Kickback Jack's

Located at 1600 Battleground Ave., Kickback Jack’s offers burgers, sandwiches, salads, entrees and more. Amenities include a plethora of televisions, food and drink specials, karaoke, and a full bar.



Ever since Kickback Jack’s opened in late 2010, its parking lot has been a dense thicket of cars at lunch time. The popularity provoked a visit, and while Kickback Jack’s does not merit daily crowding, it’s easy to see its allure on game days.


The restaurant’s spacious interior is covered with televisions. If JP Looney’s is Dick Cheney’s bunker, than Kickback Jack’s might as well be NSA Headquarters. The unblemished wood tables help sustain the restaurant’s “just opened” freshness.


Moving onto the menu, Kickback Jack’s offers something for everyone, but nothing you can’t get elsewhere. That includes everything from a basket of wings to a steak n ribs combo. The Reuben I tried was spot-on: crispy, melty, and only slightly greasy. A side salad thoughtfully incorporated spinach leaves and bacon bits.

While the food was tasty, neither the quality nor the portion size justified the price tag. Burgers and many sandwiches ran in the $8-10 range. Add a drink or upgrade to a salad and you’re close to paying other establishments’ entrée prices. Service was friendly and efficient, but it’s easy to imagine it being neither with a full house.


On taste and ambience alone, Kickback Jack’s would probably rate higher, but the cost and the central paradox – it’s the kind of place you’d go to watch a football game and the kind of place that’s likely to be too crowded for you to do so – diminishes its attractiveness considerably.


7.25/10

Geana's Restaurant (CLOSED)

NOTE: Geana's closed and Slices opened in its location.


Located at 401 Tate St., Geana’s offers burgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, and several Southern dishes. Take out is available.

The corner of Tate St. and Walker Ave. has been home to several businesses over the years. The past two (Jibaro and Windy City Hot Dogs) were restaurants owned by the same proprietor. Geana’s offers new ownership and slightly different cuisine, but for better or for worse, some things remain very much the same.


For starters, the restaurant’s interior is largely unchanged. The Chicago sports memorabilia is gone, but the walls are still brightly painted, the counter is identical, and seating is as limited as ever. Clearly, patrons who opt for Geana’s aren’t drawn in by the décor.


The food tells a different story. Just as Windy City augmented the standard burgers-and-dogs menu with Jibaro holdovers like empanadas, Geana’s incorporates several Southern and soul food touches. Chicken and waffles, fried bologna sandwiches, and fried fish. The quality of these offerings varies. The fries are comparable to what you’d find in a supermarket’s frozen aisle, but a cheeseburger done Geana’s way (fully dressed with mushrooms, mustard, pickles, and more) was sloppily satisfying.


Where Geana’s really comes out ahead is in pricing. You can do a whole lunch here (burger, fries, and drink) for about $7, and breakfast for even less. In contrast, surrounding restaurants price their sandwiches in the $5-7 range without a drink. Value is where the similarities to fast food end though: the folks at Geana’s are friendlier, and you won’t get your food nearly as quickly.

Geana’s may lack flair, but for hungry diners on a budget, it’s an option worth considering.


6.75/10

The Long Good Friday

In the late 1970s, old-school London gangster Harold Shand (Bob Hoskins) tries to modernize and expand by partnering with the American Mafia in a legitimate business venture. Unfortunately, an unseen enemy stands in his way. As his men are picked off left and right, Harold becomes increasingly more violent and paranoid.


British gangster films these days are largely the province of Guy Ritchie. Years before he put his postmodern twist on the genre, however, they tended to be grittier and bleaker. John Mackenzie’s The Long Good Friday rests firmly in this earlier tradition, albeit with a few stylistic modifications. There is a fair amount of flair on screen, as the Rolls Royce-driving Harold clearly enjoys the good life. A catchy theme song by Francis Monkman lends the film a sense of urgency, and the violence depicted is brutal (meat hooks and bottle shards, anyone?) even by modern standards (the film was made in 1979).


Tense, intricate plotting and top-notch acting are really what set apart The Long Good Friday from other films of its ilk. Hoskins, best known for playing Eddie Valiant in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and a variety of Cockney villains, puts his all into Harold Shand, and the result is a sympathetic, principled, though still thoroughly villainous protagonist. He is matched by Helen Mirren as his stylish and cunning girlfriend, Victoria. A young Pierce Brosnan makes his debut here as well, and although he isn’t on screen for very long, his role is pivotal and he displays some of the edge that served him in his later run as James Bond.


Despite the emphasis on character and the action-driven plot, The Long Good Friday packs quite a thematic punch. It offers a snapshot of Britain at a turbulent time, hopeful about economic renewal on the one hand but plagued by The Troubles on the other. But whatever “the world is going to hell” sentiments the film appears to offer are counterbalanced by making the representative of tradition and order an iron-fisted gangster.


If there is one blemish on this work – aside from the British accents being occasionally indecipherable – it is that so much tension is put into the mystery of who is ruining Harold’s Easter weekend that by the time this is revealed, the movie loses a lot of momentum. It redeems itself, however, with an effectively pessimistic conclusion.


The Long Good Friday is not an easy movie to watch. The violence, the accents, and the sheer amount of activity on screen command every bit of your attention. However, if you can get into it, you may find it to be the most meaningful crime film to come from the other side of the Atlantic.


8/10

Poblano's Mexican Bar and Grill

Poblano’s serves Mexican fare (burritos, tacos, quesadillas, etc.) from three Greensboro locations: 808 Friendly Shopping Center Road, 3900 Battleground Avenue, and 5710-DD High Point Road in the Adams Farm Shopping Center. There is a full-service bar, daily food and drink specials, and frequent discounts and promotions. Regular hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and brunch is offered until 3 p.m. on Sundays.



With a location nestled in the Friendly Center, Poblano’s is bound to draw a fair amount of shoppers in search of a lunch spot (at least that’s how they first lured me in). The shopping plaza building is surprisingly deep, and the spacious interior offers plenty of seating. While Poblano’s mostly sticks to the standard Mexican restaurant script (Spanish-language music, free chips and salsa), there are a few innovations here. You can get fresh guacamole prepared tableside, the deep menu includes plenty of dessert and vegetarian options, and some of the burrito names (Macho, Monster, Dos Manos) are challenges waiting to be answered. Plus, how often do you find a Mexican Sunday brunch?


Unfortunately, variety aside, the food isn’t very good. Poblano’s offers authentic-style $1 tacos on Tuesdays, but they can’t hold a candle to El Azteca’s. The pastor (marinated pork) was overcooked, there was no avocado, and the curious doubling of the tortillas made for a dry, spongy flavor. A previous order of camarones fundidos fared better, but was still far from exceptional.


Pricing at Poblano’s varies. The abundance of lunch specials ensures that you can get a decent-sized meal and a drink for under $10, but as a dinner spot, it offers no exceptional value. Servers were polite and attentive enough, though you walk away with the sense they can’t get you out the door fast enough.


There are worse options for Mexican than Poblano’s, but with so many better ones around, why bother?


6.25/10

Black Swan

After winning the potentially star-making lead in a production of Swan Lake, ballet dancer Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) struggles to keep her favored position. Her ethically challenged director (Vincent Cassel) berates her for a lack of passion while her ex-dancer mother (Barbara Hershey) seeks to shelter her from the world. The arrival of Lilly (Mila Kunis), a brash new dancer from California, sends Nina down a path of unexplored possibilities.


After toning down his trademark style to achieve documentary realism in The Wrestler, director once again ratchets sight and sound up to 11. There’s some call for this, as a movie about ballet should emphasize music and fluid motion. However, the persistent Clint Mansell score and overblown theatrics are a poor substitute for effective storytelling. Moreover, the body horror and mindscrew imagery that worked so wonderfully well in Requiem for a Dream feels out of place here. It’s one thing to indulge in the surreal when all the major characters are severely substance-addled, but as a reaction to stress, some of Black Swan’s visuals come off as downright ridiculous.


The single most irksome thing about this movie, however, is the implication that audiences wouldn’t understand it without the grandiosity. There are clear thematic parallels between Nina’s life and the show she’s a part of, and the Black Swan as a metaphor for repressed desire is easy enough to pick up. That doesn’t stop Aronofsky from beating the audience over the head to drive the point home, whether it’s a character telling Nina to loosen up every five minutes or so or some of the nightmares the girl herself experiences. These heavy-handed machinations leave the viewer with an urge to yell “We get it!” at the screen.


What salvages this film in a big way is the acting. Portman is terrific as Nina, portraying her as repressed, put-upon, and about-to-crack yet still graceful and doll-like. The supporting roles are all considerably more one-note, but the rival/vamp, the lecherous egotist of a director, the overbearing mother, and the washed-up former starlet are ably played by Kunis (for once, not a glaring weak link), Cassel, Hershey, and Winona Rider.

Further, even when he goes stylistically overboard, Aaronofsky proves himself quite capable at building and maintaining tension. That he can make a movie about ballet this exciting is a testament to his ability. The ending of film and show within are both depicted so powerfully that we are almost tempted to overlook the complete lack of plausibility in the waning moments.

Black Swan will likely please the type of viewer who equates evocation with brilliance. It’s a botched though noble effort, easily worth seeing for Portman’s performance as well as a glimpse of how much better it could have been.


7.5/10

Lucky 32 Southern Kitchen

Located at 1421 Westover Terrace in Greensboro, Lucky 32 offers seasonal Southern fare. The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner daily and offers brunch on the weekends. Food can also be ordered in individual or family-sized portions to go. Wine tastings are held periodically, each emphasizing a different region.


I wanted to make my last meal of 2010 a steak. After balking at the crowds at two steakhouses, I ended up at Lucky 32. Had I known what I was in for, I would have made it my first choice rather than my third. Owned by the Quaintance-Weaver group (the folks responsible for the Green Valley Grill and Print Works), Lucky 32 offers top-notch food at fairly reasonable prices.


The Southern-influenced menu offers dressed-up versions of regional favorites. Shrimp and grits, chicken and dumplings, and pulled pork all make an appearance, but nobody will be mistaking the presentation for Cracker Barrel. There were enough enticing options that I nearly abandoned my planned steak. In the end, I stuck to my guns and was richly rewarded: the blue cheese and herb crusted sirloin was tender and flavorful. Creamy mashed potatoes and a crunchy grit cake provided a good balance of textures and flavors.


For upscale dining, Lucky 32 is remarkably wallet-friendly. My steak and three sides cost only $21, and most of the entrees run under $20. That’s decidedly cheaper than Print Works or Green Valley, and the food compares favorably.


Ambience, however, is a different story. While Print Works is known for its bright, open atmosphere and Green Valley exudes stately and cavernous, Lucky 32 is a darker, more intimate space. There is plenty of seating, but space between tables is at a premium.


Service during my visit was prompt – a pleasant surprise given the New Year’s Eve crowds. Servers were courteous, though not the chatty sort. Questions regarding the menu were quickly answered.


Refined yet affordable, Lucky 32 is a must for anyone who wants to savor Southern cooking done right. It hasn’t edged Print Works as far as I’m concerned, but it still merits several return engagements.


8.5/10