BREAD & BUTTER CAFE - TUCSON, AZ

Great small diner in a strip mall at the intersection of 22nd and Columbus. The portions are large, food good and prices very very reasonable.

for $6.20 I got a large mushroom and grilled onion omelet (and the filling was not overpowered by thick slabs of eggs), a pile of perfectly crispy homefries and 2 slices of raisin toast which i think might have been homemade. It was thick and full of cinnamon and lots of raisins.

Jean ordered lunch and she was equally satisfied with her chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes (that for sure was homemade), corn and a roll.

For sure i'll be back. they are open till 2pm monday to sat. and till 1pm on Sunday.

BERNIE

A delightful dark comedy based on a true crime that happened in Carthage, Texas. the acting is great. Bernie is played by Jack Black (this is the first film i've seen him in where he doesn't over-play his role). Bernie is a maybe gay child-man who is the assistant undertaker and is loved by the entire town of about 6,000. He's involved in every community activity and directs plays and fundraisers and remembers all the family names of everyone and is particularly attentive to all the little old ladies.

The movie is filmed like a documentary so there are a lot of on-screen short interviews about how wonderful and generous and well-liked Bernie is. Some of the comments are from the 'real' townspeople who knew Bernie. One of the widows he starts befriending is mean, evil, caustic and very unfriendly Mrs. Nugent played by Shirley MacLaine.

Over the course of many months, Bernie draws her out and humanizes her and they start doing things together; plays and trips to other countries and boating and concerts. All of this is paid for with her money. Well, over time Mrs. Nugent becomes very possessive and wants Bernie all to herself. She doesn't want him helping the other town residents or working full time at the funeral home. and she fires all her other employees (accountants, cook, driver, etc.) because she wants Bernie to do it all.

Well, as magnanimous as he is, Bernie finally has enough and snaps one night and shoots her in the back. He puts the body in the freezer and tells the town that she's had a stroke. For about 9 months, he keeps up this charade while continuing to spend her money quite freely. Eventually he is caught and brought to trial by prosecutor Danny Buck (Matthew McConaughey). This is one of McConaughey's best roles. he just shines as a small town lawyer who thinks he's a big city powerful attorney.

The town doesn't want Bernie convicted because they can't believe he shot her even though he confessed "bernie is too kind to ever do a thing like that". and if some people think he just might have done it, well, then Mrs. Nugent deserved it because she was so mean. The trial results in a guilty of first degree murder sentence and Bernie is sent to prison for life.

The movie ends with pictures of the real people and we are informed that everyone in town still loves Bernie and a lot of them don't believe he should be in prison.

I gave it an 8 because there was too much singing by Jack Black and there should have been more movie time devoted to Mrs. Nugent's increasingly possessive take-over of Bernie's life. However, it was still a highly entertaining film and fun to watch.

CHOICE GREENS - TUCSON, AZ

I still refer to this restaurant as Chopped. Not sure why they changed their name; chopped is more descriptive of their menu; plus its easier and faster to say for us retired people who don't have a minute to spare.

We have always been very satisfied with the food and service and prices and we always split a sandwich and a "chopped" salad.

Last night we had a chicken salad on 12 grain bread which was fresh and tasty with lots of chicken between the slices of bread. With the sandwich you can get apple slices or chips. The salad we had was a new offering - strawberry fields. This consisted of spring mix, avocado, berries, (naturally) dried cranberries and feta cheese. You custom make your salad by checking each item you want in it; including the type of lettuce and salad dressing (on the side or mixed in) and cheese and protein. The basic custom made salad with a choice of 5 ingredients is $6.75.

They never charge me for my selection and collection of different salad dressings. bill always gets ranch but i like to try different ones. One evening i even asked for 3; mango chutney, honey poppyseed and feta vinaigrette. The salads all come with a large slice of rosemary bread which in spite of smelling awesome is fairly bland. There is never any butter with it and the butter they bring out upon request is as hard as an icecube. So i either ask for no bread or take it home where i can warm it in the microwave and let an ample helping of butter ooze into the bread. (as an aside, now that i'm cutting down on dairy; i usually don't eat real butter anymore. sob sob.)

MAMA'S HAWAIIAN BAR-B-QUE - TUCSON, AZ

This restaurant is open till 3am for the convenience of the university students and homeless?? The prices are very reasonable and the portions big. I had my usual kahlua pork for $7. That comes with 2 mounds of white rice and a large serving of macaroni salad. The salad could have used a tad more dressing but i'd rather it be on the dry side than goopy.

The pork is very tender and the teriyaki sauce is heavenly. Bill had something different than his usual ribs platter. He ordered  a chicken teriyaki sandwich with a side salad which is topped with pineapple and tomatoes. The chicken filet was all white meat and a very generous size.

The restaurant was quiet when we were there because most of the students are gone for the summer. This is a great fast food place to eat that doesn't serve 'fast food'.

DARK SHADOWS

I was sorely disappointed in this movie. I expected much more from Tim Burton and Johnny Depp.

The plot is a typical vampire story. Depp is Barnabas, a member of a once prosperous family in the 17th Century (or 18th?). He scorns the advances of a witch and instead falls in love with another. The witch puts a curse on him which turns him into a vampire and buries him for 200 years; also for good measure she makes his love interest jump off a cliff.

Barnabas is uncovered during a construction project and comes back to life in the 70's. this twist is ripe for snappy dialogue and one-liners as Barnabas reveals his total ignorance of 'modern' life and reacts and speaks as he did pre-burial. but instead, it was dull and slow with no funny lines and the 70's music (including one interminably played Carpenter's song) was intrusive and way too loud. There was also an unnecessary musical scene with Alice Cooper (who Barnabas kept referring to as a woman; and kept referring and again referred.)

Barnabas finds the remains of his family and starts to restore the finances. but he comes into deadly conflict with the witch who put the curse on him 200 years before.  This results in a prolonged vampire versus vampire final fight. Michelle Pfeiffer was monotone with a flat affect. and totally wasted in this film. (or maybe she's just not a good actress??) and Helena Bonham Carter who can usually be relied on to be quirky and uniquely creative (in some ways, like a female Depp) was plodding and hard to watch.

I rated it a 3 and Bill gave it a 4.5.

PEI WEI DINER - TUCSON, AZ

We haven't eaten here in quite a while. During Tucson #1 we frequented the place but since we've been back we've only been there once. The main reason for our absence is that its always so crowded and noisy and the tables are really close together. so as we were walking in the University District after our art gallery stop downtown, we saw Pei Wei almost empty and immediately went in. (our original destination was an Indian place a couple of blocks further.)

I was reminded why we like this restaurant; the food is delicious, wonderfully spiced, reasonably priced and large in portion size. An additional plus is that you can order just 1 or 2 spring rolls or vegetable rolls. I like them way more than bill does but to order the usual appetizer size of 4-6 is way too much for just me.

We both shared our entrees except for my spring roll which i ate all by myself. The chili dipping sauce has a great zing. We had a chopped Asian chicken salad which was fantastic with tomatoes, lettuce, napa cabbage, wonton crisps, carrots and chives. And then we also ordered Pad Thai with shrimp and that had loads of shrimp with a thick top coating of peanuts and that dish also had a lip-burning quality to it; but just enough - not to the point of copious brow sweating and seared mucous membranes.

Great meal to end a wonderful date night.

MARVEL'S THE AVENGERS

What an absolutely delightfully fun movie. Way better than I was expecting. The only other movie i had seen involving these comic book super-heroes was the first Iron Man film so i'm sure i missed some references in The Avengers about past stalwart deeds but that didn't interfere with my enjoyment.

all the characters were great and given equal time and development. the plot, of course, was simple. Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) heads an organization to protect the world and he gets together the talents of all the heroes when a threat appears in the guise of Loki, Thor's brother. And Fury has to deal with an inept and bumbling government agency which is a necessary element also in a film of this genre.

The heroes included Thor with his powerful hammer who tries repeatedly to steer Loki off his mission of destruction by playing the family loyalty card. And then Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.) smart-talking, arrogant, super cool and GQ. Captain America, a simple-minded one emotional note patriot; the Black Widow, and my favorite Hulk (Mark Ruffalo). All the heroes were great and had distinct personalities and the dialogue was wonderfully inventive and funny and snappy through-out. I really liked the "2 old ladies" bitching and needling that went on between Iron Man and Captain America.

The special effects were good and even though the movie was about 2 hours and 20 minutes long i wasn't bored.

I gave it a 9 because the final battle scene was a tad repetitious and could have been about 10-15 minutes shorter.  bill gave it a 10. If you stayed for the credits, you are given a heads up as to the plot of the sequel. And i'll be standing in line for my ticket.

IKKYU - TUCSON, AZ

A great find a la Jean and Tim. I recognized some of the dishes on the menu in addition to the bizarre side dish of smashed potato salad on their rice entrees. And sure enough, the owners used to run Samurai restaurant on Oracle and Roger. They have since sold it. Bill and I used to eat there all the time during Tucson #1.

The atmosphere of this restaurant and the seating is much better than Samurai. Its still starkly decorated but lots of tables instead of rows of booths and the lighting isn't as Walgreen's-blinding.
The prices are just as low.

Bill and I shared Gyoza, a japanese potsticker which was very good. We also shared a curry dish which was large chunks of tender white chicken with potatoes and carrots and a few onions in a thick curry sauce over rice. This dish was $6. And we also ate Teppan Chicken which was an assortment of vegetables with chicken over rice. Even though it needed some zip, this was my favorite. The portion was huge. there is something about the japanese curry sauce which isn't to my liking. I think because it resembles a poorly made Thanksgiving turkey gravy. This entree was only $7.

Anyway, we had  leftovers of both and I'm going to have the teppan chicken for lunch with some miso sauce. Next time I will order the yakisoba noodles which had a great mild sticky teriyaki flavor (Jean gave me a taste.)