Poke Dream

 

Located at 274 Eastchester Drive #178 in High Point, Poke Dream offers poke and Japanese cuisine for lunch and dinner. It is open from 11 a.m. (noon on weekends) to 9:30 p.m. daily. Online ordering is available.

 

From gourmet cheesecake to now poke and ramen, this plaza on Eastchester is certainly getting interesting. Poke Dream is housed in a former Chinese takeout spot, and like its predecessor, it offers little seating. There, however, is where the similarities end. Bright, clean, and inviting, Poke Dream boasts friendly staff and an impressive menu. The appetizer offerings include various salads and dumplings while the poke bowl options let you fully customize your own (though the seven signature bowls are well worth investigating if you’re feeling indecisive). Moreover, Poke Dream offers ramen, a rarity for High Point. There’s even mochi ice cream for those who want a change-of-pace dessert.

 

I put in an online order for a seafood bowl (salmon, tuna, shrimp, crab salad, cucumber, carrot edamame, sweet soy, and spicy mayo) with a few apps and sides (crab Rangoon, char siew bao, and spicy Thai noodles) to share. Online ordering was convenient, and food was ready when it was supposed to be.

 

My poke bowl was a definite winner. The ingredients were fresh, the sauces imparted plenty of flavor, and everything mixed well. The portion size is certainly respectable though the fact that Ninja Café offers up more for less money with miso included calls into question its value.

 

Poke Bowl made a decidedly positive first impression, and I look forward to trying the ramen as the weather cools.

The Marvels

 

As the Kree home world Hala lays dying, Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton) seeks quantum bands that will allow her to create jump points that tear open the fabric of space and harness the power of the sun. She finds one, but the other is held on Earth by Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani), aka Ms. Marvel. Spymaster Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) operates the space-based defense agency S.A.B.E.R. and sends Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Paris) to investigate a jump point while Carol “Captain Marvel” Danvers (Brie Larson), Kamala’s idol and Monica’s estranged surrogate aunt, tracks Dar-Benn. When Monica approaches the jump point, she, Carol, and Kamala experience a quantum entanglement that causes them to switch places when they use their light-based powers. Amid this complication, Dar-Benn’s relentless pursuit of the other band, and Kamala’s worrying parents, the three marvels will have to find a way to work together.

 

Sometime during the past few years, “Marvel fatigue” metamorphosized from the sour grapes of elitists to a phenomenon much harder to deny. Delays, declining quality, runtime bloat, weird tonal shifts, and a general lack of vision have hampered MCU projects as of late. Add to that the lack of publicity stemming from recent Hollywood strikes, and The Marvels never really stood a chance. That makes it a victim of circumstance, undeserving of either anemic box office or critical scathing though even under more favorable conditions, it would still skew more adequate than impressive.

 

Director Nia DaCosta (who co-wrote the script), best known for indie debut Little Woods and the Candyman remake, seems an odd choice of director here, but it’s hard to fault her taut, fluid directorial work here. The titular leads play well off of one-another. In the Ms. Marvel streaming series, Vellani played Kamala with hyperactive enthusiasm, and while she starts in that mode here, she’s given more opportunities for depth and nuance here. Monica, dealing with the trauma of her mother’s death and Carol’s prolonged absence, is often thrust into being the responsible adult in the room, and Paris captures her frustration well. Larson, long unjustly derided as wooden, continues to be a more-than-capable Captain Marvel, and even when the material is below his ability, Samuel L. Jackson is never bad as Nick Fury.

 

On the other hand, Ashton, a newcomer, is utterly forgettable as Dar-Benn (following, sadly, in the way that previous films mangled the character’s predecessor, Ronan). At 105 minutes, The Marvels is mercifully tauter than recent MCU outings, but it also can’t help but feel somewhat disposable. The convoluted plot certainly won’t resonate. Flerkens (alien cats that can spawn a mouth full of tentacles) are back and feature prominently, but while they represent the “good” kind of crazy, the same cannot be said for an utterly contrived musical sequence that seems shoved in to give Larson a reason to sing.

 

For those who have felt themselves straining to maintain interest in recent Marvel projects, The Marvels’ lightness may be a refreshing change of pace. However, one can hope that it is but a stop on the elevator ride back up, not the new top floor.

Angry Troll Brewing

 

Located at 222 East Main Street in Elkin, Angry Troll Brewing is a brewhouse that serves beers made in-house and pub fare. It is open 4-11 Monday and Thursday, 11:30-midnight Friday and Saturday, 11:30-11 on Sunday, and closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Outdoor seating is available.

 

Angry Troll is essentially Foothills in the actual foothills in that it’s a spacious brewpub offering a solid lineup of taps and better-than-average bar food. It’s housed in a historic brick building with plenty of room. Despite the size, Angry Troll does keep busy, especially on game days, which can lead to a (thankfully not unreasonable) wait.

 

The menu here is about what you’d expect: fried apps, wings, nachos, salads, sandwiches, burgers, and pizzas. Add to that eight in-house beers (plus others available in bottles/cans), and you’ll likely find something that you like. Our personable and hard-working server, Virginia, was kind enough to offer a few suggestions.

 

It is in the quality of the food where Angry Troll stands apart. Fried pickles were cut into thin chips perfect for dipping. A BBQ chicken sandwich offered tender meat, lots of cheese, crispy bacon, and a slathering of aptly-named Sweet Heat sauce. It was a beast to eat, but it was worth every messy bite. My wife opted for a Southern Comfort burger featuring local beef, house-made pimento, and an onion ring, and it too proved tasty and satisfying.

 

Prices are moderate (burgers and sandwiches clock in at $9-$10 without sides), and the ambiance is casual. It’s a lively atmosphere with TVs everywhere, but it doesn’t get headache-inducingly loud.

 

All told, Angry Troll delivers well-executed food in a laid-back setting. It’s well worth a stop if you’re out Elkin way.