Blogging blogging blogging

Food:

Note to self, do not return to Tangerine, unless to try brunch. We went once before, I don't actually think we loved it but I didn't blog about it (I don't think) so I couldn't be sure. We went again Tuesday b/c of their 20% off Tuesday special. The menu looks interesting, all Asian-fusion, but we've been less than impressed with the food. We got roasted duck rolls with green mango sauce that I actually did quite like but my bf didn't (he doesn't like fried spring rolls). I got two appetizers for my meal - butternut squash soup (I should remember, I think I like bisque, not soup, for butternut squash - mashed up boiled squash is not what I'm looking for) and what they called salmon croissant but turned out to be another variation of a fried roll, only this one with cooked salmon (must remember, I like raw salmon, not cooked salmon) inside filo pastry and deep fried. I didn't finish it, there is only so much fried roll I can take in a meal, and the roasted duck one was much better. My bf got the coriander beef short ribs which just weren't that interesting. The food's not bad, it's just not particularly worth revisiting.

Hit Ti Couz last night to try crepes for dinner. Not particularly cheap crepes either. I liked my mushroom-cheese-almonds crepe just fine (buckwheat crepe, had mushroom sauce on top), my bf really didn't like his smoked salmon and onion dinner crepe. For one thing, the smoked salmon was pretty much cooked and he doesn't like cooked fish, and he doesn't like buckwheat crepes. The dessert crepe redeemed itself to him - we split a raspberry sorbet & nutella crepe which he probably enjoyed a bit more than I did since he loves raspberry sorbet and was very impressed by theirs, whereas I'm not as big a fan. We might go back for dessert crepes sometime, though with Bi-Rite in the neighborhood, I'm not sure when.

Revisited Isa, which I still love. Found out they get their baguettes from Bakers of Paris, and found Bakers of Paris baguettes at Lucky. Apparently the key is to follow the instructions on the bag and heat the bread in the oven before eating to bring out the crustiness and that warm French bread taste. Yum.

Went to see Wicked on Wednesday night as part of my Best of Broadway subscription. Interesting to see what I missed last time I saw the show (since I was 20 minutes late due to being a complete moron). I don't love the music in Wicked, with the exception of a few songs, and I found the group numbers in particular impossible to understand lyrically, but the show is overall a good one. More emotionally affecting, especially by the end, than you'd expect. And despite simplifying the characterizations - Elphaba's in particular - from the book, does a remarkably good job of actually creating two layered main characters (not so much the rest of the characters). Galinda, as my friend pointed out, was more developed than Elphaba - she had flaws and redeeming moments all mixed in together, and a genuinely mixed POV. The layering in of elements to create the Wicked Witch myth - there's the cowardly lion, that's how the tin man came about, there's the scarecrow, the whole "wicked" persona was propaganda created about her when she went against the government, etc - was neat though a little much in places (the scarecrow part is a bit of a stretch IMO, Elphaba cackling for no apparent reason when Glinda slapped her was just cheesy). The book obviously did a deeper job of delving into all of it - the political situation in Oz, the relationships and the characters - but the show did a remarkably good job of distilling it into a 3-ish hour musical. As for the cast we saw, Galinda had great comic timing (if a little over the top at times) but also quite good emotional depth, as well as a good voice (was worried when she was warbling unintelligibly during the opening number but she altered her voice to play the schoolgirl). Elphaba was an overactor, but boy could she sing. Powerful set of pipes and a beautiful voice, and she totally attacked "Defying Gravity". Definitely not a case where I thought the actress I saw was inferior vocally to the originating cast member. And the two of them together had great chemistry and some wonderful duets.

Overall I'd say Wicked is a good show - not one of my favorites, especially musical - but definitely well worth watching.