Mad Hatter

Located at 201 Smyres Place off of West Friendly Avenue, Mad Hatter specializes in craft beers and specialty burgers. Sandwiches, salads, and small plates are also available. There are daily drink specials, outdoor seating, and a brunch on weekends.

Mad Hatter effectively illustrates why defying expectations is not always a good thing. The sign out front says Craft Beer House, but the selection does not seem especially large. The name suggests the zany and colorful, but the silver and black mock-industrial décor is anything but (It is, however, an improvement over the kitschy innards of the original Ham’s, the business Mad Hatter replaced). The preponderance of TV screens evokes a sports bar while the focus on specialty burgers mimics Hops and the pricing reaches for upscale casual. In short, almost nothing here is what it is supposed to be.

The one exception is the quality of the burger. In this area, Mad Hatter hits a home run. The default options include a Kentucky bourbon burger and a PBJ burger (among others), and you can build your own. The Boss, a 50/50 beef-bacon patty topped with pulled pork, sauce, slaw, and fried onions, certainly lived up to its name. The burger had a nice char that was balanced by the sweetness of the sauce, and both the slaw and the onions provided a palate-pleasing crunch. It’s a big burger, but the bun proved both sturdy as well as tasty. This may not be the best burger in Greensboro, but it merits serious consideration, and it won’t leave you disappointed.

Unfortunately, for as good as the burger was, it was not enough to elevate what was otherwise a decidedly mediocre experience. At $10-$12, the burgers are overpriced as is most of the menu ($8 grilled cheese, anyone). The build-your-own menu has some intriguing possibilities (grass fed beef, Asian slaw, goat cheese) but leaves out some essentials, like mushrooms. Among the sides, the fries tasted hot and fresh but the chips were underwhelming.

Service and ambiance is similarly hit-or-miss. Our server was very efficient – albeit joyless – and order-to-table wait times were shorter than expected. On the other hand, the medium well burger my companion ordered came out medium. The ever-persistent music ranges from tolerable to terrible, and the building fills up easily.

As of this writing, Mad Hatter is only a month old, and there is plenty of time for it to turn things around. Until that happens, the best way to describe it is limited: limited selection, limited parking, limited high notes, and, ultimately, limited appeal.

6.75/10

Wolfgang Puck Pizza Bar

NOTE: After a rebranding Wolfgang Puck Pizza Bar is now WP Kitchen + Bar.

Located at 607 Green Valley Road in the Friendly Center, Wolfgang Puck Pizza Bar specializes in gourmet pizza. Pasta, entrees, apps, and salads are also available. There is a full-service bar and daily specials.

This fiefdom in Wolfgang Puck’s corporate empire offers plenty of sizzle but little steak (the flatiron steak presumably notwithstanding). At first glance, there is a lot to like. The Friendly Center location is easily accessible, the hostesses friendly, and the atmosphere dark, modern, and inviting. The menu, though somewhat concise, holds plenty of appeal. In addition to Puck’s signature salmon pizza, pies here come topped with everything from duck sausage to spicy shrimp to more traditional (pomodoro, margherita, etc.) permutations. Should you opt to go another direction, braised short ribs and a few of the pasta preparations tantalize as well.

Once you are comfortably ensconced, however, it does not take long for the bloom to wear off. Though the servers are polite and attentive, order-to-table time is slow. When your food does arrive, you will be confronted with the knowledge that you almost certainly overpaid for whatever you happened to order. The pizzas are personal pan sized (about four slices) and mostly run $11-$15, a poor value for the quantity. The pasta dishes ($13 for a meatless ravioli) are similarly wallet-unfriendly.

Further, while the food is competently prepared, nothing reaches the level of must-have. The duck sausage on my pizza was mild, a good complement to the tangy onions, but a letdown in and of itself. A dessert sampling of donut bites inspired a similar reaction: they were warm and satisfying but still very much just donuts.

For a certain segment of diners, Wolfgang Puck Pizza Bar offers tasty food and appealing ambiance, and that alone is enough. But for food-savvy Greensboroians, it’s a sucker’s bet. Innovative pizza can be found at a better value elsewhere.

7/10

Man of Steel

As the planet Krypton faces both exhausted resources and a military coup, leading scientist Jor-El (Russell Crowe) places his infant son Kal, the last naturally born Kryptonian, on a craft headed for earth. The alien is raised by Jonathan (Kevin Costner) and Martha (Diane Lane) Kent as their son Clark and strives for a normal existence. But the superpowered Clark (Henry Cavill) is anything but normal, and his heroic exploits attract the attention of both enterprising reporter Lois Lane (Amy Adams) and recently released Kryptonian war criminal General Zod (Michael Shannon).

Superman’s cinematic history is a tangled web of revision. What two films (Superman III and Superman IV) do, one film (Superman Returns) undoes. And when that doesn’t meet expectations, it’s back to the drawing board for a complete reboot. Such fleeting fortunes inspire a healthy amount of skepticism, but Man of Steel at least comes with a vaunted pedigree. Director Zak Snyder, screenwriter David Goyer, and producer Christopher Nolan have all contributed to successful comic book adaptations. That, plus the talented cast, should have been enough to silence many doubters. Unfortunately, the results, while far from abysmal, failed to do for the title character what Batman Begins did for the Caped Crusader.

Pacing is the biggest culprit. Man of Steel clocks in at 142 minutes and feels even longer. The film does not lack action – Superman actually gets to do a fair amount of fighting, for a change – but much of that action is backloaded. The middle of the film feels weighted down by bloviating on the nature of acceptance, hope, and responsibility. These scenes, mostly involving Clark and his adoptive family, could have given the film some emotional gravitas, but they instead come across as heavy-handed space-fillers. In contrast, the Lois-Clark relationship, a key aspect of the franchise, isn’t given enough time or opportunity to properly develop.

These narrative inequities nearly sink what is otherwise a solid film. Cavill is a much stronger and more assured presence in the lead than his predecessor Brandon Routh, and he hits the right notes when exploring Clark’s struggle to accept his true nature. Adams is an upgrade from the too-young Kate Bosworth as well: she gives Lois courage without exhausting credibility. As the villainous Zod and the valorous Jor El, Shannon and Crowe offer refreshingly new interpretations. The former is granted a loftier motive (the restoration of a dying world) and unyielding determination; the latter has a greater presence even after death.

Man of Steel also offers superior sights and sounds. Everything from the classic Superman costume to the appearance of Krypton has been revamped and looks far less cartoonish than in the Donner/Salkind films. Hans Zimmer does not try to foolishly replicate John Williams’ iconic score; instead, his title track succeeds on its own merits.

If all goes according to plan, Man of Steel will kickstart an integrated DC cinematic universe that will also include Batman and Wonder Woman. As a debut, it doesn’t set the world afire, but fittingly given the character, it does inspire hope.

7.5/10

Harper's Restaurant

The Greensboro location of this regional chain can be found in the Friendly Center, 601 Friendly Center Rd. across from Belk. Harper’s serves American cuisine in a casual environment. There is a weekend brunch, a full-service bar, and a gluten-free menu.

When our preferred New Year’s Eve destination was booked solid, Harper’s proved to be a suitable last-minute replacement. The staff was welcoming despite the calamity of the occasion, and our server, Adam, was both knowledgeable and polite. My companion and I both went with the steak and frites and substituted the fries for another side. The 8-oz sirloins had a nice char and plenty of flavor, as did our accompaniments (mashed red potatoes and roasted asparagus). At $17 each, it felt like money well-spent and made for a satisfying year-end meal.

That said, I would hesitate to rush back to Harper’s for several reasons. For starters, the restaurant was fairly loud. While this may be a product of NYE craziness, the acoustics don’t bode well for a daily lunch crowd. The menu was also somewhat dated and uninspiring. The limited selection is not an issue if you are craving a steak, and some of the entrée salads did look promising, but beyond that, you won’t find anything (sandwich, burger, fish, chicken, etc.) you haven’t already had before. Lastly, despite the more casual atmosphere, Harper’s emulates steakhouse pricing. Entrees start at $15 and typically include one side. Additional sides are al a carte and go for $4 to $6.

All told, Harper’s is a well-run restaurant with solid, albeit, familiar food. The lack of a “wow” factor and ambitious pricing prevent it from becoming a first-choice dining destination.

7.5/10