The Carving Board

Located at 318 South Stratford Road in the Thruway Shopping Center in Winston-Salem, The Carving Board is a full-service deli offering sandwiches, salads, and desserts Monday through Saturday. Dinner entrees (weekdays only) change daily, and catering is available.

A quest for spicy sesame noodles (a constant among the ever-changing salad selections) led me to The Carving Board, but there are enough appealing options to merit a return here absent said craving. Versatility is definitely The Carving Board’s strength. Sandwiches can be built to-order or selected from a pool of classic “suggestions” (Pilgrims, Reubens, etc.). They can also be halved and paired with soups or salads, leaving lots of potential combinations.

That same versatility can make ordering a bit interesting. The Carving Board tends to get very busy around lunch time, and long lines both form easily and move quickly. It is advisable to either think about what you want before getting in line or to be prepared to make a prompt snap decision.

For our first visit, my wife and I went with a veggie wrap (cucumber, avocado, carrot, lets, tomato, cheese, and herb mayo) and a half-Reuben/salad (spinach, apple, and bacon) combo, respectively. Our food was readied swiftly, and even during the busy lunch hour, there was plenty of seating. The wrap and the salad were both generously portioned, leaving the half-Reuben looking a bit flat in comparison. The salad tasted fresh and balanced sweet and salty well, and while the Reuben wasn’t revelatory, it still satisfied. A to-go order of sesame noodles, enjoyed the next day, were a definite re-order. They were neither as thick nor as sauce-heavy as you’d find in a Chinese restaurant, but they were definitely superior to the oily variant sold at Harris-Teeter.

The Carving Board’s pricing is moderate. Many of the sandwiches are in the $7 to $8 range without sides, certainly no great value. However, the quality and variety of available salads makes the half sandwich and salad combo ($8) or the 3-salad plate ($10) a better deal.

Ordering can be a bit frenzied, and the sandwiches aren’t world-beaters, but the wide selection of salads makes The Carving Board well worth a lunch stop.

7.5/10

Dandelion Market

Located at 118 West 5^th Street in Charlotte, Dandelion Market is a full-service bar with a small plates menu. There are occasional drink specials and a brunch on weekends.

Named for a Dublin landmark of the 1970s, Dandelion Market does little to evoke its Celtic lineage, but it is nevertheless a comfortable spot to grab a bite to eat. The dimly lit brick-walled interior, with its chalkboard specials and dried goods sacks on the walls, is the definition of cozy and quaint. The small plates dinner menu offers everything from appetizers to surf and turf to veggies and sides with a variety of culinary influences, leaving you free to cobble together a flavorful Frankenstein of a meal.

My wife and I rolled the dice with a spinach and artichoke dip, a fried green tomato caprese, a shrimp and grit cake, and a pork belly with a brownie-and-caramel-topped-ice cream combo for dessert. Some dishes were stronger than others, but the food was generally on-point. Dandelion Market does sauces very well, as both the fig balsamic accompanying the tomato and the peach-green tomato salsa accompanying the pork belly were excellent. The pork belly had a melt-in-your-mouth quality that I appreciated though my wife found it too fatty for her tastes. The bread that came with the dip was oven-fresh, and the ice cream betwixt the brownies offered some welcome vanilla bean notes that played well off of the salted caramel.

As with any tapas place, pricing can be a bit slippery. Most plates run $7-$12. Count on at least two per person, and it adds up. The skillful execution and artful plating take away some of the sting, and the efficient kitchen and attentive servers ensure you won’t have long to wait between plates.

With an appealing menu, an inviting atmosphere, and a front-of-house and kitchen that both seem to know what they are doing, Dandelion Market has all the components needed to deliver a memorably good meal.

8.25/10

Razzoo's Cajun Cafe

Located at 8011 Concord Mills Boulevard in Concord, Razzoo’s Cajun Café serves Cajun cuisine for lunch and dinner seven days a week. There is a full bar, and lunch specials are available on weekdays.

This Concord Mills establishment is the lone North Carolina outpost of a Dallas-area chain specializing in Louisiana cuisine. How’s that for geographic confusion? Whatever its origins, Razzoo’s is kitschy beyond belief. Everything from the brightly-colored menus to the ceiling-hung instruments and fishing gear to the music to the very name itself seems like an attempt to be “fun” that instead ends in “Umm….”

Fortunately, the complaints end there. The menu rounds up the familiar candidates (gumbo, po boys, fried or blackened seafood, etc.), and adds gator, ribs, and raw oysters for some additional variety. For our first visit, my wife and I went with a jalapeno catfish and a Cajun combo skillet respectively. The food greatly exceeded expectations. The catfish was nicely breaded, and there wasn’t a thing in my combo skillet (shrimp creole, crawfish etoufee, red beans and rice, and andouille sausage) that was a disappointment. The sausage in particular had a welcome spicy kick and a firm bite.

Though our server was a bit difficult to hear at times (blame the music, maybe), she did a good job of letting us know what was popular and got our food out quickly. Pricing left no regrets. The catfish (which came with bread and a side of corn) ran $10 while my very generously portioned skillet ran a mere $13.

Razzoo’s isn’t likely to impress Louisiana-bred purists, but for a chain offering in North Carolina, it’s a lot better than one would expect it to be.

7.75/10

Moonglow

In this fictionalized memoir, Michael Chabon revisits the beginning of his writing career and the end of his grandfather’s life. The dying man recounts his childhood in Philadelphia, his lifelong interest in rocketry and space exploration, his World War II service spent trying and failing to capture Nazi scientist Wernher von Braun (who becomes something of an arch nemesis), his troubled marriage to an unstable French refugee with a young daughter, his stint in prison, and his late-life romance with a widowed painter.

There was a time when Michael Chabon’s books were as purposefully plotted and paced as they were stylistically evocative, but 2012’s meandering, self-indulgent (though still colorful) Telegraph Avenue put an end to that equilibrium. Moonglow, with its overlapping plotlines and nonlinear treatment of time, does not restore it, but it does strike other balances: between intimate family history and world-altering events, between touchingly poignant sincerity and crassly irreverent humor, and between tragedy and triumph.

As with previous works, Chabon excels at bringing people and places to life. Though neither grandparent is named, both emerge as complex, fully realized characters. The grandfather’s capacity for violence is weighed against his commitment to family and obsession with rocketry while the grandmother’s theatrical gifts mask a tortured past. There is also a rakish, eye-patch wearing pool-hustling ex-rabbi uncle for good measure. Though the narrative moves around a lot – back and forth between Philadelphia, Europe, New Jersey, and Florida – each setting is clearly and convincingly rendered (As a native of northern New Jersey, I got a kick out of reading about the grandmother’s performances at the Paper Mill Playhouse).

For all of these virtues, Moonglow’s narrative structure is nothing short of maddening. The three main plotlines – the grandparents’ love story, the grandfather’s war experiences, and the grandfather’s retirement years – are constantly jockeying for the reader’s attention, and more often than not, they interrupt rather than complement one another. Going from a soldier’s haunting recollection of the horrors of war to a lurid description of an old man’s sexual appetites to a child’s eye view of obscure card games creates a kind of mood whiplash that does the novel a disservice. While this digression-laden, fragmentary approach is not without purpose – it evokes the way that Chabon himself probably heard some of these tales – Moonglow definitely could have benefitted from a more conventional structure.

Moonglow is not quite a return to form, and it falls short of both Chabon’s earlier works as well as the gold standard of family sagas that is Jeffrey Eugenides’s Middlesex. However, it is still a bold and touching blend of fact and fiction, one worth cutting through the structural clutter to explore.

7.75/10

Bandito Bodega

Located at 1609 Friendly Avenue, Bandito Bodega offers internationally influenced tacos, burritos, and bowls for lunch and dinner Tuesday through Saturday and lunch on Sundays. Food specials rotate, and catering is available.

Though Greensboro is a competitive town for both tacos and food trucks, the Bandito Burrito truck has been a popular mainstay at events and festivals. When this brick-and-mortar offshoot opened at the beginning of the year, it had the benefits of name recognition and an extant fanbase. Though the food remains solid, the immobile iteration doesn’t exactly dazzle.

Bandito Bodega is a small spot with a short counter and a handful of tables inside and out. The parking lot is also smallish, and exiting onto Friendly Avenue takes some patience. Should you make it inside, the staff here are friendly, and the menu is tantalizing. Tacos come Asian style, Baja style, or crispy rolled. Burritos and bowls similarly offer both Mexican and Asian offerings, and there are plenty of protein choices (including tofu for vegetarian patrons).

Having enjoyed it off the truck, I opted for a Big Ass Burrito (rice, black beans, pico, corn, radish, red cabbage, cilantro, and tomatillo) with chorizo. In terms of portion sizing, it certainly lived up to its name and proved to be quite filling. Though many of the flavors came through, the chorizo lacked the expected spiciness.

Bandito’s pricing, forgivable on a food truck, comes across as high for a sit-down restaurant. At $9, the bountiful burrito provides decent bang for the buck, until you factor in upcharges for cheese and guacamole. Meanwhile, a single baja-style fish taco runs north of $5.

There are enough menu options (kimchi fried rice balls, Korean-style po boys, etc.) to make Bandito Bodega worth further exploration, but future visits will come with somewhat lowered expectations.

7.5/10

Moonlight

Barry Jenkins’s adaptation of Tarrell Alvin McCraney’s play traces the life of Chiron from childhood to adulthood. As a child in Liberty City, Miami, Chiron (Alex Hibbert), nicknamed “Little,” is mentored and provided for by drug dealer Juan (Mahershala Ali) and Juan’s girlfriend Teresa (Janelle Monae) when his drug-addicted mother Paula (Naomie Harris) isn’t up to the task. As a teenager, Chiron (Ashton Sanders) is shaken down by Paula for the money that Teresa provides him and frequently bullied by Terrel (Patrick Decille) all while developing feelings for his best friend Kevin (Jharrel Jerome). As an adult, Chiron (Trevante Rhodes), now nicknamed Black, is a drug dealer living in Atlanta who has a strained relationship with a now-recovering Paula and faces an awkward reunion with Kevin (Andre Holland), now a chef with a young son.

Too often, “message movies” turn into bloated spectacles that are too enamored of the righteousness of their thematic concerns to bother telling an engaging story. Moonlight, however, is a welcome departure from that trend: it gets its ideas across effectively through well-developed characters without being self-aggrandizing or contemptuous of its audience. Jenkins’s direction lends the film a naturalistic feel, and his lean, uncluttered script makes what little is said resonate more. From Little confronting Juan about Paula’s drug use to Terrel instigating a cruel hazing ritual with tragic results, there are plenty of poignant, raw, and powerful moments, yet thanks to the measured performances of the talented cast, Moonlight almost never feels like melodrama. Like a bleaker counterpart to Richard Linklater’s Boyhood, Moonlight is a harrowing snapshot of life away from both the middle-class suburbs and the familiar-to-the-point-of-cliché hoods of Los Angeles.

If there is a critique to be made here, it is that Moonlight is almost too economical for its own good. The time skips between stages of Chiron’s life make sense narratively, but they also leave the intervening years (and the potential therein) unexplored. That Ali won a supporting actor Oscar despite Juan’s presence in only the first act says a lot about how much more mileage Jenkins could have gotten out of these characters.

Moving without being maudlin and fluid to a fault, Moonlight may lack the grandeur of previous Best Picture Oscar winners, but it is every bit a worthwhile selection.

8.75/10

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Months after saving the planet Xandar, the Guardians of the Galaxy have been hired on by the elitist Sovereign race to protect their merchandise from a monstrous creature. After offending the haughty Sovereign priestess Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki), the team is forced to flee, only to be rescued by Ego (Kurt Russell), the human form of a god-like sentient planet and the long-lost father of Peter Quill (Chris Pratt). Ego promises Peter immortality and a sense of belonging, but Gamora (Zoe Saldana) is suspicious. Meanwhile, Gamora’s sister Nebula (Karen Gillan) is out to make her suffer for always besting her as a child, and the Sovereign have hired the pirate-like Ravagers, led by Quill’s mentor Yondu (Michael Rooker), to track the team down.

Despite the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s success up to that point, 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy still proved to a surprise hit, as it featured lesser known characters, a director (James Gunn) with a checkered pedigree, and a zanier tone than any MCU film had employed up to that point. In this 2017 follow-up, the element of surprise is gone. Audiences are no longer wondering if a film like this can work; they are expecting it to. Fortunately, for the most part, it does.

As with its predecessor, Vol. 2 deftly blends action, humor, and cheesy 70s pop songs. Ego cites “Brandy” by Looking Glass as a metaphor as his time on Earth with Peter’s mother while the soundtrack ironically backs Yondu’s use of a whistle-controlled arrow to wreak untold mayhem. To this formula, the sequel adds a healthy dose of character and thematic development. Ego tries to convince Peter of his rightful place in the grand scheme of the universe, Gamora and Nebula examine their culpability for each other’s suffering (amid trying to repeatedly blow each other up with comically oversized weaponry), Yondu and perpetually angry genetically modified raccoon Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper) bond over being thought the worst of, and Drax (Dave Bautista, once again hilariously and obliviously brusque) assures Ego’s empath Mantis (Pom Klementieff) that her ugliness is a sign that she must be a good person.

While a deeper and more heartfelt movie than its predecessor, Vol. 2 does suffer from a loss of freshness and a bit of ending fatigue, both in terms of the CGI-heavy last battle and the mawkish, protracted finale that follows it. Thankfully, these missteps are mostly offset by joyfully insane credits (lots of random dancing and a David Hasselhoff song, of all things) and a slew of post-credits scenes that both set up future characters and lend more context to existing ones (such as Sylvester Stallone’s Ravager leader Stakar or Stan Lee’s various cameos).

Ultimately, whether or not Vol. 2 is better or worse than Vol. 1 or places expectations for Vol. 3 too high or too low is somewhat beside the point. The fact that there was a Vol. 2 is enough to appreciate in and of itself, and that it was as entertaining as it was is icing on the cake. Here’s to these cosmic misfits and the idea that superhero films don’t have to be formulaic to be successful.

8/10

The Magnificent Seven

When mining baron Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard) threatens a town for its land and kills those who oppose him, Emma Cullen (Haley Bennett), the wife of one of his victims, contacts warrant officer Sam Chisolm (Denzel Washington) to hire gunfighters to come to the town’s aid. Chisolm then recruits gambler Joshua Faraday (Chris Pratt), Confederate veteran marksman Goodnight Robicheaux (Ethan Hawke), Goodnight’s knife-throwing friend Billy Rocks (Lee Byung-hun), Mexican outlaw Vazquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), religious mountain man Jack Horne (Vincent D’Onofrio), and exiled Comanche warrior Red Harvest (Martin Sensmeier). These seven will lay their lives on the line to protect the town against Bogue and his mercenary army, but will it be enough?

Remaking a classic Western (itself an Americanization of Seven Samurai) is a dicey proposition, but 2007’s 3:10 to Yuma showed that it can be successfully done. That and the talented cast were enough to give this reboot of John Sturges’ 1960 film of the same name some hope, even if the director (Antoine Fuqua) and screenwriter (Nic Pizzolato) seemed an ill fit (both are better known for their work in the crime genre). Then again, Fuqua directed Washington to an Oscar and coaxed a solid performance out of Hawke, so how bad could this be? In a word, fairly.

A predictable (even for those who haven’t seen the original) script and uneven performances doom this version to quickly-forgotten mediocrity. Washington acquits himself well, coming across as unflappable in a role formerly occupied by Yul Brynner. Chris Pratt is no Steve McQueen though, nor does this movie allow him to really be Chris Pratt: Faraday isn’t given enough wisecracks to compensate. Hawke tries to give Robicheaux a touch of pathos, but it’s sloppily handled while D’Onofrio’s high-pitched, screaming, scripture-quoting bear of a tracker is simply ridiculous. While it wouldn’t have taken much to improve upon Eli Wallach’s dated bandito cliché from the original film, Sarsgaard nevertheless gives a terribly hammy performance as a walking embodiment of everything people blame on capitalism.

There are, however, a few bright spots here. Some of the dialogue is in Mexican and Comanche, lending the film a bit of credibility. The ending makes good use of the original movie’s majestic theme. And the climactic defense of the town scene, is suspenseful and well-choreographed.

Given Hollywood’s affinity for unnecessary remakes, it would be difficult to single out The Magnificent Seven on those grounds, but familiarity and cheesiness make this more of a mediocre six.

6.0/10

Carniceria El Mercadito

Located at 103 Muirs Chapel Road in Greensboro, Carniceria el Mercadito is a combination grocery/butcher/bakery/Mexican grill. It is open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

Carniceria el Mercadito is to Mexican what Banh Mi Saigon Bakery is to Vietnamese: an easily overlooked, sparsely appointed gem that serves very good food at very cheap prices. The grill menu is smallish (tacos, burritos, and sandwiches, mostly) and tables are few, but the tacos are likely to be some of the best you’ve ever had. They come topped with lettuce, tomato, queso fresco, and large slices of avocado, and they are beyond delicious. I would put the al pastor (tender with a hint of citrus) ahead of even El Azteca’s rendition. At four for $7, the pricing is a steal.

That frugality extends to the bakery side as well, where you can load up on everything from pastries to bread pudding for very little dough (pun semi-intended). Though having some Spanish fluency will undoubtedly be helpful, contrary to the experiences of others, I did not encounter any problems ordering in English.

Between the grocery, the grill, and the bakery, making a food decision at El Mercadito can be a bit of a challenge, but trust me, this is a good problem to have.

8.75/10

The Accountant

An autistic math genius (Ben Affleck) who takes the names of famous mathematicians as cover identities works as a forensic accountant for criminal organizations. His latest client, a robotics company headed by Lamar Blackburn (John Lithgow), initially seems like a change of pace, but after he and in-house accountant Dana Cummings (Anna Kendrick) uncover an embezzlement scheme, their lives are endangered. Meanwhile, retiring Treasury official Ray King (J.K. Simmons) has tasked analyst Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) with bringing the accountant down.

From Rain Man to Cube, films have had the unfortunate habit of stereotyping autistic individuals as socially impaired savants. At first glance, The Accountant, appears to continue this trend. However, Affleck’s protagonist is actually a subversion, for while he is skilled at computation and somewhat socially awkward, he is also successful, independent, and a deadly fighter and marksman (more on that later). By giving “Christian Wolff” a number of ritualistic behaviors (i.e. repeating a nursery rhyme as a calming mechanism) while refusing to allow him to be defined solely by them, Affleck and screenwriter Bill Dubuque successfully created a complex, fully realized character. His is not the only character here that defies cliché. Dana does not become a romantic interest, King is not a Javert-like bureaucrat, and even the primary villain is given a plausible motivation.

Unfortunately, these characters are wedded to a dumb, contrived action plot. The in-story rationale for “Christian” being a lethal combatant is that his military officer father trained him from a young age as a way of helping him cope. Right. Maybe Affleck got jealous of all that Matt Damon was able to do as Jason Bourne, maybe he wanted to practice fisticuffs in between outings as Batman, or maybe he felt the need to compensate for the passiveness of autistic characters in previous films. Whatever the rationale, executing headshots with improbable aim or disabling assassins at close range works against the nuance of the characterization. It isn’t that the action sequences are poorly filmed – to the contrary, the fights make good use of Indonesian-style martial arts and director Gavin O’Connor’s previous experience helming Warrior – it’s that they are unnecessary. Having “Christian” be underestimated and prevail through his mathematical skills and/or attention to detail would have made for a far more interesting film.

As an action film, The Accountant is serviceable, but it had the potential to be quite a bit more.

7/10

Phoenix Asian Cuisine

Located at 1641 New Garden Road in Greensboro, Phoenix Asian Cuisine offers Asian fusion for lunch and dinner seven days per week. There is a full bar with specialty drinks, and gluten-free food items are available.

If you set the bar higher than “satisfying generic takeout,” then finding good Chinese food in Greensboro is no easy task. To that end, Phoenix Asian Cuisine is a welcome change of pace, both in terms of ambiance and menu selection. It’s also quite a bit costlier than ubiquitous takeout fare, and for the money charged, the food falls a bit short of expectations.

Phoenix is nicely appointed with dark woods and a distinctive tapestry-like paint scheme above the bar area. The menu is deep and varied, offering everything from soups and salads to vegetarian, chicken, beef, pork, and seafood dishes to sushi to chef’s signature dishes featuring duck and lamb. Thai curries and Vietnamese noodles hobnob with familiar Chinese favorites like lo mein and sweet and sour chicken. There are also a few dishes not often found elsewhere, such as sweet and spicy walnut chicken.

For our first visit, my wife and I went with steamed potstickers, Singapore noodles, and the aforementioned walnut chicken. The potstickers were good: they avoided the gumminess that ruins other versions. The walnut chicken was sweet but not cloyingly so, and the candied walnuts were a nice touch. The Singapore noodles were fragrant and tasty enough though a bit underseasoned. Service was polite albeit a bit harried: an order of sake was initially forgotten though the oversight was quickly remedied when pointed out.

Pricing, unfortunately, is very nearly Phoenix’s undoing. The walnut chicken came out to $15.50 and the Singapore noodles ran $13. In the case of the latter, better versions are available elsewhere for several dollars less. Portion sizes were certainly adequate though not large enough to justify the money charged.

Were either the food elevated or the prices lowered, Phoenix would be a must for anyone seeking good Chinese cuisine. Instead, it comes across as a more authentic, non-corporate P.F. Changs, offering food that is well above takeout grade in classy digs while still leaving you wondering if it was really worth what you paid.

7.75/10

Infidelity and the Unerotic Thriller: The Girl on the Train and Nocturnal Animals

Though its antecedents date back to classic hardboiled noir, the erotic thriller reached its peak in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Offering a blend of suspense, romance, and shameless titillation, films like Fatal Attraction and Basic Instinct pitted a morally compromised male lead (often Michael Douglas) against a dangerous femme fatale, to varying degrees of success. One-dimensional characterization, recycled plot elements, and declining production values all conspired to do the genre in. A quarter century later, and there is no shortage of films that tackle infidelity, passion, betrayal and murder, thematic elements that were once the purview of erotic thrillers. But these contemporary films distinguish themselves in several ways: they have a literary pedigree, they allow for some more nuanced (or at least more ambiguous) characterization, and they aspire to be something more than seedy entertainment.  Call them unerotic thrillers.

Gone Girl is perhaps among the best – and best known – of this lot, but it does not lack for company. The Girl on the Train and Nocturnal Animals, both 2016 releases, can also be classed as part of the subgenre. Both feature heroines in the aftermath of marriages doomed by affairs who find themselves connected to murders. Despite these similarities (and those to Gone Girl), however, they make for very different viewing experiences.

In The Girl on the Train, an adaptation of Paul Hawkins’s bestseller, the title role refers to Rachel (Emily Blunt), a depressed, divorced, unemployed alcoholic who spends her days aimlessly riding a train and envying both her ex-husband Tom (Justin Theroux) and his new family as well as local couple Scott (Luke Evans) and Megan (Haley Bennett), whom she sees as perfect. But when Megan goes missing, Rachel goes from observer to active participant, both as a suspect and later as Scott’s ally. This involvement draws the suspicion of Tom’s wife, Anna (Rebecca Ferguson), who already sees Rachel as dangerously unstable.

In book form, The Girl on the Train succeeded in utilizing alternating multiple perspectives to develop characterization and build tension. Readers’ impressions of a character were shaped by one point of view only to be complicated by another. Unfortunately, this technique did not translate well to screen, and in place we are left with poorly paced, muddled melodrama. While Gone Girl, which utilized similar alternating perspectives, also suffered in translation, David Fincher was a sufficiently accomplished stylist and found other ways to imbue intrigue. The same cannot be said for The Girl on the Train’s Tate Taylor, whose direction seems adrift. Swapping settings – New York in for London – didn’t help matters either, nor did Americanizing much of the cast. The one improvement over the source material is Blunt’s take on Rachel, transforming the book’s irksomely pathetic sad sack (at least in the early chapters) into a still-troubled but more capable protagonist.

Nocturnal Animals, an adaptation of Austin Wright’s Tony and Susan, draws its name from a book within the film. Susan (Amy Adams), an art gallery owner with a philandering husband, unexpectedly receives a manuscript from her ex-husband Edward (Jake Gyllenhaal). The book concerns Tony (also Gyllenhaal), who is run off the road in Texas by local thug Ray (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and two accomplices. After they leave him stranded and rape and murder his wife and daughter, he and a dedicated detective (Michael Shannon) see to it that justice is served. Reading the manuscript unnerves Susan and prompts her to reflect on her relationship with Edward, which ended acrimoniously.

Director Tom Ford is a fashion designer by trade, so it isn’t surprising that Nocturnal Animals is a good-looking film. For instance, The bright hues of the Texas outdoors contrast with the pristine sterility of a Los Angeles gallery. What is more surprising, however, is that Nocturnal Animals is as narratively sound as it is. A story-within-a-story is inherently gimmicky, and the manuscript story, though presented as powerful, is also rather familiar: think a touch of Straw Dogs (emasculated man pushed too far) mixed with half a dozen revenge thrillers. And yet it takes on quite a bit of added significance when read as a metaphor for Susan and Edward’s relationship. The film also boasts some strong performances, including Taylor-Johnson as a charismatic creep and Gyllenhaal and Adams showcasing a variety of moods to suit the flashbacks to different stages of their relationship. That said, while it makes sense for her character in the main story’s present-day to be somewhat checked out, Susan’s dialogue early on is conspicuously expository, and Adams’ delivery conspicuously flat. Armie Hammer is also one-dimensionally loathsome as Susan’s current husband and even comes with the face-punchingly snobbish name of Hutton. Still, Nocturnal Animals is a deftly constructed film, even if it could have used a bit more emotional heft.

The Girl on the Train: 6.25/10

Nocturnal Animals: 7.75/10

Bull City Ciderworks

Located at 599 South Railroad Street in Lexington, Bull City Ciderworks is the production facility for Bull City Cider. Sixteen taps (including guest brews) are available as are light snacks and growlers for purchase. Dogs and children are welcome, and live entertainment is occasionally offered. The facility is open from Thursday through Saturday.

Having long been fans of Bull City’s ciders, my wife and I eagerly snagged a Groupon for a pair of pints and a tour. It almost ended before it even began. Housed in a warehouse district, Bull City Ciderworks is not easy to locate. After finally finding the entrance, we stepped down into a large, dark, high-ceilinged bar. This is not the kind of place you’d want to spend much time in on particularly hot or particularly cold days.

These annoyances aside, the overall experience did not disappoint. The Ciderworks offers both familiar favorites (the crisp, clear Off Main and the slightly sour Cherry Tart) as well as Bull City varieties not found elsewhere (a pineapple cider made its debut on the day of our visit). Four-variety flights are available, and a wise idea for the undecided. I ended up with a pint that combined Cherry Tart and Steep South (black tea and honey), and it was a great blend of sour and sweet.

Our Groupon also included a tour of the production facility. The tour was informative, and though it was usually given by one of the owners, the employee leading it that day proved to be knowledgeable and enthusiastic.

If you don’t mind the location and the no-frills industrial interior, Bull City Ciderworks offers a good opportunity to try some interesting ciders. It may not be the apple of anyone's eye, but at its core, it's a fine spot to grab a cool drink.

7.75/10

Lexington Barbecue

Located at 100 Smokehouse Lane in Lexington, Lexington Barbecue serves barbecue pork and chicken for lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday. Bulk orders for carry-out are available.

“Lexington barbecue” is a decidedly nebulous term. It can refer to a preparation (pork shoulder over hardwood coals), a sauce (vinegar-based with ketchup), a location (North Carolina’s barbecue capital), or, in the case of this nationally recognized eatery, all of the above. That reputation helps Lexington Barbecue stay perpetually busy, but it isn’t just hype: the food is worthy of the fanfare.

Though the menu offers fish, shrimp, chicken, and a variety of sides, pork barbecue is the main attraction. It comes sliced or finely or coarsely chopped, in sandwiches or on platters, with plenty of sauce on the side. Some barbecue needs a lot of sauce to make it palatable, but here, it is strictly a flavor enhancer and a fitting complement to the delicious meat. Plates come with fries, slaw, and hushpuppies, the last of which are excellent. There are also a few cobblers available, but if you still have room to eat them, you’re doing it wrong.

For as good as the food is, Lexington Barbecue’s service is nearly right up there with it. Despite dealing with a very high volume, staff here are friendly and fast. If you’re a newcomer, grab a stool by the counter, and they’ll gladly bring you up to speed. Prices ($10.20 - $11.20 for barbecue plates) are a bargain given the ample portion sizes. The best that can be said for the ambiance (loud, crowded, and dated) is that it is an afterthought for most patrons.

Lexington-style barbecue is not universally loved, but for those who are at least open to trying it, this venerable eatery is THE place to do it.

8.25/10

Nawab Indian Cuisine

Located at 129 South Stratford Road in Winston-Salem, Nawab Indian Cuisine offers Indian fare for lunch and dinner seven days a week. Beer and wine are available, as is a lunch buffet.

The sister restaurant to Greensboro’s Saffron, Nawab features a similarly nicely appointed interior and similarly elevated prices. The menus are not identical, however, and neither is the food.

I arrived as part of a group of four about fifty minutes before closing time. Despite the lateness of the hour, service was cordial and largely unhurried. This was definitely a plus, as Nawab’s menu offered plenty of possibilities. While Saffron’s thali samplers were nowhere to be found, Nawab had nearly everything else one would expect: kabobs, tikka, tandoori, curry, vindaloo, and biryani with a full range of meats as well as vegetarian options. Pricing, as mentioned, runs high - $15 for palaak paneer with no breads or sides – but I bit the bullet and shelled out $17 for a lamb biryani and another $3 for some roti.

Generous portion sizes went a long way toward justifying those prices while flavor and presentation largely made up the rest of the difference. The biryani was brightly accented with tomatoes and scallions. The meat was tender, and the seasoning was spot-on. It came at the desired medium-hot, enough to provide a kick but not enough to numb the tongue.

All told, Nawab definitely merits a return visit. Its prices are beatable, but its service and execution are difficult to match.

8/10