Yumi Sushi Tea Sake

 

Located at 275 North Elm Street in the Stock and Grain Food Hall, Yumi offers Japanese food and drinks. It is open daily from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. (Monday-Thursday), 9:30 (Saturday) or 7 (Sunday).

 

Yumi, like its Stock and Grain neighbors, is a fairly new addition to High Point’s dining scene. That recency begets a certain need for patience as the eatery gains its footing, but even with that consideration in mind, this place was a bit disappointing.

 

Positives first: for its compact size, Yumi boasts an impressive menu. It offers everything from apps (think gyoza and edamame) to sushi (nigri, sashimi, maki, and specialty rolls) to poke bowls/burritos (a half-dozen presets, and you can build your own) to bubble teas and slushes to sakes, beers, and cocktails. Staff here are pleasant, and they had no trouble taking our order correctly despite the noise of the bustling food hall.

 

That said, be prepared to wait, and be prepared to pay. My wife and I went with a burrito and a bowl, respectively, and waited at least a half hour. Yumi’s staff were definitely not slacking but were simply struggling to keep up with demand. When the food was finally ready, it did little to justify its price tag. The $14.50 bowl was a decent sized portion, more expensive than Ninja Café’s equivalent offering, but you would expect to pay a bit more for location here. The same-priced sushi burrito, however, was a great deal smaller than either Ninja Café’s or Toshi’s version, and the same lack of value is suggested by Yumi’s specialty roll pricing (most are $17).

 

To Yumi’s credit, the ingredients were fresh, and both items were prepared as requested. The mango and pickled radish and ginger in my bowl made for a colorful presentation, and the sweet and acidic flavors played off each other really well.

 

I wouldn’t rule out a future visit to Yumi especially after they have had time to get settled. The food quality and menu variety are enough to keep that door open. Just the same, its pricing and an underwhelming first visit mean that I won’t be hurrying back. 

Namaste Lumbini Restaurant and Bar

 

Located at 727 West Main Street in Jamestown, Namaste Lumbini serves Indian, Nepalese, and Tibetan cuisine. It is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, 11-9:30 Fridays and Saturdays, and closed Tuesday. Online ordering is available.

 

The latest eatery to occupy the former Penny’s and El Agavero location, Namaste Lumbini brings something different to the Jamestown area. Time will tell if it has staying power, but service and food quality are strong right out of the gate.

 

My wife and I arrived before 6 p.m. on a Saturday to find Namaste Lumbini mostly empty, not a good sign. By the time we left, however, business had picked up considerably. The restaurant has the space to accommodate groups should anyone need a place for a get-together. While the building is old, the interior has been touched up nicely.

 

Namaste Lumbini’s menu is impressively deep. It boasts many familiar Indian dishes – tandooris and tikkas masalas and biryanis – but it also offers Indo-Chinese selections as well as momo (Nepalese dumplings). There are plenty of vegetarian options, and there are also thalis for the indecisive/those who want to try a little bit of everything.

 

My wife and I opted to split a vegetable samosa, a chicken 65, and a vegetarian thali. Our food came out promptly, and it was preceded by a complementary papadam with tamarind and mint chutneys. I will offer a caveat in that if you want your food spicy, you will have to request it as such. Only the billed-as-spicy chicken 65 brought any heat, and it was about medium. That said, while spiciness may have been subdued, flavors were not. The chicken 65 was nice and tangy, and the thali’s saag paneer, aloo gobi, and dal were tasty and comforting. Naan was included, and it performed sauce mop-up commendably.

 

Namaste Lumbini’s service is attentive and polite. We were greeted upon entry and checked on throughout the meal. Prices here are moderate with entrees in the teens.

 

Given the food and service quality and the vast swaths of menu left to explore, we will almost certainly be back. If its execution remains consistent, Namaste Lumbini could easily become the go-to for Indian eats in the Jamestown/east High Point area. 

Thor: Love and Thunder

 

When his daughter Love (India Hemsworth) dies and his prayers go unanswered, Gorr (Christian Bale), a devout follower of the god Rapu (Jonathan Brugh) takes up the powerful-yet-cursed Necrosword and slays the callous, mocking deity, vowing that all gods must die. This puts the “God Butcher” on a collision with Thor Odinson (Chris Hemsworth), the Asgardian god of thunder, who has been fighting alongside the Guardians of the Galaxy but finds little pleasure or purpose outside of combat. Meanwhile, Thor’s former girlfriend, the renowned astrophysicist Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) is dying of cancer. Desperate for a cure, she wonders if Asgardian magic might hold the answer. The refugee settlement turned tourist attraction of New Asgard, Norway, run by the last surviving Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) seems to have what everyone is looking for.

 

The fourth solo Thor film, Love and Thunder is helmed by Taika Waititi, who injected a badly needed dose of vitality into the franchise with 2017’s Ragnarok. Waititi also returns as the voice of amiable alien rock monster Korg, who serves as the film’s narrator, and the film is an odd mixture of Waititi’s trademark awkward humor, 1980s nostalgia, and inspiration from Jason Aaron’s divisive comic book run. The results are often entertaining, sometimes heartfelt, tonally catastrophic, and narratively frustrating.

 

Perhaps the biggest gripe that can be leveled against Love and Thunder is that its character work is largely threadbare. Thor’s “finding out who he is” arc was largely explored in Ragnarok, and this feels like a rehash. Jane has largely been absent from the MCU mythos for years, and so her sudden cancer diagnosis and equally sudden acquisition of Asgardian power feels less like character development and more like sudden change to move the story forward. The one exception to this is Gorr, whom a bald, ashen-skinned, shadow-ensconced Bale renders both creepy and sympathetic (perhaps too much so given the relative absence of benign deities).

 

However, Love and Thunder’s tonal ping-pong ultimately works against Bale’s effectiveness here. Films – and especially MCU films – can balance comedy and action, and prior Thor entries did this well (pronouncedly so in Ragnarok, but even the original Thor had its hilarious pet shop horse demand). Here, however, the effect is that of a romantic comedy spliced together with a much darker (aesthetically and tonally) action-drama, and the two strands undercut rather than complement each other.

 

None of this is the actors’ fault. Hemsworth might not be doing anything radically new with the character, but he still makes for an excellent Thor. Jane’s compacted arc aside, Portman’s return to a prominent role is welcome, and here she gets to display combat prowess to go with her and Hemsworth’s banter. There’s also a supremely hammy Russell Crowe as Zeus, sporting a selfish attitude (no surprise there) and a confusing (Grecco-Italian?) accent.

 

Moreover, for all of its storytelling faults, Love and Thunder is, at times, both funny and fun. Toothgnasher and Toothgrinder, pullers of the mythological Thor’s chariot, are rendered here as a pair of inappropriately screaming goats, Matt Damon and Luke Hemsworth return as members of a cheesy Asgardian acting troupe (joined by Melissa McCarthy playing Hela with all the subtlety of the Wicked Witch of the West), and the film as a whole is a long, strange ode to Guns n Roses (!). As an added perk, Hemsworth’s and Portman’s children pop up in small but important roles, and some of Thor’s all-but-forgotten comrades make a return as well.

 

Ultimately, Love and Thunder does little to advance the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s increasingly byzantine mythology, nor is it a stellar stand-alone film. It is, however, an amusing way to kill two hours.

Augustino Gusto Bakery

 

Located at 2508 New Garden Road E in Greensboro, Augustino Gusto offers scratch-made European baked goods. The bakery is open on Wednesdays (10 a.m. -6:30 p.m.) and Saturdays (9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.).

 

Augustino Gusto had long been on my radar – it received glowing reviews from the start – but its distance from High Point and its limited operating hours made it a “some day” destination. Some day finally arrived during a Greensboro sojourn last Saturday. While there are a number of things to like about this bakery, I nevertheless walked away feeling a bit disappointed.

 

Located in a converted house near the Greensboro Science Center, Augustino Gusto is off the beaten path. That’s OK: many hidden gems are. Park in the gravel lot, traverse the long front entrance ramp, and hopefully avoid a line out the door, and you’ll come face-to-face with an impressive array of baked goods. Augustino Gusto might have the most impressive assortment of quiches and croissants I’ve ever seen. There are breads and pies and more to be had here as well, and making a decision can be difficult. You won’t want to dawdle too long though as space inside is limited.

 

My wife and I opted to take home a chocolate mousse, a chocolate croissant, and a Nutella bread pudding. At $20 for these three items, Augustino Gusto’s prices are high, which would not have been an issue if the bakery’s reputation preceded it. Our experiences, however, were mixed. The mousse was very creamy and possibly my favorite item of the three. The bread pudding had good a good flavor but it was dense and a bit dry. The croissant was wonderfully buttery and flaky, yet what little chocolate there was within was entirely at the bottom of the pastry.

 

Despite these setbacks, given the huge selection and the ongoing stream of positive reviews, I would give Augustino Gusto another chance if I were in the area. However, it isn’t a place I would feel compelled to go out of my way to seek out.

Khrissy's Kitchen

 

A Randleman-based food truck, Khrissy’s Kitchen serves up Jamaican cuisine at locations across the Triad. Follow the business’s Facebook page for appearances and updates.

 

I had a craving for Jamaican but didn’t feel like driving to Greensboro for Da Reggae, so it was fortuitous that Khrissy’s Kitchen hit up Brown Truck Brewery a few weeks back. The truck’s menu offered the expected jerks and curries in sandwich, taco, and entrée form albeit with a few surprises: you won’t find beef patties here, but you will find lumpia. Khrissy, the proprietor, helpfully offered to answer any questions.

 

I opted for a shrimp curry entrée for myself and a “surf and turf” (jerk chicken and fried saltfish tacos) for my wife to enjoy later. Given the components involved, both the wait (10-15 minutes) and the prices (teens) were reasonable.

 

The food was, without qualification, excellent. The shrimp featured a rich and savory sauce, and a side of plantains was cooked to a perfect golden brown. Even simple white rice tasted better here.

 

Khrissy’s Kitchen is relatively new, and so word may not have gotten around yet, but if you see this truck appearing at your closest brewery, it’s a must-try.