite Milo & Olive pizzas. The balsamic added a nice bit of sweetness to the cheese. The egg richness, and the ham salty goodness.
This 2014 addition to the menu, the gorgonzola dulce, speck, kale pizza, was amazing too.
PORK BELLY SAUSAGE. Escarole, tomato sauce, mozzerella. Egg added. Sort of like a high end version of your classic sausage pizza.
A special pizza with cauliflower.
I was eagerly watching the dough guys to see how they shape their pies. My wife and I make our own Ultimate Pizza at home and the dough handling is one of the areas that we need to improve on.
Flourless chocolate cake.
Coffee pot aux creme. Basically a coffee flavored custard, with a bit of carmel and a healthy dollop of creme fraiche. Delicious, but I’m always a sucker for these custard-type desserts.
They have some decadent looking baked goods too, but we were too full.
Overall these were really good new wave pizzas. The dough was perfect and I want to experiment with some of the other toppings to see if one of them is truly awesome. They don’t have a real meatser meatser on the menu which is a shame. The Mozza version of that is spectacular.
See detailed info on our homemade Ultimate Pizza.
More new wave pizza: Mozza, 2Amys, Sotto, Starbelly, Pretorio.
For more LA dining reviews click here.
The Iron Lady and W.E. have more in common than being 2011 films about 20th Century Britain. Both are well done historical biographies, and both have 21st Century “box stories” that attempt to frame the historical action. The frame story itself has been around for centuries (from 1001 Arabian Nights to The Name of the Wind) but traditionally it’s brief and occupies only a small percentage of the work. In these films, we have something different.
The Iron Lady is technically a biopic about British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and includes one hell of a soul stealing performance by Meryl Streep. If you compare photos or videos of the real Thatcher to Ms. Streep playing the role, the resemblance is just eerie. And Thatcher is certainly a film-worthy figure: first female Prime Minster, in office for over a decade, fiercely opinionated, highly conservative, and pivotal in 20th Century British history. But the filmmakers didn’t feel this was enough. Perhaps they thought audiences couldn’t ground themselves in a life begun during remote WWII, and stretching across the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s, but needed something contemporary to hang their hats on. The film focuses on octogenarian Thatcher, a bit senile, mostly alone in her house, imagining her dead husband. Again, Streep brings her brilliant talents to the table, but I can’t help but think the film would have been 100x better having this be 6% of the story as opposed to 60%. After all, the really interesting thing about Thatcher is the iron part, the force of will that empowered a blonde grocer’s daughter from midcentury England to climb her way up old boy British politics until she became the most powerful woman in the world.
I’m convinced some Hollywood hivemind voice of doubt whispered in the filmaker’s ears, “audiences don’t go in for a historical biopic,” it said, “you have to work in a contemporary angle.” The result is a lot of boring scenes with old lady Thatcher in bed and nary any real coverage of her complex career. The personality comes through, but not any of the history.
Films are short and you’d be hard pressed to slam a life as complex as Thatcher’s into two hours. One of the best biopics of all time, Ghandi, took over three, and while amazing, it’s certainly a major compression of the great man’s life and character. When you spend one and a half of those hours with the old lady in her house frock, forget it.
Not so different is W.E., a film supposedly about another important British political turn, the abdication of King Edward VII to marry American divorce Wallis Simpson. The personalities involved are a little more banal, and certainly more self-serving, but there is enough to this story, playing out primarily in 1936, to overflow two hours. But these filmmakers also didn’t think it was enough. They construct a fictional and purportedly parallel story about a contemporary woman in a loveless marriage who is obsessed with the royal couple. Again it dominates perhaps two thirds of the screen time.
Ultimately, the box story in this film is more successful than in The Iron Lady, perhaps only because attractive Abbie Cornish gets out of the house more than octogenarian Thatcher. Still, the parallels between the modern story and that of the prince and his lover are about as obvious as the onions on a BigMac.
Why does Hollywood handicap itself so? Why not just tell the story? I can’t help but think it’s one of those weird hivemind things, the kind that compels them to make two lombada movies or two Snow White films, or that makes publishers think my teen book is for 11 year-olds because it has a male protagonist and action.
Go figure.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NpXKkK_AiQ]Restaurant: Il Grano [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
Location: 11359 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025. 310.477.7886
Date: June 19, 2012
Cuisine: Italian
Rating: Modern Italian to die for
After my stellar birthday meal at Il Grano, I just had to go back — 8 days later as it turned out. This recent find has been around awhile and chef/owner Sal Marino and Chef de Cuisine Water el Nagar churn out absolutely first rate modern Italian cuisine. On this particular occasion I just dropped in and they whipped up this 8-10 course tasting menu on the fly. Service was impeccable again as well.
This spectacular Barbaresco comes from my cellar. Parker gives it 91, but it was way better than that. “The 1996 Barbaresco exhibits a dense ruby color as well as a forward nose of cherry liqueur, earth, truffle, mineral, and spicy scents. Rich, full-bodied, and seductive, with its moderate tannin largely concealed by the wine’s wealth of fruit and extract, this gorgeously pure offering gets my nod as the finest Barbaresco produced by Gaja since 1990. Anticipated maturity: 2002-2016.”
“Il Benvenuto. tomato gazpacho and copper river salmon tartar, cucumber caviar.” The amuse. Both were spectacular, showcasing the tomato and the salmon in equal ways.
Various crudo. Left to right: “Wild big eye tuna, Hokkaido scallop, Wild Japanese snapper, Wild Japanese baby yellowtail, and Hokkaido scallop ligament.” Unfortunately, tonight’s photos are a little out of focus because I accidentally locked my camera onto a focus point in the corner and didn’t notice — too much Barbaresco I guess.
The tuna, scallop, and snapper. Sal does a wonderful job with these sashimi like crudos. They have just hints of Italianate flavor to mix them up and the fish is absolutely first rate. You just have to check out my Sushi Index to see I know what I’m talking about too.
The yellowtail and scallop ligament. The ligament (that orange stuff in the right hand corner) was surprisingly tasty.
Bread.
“Insalata di porcini. Seared porcini, arugala salad, shaved porcini, Sal’s 1st of season sun gold heirloom tomatoes.” A lovely little salad.
“Carpaccio di filetto al fegato grasso d’oca. Foie stuffed prime filet carpaccio, Murrary Farms summer berries, micro greens.” This was a very interesting blend of flavors. A lot going on here: The meat, the berries, the richness of the foie.
“Calamaro Ripieno. Seafood squid ink risotto sutffed wild Japanese calamaro, black foam, orange oil.” I’m a big fan of squid ink and this had that characteristic briny quality.
“Cannellone al branzino. branzino stuffed cannellone, lobster sauce, Santa Barbara prawn, lobster roe.” Sort of an Italian take on the classic Lyonnese Cannelle. Really good though, and totally made by the prawn sauce which is that kind of bisque-like shell fish reduction I love.
“The 2003 Riesling Auslese Wehlener Sonnenuhr displays hints of minerals lurking below its wafts of sulfur. A seamless, creamy-textured wine, it is easygoing, plump, and exhibits flavors reminiscent of poached pears, cotton candy, and sweet minerals. Drink it between 2010 and 2020.” This was a really interesting medium mature Riesling that tasted of hot asphalt.
“Bigoli aai riccio di mare. Squid ink pasta, Santa Barbara channel sea urchin sauce.” Wow! One of the best pastas I’ve had in a while. The uni (sea urchin) literarily melted like butter.
“Agnello. Colorado lamb chop, baby purple artichokes, sunchoke puree, lamb reduction.” Some darn fine lamb. Just a great piece of meat with a nice savory reduction sauce.
This is a white passito DOGC from Emilia-Romagna (near Parma, Modena, etc.). A very nice sticky with notes of honey, apricots, and flowers.
“Panna cotta alle cilege: Cherry pannacotta, cherry crumble, cherry spherification.” Wow. This wasn’t a super showy dessert in the usual sense, but instead a really nice showcase of the in season cherry. Really delightful.
I was doubly blown away by Il Grano. Not only did they nail it the first time I went, but they knocked it out of the park on the second with only one repeat dish. I love when a restaurant can keep mixing it up. If you like higher end Italian cooking (and who doesn’t?) you should absolutely rush over here. Make sure you get a tasting menu. I don’t think appetizer and entree selected off the regular menu would do the place the justice it deserves. I’m sure the dishes would be great, but this cuisine is about more than just two notes.
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Or experience my gluttonous month-long journey through Northern Italy.
A few hours after hitting level 60 I mowed through Hell Mode Act IV and one-shot Diablo. That’s when the real hell began.
Act I
Inferno Mode is hard, and particularly difficult for a Barbarian. As a short-range melee class, you have to take the hits, and the hits are big. Real big. The first thing I noticed about Inferno was that even the trivial zombies took a few hits to kill, and they actually do some damage. The elites are out of this world crazy. With normal Hell mode gear, the second you step into an area of effect zone (molten, plagued, desecrator, or the like), you die.
This sent me back to the Auction house for a few upgrades. I found a strong DPS 2 hander in the real money AH for $3 and this helped (1080 base DPS, 200 strength, socket). I picked up some more armor and changed my passives to be more defensive. I ended up (in several waves) spending a lot of gold to get level 60 pieces on most slots. This enabled me to slog through Act I scene by scene, but the going was tough and expensive, even before Blizzard’s repair cost hike. The elites trained me to play better and more defensively. You can’t step in their shit. You can’t get hit by their telegraphed physical attacks. If health gets low you have to run until your cooldowns recover. You have to be careful about pulling too much trash at the same time, or God forbid, two elite packs (99.9% fatal). If you can’t kill The Butcher fast enough, the whole floor starts to burn (enrage timer). I went into him with five stacks and couldn’t kill him in 30 minutes. When they wore off I switched to a more offensive build and managed to kill him with no stacks, just to get it done.
A more defensive build
Cleave (with Broad Sweep) – I still wanted an AOE main as there are far to many enemies to single target down
Seismic Slam (Stagger for Crowd Control) – This is a controversial skill. It’s a terrible fury dump on bosses, but I like it against crowds and elites because you can AOE, and more importantly, stun and knock back big groups of enemies. This keeps a little damage at bay while dishing out some punishment.
Ground Stomp (with Wrenching Smash) – This turns out to be a pretty awesome skill. Against trash it’s a great way to gather in a group for Cleave or Revenge and against champions it allows you to keep them stunned — briefly.
Revenge (with Provocation) – a combo fury-free heal/aoe. The increased chance to proc seems the best when you need it to survive.
Furious Charge (with Dreadnought) – A short cooldown escape/closer with a heal and stun. This extra heal (besides your health potion) can really keep you alive.
Wrath of the Berserker (with Insanity) – This big burst damage is pretty much a requirement to burst down tough elite packs and bosses.
Passives: Superstition, Tough as Nails, and Nerves of Steel – I ended up going all defensive for now. Later, I was able to switch out Superstition (which seemed the worst of the trio) for Ruthless.
Follower: Templar, specced fully for healing. Really, as a Barbarian, anything that heals you is good. If you can stay alive, you will prevail. The Templar also has a nice WOW Warrior style charge and stun.
Back on the Farm
Before some of the recent patches and hotfixes Act I dropped shit gear. Packs dropped mostly blues, even with 5 stacks, and bosses dropped two crap yellows. The repair costs were so high versus the rewards (not to mention the high AH prices) that you lose money to play.
This forced me to find farming spots. If you set the quest to “search for the stranger, the cursed hold” and teleport to the “old ruins” there is about 75% of the time a cellar straight to the west through the gates. The elite there is very easy and drops a lot of gold. He’s easy enough that you can kill him in a complete set of gold find gear, plus he’s real close to a checkpoint so you can repeat it quickly. This is incredibly boring but earns (for me) about 200,000 gold an hour.
I think it’s a serious flaw that the game basically requires you to farm gold in order to either progress or even play at the edge of your skills. Act I does not itself drop good enough gear to allow you to pass it easily, at least not during the first 4-6 weeks of release. The totally random nature of the gear means that you almost NEVER find a genuine upgrade yourself in Inferno. You need to sell what you find and buy stuff on the AH. But it’s EXPENSIVE. Either I’m missing some easy gold earning technique or the player base can an incredible tolerance for tedium. It takes A LOT of farming to improve your gear in Inferno, and Act I is the easy sauce.
Also, I have terrible luck selling on the AH. I keep 10 items listed on both gold and $ AH at all times, but they rarely sell. I’ve tried pricing them cheap, I’ve tried pricing expensive, but there is such an incredible supply (despite high prices), and the visibility is so low, that very little seems to sell. There are no aides to pricing and it’s very tedious to search for comparable prices. There should be a “show me stuff that is like this item” search.
Act II
If I thought Act I was hard, Act II was a total wake up call. There is a very steep cliff which is not present in any of the previous difficulty modes. And unlike those earlier modes, in Inferno, there is no option to just grind for a bit and level past it. You have to improve your skills, spec, and gear. At first, using gear that made Act I Halls of Agony easy enough, even Act II trash pulls of more than 2-3 mobs killed me. And forget about elites. Those annoying wasps with their mini-wasp “bullets” could easily be fatal. In Act II, as a Barbarian, you need at least 200-400 resist in every category in order to survive the area of effects.
One of the first things I did was switch from 2-hander to 1-hander and shield. Getting a shield with a reasonable block rating (17%+) helps a lot, but your DPS craters compared to 2-hander or dual-wielding. I had to farm, farm, and farm some more in order to repurchase more gear slots with a big chunk of “all resist.” This stat is essential to Inferno melee and is priced accordingly. Any gear with it, and decent other stats, is very expensive. I re-gemmed for all vitality. I got some more health on hit. Other classes can focus on DPS, but the Barbarian needs to use at least half his stat allocation for resists, armor, and healing. It sucks.
As I slowly got my resists up around 400 I was able to push through the Act. Still, even before the repair hike, progress cost me money. Some elites took a couple deaths to finish off and this cost a lot of gold. I was, however, able to move forward, defeating 80-90% of elite packs. Bosses were no problem, and single elites, but occasional pulls involving two packs or nasty affix combinations like molten and fiery chains or molten, invulnerable minions, and waller would require skipping or resetting the game. Belial was hard. After the patch where he has a enrage timer he required a more DPS/healing oriented spec (including Frenzy) and a two-hander to defeat.
Act III
The third act put me up against yet another wall. Defeating the first elite pack took me into the yellow and cost 45,000 gold. Hardly an economical solution. I put on my two hander, changed my passives to DPS, and went back to farm Act I. With my Act II gear (all purchased, at most I’m wearing one piece that actually dropped for me) I can now crush Act I Inferno. I only die when I get exceedingly sloppy (like taking on three elite packs) and can DPS the Butcher down in about 1.5 minutes.
Farming Act I earns perhaps 150,000 gold an hour direct and a huge number of rares, particularly after the most recent patch where they drop from both elite packs and bosses in good numbers. The increased drop rates of ilevel 62 and 63 stuff mean that some of it is even decent. Still, the random number generator churns out enormous amounts of crap that is barely useable by any class. Vendor fodder. I have improved my gear to about 22,000 DPS with a 2-hander, 7k armor, and 400-450 resists. Then back to Act III and see how that goes.
I can kill some elites, but I still die too often. It would cost me 200,000 gold an hour to progress. Hmmm.
Stacking it all up
I have mixed feelings about the valor stack mechanic. It’s essentially pretty good except for the fact that it requires at least an hour or two of play time. The fact that the game will disconnect you after about 20-30 minutes of pause means that you can’t really leave it. That DC will kill your stacks and reroll the world. This isn’t a big deal before 60, but loosing those stacks sucks. It can also be frustrating with the harder end-of-act bosses that really need a different spec than the rest of the Act. By the time you arrive at them, you usually have 5 stacks, and killing them without any is useless. I don’t like being forced to kill trash with a single target DPS spec just so I can save my stacks for the boss.
The Gear/AH Problem
The relationship between gear, progress, and the Auction House seems fairly broken. In order to progress in Inferno you need extremely specific gear that is very expensive. During the first couple of weeks the acts themselves were not dropping this in sufficient quantity. The RNG generates a lot of crap. I try to have no more than one “second rate affix” on any piece too, ideally zero. A second rater for a Barb is something like Int, or Dexterity. I try to have no “third rate” like gold pickup range or something specific to other classes. This kind of gear drops once in a blue moon.
With the new drop rates, and my ability to farm Act I and Act II it should be possible to get a lot of good gear, but I despair of actually finding much I might want myself. Which leaves the AH. It just seems very difficult to sell anything, and what I want to buy is frightfully expensive. Prices are random and all over the place. The AH needs a lot of improvement for finding items. It needs more than three filters and ways to sort your finds better. It needs tools for pricing your loot and probably a higher limit on the number of sales and a shorter sale time.
It just seems broken to have progress come only from an external mechanism (or willingness to pay significant real dollars or farm insane gold stacks). Blizzard has made improvements (and a few backward steps like the repair cost hike). The increase drop rates are good and the reduction of crafting costs. Still, merging gems is frightfully expensive. Blacksmithing requires a lot of materials considering how random the results are.
Coming from WOW, which also had a very steep cliff in vanilla at level 60, this one seems even odder. That was gated by your ability to raid (and to a lesser extent by a similar willingness to grind), but this one seems “pay to play” or “grind to play.” Neither seems super appealing.
Check out my review of Barbarian 1-60 leveling.
Or my Beta preview of all the classes.
Restaurant: N/Naka [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Location: 3455 S. Overland Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90034. 310.836.6252
Date: June 22, 2012
Rating: Awesome
It’s been an N/Naka couple of weeks. I was just there three weeks ago for an amazing Omakase. Now the Foodie Club returns for the “Farewell to Foie” dinner. For those of you that live in caves, California is on the verge of banning that most delectable of duck livers due to debatable animal rights issues. Chef Ms. Niki Nakayama has whipped up an entirely foie meal to celebrate the last month of foie!
The setting is elegant, minimalist, and very Japanese.
From my cellar: “The Pinson 2008 Chablis Les Clos displays somewhat detached lanolin, resin, and vanilla from barrel, but also generous citrus tinged with chalk dust and white pepper typical for this site. With a sense of substantiality shared with other wines in its collection as well as a silken texture – yet with plenty of energy and saliva-inducement.” This wine is textbook white burgundy and Chardonnay at its best, flowery and rich in a way that new world Chards almost never achieve. But, as I was to observe, Chardonnay makes a really poor pairing with foie gras. The richness of the foie begs for something sweet like a Riesling Spatlese.
Saki Zuke (A pairing of something common and something unique) – Custard of Organic Farm-fresh Jidori Chicken Egg and Hudson Valley Foie Gras topped with Seared Foie Gras on a Bed of Shredded Foie Gras, a Sauce of Balsamic Foie Gras Jus and a Flower of Pansy, Gold Leaf.
“Zensai (Main seasonal ingrediant presented as an appetizer) – Torchon of Hudson Valley Foie Gras served with Seared Unagi (Freshwater Eel), Brûléed Black Mission Figs, Roasted Bing Cherries, a Sweep of Bittersweet Chocolate and a Sauce of Cabernet Sauvignon and Bing Cherries and Gelée of Sanbaizu.”
“Modern Zakuri (A modern interpretation of sashimi) – Hokkaido scallops with Hudson Valley Foie Gras Crumbles, Shaved Zest of Fresh Yuzu, garnished with leaves of Baby Red-veined Sorrel from Niki’s Garden and Sprouts of Daikon and Drops of Ponzu Reduction.”
“Otsukuri (Traditional Sashimi) – Live Hirame (Halibut) from Jeju, Korea, thinly sliced with a Flower of Pansy from Niki’s Garden and a Sauce of Foie Gras Ponzu.” The foie in the ponzu added a lovely touch of richness to this otherwise simple sashimi.
“Palate Cleanser – On the Half Shelll, Kumamoto Oyster with Fresh Uni (Sea Urchiin) from Santa Barbara with Ponzu.”
The 2000 Domaine Ponsot Chapelle Chambertin Grand Cru was a spectacular example of grand cru red Burgundy brought by Foodie co-chair EP. Every time I taste a very good burgundy with a little age on it I remember why I love burgs so much. Just spectacular.
“Mushimono (Steamed dish) – Black Abalone from Monterey and Hudson Valley Foie Gras poached in Dashi and served with the Poaching Liquid and Scallions.” This sure is a lot of foie! The combination was incredible, and the broth even better. Notice that the bowl has a little “spigot” on the right for pouring it out onto a spoon. I spilled some and debated licking it off the table — not kidding.
“Shiizakana (Not bound by tradition, the Chef’s choice dish) – Ravioli stuffed with Diver Scallops from Hokkaido, Japan, Maine Lobster Tail and Hudson Valley Foie Gras with a Sauce of Yuzu Brown Butter.” Absolutely to die for ravioli with a dough much like that of a Har Gow.
“Niku (Meat Course) – Beef Houbayaki – American Wagyu Beef Ribeye Steak topped with Seared Hudson Valley Foie Gras, Scallions on a Sauce of Sweet Red Miso, on a Magnolia Leaf that sits on top of Charcoal.” Rich enough? Wagyu AND foie?
The Magnolia leaf creates a wonderful odor as it smokes too.
For the sushi flights we ordered this ultra premium sake. I’ve had both this semi-sweet version and the same maker’s dry. The semi-sweet is worlds better in my opinion, perhaps the best sake I’ve ever had.
“Palate Cleanser – some marinated fish bit with tomato from Niki’s garden.”
“Shokuji One & Two (Rice dish –Sushi) – Tai (Japanese Snapper), Chu-toro of Big Eye Tuna”
“Aji (Spanish Mackrel), Amaebi (Sweet Shrimp)”
“Seared Toro of Spanish Baby Blue Fin Tuna, Seared Hudson Valley Foie Gras topped with a Balsamic Foie Gras Jus Reduction.”
“Shiizakana 2 – Risotto of Unagi (Freshwater Ell) with Unagi Sauce and topped seared Hudson Valley Foie Gras.” Another incredible dish, although just loaded with foie. I love rice with Unagi sauce all by itself and the foie drippings made it 10x better!
“Soba – Buckwheat Noodles in Traditional Soba Broth with Scallions and Jus of Foie Gras.”
“Salmon and seared American Wagyu.” Beef sushi!
“Additional Shokuji/Additional Shokuji/Ochazuke (Rice Dish) – a porridge of .fish, rice, and green tea.” Very mild, pleasant, and settling after all that foie.
“Palate Cleanser – Sorbet of Yuzu”
“Dessert – Crème Brûlée of Black Sesame Seed.” Rich and creamy.
Artisan Hojicha tea.
N/Naka really is a very special place. All the meals I had here were spectacular (here for the first, here for the second, here for the third). But this last was just crazy out of this world. I was actually a little worried before hand that it would be too much foie (like our crazy 27 course truffle dinner), but despite the length (6 hours!), and the insane amount of foie it was actually manageable. And beyond all that, Chef Niki managed to actually enhance every single dish with all that richness. Foie isn’t a typical Japanese ingredient, but it didn’t throw any dish for a loop. Most were extremely memorable and all were fantastic.
