Exploring Food and Movies

Monday: All That Heaven Allows (1955)         A wealthy woman named Cary is struggling with life as a widow. Her two children are off at college and she is left alone. Her friends try to help. One day she strikes up conversation with her landscaper. He is passionate about trees and hopes to open his own nursery. He is much younger than she is. Despite this they fall in love. Both her friends and children don't accept the relationship. Cary has to decide between them and her love. I liked this movie. Although it is a melodrama. So there is a lot of unnecessary drama. Or it just seems to like it could have been toned down a little. Tuesday: Wild Strawberries (1957)          This is a Swedish film. Eberhard is an old professor. He is traveling to receive an award. Eberhard was supposed to travel by plane. But he decides to drive. His daughter-in-law, who was staying with him, decides to travel with him. On the way he visits his childhood sum...

Monday: High Sierra (1941)           Roy is released from prison. He is immediately given a new job by his boss. Roy will work with some amateurs to rob a resort in California. On the way he meets a young disabled woman who he falls for. He becomes friends with her dad. Once in California he meets with the two amateurs and a woman traveling with them, Marie. As they prepare for the heist Roy isn't sure they can pull this off. He visits his friend and the young woman. He helps her get surgery to fix her foot. Even then she doesn't return his affections. The day of the heist comes and although they have some problems they pull it off. But they are unable to unload their loot. So Roy has to go on the run into the mountains. I thought this movie was ok. Tuesday: Act of Violence (1949)          Frank lives a normal life with his family in a small town. He goes on a fishing trip. Frank finds out that a officer who served under him in the w...

I was pretty busy last week so I couldn't go to a restaurant. Now it looks like I won't be able to till after this all blows over. Good thing I have plenty of movies to watch. Monday: Cry 'Havoc' (1943)           This movie is about a group of nurses stationed in the Philippines during WWII. Lt. Mary Smith is told by her captain to find volunteer nurses to help at the hospital. She finds some women in a local village. They are a strange mix of women. At first they have a hard time adjusting to the work and living on an army hospital base. Soon they get used to their surroundings. One of the nurses falls for a lieutenant that works in the radio building. Mary is secretly involved with him. She can't say anything. Tensions rise between her and the nurse. The war draws closer to their camp and the hospital. They have to do what they can to survive. I thought this movie was good. It is a unique movie for it's time. It is a female driven film. Even the main love i...

I was on vacation so no restaurant. This also covers two weeks. Monday: An Angel at My Table (1990)           This is a movie in three parts based on the autobiography of the New Zealand author Janet Frame. The first part is about her childhood. Her family is very poor. She is often bullied. Her family faces tragedy. Through it all she discovers her love for stories and her ability to write. In the second part she has mental problems in college and early in her career. She is misdiagnosed with schizophrenia and spends eight years in an asylum. The third part is about her becoming healthy. She finds a peaceful place to write. She gets better. Janet is able to get a grant that will allow her to travel through Europe and write. She has many adventures. I thought this movie was interesting. I liked it ok. Sunday: 6 Underground (2019)           There is a group of six agents who are working to do what the government can't. They are ghos...

        Tuesday I went to dinner at Ken's Artisan Pizza. It is on SE 28th. I'm familiar with that area because that's where Crystal went to high school. So I parked near the school. It was more of a walk than I was expecting, but not too bad. The restaurant is small and cozy. The decor is simple. The walls are painted red, the tables are light wood, and the chairs are black. There are big windows. It was loud but not too bad. I ended up sitting at the bar. Both the hostess and bartender were nice. I got a caesar salad. It is the kind with big pieces of romaine lettuce. I don't like having to cut my salad into bite size pieces. It should just already be like that. I had a rough day so I wasn't feeling that adventurous. So I got the bacon pizza. It was pretty simple, just bacon and two types of mozzarella. It was good. They are small pizzas. For 1 or 2 people. I didn't eat the crust so I was able to finish it. The crust was a little burnt and flavorless. The rest ...

Monday: The Black Stallion (1979)       Alec is a young boy traveling home on a ship with his dad. He discovers a wild and untamed black stallion on board. Although it is dangerous he can't help but be curious. Tragedy strikes when the boat catches on fire. Alec is thrown overboard. He wakes up on a deserted island. The only other living creature there is the stallion. Alec and the horse become friends. Later they are rescued and brought back home. Alec has no room for Black, as he calls the horse, at his house. Black runs away and ends up at the farm of a former racehorse jockey. The jockey, Henry, allows Black to stay at his farm. Alec wants to race Black. Henry is not sure it can be done with a wild horse. They decide to go ahead anyways. I liked this movie. There are some beautiful shots when they are on the island together. Just a boy and his horse running free. Tuesday: Night Must Fall (1937)         Olivia lives with her rich aunt in a house...

        I had dinner at the Mediterranean Exploration Company. It is on NW 13th. I ended up parking at the garage under Whole Foods. It is close by and all that. But I always seems to have bad experiences when I park there. This time was due to some unclear after hour signage. Don't say Both Lanes Open when they are not. Like most places on 13th this place was clearly an old loading dock of some kind. It is a small restaurant. The ceiling is low with exposed pipes painted white. The decor is minimalist. There are Industrial Edison light bulbs hanging from the ceiling. There is an open kitchen. There are tables as well as bar and counter seating. One full wall is half windows. You can tell they are the same factory windows. Due to it's size it is very loud in there. When I got there it was very busy. It was a long wait for a table. The hostess suggested I try to get a seat at the bar. It was full. I waited and kept checking but no seat opened up. I decided to just put...