I have a tendency not to take Bobby Flay too seriously.  With all of his Food Network work, one wonders how he takes time out to ensure the quality of his restaurants.  So, dubiously, P. and I ventured forth to Mesa Grill, which has been around for many years now, to explore.

The results were intensely satisfying as the pictures of the food will testify.  P. started with a shrimp and roasted garlic corn tamale (picture 1) which was colorful and bursting with flavor.  My barbecue duck and blue corn tamale appetizer (picture 2) was an adult’s noir dream of a dish: smoky, subtle, sophisticated.  The dishes were washed down with a very reasonable and delightfuly springy and alive Chenin Blance that danced on our palates and partnered with each dish in a unique and generous way (picture 3).  P. liked his main dish of spice-crusted tuna with mango and green chile sauce very much (picture 4), while my mahi-mahi with pineapple was a bit too tropical and mild for me (picture 5).  A side of healthy spinach (picture 6) rounded off the evening.

Venture forth to this enduring bastion of old New York and celebrity wisdom.  And you will not be disappointed.

As the 2009 Cannes Film Festival gets underway, I felt a need to explore and address some of the highly acclaimed films from Cannes last year.

“Three Monkeys”, a dark fable of loss and rupturing that can POSSIBLY be the start of redemption, from Turkey’s famed auteur, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, won the Best Director award at Cannes last year.

The film is gorgeously photographed with searing landscapes of sea, urban decay and modern living.  The color scheme is faded, almost lacking color, as indeed a lack of vitality has seeped out of the lives of our three main protagonists: a chauffer, his apparently stable, beautiful wife, and post-college son who is bored, searching for direction.

The movie begins with a car accident, hauntingly, eerily photographed.  The driver, a rich politician kills a pedestrian on a lonely rural road, flees, and convinces his chauffer (who was not in the car at the time) to take the prison rap for him in exchange for money.

And so starts a medley of change, for this politician is like a lighthouse (depicted symbolically by Ceylan right at the start of the movie), who ends up shining a light on the hidden secrets and desires of the 3 monkeys that comprise an apparently happy family, but instead have been “seeing no evil, hearing no evil”, hiding away reality in the dark, suffused colorlessness of everyday life.

While the chauffer is in prison, his wife ends up having an affair with the politician, and we begin to see the false life she has been trapped in with a man she does not love.  The chauffer himself ends up not being the benevolent person we expected him to be in the beginning of the movie, and the son moves to express a deep rage within himself that had been hidden till the politician-driven chain of events take over.

This film is an important parable for now.  As so many events in the world are forcing changes for many, regarding money, property, relationships, vocational aspirations, this is like the politician, the lighthouse, shining a light on those aspects of your life that are no longer working, that it is now time to change for you to grow internally and blossom into the life that will truly make you happy.

It is your choice whether you embrace change with joy or with fear.  At the end of the movie, the 3 protagonists seem to still be mired in fear.  But the movie ends with a panoramic view of a thunderstorm, delivering rain on the chauffer in a beautifully photographed scene on top on a roof, facing the water.  Perhaps spiritual redemption is around the corner, if only we will open our eyes.

Amidst the swirling seas of the Altantic, nestled within the arms of “Wish” restaurant in South Beach, I enjoyed and celebrated my existence, wishing for an exciting future and knowing that it will indeed come to pass.

There is something about being on the ocean that is relaxing, energizing and ultimately self-motivating (picture 1).

The birthday food celebration at Wish included: P.’s starter of lobster ravioli with a cardomon-yuzu foam (picture 2), which he really enjoyed.  My appetizer of fois gras was unusual in that it was paired with white chocoloate (picture 3)!  It took a little getting used to, but ultimately I enjoyed it.  My main was a branzino with a fregole of olives, pine nuts and frutti di mare (picture 4).  P. ate a salmon dish with risotto and mushrooms (picture 5).  My birthday dessert was a chocoloate molten cake with caramel ice cream (picture 6).  P. ate a trio of sorbets (picture 7).

Onwards and upwards - once more unto the breach!

Shrek, the trendsetting Dreamworks motion picture has been transformed into a deeply moving and musically innovative meditation on being different, of being the freak in not conforming to society.  Its message is simple: realize that others act intolerant out of fear, embrace your uniqueness even if others define it as strange, and forgive and embrace all, for we are all one.

Brian D’Arcy James, who playes the title character Shrek, has a beautiful booming voice whose timbre, in moving melodies, indicates the depth of alienation and desire to belong buried deep within his soul.  In this sense, the musical adaptation of the movie adds another dimension to what was a very funny cartoon of a movie, and creates a fundamental statement, relevant for today, of reclaiming our identity, even if we feel, as defined by society that we do not fit in.

And Shrek’s alienation is echoed not only by the Princess Fiona (ably played with true comic timing by the charismatic dynamo, Sutton Foster), and Donkey (played by Daniel Breaker, who gives Eddie Murphy a run for his money), but by the whole company of fairy tale characters who have been tossed aside by society, including Ugly Duckling, Pinnochio, Peter Pan.

And even the villain, Farqhuar, becomes more loveable than in the movie version, for we recognize that he is not entirely comfortable with his meanness, and that it is driven by his own insecuities of not fitting in, by being born a midget.

A parable for us all to reclaim our sense of majesty, of who we are, in these magnificent times of change.  And to accept others, even if we don’t understand them, or their differences.

One noteworthy reason to see “Milk” is the amazing, Oscar-winning performance delivered by bad boy Sean Penn.  After you watch his naturalistic, turn as gay activist Harvey Milk, you will wonder, as Robert de Niro suggested, how you ever saw him as macho and a bad boy before.  And this is what transporting method acting is all about.

The other reason to see “Milk” is the veracity and verve with which it delivers it’s core message: fight for what you believe to be true, to be fair, to be within the vibration of integrity.  Even if everyone tells you that you want too much, that things will never be equal or fair in this world, still try to change things, still try to make a difference.  For in the end, even if you ignite a few others to your world view, much can be changed over time.

This is what Harvey Milk achieved in his short tenure as a San Francisco city politician.  Even though he was assassinated, he managed to inspire so many gay men and women around the world that it was ok to stand up for your rights, to demand an equal voice, to be treated like family.  And so, as the movie points out, the gay movement carried on.  And it has grown.  And as the world’s consiousness expands over the next few years, even more barriers will be broken. 

It is ironic that this movie comes out just when Proposition 8 has passed in California.  But remember, things get worse only to get better.  Proposition 8 reminds us how many fearful people still live, even in the enlightened state of California, who believe that their close-minded beliefs are more important than the fair rights of every human being.

Bigotism is on the way out.  This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius.  Harvey Milk was ahead of his times, but this movie is perfect for NOW, for this time of change on the planet.

Hanna Schmitz, as played by Kate Winslet in what will probably be the Oscar-winning performance by a leading female actress at the award ceremony on Friday, is a desolate, scarred soul.  She has a secret that will be uncovered during the course of the movie, but from the very first instant we see her, we notice the glaze in her eyes, the intense concentration she puts on small events, the weariness with life that is alleviated by the wonder of hearing others read fantastic tales of literature to her.

As the movie progresses, Hanna is put on trial for Nazi era crimes, and we feel a mix of horror and recoil from this simple-minded person who cannot comprehend the nature of her crimes (seducing an under-age boy, Michael in the first segment of the movie was just a start).

She ends up in prison partly because Michael (played very naturally by the talented David Kross) is apalled at what he learns and chooses not to disclose a vital piece of evidence that could save her.  He walks away.  But his life also falls apart.  He is haunted by his lack of compassion for this woman who was his first love (albeit under false pretenses).  He fails to connect to his wife or his daughter.

The adult Michael (played by the handsome Ralph Fiennes), revives by finding the fountain of compassion within his soul.  He reaches out to help and teach a Hanna who still disgusts him.  And he flowers with this act of kindess.

The ending of the movie (which I will not disclose) complicates things as Michael finds his embarrasment a deterrent for a more complete forgiveness, resulting in disastrous consequences.

But the compassion he shows for Hanna while she is in prison will stay with me for a long time.  For such acts are what brings out the divine within each of us and brings us happiness as we align with our soul.

Amidst the controversy over whether Indian slums are really quite as dire as the movie makes them out to be, “Slumdog Millionaire” shines because of the focused spotlight it puts on those forgotton beggars and indigents on the streets of Asia who are accepted as a part of everyday reality.

And what Danny Boyle is able to achieve in this movie, within the conceit of a “Who Wants To Be a Millionaire” gameshow format, is quite remarkable.  The fact that there are still millions of children in this world who are denied schooling, forced to work and open to exploitation is graphically depicted in flashbacks as the slumdog protagonist Jamal (played amiably by Dev Patel) gets his day in the Sun.  The editiing is crisp, MTV-like, with quick jumps and panoramic vistas of slums extending in serpentine ways across Bombay, as a pulsating soundtracks underscores the harsh reality of that we would all like to avoid.

No matter how technologically advanced India is today with its software and global outsourcing industries, no matter how much growth is projected for its future, the world cannot allow such debasement of children and humanity, not only in India but in so many countries of the world in Asia and Africa. 

The movie heralds a clarion call to arms to the world to make the changes necessary.  No human being deserves such a life of misery.

And for this, in addition to being an entertaining movie with a satisfying ending, I would be happy if “Slumdog Millionaire” won the Oscar for best movie of the year.

Amidst the winter woes of restaurant disarray in NYC, a bright light shines on Bridgehampton transplant “Almond” in Gramercy, which has filled in the old “Borough” space.

The restaurant, although large, was so crowded on a Saturday night that we had to wait for 20 minutes even though we had a reservation.  This is a testament to to tasty and well-priced food available at the restaurant.

Management was extremely apologetic for the delay and sent a free seafood platter to our table immediately to try and make amends (picture 1).  The platter included a spicy scallop and fennel ceviche, marinated octopus and curried mussels - all very delicious.  We immediately returned to a good mood, encouraged by a very tasty and well-priced Minervois wine from the Languedoc region of France (picture 2).

Among the appetizers, my duck confit with lentils was amazing (picture 3).  The duck was crispy and tasty.  H.’s salad of arugula, beets and roquefort was well received (picture 4) as was L.’s salad of field greens and warm chevre (picture 5).  P. very much liked his appetizer of salt cod croquettes (picture 6).

For mains, I ate steak frites (very classic and nice) with au poivre sauce (picture 7).  P. ate cavatelli pasta (picture , while L. ate mussels (picture 9).

Desserts were simple, yet delicious: chocolate mousse (picture 10) and creme brulee (picture 10).

All in all a very satisfying meal with terrific atmosphere.  We’ll be going back soon - but make the reservation for 15-20 minutes before you really want to sit down to eat!

Going in to see Ron Howard’s “Frost/Nixon”, I was a little skeptical.  Ron Howard has never been one of my favourite directors.  He has had a historical tendency to simplify stories and sugarcoat them, as he did in “A Beautiful Mind”.  So I wasn’t expecting too much from this new movie, but something was drawing me to see it.

First of all let me say that the movie is absolutely fantastic.  Even if you have no affinity for Nixon at all, the script is marvelous, maintaining constant tension as the two counterpunchers attempt to get the best of each other, and their initial successes go against our preconceptions of them, and away from the way we want history to go.  So when Frost (played by a fantastic Micheal Sheen, who, I am afraid, will miss out on another Oscar nomination) finally corners Nixon, there is a tremendous sense of satisfaction that ripples through the audience. 

Frank Langella as Nixon is riveting to watch (and he will get the Oscar nomination).  And here is why the movie is so important to watch right NOW.  Langella, in his portrayal of Nixon, captures the Cheyney-esque approach to power and politics: I’m a bigwig - I deserve the fancy houses and the private golf club memberships; I’m defending what’s right, and I’ll do what it takes to win.  This is the politics of fear, politics for the few and for the rich. 

This portrayal of Nixon’s admission of his failures is poignant and timely as we shift to the new Obama administration on January 20th.  An administration committed to hope and change where everyone can participate in the American dream, not just for a chosen few who got the golf club membership.  This is an amazingly exciting time, as the world and most humans will change dramatically in 2009.

Set the right tone by watching Nixon wallow and dissolve in this fine movie.  Then open a bottle of champagne and celebrate the future and stay positive through all the hiccups that change always brings about.

“Gran Torino” is a parable for our times.  A bitter old man who believes himself to be alone, who believes that the world is out to get him, slowly finds his beliefs shattered.  The so-called others, the chinks, the foreigners, those who are invading his turf and are responsible for all the ills in his life transform into loving, caring neighbours.  He realizes that we are all one, that outside racial characteristics that are different have no bearing on the heart, where true beauty lies.

We are talking, of course, about Clint Eastwood who brings a fusty, Dirty Harry-turned-protect-the-neighborhood-old-man-vigilante to the movie.  He makes racist comments and is a miserable man.  It is only when he allows himself to make gestures of kindness and generosity that he start to feel happy and at peace with himself.  Clint overacts a bit, but thats ok, since the move is interesting, and the ending is a surprise.

The Asian actors who play the neighbours, and whom Clint ends up protecting from street gangs have a certain non-acterly innocence about them, but the young boy, especially, seems like he is really ACTING in a very high school production sort of way.  Also, the script is very deliberate and obvious with 2 minutes scenes designed to define stereotypes - there is very little room for ambiguity or subtlety here.

As a parable, though, the movie still works, and is worth seeing.  As we go through 2009, more of the illusion of separation among the peoples of the world will dissove.  The more we love those who appear to be different from us, the happier we will be, the more fulfilled we will feel in our journies.

Allow yourself to transform and be happy, as grumpy old Clint does in “Gran Torino”.  And indeed he chooses to let go of his prized Gran Torino car, realizing that material possessions are ephemeral and cannot be the basis of our self-worth. 

Kudos to Clint for making the move.  Without his backing it probably would never have been made.