Exploring Food and Movies

          Sunday I went to Rukdiew Cafe. It is a Thai place on SE Belmont. There is good neighborhood parking. The outside is painted a light green with light pink doors. It is a small space. The inside is pretty cute. There are several different looks that tie into each other. One wall is covered in vines and leafs. A corner has pale wallpaper with swans. The wall near the front door is filled with framed art. The bar has pink feathered light fixtures hanging down. There are pink velvet plush bar stools. The overall theme is light pink and light green. It was fairly busy when I went. Usually when I go to a Thai place I get pad thai. This time I wanted to try something different. I got Mee Grob Rad Nah. It is crispy egg noodles in a gravy/soup sauce with Chinese broccoli and marinated meat. I got pork belly. It wasn't as hard to eat the crispy noodles as I thought. Overall it had good flavor. I didn't like the Chinese broccoli. It was more like eating spinach. T...

         Wednesday I had lunch at Garden Monsters. It is a food cart that is part of The Lot food cart pod, which is on SE Division. There is plenty of neighborhood parking. There are only 4 other food trucks in the pod. The pod is next to a pub. There are picnic tables to sit at. The Garden Monster truck is covered in wooden planks, making it look more like a shed than a truck. (Like a garden shed?) There are big signs with all the menu options. It's mostly salads but they do have some sandwiches. I got the colossal cob with chicken. As the name suggests it's big. I couldn't finish all of it. It was good. I liked that it came pre-mixed. It was a little spicy which was weird. Maybe it was the avocado ranch dressing. The service was good. I would go back. Monday: Clash of the Titans (1981)        Perseus is the half human son of Zeus. Zeus favors him over his other children. This angers the sea goddess Thetis who seeks favor for her own son. T...

 Monday: Horror of Dracula (1958)         Jonathan is a monster hunter. His latest target is Dracula. He goes to Dracula's castle pretending to be a book cataloger. Jonathan plans to kill Dracula. Dracula discovers Jonathan's plan and kills him. Then Dracula goes after Jonathan's family. Van Helsing is a friend of Jonathan. After receiving a letter from Jonathan before his death, he goes to Johnathan's family. He want to protect them and kill Dracula. This movie was alright. The special effects, especially with the vampire makeup were interesting. Not really scary just creepy. Friday: Till (2022)       This is based on a true story. Emmett grew up in Chicago with his mother Mamie. He is a sweet and friendly young teenage boy. In 1955 Emmett goes to Mississippi to visit family.  Having grown up in the north he doesn't fully understand how different it is for black people in the south. One day when visiting a store owned by a white family, Emme...

         I went to Beirut Bites for lunch. It is a spinoff of the restaurant Nicholas. It's on SE Grand. Parking is a challenge. It is a small place. The bottom part of the walls are bright yellow painted wood planks. The top is either white or black, depending on which side of the place you're on. The yellow is kinda obnoxious.  It would be better with a different color. There are modern tables and chairs, as well as modern chandeliers. There was cool Lebanese music playing. It's the type of place where you order at the counter and then find your table. While I was waiting they brought some warm pita with harissa cilantro sauce (spicy) and a sesame spice olive oil (?). The bread was warm. Nice on a cold rainy day. But it's clearly meant for multiple people to share because it was fairly large. I only ate a little. I got the shawarma wrap. It comes with hummus, fettoush salad, and pit bread roll kebab with harissa sauce. I scrapped off most of the harissa s...

        Last Sunday I went to Rockabilly Cafe with my parents for brunch. It is on N Lombard Street near St. John's Bridge. There is plenty of neighborhood parking. It is a 50s diner. More cars and motorcycles, less Marilyn. There is the classic checkerboard floor, red vinyl booths, and counter. There is still a bit of that vintage Portland feel to it. There's memorabilia decorating the walls. Mostly signs for Coca Cola, car wheels, and vintage gas cans.  There was great 50s music playing. There is a jukebox but it was out of order when we were there. We got there after 1, which was a good time to go. Before that we were told it was packed. The menu is fun. The menu items have fun names like The Chuck Berry and The Lassie. I got the Patty Wagon, which is a patty melt. I got it with mushrooms instead of onions. It was good, but not the most exciting thing. My dad got the reuben. He liked it. My mom got a make your own omelette. She said it was good, a little bori...

 Sunday: Wolfwalkers (2020)        Robyn and her father move from England to a city in Scotland. The city is surrounded by high walls to keep the wolves out. Robyn's father was brought there to hunt the wolves. The Lord Protector wants the nearby forest cleared of wolves so he can expand. Robyn wants to be a hunter like her father. One day she follows him into the forest. She falls into a trap. A wolf comes and helps her out. Robyn chases the wolf into a secret lair. Only to find the wolf gone and before her is a little girl. Mebh introduces herself. She is a wolfwalker. When she sleeps her wolf form comes out. Now sympathetic to the wolves Robyn must find a way to help them. I liked this movie.  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Friday: See How They Run (2022)        A successful play on the West End in London is going to be turned into a movie...

 Sunday: The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)           This film is set in Australia. Tick is a drag queen. He performs at a club with his friend Adam. Tick gets a four week residency gig at a casino in a secluded city. He decides to bring along Adam and his friend Bernadette, a transgender woman. Bernadette has recently lost her longtime partner. Tick thinks this trip will help her get her mind off things. They face many obstacles along the way. I thought this movie was good. Not as weird as I was expecting it to be. I think I was mixing it up with Pink Flamingos in my mind for some reason. Even though I've never seen that movie. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Tuesday: Quality Street (1937)       This movie is set in the 1810s. Phoebe is a beautiful young woman. She falls in love with a doctor named Valentine. She believes he ...