Of course these kinds of lists are wildly subjective, but before it served its final meal in July of last year, elBulli had been voted the world’s best restaurant five times in the pages of the British magazine Restaurant. Located in Roses, Spain, on Catalonia’s stunning Costa Brava, elBulli, under the direction of Ferran Adrià, […]
Dayna Papaleo
Posted inCulture
The Italian-American experience
Benedettos, World Famous Sauerkraut Festival, Thursday Teas at Sonnenberg Gardens, 20th Annual Glorious Garlic Festival, Finger Lakes Cheese Trail, Casa Larga’s “Worldly Approach To Wine,” and openings
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Where the wild things were
There’s a whole lot of poverty, dirt, and truly questionable parenting up on that screen, but 2012 festival darling “Beasts of the Southern Wild” is hardly one of those gritty, neo-realist downers. Instead, it’s a modern fable and an environmental parable, a wondrous, evocative piece of folk art with flaws at once glaring yet easily […]
Posted inCulture
It takes a Village Gate
The next chapter in the ever-evolving tale of 274 North Goodman Street — better known as Village Gate — is underway, with the recent opening of the airy new space now home to California Rollin’ (it formerly held record store The Bop Shop). Anchored by a sushi bar on one side and a bar of the full-service alcohol variety on the other, the California Rollin’ upgrade is part of Village Gate’s bigger picture,
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In between things
Love is grand. But commitment? That’s kind of terrifying. And it’s not something movies typically dwell on, preferring instead to document the thrill of the chase rather than the complexities of the capture. A smart storyteller, however, understands that few things lend themselves to dramatic conflict better than the shoehorning of two free wills into […]
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Gun crazy
“There’s something wrong with your love story, baby,” the drug queenpin purrs to her pretty blonde captive over an alfresco dinner of lamb chops and menace, and we’re inclined to agree. The involuntary guest, Ophelia (Blake Lively), has already brought us up to speed on her polyamorous relationship with two drug-dealing best friends in the […]
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Mussels from Brussels
There’s something kind of sexy about descending into a restaurant without windows; time just seems to stop, and you could be anywhere in the world. So if you find yourself at the East End’s newest eatery, Victoire, order one of the eight beautifully presented preparations of moules et frites (a/k/a mussels and fries) ranging from […]
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Inside the 2012 RJFF
This year marks the 12th installment of the Rochester Jewish Film Festival and the first under the guidance of JCC cultural director Lori Michlin Harter. She and her tireless team have gathered together some of the planet’s best contemporary cinema — 23 features this time, both narrative and documentary — about the Jewish experience. Read […]
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The kids are alright
The filmography of Wes Anderson is not like a box of chocolates, because at this stage of the game you pretty much know what you’re gonna get: a tale of how parents don’t understand their children told through meticulously whimsical production design and a soundtrack teeming with often obscure 60’s pop. Anderson’s second film, 1998’s […]
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Cocktails and food
At this particular time in culinary history, it’s become pretty much standard practice to needlessly complicate something as simple as sustenance with hip buzzwords and lofty concepts. Dan Martello bucked that trend by explaining the focus of his new restaurant Cure to me in exactly four syllables: “Cocktails and food.” But even though he’s already […]
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Word to your father
In “AWESOM-O,” one of my favorite episodes of “South Park,” a disguised Cartman gets Butters to think he’s a robot, and, following a gauntlet of typically weird events, the robot ends up pitching movie ideas to an eager bunch of studio suits. About 800 of these pitches star Adam Sandler, including one where he’ll inherit […]
Posted inMovies
The latest buzz
All you ladies who’ve been accused of insanity upon voicing an opinion that doesn’t set well with the nearest man can take comfort in the fact that you’re part of a long, ignorant tradition of wholesale dismissal. Not so very long ago the (largely male) medical establishment attributed things like discontentment, anxiety, and moodiness to […]
