KALINA - TUCSON, AZ

This is a new Russian restaurant on the East side. The website strongly advised to make reservations due to their small and cozy space. However, it was cozier than I thought it would be; in fact, to the point where i did NOT feel cozy. The seating area was small but there were way too many tables jammed in. Because we were involved continuously in a stimulating conversation with our eating partners, Jean and Tim, I, for one, easily tuned out the elbow-smashing closeness of the other diners. However, if we were there with dull folk, the nearness of so many other humans would have disturbed me.

The service was friendly and prompt. All the dinner entrees were $17 and came with a choice of soup or salad. A big basket of rolls and rye bread with butter came to the table as soon as we were seated. Bill and i shared the Siberian pelmeni; 25 tiny spiced lamb dumplings with a sour cream dipping sauce. I thought they were really tasty but not as good as the pelmeni at European Market where these morsels are bigger and about half the price. We also shared Muskovite breaded pork loin which was not very tender and was really dry. This came with a fried mushroom concoction which was good and sweet dried plum rice which was very delicious. If we came here again (doubtful) i would like a bowl of that accompanied by their vegetable salad.

That was one of the salads we picked as a side to our entree. Lots of  different vegetables and the portion size was adequate. The other salad was just a lettuce one and that was very ordinary. Oh, red cabbage came with the pork also.

So all in all, an ok experience but the price of the food didn't match the quality. Plus, it was one of those restaurants where you have to wind your way through the kitchen and dish washing area to get to the bathroom. I'm always afraid i'm going to slip on some borscht and unceremoniously land on the floor.

BK - TUCSON, AZ

We love this Mexican restaurant (next time we're there I'm going to ask what BK stands for) and they also serve a killer burger and their salsa bar is immense and varied. There are grilled chili peppers and onions, 4 different kinds of salsa, coleslaw, cheeses, cucumber and radishes, lettuce, pickled onions, an olive mixture and prob. 10 more types of additives for your tacos or burgers or tortas.

I have gone through several different favorite dinner orders but my current one  is a Sonoran hot dog and 2 shrimp tacos. The shrimp is lightly grilled and breaded and cut up in small pcs. with a delectable slightly spicy sauce.

The atmosphere is always party-like and the customers are all in good moods too. Lots of laughter. Service has always been prompt and friendly. The room is lined with TV screens; sometimes all set to different channels but always one has music video's with pounding bass and drums and swiveling hips and pooched out buns and big overflowing breasts and tight pants and all the singers looking and sounding interchangeable.

FESTA BUFFET - CASINO DEL SOL - TUCSON, AZ

We ate here on Christmas Day and it exceeded our expectations. To tell you the truth, i secretly had a thought that being a casino where the emphasis is on gambling and not the quality of the food (just the quantity and availability); that the Festa Buffet would be a notch abova Golden Corral. But i was so very wrong.

The selections were vast and everything both Bill and I had was excellent. Here's a sampling of what was on my plate: mongolian beef (i never get beef in a Thai or Vietnamese restaurant or at a Chinese all-you-can eat place, because the beef is never tender enough for me; well, this beef was wafer thin and very tender in a rich, dark, spicy onion laden sauce.), orange chicken, an assortment of tiny fingerling potatoes (Peruvian purple, white, red, yukon, russet, dutch baby butter's) sauteed in herbs and olive oil, fruit salad, some vegetables with 1000 Island dressing (the dressing was exactly to my picky specifications). oh, and on my first plate, i had some skinny long green beans which  were very good; crisp but cooked; UNTIL i looked closely and saw they were asparagus spears which i don't like so all of a sudden, i wasn't interested anymore in praising them or having them on my plate and gave Bill what was left. Sort of a funny, odd, power of the mind gustatory blip.

The service was good and i was surprised that the place was pretty empty though the gaming tables were packed.

The only disappointment was the desserts. There was a lot of them and i tried some pudding cups, and a tiny mousse packet in a choc. cookie and some bananas foster with warm vanilla sauce but none of them were memorable.

This was a perfectly delightful ending to our Merry Festivus celebration weekend.

PHO #1 - TUCSON, AZ

I can't say enough positive things about this restaurant; the best Vietnamese food in Tucson. The space is large and clean and beautifully decorated with lanterns and dragon murals. Many red and gold decorations and buddha statues. There is a lot of room in between the tables which are circled by booths. The bathroom is absolutely gleaming; plain but one of those bathrooms that my mother would say "you could eat off the floor".

Their menu is extensive and portions big with prices very reasonable. The service has always been excellent. Of course, there has never been more than 3 or 4 other groups eating and i don't know why. Its in one of those commercial marginally on the edge of roughness neighborhoods. and even though they have a big sign by the sidewalk, the restaurant itself is in a bit from the corner and set back.

Last night we shared a bun noodle dish with egg rolls, vietnamese meat balls and grilled pork. All the bun  dishes  also have lettuce, bean sprouts and cucumbers with peanuts sprinkled on the top. The taste is fantastic and all the vegetables are fresh. Bill loves their egg rolls though he is not a fan of them at any other restaurant.

We also had spicy chicken with lemon grass and rice. Many complex flavors and just spicy enough to put the tingle in my lips. And the chicken is all white meat, tender and without gristle.

I'm already eager to go back for another dinner.

SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN

An absolutely inspiring and luminous and admirable documentary. In the early 70's, a budding musician, Rodriguez, makes 2 albums and starts on another. Even though the record producers are totally blown away by his music and lyrics, he doesn't sell or get any fan base. eventually his record label drops him.

Throughout the film, snippets of all his songs are played and they are wonderfully unique and his voice is a combination of michael stipes from REM, and jose Feliciano and Bob Dylan. And best of all I can understand everything he sings; he's not one of the current "marble-mouth" crooners. Most of his songs are protest and political activist tunes but he also sings about loss and having friends and a good time; oh, also about drugs too (that is who Sugar man is).

One of his albums is brought to Cape Town, Africa in the 70's and he becomes an instant success. Over the next 25-30 years, about 500,000 copies of his album are sold and his musical style becomes imitated by African musicians. He is worshiped as a trendsetter. In the late 90's, a journalist becomes really curious as to what happened to him and why it is impossible to buy one of his albums in the U.S. (probably 6 were sold in total.).

After much investigation, one of the daughters of Rodriguez, stumbles upon a website set up by the journalist and contacts him and "the rest is history". Rodriguez goes to South Africa and does several sold-out concerts. For the first 15 minutes of each concert, the crowd cheers and screams and throws flowers and cries (i cried at this point also) even though Rodriguez had done nothing except walk on stage.

His voice sounded just as authoritative and strong as it did on his albums. Rodriguez goes back to his job (demolition of buildings and renovation) in Detroit but does travel to South Africa for more concerts every so often.

I instantly liked Rodriguez and not for his stupendous music but because he is truly a humble and accepting man. His attitude is buddhist in nature: when asked what he felt  when his record label dropped him in '75 because he hadn't sold any records; he said "well, that's the vagaries of the music industry" and when he was asked for his response to the overwhelming accolades in Africa and his undying constant success over 3 decades, he said "well, i've always enjoyed writing songs and singing them; it adds to the enjoyment when i can do it in front of people."

He was at peace with both a limousine picking him up from the airport in Africa as he was taking the bus to his hard labor job. and Besides that his music is awesome.

FALAFEL KING - TUCSON, AZ

This is a Lebanese restaurant in a corner of the strip mall which used to house Penguins RIP. The inside atmosphere is just as i remembered it when we ate here once before - several years ago. There is no decoration in the small space so it looks like a part of a warehouse, there are squeezed together tables and not many of those because of the size, its always slightly dirty and musty and the service is friendly with an edge of "i really don't care".

However, I was sort of ok with what i ordered and Bill really liked his dinner. The prices are reasonable and the portions big. He had chicken shawarma slices on top of a Greek salad.  He gave me quite a bit of his chicken and it was very flavorful and tender. I ordered a Gyro platter. The meat was over cooked at the edges and some pieces were even slightly burnt though the taste was ok. The basmati rice was clumped in places; the hummus was very thick and pasty. The entree also came with tabouli which I enjoyed and pita bread (how can you go wrong with pita?)

We would probably eat here again if we were coming back from a hike in Saguaro Park West. Its very conveniently located on our way home. But i would order the chicken and stay away from the gyro.

HITCHCOCK

What a great entertaining and informative movie. It encompassed the period of time during which Hitch (brilliantly played by Anthony Hopkins; his appearance and voice were exact duplications; remarkable.) was 'coming off' his hit North by Northwest and searching for his next movie idea. That movie was Psycho. The film ended with the successful release of that movie after showing the inner workings of trying to get a film made (in this case Paramount was dead set against financing a horror movie), all the deals and sacrifices that had to be made to get it under production.

The movie also showed the working and personal relationship between Hitch and his wife, Alma - superbly acted by Helen Mirren and also touched on Hitch's fascination with his blond leading ladies. Toni Collette played Peggy, Hitch's secretary and Danny Huston, once again deliciously played a smarmy charming not-to-be trusted character. Hitch's agent was Rothstein from Boardwalk Empire. The actor that played Anthony Perkins could have been Perkiins come back to life; that's how good the casting was for this entire film.

it was fast paced and the dialogue was funny. and the most interesting part of the film for me was the steps that are taken (or at least in 1959) to get an idea for a film all the way to releasing it in a movie theater. There were some mesmerizing scenes involving filming Janet leigh getting stabbed in the shower and Hitch monitoring the first audience's reaction to the movie.

We both gave the movie a 9.

TAPAS FUSION - TUCSON, AZ

Underneath the restaurant name is "world food & bar". World food is almost as meaningless to me as the word eatery, fusion or ristorante.

this place has been opened for 3 months. when we went in at 6pm, it was empty but 2 large groups were eating by the time we left.

their menu is fairly limited with a lot of fish tapas and tapitos and the prices are quite high. However, the food was good and the service was friendly. We ate here with Jean and Tim and all shared the 5 tapas which included shrimp in wine sauce, a sampler plate of olives, hummus, crostini, a cucumber and tomato salad (think small; think tiny; the spoons that accompanied these dishes were baby midget implements); roasted red pepper stuffed with cheese, a beef and scallop skewer with roasted potatoes and a chicken-walnut aoili on toast.

Like i said, all the food was prepared really well and the tastes were varied and satisfying but I have decided i don't like this kind of dining. I guess I'm territorial and possessive of what i eat and i didn't like the stress and tension building up in me as we (Jean and I) eyed each plate that was delivered and mentally did a division of the spoils. This was especially nerve wracking when there was an uneven number of items; either 3 or 5.

I decided that i like my own food delivered on my own normal sized plate with only me being responsible for what is on it.

JASPER RESTAURANT AND BAR - TUCSON, AZ

I made a little piggy of myself when i ate breakfast here with my friend, Cosmo.

I ordered the breakfast sandwich which was a heaping mound of scrambled eggs (though you could get your eggs any way you wanted), bacon slices (again, you had the choice of meat), avocado, and tomato slices on a piece of toast. This was accompanied by either potatoes or beans. I chose the potatoes.

This was $11 which was on the pricey side. but it was good; everything was cooked perfectly and i liked the warmness of the eggs with the coolness of the tomato. The potatoes were sad; overcooked and underspiced.

In addition to this more than ample meal, i also wanted something sweet and asked the waitress if i could have just 1 slice of french toast (1/2 order) which she brought for $4 - this made the total for this meal including tip a whopping $17. and i didn't need the french toast.

It was crispy and the bread slices were huge but I think because the slices were so thick; the crust part was hard to chew and not very tasty.

The restaurant cooked Cosmo's 4 minute eggs over an English muffin perfectly. The service could have been more attentive - we had to ask for more water and we weren't checked on much. And they had a big flat screen TV mounted on the wall right by the tables in the back which was disconcerting though we couldn't hear the sound - thank god.

I would come here again and just order with more wisdom and restraint.