RAVE - Dobbs Ferry

This new-ish restaurant - at least it is to us - epitomizes comfort food; the place itself is comfortable, even the neighborhood is comfortable. 

Sometimes when I hear a restaurant described as serving "comfort food", I think it's a term that's often used in a somewhat denigrating way, almost as though the reviewer is saying "well, they don't serve top of the line food here, but at least it's pleasant, even comforting."

Dobbs Ferry serves food that is, yes, comfortable, but top notch too.

The dishes were pitched squarely in the middle of the road, cuisine-wise rather than at the haute end, but were nevertheless tasty and perfectly-prepared.

Olives, pate, ravioli, rigatoni, lamb loin, lamb shank - the four of us were treated to wonderful food and outstanding service.

I'd had a couple of Manhattans by the time the appetizers arrived, so I may be a little fulsome in my praise for Dobbs Ferry - at least Mrs Page thinks so, as she believes it was just an OK place.

REVIEW - Olympus Has Fallen

Strange that in all the tiresome, repetitive TV advertising for this movie they never once mention that it "stars" the even more tiresome and repetitive Gerard Butler.

I guess it was my own fault - doing no research before buying our tickets - but when the opening scenes featured McButler's cheesy grin I groaned.

At least we didn't have to dwell too long on that grin. The film wasted no time at all before plunging into the action: a heavily tricked out aircraft piloted by two North Korean terrorists manage to fly within a few minutes of the White House before being noticed by anyone. Thus starts two hours of mostly implausible activity which do little more than paint the president's home as a marshmallow-soft target and the various arms of the US military as toothless, inept buffoons.

All except for our sporren-wielding hero, who single-handedly manages to avoid the barrage of bullets from a small army of terrorists that appear from every truck in DC, makes his way into the now enemy-controlled White House, and rescues the occupants all while achieving that most important objective: putting a bit of much-needed pep back into his marriage.

With all the current talk of North Korean military posturing, this film is at least somewhat relevant, although its message is unnecessarily full of patriotic BS.

And doesn't anyone see the irony in the film's tagline: "When our flag falls, our nation will rise" - when the lead role, the one person who does "rise to the occasion" is a bloody Scotsman?

RAVE - Epic Roasthouse

Epic has all the ingredients for a great night out: an ideal position with a view of the Bay Bridge light show, valet parking, great bar and superb food.

Shame about the two blondes on the front desk, who couldn't organize a party in a brewery. But once past them, we were indundated with service - not all of it effective mind you, but they made up for it in numbers. We counted 9 people who served us!

Jan Beerbaum - owner and all around crusty host and head chef - got us off to a great start by helping us with our meat plate appetizer - pork rillettes, duck proscuitto, country pate, and so on, and then our lobster and artichoke salad and endive, treviso, apple, and walnut vinaigrette salad. Too much salad? Nah, it was just right.

I don't think we've been here for four or five years, when last time our friend Bill declared Epic as having the most expensive burger - $50, and not worth it - he'd ever had.

RAVE - The Sweeney

Rhyming Slang for The Flying Squad, The Sweeney (Todd) is at least the third movie remake of the classic 70s and 80s British TV series of the same name.

Starring the perennial hard-case Ray Winstone as the gravelly voiced Inspector Jack Reagen - a role performed by the comparatively erudite John Thaw (who more recently played the even more polished Inspector Morse) - this was a particularly brutish portrayal of London's Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police.

With the team pursuing an equally brutish gang of diamond thieves, and Reagan having an affair with the wife of one of his superiors, the action is intense and nonstop. The old style squad features Ben Drew - UK rapper Plan B (according to Mrs Page) - as Reagan's second-in-command George Carter. 

It's all good, old-fashioned police work that reminds the viewer of all the stuff that happens in our city's underbellies that we'd rather not know too much about.

I'm not sure if it's a prerequisite that all members of the real-life Sweeney are hard-boiled cockneys, but I hope I never learn first-hand the phrase "Oi, on your face you ****ing slag, now!"

RAVE - Barbacco

Another place that I've eaten at a number of times, and one that on this occasion got the thumbs up from my co-worker and me.

We had lunch - perhaps the best way to enjoy Perbacco - and the food was just the ticket.

The lasagne bolognese met with grunts of approval from Alan, while my Rigatoni - dusted with herbs and filled with something meaty - was similarly grunt-worthy.

Complemented by Apple Polenta Cake, marmalade and creme fraiche - something I normally eschew at lunch-time but which I heartily recommend to non-eschewers - lunch was a tasty indulgence for both of us. 

And we discussed work projects while we ate, so it wasn't a complete goof-off.

REVIEW - MY China

This was our second visit to Martin Yang's showy restaurant inside the Westfield Mall, and it yet again annoyingly delighted and underwhelmed us at the same time.

Our last meal there was around the New Year, after which I bemoaned the mall setting, the diner / shoppers and their shopping detritus, all of which subtracted from an otherwise great meal.

To counter that criticism, my brother Lawrence declared it "the best Chinese meal I've ever had", while at the same time dissing the bathrooms that were shared between men and women. I can't disagree with his assessment of the food - after all, perception is reality - but I wonder about whether he actually went into the right bathroom.

Well, none of that's changed. Last night we started at around 8pm surrounded by the same subtractions.

We ate at the excellent bar with the uncomfortable seats - at least I found them so, with no back support making the couple of hours hard for my ancient back.

We had dim sum, and selected the first 5 dishes on the menu:

Shui Mai - pork, shrimp and wild seasonal mushroom

Whole Wheat Potstickers - pork, cabbage, spicy soy sauce
Har Gow - shrimp, spicy soy

Wild Boar Juciy Dumplings - ginger, garlic

Pork & Crab Juicy Dumplings - fresh crab meat, garlic, pork

They were all made well - perhaps an understatement. They were all made very well. All firm, with a pleasing texture. 

The fact that they were all served up together made it somewhat of a challenge of steady-stream eating, but one that we managed admirably.

With one or two standouts - the Shui Mai and the Har Gow - the others tended to taste too similar. Maybe it was our fault for ordering five adjacent items from the menu, but I think not.

RAVE - La Siccia

A charming, somewhat traditional rather than trendy Italian restaurant that looks much better when you get inside.

As always is the case with Mikki and Jonny, the conversation eclipsed the meal.

I can only remember a couple of the several dishes we shared between the four of us - the proscuitto and the semolina gnocetti with pork and pecorino cheese - the latter of which was sensational.

I found the Pork Loin with olive tapenade a little heavy on the olive - curious for me seeing as I normally crave everything olive, but Jonny wolfed his down without a frown.

An exquisite Sardinian Pinot Noir "on steroids", recommended by our excellent waiter, was a delight.

RAVE - Chocolate Lab

This little place is unusual - in a good way.

It was opened by chocolatier extraodinaire Michael Recchuiti as an extension to his main business of manufacturing and selling elegant and inventive chocolate products.

I should first say that Michael is a friend of ours, so it's a shameful oversight on our part that it's taken us so long to dine here, rather than just buy chocolates at Little Nib, his tiny retail store a few doors away from Chocolate Lab.

We were first of all surprised at how busy it was. Admittedly, it's quite small, with seating for around around twenty people looking not just to silence their chocolate demons, but experience the savory items on offer.

While more than just a cafe, the menu is brief and full of tasty dishes.

We had two of that day's specials - a gorgeous lamb casserole for Mrs. P, and a less-than stellar chicken pie for me. Both dishes - maybe everything on the menu - seemed to be heated up for us rather prepared on the spot. Nevertheless, they were very good.

Naturally, when it came for dessert, we were spoiled for choice.

REVIEW - Emperor

As WWII in the Pacific came to an end - post-Hiroshima and post-Nagasaki - General Douglas MacArthur, played by Tommy Lee Jones, is placed in charge of rebuilding Japan. 

In a country devastated by heavy bombing, he gives General Fellers, played by Matthew Fox, the job of determining whether Japanese ruler Emperor Hirohito should be given the death sentence for his part in taking Japan to war.

The fact that this was making Fellers a potential scapegoat for a decision that was either going to be unpopular with the Americans back home, or even more unpopular with the Japanese - because they considered Hirohito to be a God - was not lost on Fellers.

Alongside this main, true to the facts story, Fellers was also looking for a Japanese woman he had fallen in love with when he lived in Japan prior to the war.

This was a well-made, involving film, that wasn't quite the thriller the trailers would have one believe. Nevertheless, if you enjoy your history told big, you'll enjoy this film.

RAVE - Le Garage

Seafarers eat well. Or at least that would be the verdict if you considered the eateries that surround the marinas at Sausalito. I know it's not likely to produce an exact cross section of the seafaring community, what with the dollar-laden and be-jeweled residents and visitors to that particular enclave of mostly fairweather mariners.

But not to put it down, we were there for lunch after our seaplane ride on Sunday, and rather than go to  our usual hangout at Fish, we stopped at the next marina and ate at Le Garage, a cute half-open air, half indoor hangout that serves cafe fare with a French flair.

That meant Duck Confit for milady, with kumquat jus served, rosemary garlic and roasted potato, and pour moi les Oeufs a la Coque -  Soft-boiled eggs and black truffle butter mouillettes served with La Quercia prosciutto, roasted potatoes and chanterelle mushrooms.

The glass of chilled Chardonnay was icing on the cake. And the sunny day helped tremendously.

RAVE - Seaplane Adventure

One of the benefits of having a birthday, at whatever age, is the chance of a great surprise, whether it takes the form of a meal with your loved one, or - as was true today - it appears seaplane-shaped. 

Pavey organized for us to get a tour of the skies above San Francisco, in a seaplane flown by our pilot Dave, from Seaplane Adventures of Marin.

This wasn't our first flight in a seaplane, but it certainly was the most dramatic. 

We took off from beside a wharf in Marin, to the North of Golden Gate Bridge, flew out over Stinson Beach and South into the bay. 

We flew right over the Golden Gate, then around Alcatraz and in over the Palace of Fine Arts and the northern end of GG Park. Then we had a fabulous view of the City - the sky was perfectly clear and blue - buzzed our house on Potrero Hill and then back up to Marin.

It was - despite the previous night's special dinner - the high spot of the birthday weekend - in more ways than one. 

Sheesh. That line's right out of a travelog.

 

Despite the flowery language, this trip was a real treat, and one that I can thoroughly recommend.

"Thank you, thank you" to my lovely wife.

RAVE - Campton Place

I thought the point of ordering a Black Car with Uber Taxi was that you got a cool ride to your birthday dinner, and that ride happened to be black. The service was convenient, but the "black" car was a Prius. Not even a tired, old Town Car.

Ah well, Campton Place was definitely not a let-down. Everything about this restaurant - from the luxurious vibe, the sumptuous booths, the Chichuly chandelier (I think it was real Chichuly), the gracious and intelligent staff, and the fact that our waiter first asked if we'd like the white napkins exchanged for black ones (that wouldn't leave white fluff on our black clothes) - spoke to its high standard.

The two and a half hours at the table began with a surprise when our waiter said our great friends George, Cecille and Perry had ordered champagne to get us going. The crafty trio had found out where we were eating and phoned the restaurant with the order. Thank you friends, and well done.

The food - Mrs Page had the Chef's Spice Route Menu, while I had the Market Menu - was exquisite and comprised:

Dungeness Crab "Potli" - Puffed Black Rice, Soybeans, Coconut Curry and Hearts of Palm
Dorade - Malabar Chutney, Buttermild and Shallots
East Indian Duck Bun - Saffron & Game Broth, Sprouted Mung Lentils and Deghi Chili Oil
Slow Cooked Lamb Rack - Panch Poran, Pine Nut Pilaf, Spiced Pineapple Nage and Spinach
Winter Citrus - Meyer Lemon, Chestnut and White Chocolate 

- and -

"Winter Taste" - Sweet Potatoes, Hosui Pear, Serrano Ham, Mustard and Sherry
Main Lobster - Roasted Garlic, Pea Top, Carrot Tagliatelle and Brown Butter
Squab - Spring Garlic, Roasted Meyer Lemon and Arugula
Angus Beef Tenderloin - Root Vegetable Croquette, Rainbow Chard, Celeriac and Bone Marrow
Chocolate Carmelia Mousse, Dark Chocolate Ice Cream and Almond Praline Tuile.

Add in at least three amuses bouches and you're talking serious volumes of good stuff.

Without boring you with the minutae, Her Hotness thought the chef prepared genuine East Indian dishes, but thought the lamb was mis-advertised as "Rack" seeing as it was de-boned and tiny. And her Winter Citrus could have been billed as "Lemon Ice".

My menu was perfect - even the Lobster, which is never an easy choice for me. If I was pushed, I'd say the Beef Tenderloin and Squab could each have done with another minute or two on the old burner, but I was in too good a mood to let it dampen my enthusiasm.

Shame I'll probably have to wait until my next birthday to experience Campton Place again.

REVIEW - Side Effects

Directed by the normally-reliable Steven Soderbergh (Contagion, The Informant, Traffic, Oceans 11, 12 and 13 etc etc) this one seemed as though he was determined to stay in second gear. It felt like a "made for Lifetime TV" movie, rather than a "blockbuster" starring Jude Law, Rooney Mara, Channing Tatum and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

And the audience - which revealed it's true colors when the all-too-predictable husband-stabbing incident was met with gasps and screams of shock and horror - made up of Lifetime TV movie officianados was clearly the target of this Dr. Oz-paced, middle-of-the-road mush.

The story - which could and should have been so much more - concerned a wife who took a series of prescribed medications to fix her professed depression and sleep-walking. When she stabs and kills her husband the ensuing court case pits doctor Jude Law against her former doctor Zeta-Jones, and the drug company with which both were partnered.

Much hand-wringing and ass-covering ensues, all with little suspense, until the dastardly plot is uncovered. Yawn.

At least it proved that:

- Channing Tatum is talent-less

- Rooney Mara is virtually un-recognizable with her eyebrows attached (she appeared eyebrow-less in Girl With The Dragon Tattoo)

- Catherine Zeta-Jones is turning into an ice-maiden

- Jude Law does a good impression of Tim Nice-but-Dim

REVIEW - No

Mrs Page is taking nearly two weeks - she says it's only a week and a bit - to visit her family in the UK. While for most guys this would mean a punishing review of the house to-do list of fixing, painting and refurbishment, for me it presents an opportunity to remind the cats that it still requires a human to keep them fed and watered - even if that means the normally-avoided man of the house - and an even more important opportunity to watch all the TV and movies that are better enjoyed without the woman of the house around (and I don't mean smut).

With that in mind, I went to see a movie that her ladyship would avoid like the plague, because it's a) in Spanish and b) covers political history.

First of all, I felt a real outsider making my way to the front row of a theater packed to the rafters with Chileans. A Chilean speaker was introducing the film, and it was clear everyone else was there, not because their respective other halves were out of town, but because they had a personal stake in Chilean life and politics.

Augusto Pinochet was an army general and dictator of Chile from 1973 until transferring power to a democratically elected president in 1990. This film was a dramatization of creation and delivery of the advertising surrounding the respective campaigns.

It was decided that both sides - those who will vote "Yes" to extending Pinochet's rule, and those who will vote "No" to Pinochet in favor of freedom and a new direction - will be treated to nightly campaign communications created by mainstream advertising companies.

Gael García Bernal plays the left-leaning but otherwise non-political director of the "No" campaign, while his business partner is eventually picked to lead the "Yes" advertising.

There follows some mildly interesting slices of media life and the way the two sides play their angles. For the "Yes" team, that means heavy, officious content, while the "No" team creates advertising content the same way they normally produced their Coca Cola ads - all happy, smiley people and jingle-laden scenes of how happy Chile will be if they vote "No".

At the end of the day - and bearing in mind my level of interest: everyone already knows the "No" vote triumphed and Pinochet was ousted - the movie necessarily (I guess) looked like a bad 80s TV program, and played out with little drama.