EatDrinkFilms requested a few recipes from renowned chef Jeremiah Tower and he sent his “Duck with Endive Salad” and “Consommé Marijuana” to tie in with the theatrical release of Jeremiah Tower: The Last Magnificent opening at theaters across the U.S. in late April and early May. Current scheduled openings are here. Read Gaetano Kazuo Maida’ review here.
Tower’s book Start with Fire has been newly revised and reissued. Continue reading
A Film Review by Gaetano Kazuo Maida
(Jeremiah Tower: The Last Magnificent opens at theaters across the U.S. in late April and early May. Current scheduled openings are here. )
This is that rare work that will surprise anyone with preconceptions about what a food film, or a film about a chef, can be. True, it starts conventionally enough, with a series of talking heads, some well-known, some less so, describing the twice famous chef Jeremiah Tower. But after that quick feint, it begins to explore a poor little rich boy narrative, and very soon we are in new territory.
“Jeremiah Tower – in many ways – at Stars defined what a modern American restaurant could be.” ~ Ruth Reichel
We present Jeremiah Tower demonstrating six of his favorite dishes with recipes from the Great Chefs series.
by Gary Meyer
One of our favorite places to eat is FuseBOX in West Oakland. At both lunch and dinner our taste buds have always enjoyed surprises from Sunhil Chang’s Korean fusion kitchen. Co-owner Ellen Sebastian Chang is well known for her work as a theater director and producer. She has written for EatDrinkFilms. And the staff, wearing “I bleed kimchi” tee shirts, are the friendliest and most knowledgeable servers you could ask to make your visit memorable.
(See Chang’s Kimchi recipes and video at the end of this article)
Bacon wrapped mochi with pickled mustard seeds. Photo: Anna Mindess; courtesy Berkeleyside
A review by Gaetano Kazuo Maida
(In Search of Israeli Cuisine is opening in theaters all over America in March and April. Find locations and dates here.)
“Ess, ess, eat!” Even the vaguest scent of homemade chicken soup or flanken or kasha or just sautéed onions brings to me echoes of the bubbes of the Bronx Jewish girls I dated as a teenager (sometimes simply because her grandmother lived with the family!). Despite the richness of the cuisines of my own family (Sicilian and Japanese), and an extended involvement with the restaurant profession, it’s yiddishkeit food that remains one of the comfort foods of my life. It doesn’t hurt that my wife is a Sabra who enjoys cooking and eating with me, and incidentally, grew up with one of her own bubbes at home….
Michael Solomonov is best known here as the chef-owner of a remarkable and successful Israeli restaurant in Philadelphia, Zahav (“gold”); his recent Zahav: A World of Israeli Cooking, was the 2016 James Beard Cookbook of the Year. IN SEARCH OF ISRAELI CUISINE, directed by Roger Sherman, documents his efforts to discover and define what is Israeli cuisine today. Motivated by tragedy, Solomonov, born in Israel and raised in the States, sets out to explore Israel’s “rich abundant history, and conflict and turmoil as well… the mission is to show the complexity as well as the beauty of things here.”
By Meredith Brody
Sometimes when I’m at a film festival, I forget to enjoy myself. I’m so focused on seeing as many movies as I can that entire days will be spent entirely in the dark, fueled only by caffeine and hand-held snacks.
Happily, I’ve realized that there are better ways to experience a festival, and the Sonoma International Film Festival was a big part of my education. Sonoma, of course, is home to many of California’s best wineries, and I still remember the time I was offered a glass of wine at one of my first Festival screenings – before they even asked me for my ticket!
The Festival is set in a number of venues around Sonoma’s beautiful and historic park and town square, itself ringed with intriguing restaurants and shops. A walk from one venue to another not only exposes you to numerous temptations of consumption, but also beautiful plantings and lush gardens. Years ago a friend of mine referred to New York as “the City of Bad Smells;” every year I think of Sonoma as the City of Good Smells. Sonoma’s relaxed charms never fail to induce a feeling of dolce far niente in me.
A Review of Danai Gurira’s powerful play Eclipsed
By Ashley Smiley
On Sunday, March 12th, I witnessed a matinee performance of Eclipsed at the newly renovated Curran Theater in San Francisco. Upon entering the theater, audience members are given a thorough and informative program and there is a screen that traces Liberia’s history which is an amazing point of entry as the play is set during the 2003 Liberian Civil War.
The word “film” continues to be used as part of film festival titles and in everyday conversation.
“Let’s go to a film tonight.”
But rarely are you going to see a movie on “film” anymore.
An Interview with David Shepard
Excerpt from Georges Méliès’ Conquest of the Pole
Jeff Joseph and Dennis Bartok recently published their fascinating book on movie collectors, A Thousand Cuts: The Bizarre Underground World of Collectors and Dealers Who Saved the Movies. It is filled with passionate film buffs, crazy characters, chases, FBI raids (including the arrest of movie star Roddy McDowell) and enough unbelievable “You couldn’t make that up” adventures to make a series of exciting movies. Ultimately it is a salute and appreciation for what these people have gone through doing their part to save our precious and often lost movie history.
The authors conducted dozens of fascinating interviews and sadly some had to be cut. A second book is a possibility but for now we offer a sneak preview of what might included.
Here, for the first time, is their interview with film preservation and restoration master David Shepard who passed January 31, 2017. There will are links and videos below for background and samples of the films Shepard found, saved and restored.
Getting Inside the Head of an Alamo Drafthouse Film Programmer
By David Robson
On Sunday, March 5, Kodak joins forces with the Alamo Drafthouse chain (and many other movie theatres around the country) to celebrate Reel Film Day. This new event confirms Kodak’s commitment to 35mm film as an exhibition (as well as preservation) format, and the partner venues are screening a number of classic and lesser-known films on reels of film in solidarity and celebration. Additionally, funds raised from Reel Film Day screenings will support a new preservation project by Martin Scorsese’s Film Foundation. where these exciting projects are guided by Margaret Bodde.
