Author: Michael

Strolling home in the light rain after a Sunday afternoon matinee of THE INCREDIBLES, Scot and I decided to check out one of the restaurants on the lower end of oft-neglected (by us) Tremont St. Living in the South End of Boston has provided us with countless opportunities to spend our money at fine dining establishments, but that doesn’t stop us from looking for more! After passing over Masa and the new Sibling Rivalry due to the priciness of their menus (and the fact that the latter restaurant didn’t open until 5:30 and we were 25 minutes early!), we decided to try out a place we’ve been meaning to try since we moved to Boston over a year ago, the similarly pricey B&G Oysters, Ltd.

This snazzy, little oyster bar has been winning largely raves since it opened about 16 months ago. Set a handful of steps below street level, a quick peek through the front windows showed a nearly empty dining room. We strolled to the back of the restaurant (where a gravel lot is used for summertime dining) and entered past the chic, shimmering, glass wall/waterfall. A friendly hostess promptly helped us with our dripping umbrellas and offerred to take our coats. A quick glance around the hip room showed a large oyster bar wrapped around the open kitchen, two tables for parties larger than three, and additional bars by the windows. It was clear that this place would fill up fast.

Scot and I were seated at one of the tables-for-three against the wall, giving us a clear view of the kitchen/oyster bar. Marble and mosaic tiles of browns and grays, lots of chrome, and an efficient use of a tight space all combined to give B&B both an oceanic and modern feel. Lacking a full liquor license, B&G does sport a robust wine and beer list, but it’s really all about the oysters, and we decided to sample a few of their extensive list for appetizers. We ordered a pair from Washington state, a pair from Prince Edward Island, and a pair from Maine… all delicious, invitingly presented, and downed in a flash. For dinner, Scot got the special, handmade, lobster raviolis, while I went for the seared scallops. The four, large, caramalized scallops with beets and leeks, nestled in (I kid you not) a potato fondue, were the best scallops I had eaten in years. The potato fondue… basically potatoes whipped to the consistency of cheesy fondue, was heavenly. We also sampled desert, the scrumptious mascapone cheesecake, drizzled with maple syrup and candied walnuts. While seafood is the staple, fish-shunners can also get a BLT sandwich, which is a perfect recipe for a bbq, and easy to prepare with a great grill from the 2020 Traeger Grill Reviews online.

Sadly, our dinner was slightly marred by the loss of service after our meal. Our young waiter spent more time flirting with the Robert Downey, Jr. look-alike seated behind us than tending to our needs. After he brought us our desert, we never saw him again, and after chatting (and waiting) for over 10 minutes while the restaurant filled to capacity, another waitress finally saw me holding my credit card and asked if we wanted our check. Just a minor quibble, and it certainly didn’t mar the overall experience.

On Scot’s suggestion, we just may have an oyster party one evening, where friends gather at the B&G and enjoy oysters!

Given my penchance for things Canadian, there was no way I could skip this quiz when I found it! Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a freak about Canadian film and a lot of Canadian music. When I travel to Canada, which I do about once a year minimum to catch the Toronto International Film Festival, there’s this strange sensation of coming home. And, hey! My marriage is actually recognized up there!

So if you have three minutes to waste, find out what Canadian Province you are. Strangely enough, I took the quiz the other day, and it told me that I was Nova Scotia… fitting because my father’s side of the family is from Nova Scotia. However when I took the quiz again this morning, I actually got a different result! I know I answered the questions a little differently upon reflection, which really isn’t the point of these quizzes. I don’t think reflection is really called for. Today I am…

You’re British Columbia. You’re hip and happenin’
but also a nice person who isn’t a snob. Career
is important to you but it isn’t your whole
life. People assume that your life is perfect
and that you have it all, like you were born
with a silver spoon in your mouth. But it’s not
true; you do have your own set of troubles just
like everybody else.

What Canadian Province Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

I’m sorry, I know I post about these things a few days after they’re really relevant, but that’s what happens when your life is filled with too many things and you don’t have time to keep up with your blog. So what is going on with society? Is it all connected? Is the fact that we have another 4 years with that bozo really connected to Janet Jackson’s nipple?

I am, of course, referring to this. The television network (and a host of others involved) apologized after numerous viewers complained about a pre-show spot airing at 9 p.m. before “Monday Night Football.” The spot, as I’m sure you all know, featured Nicolette Sheridan seducing Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Terrell Owens in a locker room. There was no nudity, only “implied nudity,” as Sheridan drops her towel in a locker room and jumps into Owen’s arms. Apparently, implied nudity is now enough to tick off enough people to cause an television network to apologize. And to think, for a while we were seeing naked butts on “NYPD Blue.” Now, suddenly because of Janet Jackson’s nipple a little implied nudity is verbotten. I have to tell you, this causes me to feel a bit of concern.

Are we becoming so prudish that a woman’s naked back, something we see in countless ads for soap, shampoo, and shaving cream, is now off limits? There was an article in a recent issues of something I was reading (I want to say that it was EW, but I’m not 100% sure) that talked about several network affiliates refusing to run the uncut version of SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, not because it features one of the most realistically violent openings ever committed to screen, but because the word “fuck” is used too many times to bleep. These affiliates were afraid of being penalized with the new, steep fine that has been instituted since (you guessed it) Janet Jackson’s nipple. (Don’t get me started on the way American society glorifies violence but demonizes sex.)

If I seem a bit preoccupied by Janet’s breast, well, I just don’t get it. I’m not going to go on about it here, but let me just say that I am so horrified by the level of puritanism that is currently running rampant in the United States in 200-fucking -4!

So I’m over a week lake, I still wanted to report on our weekend in homage to that scariest of horror films, THE EXORCIST. The devilish events revolved around a Saturday night show of Ryan Landry’s latest madcap spoof, “The Exorsissy!” Ryan and his Gold Dust Orphans tackle a 70’s blockbuster film with a gay twist. Young Ronald Reagan McNeil is a little boy who wants to wear a two-piece bathing suit and play with dolls, much to his mother’s chagrin. You see, Mom, Chris McNeil (played by Landry himself) is a Republican woman running for the Presidency. It’s bad enough that she’s from Boston, the possibility of a gay son… and adopted from Iran to top it all off! Besides the usual expected hijinks and laughter from a Ryan Landry production, “The Exorsissy” had another draw for us. Scot and our good friend Gianna’s hairdresser, Elise Garfinkel, played young Reagan while possessed by the demon (below left). Elise puked and cursed her way through a hilarious second act, with Landry spot on poking fun at politics, gender, and, of course, the catholic church. And I always enjoy seeing the sassy and sexy Afrodite (check her out on the right) as Lt. Thelma F. Kinderman. Gianna and Chris (of lymejello fame) joined me and Scot for the chilling and silly fun.

But that’s not all the devil we enjoyed that weekend! Scot recently discovered a website to get some “hard-to-find” DVD’s (thanks to the afore-mentioned Chris). The site is called 5 Minutes to Live and the bizarre DVDs available here is pretty astounding. From “The Dinah Shore Portal to Hell,” to “Jeff Stryker’s How to Enlarge Your Penis,” there is a wealth of bad pirated DVDs available for the purchase. Scot mined the depths of 5 Minutes to Live and came up with a handful, but the one we’re talking about now requires a bit of a preface.

Apparently, the Turkish film industry is based on remaking Hollywood blockbusters using Turkish actors. Sometimes the Turkish version of a film is a scene by scene recreation, sometimes it uses actual footage from the original, and sometimes is strays into its own territory. Scot was thrilled to enjoy THE TURKISH EXORCIST. The Turkish version does away with the Christianity, substituting Islam (although it was not as prevalent) and the actress who plays the mother couldn’t hold a candle to Ellen Burstyn, but the little girl bore a striking resemblance to Linda Blair, and the effects were just as good (?) as the original! What a demonic weekend!

As of this typing, the morning after election day, things are not looking good. Naturally, there is no decision as yet, with all eyes on Ohio rather than Florida this year. I’m not going to write about all the reasons why I am incredulous, not only that it looks like we’ll have to put up with another four years of hell, but the House and the Senate picked up a few Republican seats as well, but I do have to comment briefly on one thing I saw on CBS-News. At exit polls, CBS-News reported that “Moral Values” was the number one issue influencing voter’s presidential choice at 52%, followed by the economy, and terrorism. The reporter went on to explain that “Moral Values” included not only such controversial issues as abortion and gay marriage, but Super-Bowl half-time shows and Britney Spears videos.

Huh? People are choosing the president because of Janet Jackson’s nipple? This, and this alone is enough to make me seriously consider that move to Canada. That’s all I’m going to say on this matter. I’m going to go mourn our country’s future.