a99kitten's Musings

Had a girls’ night tonight! Dinner and a movie – nothing crazy :)

Very yummy dinner at Kingfish in San Mateo where you eat like a King and drink like a fish. Hey – that’s their motto…and I did NOT drink like a fish! I yelped about it tonight – cannot believe I hadn’t already!! It’s one of my favorite local places for sure. I had their Big Eye Tuna (now renamed the ever so creative “Fresh Grilled #1 Ahi Tuna”.) It’s sashimi grade tuna seared over sushi rice with sesame spinach and garlic sauce. Otherwise known as “Yum”.

Ahi Tuna

We started with tuna tartare and cheesy garlic bread (yes, they do too pair quite well!) I had a glass of sparkle – Roederer Brut. Also quite yum.

I get the Ahi almost every time I go. I have tried other things there (the Po Boy roast beef with fries is very tasty) which are all delicious but this entree is simply too yummy for me to pass up. Perhaps if I ate there more often I might dare to try more new things but really…why? I like to stick to something good once I find it!

Then we saw Julie & Julia. VERY much enjoyed this movie. I love Meryl Streep in anything she does. And I really like Amy Adams a lot. I thoroughly enjoyed Enchanted and NOT just because McDreamy is in it :)

This movie was directed by Nora Ephron who has definitely made some great rom-coms and chick flicks.  This doesn’t disappoint in that department. Solid films with good happy-endings. Yes – I like that. If I wanted horrific, heart-wrenching, sad or depressing – I’ll read the news.  When I go to the movies I want to be entertained and made to smile – not shocked.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. I assume when Julie wrote her book (that the movie is based on) she used letters or some other base of knowledge for Julia’s portion of the movie. Julia and her husband seemed to be so in love and perfect for each other. A very cute part of the movie. They were the butter to each other’s bread…very sweet. Or, to paraphrase a Beastie, the cheese to the other’s macaroni…

The reviews I had read praised Meryl/Julia’s part of the movie but didn’t have as many kind words about Amy/Julie’s portion. Dull was the most common theme. I would disagree. While watching Meryl Streep act is always a joy. And her part was great. I would say I enjoyed the 2nd story of Julie’s just as much. It was a journey for her. Not one I would necessarily take but this is supposed to be based on this girl’s year-long journey to cook her way through Julia Child’s cookbook and blog about it. And during this time discovered some things about herself as well as renewing her passion for writing. I feel they accurately portrayed this. Although I would have insisted on cuter hair if I were Amy Adams…:)

Funny side note was that Julie’s husband gets upset with her for spending so much time and energy blogging about these things. I think I’ve had this same discussion with my husband re: twitter/blog. “Why, what’s the use?” Etc., etc. Because I like it…that’s why.

Another thing I noted – both of these characters cook a LOT obviously. Julia didn’t start out her life as a chef but took it on as a challenge and enjoyed it greatly as part of her life. Julie took it on as a personal challenge and enjoyed it as part of her life (although not professionally as a chef.) The people who I have known in real life who are chefs or work in professional kitchens hate cooking when they are home. NEVER want to do it. Yuck. “They do enough of it at work.” I would say then that they do not have the love for what they do like Julia, that’s for sure. Perhaps why she seemed to be such a happy/stable person. Certainly a far cry from the cooks you see on these dumb reality shows.

I also think it’s fantastic that she worked for the OSS during World War II (long before her success as a chef/writer/TV star.) FUN! This is not covered in the movie. Other than to say that she used to work at the OSS.

Now I want to buy the book! But it’s not available on Kindle? :( Dumb. Now that I want a Kindle – I’m paying attention to these things…but maybe I’ll buy it paperback anyway!

I am considering buying her cookbooks..even though I’m not all that into French food (a foodie I am not.) It does seem like every kitchen needs one much like the Joy of Cooking (which I do have.) And some of the food in the movie looked delicious so maybe I could attempt a bit of French cooking as long as I am not de-boning anything or killing lobsters. You do need cookbooks in hard copy form for sure (no e-books!) Having a cookbook that shows drips and spills on the pages shows you have tested those recipes and can speak to their to yumminess (or blech factor.) Although it would be fun to have an old school copy of it…I do love old books….

So I highly recommend this movie. And I don’t think it’s strictly a chick flick at all. Just a good story where the the 2 main characters happen to be women. But since they don’t dress in bikinis, shoot things or have a pillow fight in their lingerie, some guys might not be interested :)

To quote a movie review I read (which maybe came from Julia? Sounds like something she would say):

“Sometimes a meal can be less than perfect but still so thoroughly enjoyable that a missed ingredient here or a bit of overcooking there doesn’t really matter.”

This nugget should be applied to life, love, the kitchen and movies :)