The Clover and the Bee

After our recent symphony date, S and I headed to The Clover and the Bee.  It's the newest brainchild of the Olive + Oak folks.

I've been to O+O a couple of times, and I believe I have neglected to write about it.  I apologize.  In brief: though the food and drinks have been delightful each time, it is usually crowded and always noisy.  Plan to go early or pick a nice night so you can sit outside, and you will thoroughly enjoy yourself.

The Clover and the Bee is the casual younger sibling of O+O.  I was unable to go during its first few months because they were only open for breakfast and lunch, but they are now also serving dinner!  They have an early-dinner happy hour, which was a nice surprise.  They have several beers, their house wines, and a variety of appetizers on the happy hour menu.  Their food is fresh and local, and they do both dine-in and carry-out service.

When we were there, I had the burrata sandwich and S had the bucatini.  The sandwich was oily, but in the best way.  The bucatini was surprisingly rich and filling.

It's a place I would be happy to go back to -- and it's much quieter than it's fancier neighbor.  A nice spot for a date night!

SLSO - Show #6

Our second-to-last show of the season was a stunning combination of early-career works from three well-known composers: Schubert, Weber, and Mendelssohn.  I am not terribly familiar with any of their canons, so this was a fun smorgasbord and a learning experience.

I really like the Franz Schubert piece, Symphony No. 3 in D. Major, D. 200.  It was lively and engaging.  The piece by Carl Maria von Weber, Clarinet Concerto No 1 in F Minor, op. 73, was hit or miss.  The clarinet parts were wonderful, and the SLSO's soloist nailed it.  The non-clarinet parts I found to be a little dull.  The final piece, Felix Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 1 in C Major, op. 11, was also a winner.  It was the title show of the piece, and was a real stunner.

What was so incredible about this group together was that they were all such early works; Schubert was 18, Weber was 25, and Mendelssohn was 15 when they composed the subject works.  Pair those ages with all the Olympic medals who were just won by people half my age and I'm feeling quite unaccomplished.

What I Watched -- While We're Young

Weirdly, or perhaps not, because I have no idea how Netflix recommends anything anymore, right after watching Sunlight Jr., Netflix recommended another Naomi Watts flick: While We're Young. 

This was a better choice.  Still not great, but an improvement.  As a rule, I find Adam Driver irritating, which he was in this movie.  But Ben Stiller was not, so that was a nice change of pace. And Amanda Seyfried, who is often vapid and bratty, was a nice counterpoint to Naomi's character.

Naomi and Ben play Cornelia and Josh, an early-middle-aged, childfree couple who feel unmoored when their best friends have a baby.  They meet Jamie and Darby -- younger and hipper versions of themselves.  Josh is an independent filmmaker who has been unable to finish his current project, and Jamie flatters his way into an assistantship.

The film is an examination of the spaces we sometimes find ourselves in, which are neither here nor there.  It's a common sentiment, and the movie hits on a lot of the relevant emotions; however, it goes astray with the whole storyline about Jamie using Josh as a way to get to Cornelia's dad, who is a famous filmmaker himself.  It was an unnecessary detour which detracted from the whole.

Bottom line: a good effort that didn't get there.  I wish it had, though.

What I'm Reading Now -- Wedding Toasts I'll Never Give

S picked up Wedding Toasts I'll Never Give at the library one Saturday while I was at work.  He read the whole thing that day. I'm not that quick of a reader, but I'm working my way through it.

It's not overly profound on the subject of marriage, but it's extremely readable.  I have no idea who this Ada Calhoun lady is, or what her writing background is, but so far I like where she's ended up.  I'll report back upon conclusion!

What I Watched -- Sunlight Jr.

Random Netflix finds are becoming more and more common.  Mostly they are not great.  Sunlight Jr. was one of those.

It should be good.  It stars Naomi Watts and Matt Dillon, both of whom I like.  They play a Florida couple, hurting for money with not much in the way of prospects.  An unexpected pregnancy doesn't go quite as planned.

Bottom line: there is a lot here to work with, but it just doesn't come together.  Skip it.

Polite Society

Dad was in town recently, and we tried out a new place called Polite Society for dinner.  We were joined by S and G&G.

I liked Polite Society from the beginning.  I liked the pictures on their website, I liked the text on their website, and I liked how, well, polite they were on the phone when I called to make the reservation.  And then twice more to change it.

I will give Polite Society a thumbs up.  Not everything was spectacular -- Dad's steak was cold, my crispy onion straws had gone a bit soggy, and one of S's cocktails was a bit flavorless.  The first two I ascribe to the extended length of time we spent eating our appetizers; I'm sure they didn't anticipate we would be so deliberate about it, so I can't really blame them for this one.  As for the cocktail, well, they're not all going to be the great.  I've had some duds before, and I'm sure I will again.  It did come with a Luxardo cherry, so that's a plus.

I plan to go back for brunch to give it a second try!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Birthday, E!

What I Watched -- Night Owls

On our flight home from Florida, S scored with this cute-ish Netflix dramedy, Night Owls.  If it's not something that I've read outside reviews about (like Lion), Netflix has been very hit-or-miss.  We had a lot of misses, but this was a funny and sweet story about two people who are each so messed up and stuck in their own heads that somehow they make sense to each other.

The movie really has two characters: Kevin and Madeline.  The setup is simple: they get drunk and stumble home to have sex.  Much to Kevin's chagrin, it turns out that they are not at her house, but at his boss's house (who, it turns out, is the object of her affections, and the man with whom she's been having an affair for some time).  Kevin is tasked with keeping Madeline quiet (to prevent scandal for the local college football program) and alive (generally to prevent scandal), and through the time time they spend together, they learn a lot about each other, their town, and themselves.

Bottom line: like I said, a cute-ish dramedy.  The real winners are the two actors, who have great chemistry even in the face of a pretty bland plot.

What I Watched -- Lion

I've loved Dev Patel since Slumdog Millionaire.  He's fallen into that sort-of unenviable role as the grown-up Indian orphan, but he does it so well!  In Lion, his younger self isn't technically an orphan, but he does get separated as a small child from his mother and older brother, and ends up in an orphanage where he cannot speak the language.

After being adopted by an Australian couple and having what appears to be a lovely life, memories of his childhood begin to haunt him and he goes searching for his biological family.

It's a bit of a tricky film to balance, when you have a main character who is stuck between his past and his present.  You completely understand the pain of his Australian family, while at the same time understanding Saroo's need to find himself in his past.  It all becomes even more poignant when you are reminded, at the conclusion of the film, that it's a true story.

Bottom line: excellent.

What I Watched -- Bright

Bright is a Netflix exclusive, and it had gotten a fair amount of press, most of which was polarized, and the majority of which was not good.

However, it was not a completely unwatchable movie.  It was definitely some LOTR fan-fic-style story-telling, with orcs and elves and whatnot.  But it's a present-day tale, with Will Smith playing a human police officer who has been partnered, against his wishes, with the department's first orcish officer.  He's not such a bad guy that he'll sell out his partner, however, which puts him in a bit of a tight spot.

There's a lot of social commentary that doesn't add much to the movie.  Without it, it would be just a regular buddy cop drama; with it, it's a weird newsworthy attempt at movie making.  And it's making even more news now, since Netflix, who funded the first project to the tune of $90 million, is also working on a sequel.

Bottom line: not so bad I won't watch the second one, if for no other reason than to see how it goes.

Goals 2018 -- February Edition

I have a tech goal for myself this month.  To be fair, I started working on this over the holidays when I had some down time, but I would like to go through my multitude of email accounts and delete old, irrelevant, or otherwise unnecessary messages.

Boring, I know, but it's one of those things that just needs to happen.