SnackBar

Located at 336 S. Elm Street in Downtown Greensboro, SnackBar offers breakfast foods, sandwiches, salads, entrees, and sides in a casual environment. There is a full bar, and delivery is available.

Restaurants too often struggle with issues of identity. The décor may not suit the menu or the quality of the food may not match the pricing. Thankfully, SnackBar does not suffer from this conundrum. It is what it says it is, and that is perfectly adequate.

Like many Elm Street eateries, Snackbar’s confines are long but narrow. Tables line one side, a counter covers the other, and there standing room for maybe a person or two between them. The interior is somewhere between retro and industrial and not a particularly striking example of either (the stools suggest a defunct barbershop), but does it really need to be? The bar, the food, and the TV screens will likely be enough to get people in the doors.

SnackBar’s menu goes above and beyond bar food staples. You’ll still find your wings, chicken, and burgers (including the aptly named 10 oz. Big Ass Burger) here, but you can also partake of po boys, chicken and waffles, and made-to-order omelets. The added variety is a welcome touch.

During my lone visit, I opted for a grilled shrimp wrap with slaw. The sandwich was healthily dosed with Cajun mayo that provided a nice kick, and the shrimp tasted fine. The slaw, on the other hand, was appropriately creamy albeit somewhat bland. At $8 for the sandwich and a side, the price was fair.

Given the slew of restaurants on Elm, it would seem that this one would have to do a lot more to distinguish itself. But if you’re simply looking for a satisfying bite to eat downtown at minimal cost, SnackBar won’t disappoint.

7.5/10

The Wolf of Wall Street

When the Black Monday crash of 1987 costs young Wall Street stockbroker Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) his job, he takes to selling penny stocks in a boiler room. After realizing that these stocks have less regulation and allow for a higher commission, Jordan starts his own firm, Stratton Oakmont, to court upscale investors. Aided by unscrupulous salesman Donnie Azoff (Jonah Hill), Jordan skirts laws and regulations to turn Stratton Oakmont into a massive money-maker. As his ambition grows, so do his addictions, which threaten his marriage to Naomi (Margot Robbie) and attract the attention of FBI Agent Patrick Denham (Kyle Chandler).

Scripted by Terrance Winter from Belfort’s memoir of the same name and directed by Martin Scorsese, The Wolf of Wall Street, like many fixtures of the financial world it portrays, seems too big to fail. A-list talents can be found on both sides of the camera, and no one is slacking here. Despite this and the lure of its premise (Goodfellas meets Wall Street), this film about excess is often excessive and nearly collapses under its own weight.

The Wolf of Wall Street pulls no punches in depicting the decadent, amoral, misogynistic world of Stratton Oakmont. The hookers-and-blow cliché is present here, but cranked up past eleven. As a tour guide for this spectacle, DiCaprio is elastic, springing from king-of-the-world financial huckster to hopeless, out-of-control addict on the turn of a dime. Hill, usually known for playing the nice guy or the comic relief, convincingly portrays a character with almost no redeeming qualities. Robbie, an Australian newcomer, hides her native accent well, but her role marks Scorsese’s sad descent into self-plagiarism. As a blonde siren turned wronged spouse, Robbie’s character is Cathy Moriarty in Raging Bull and Sharon Stone in Casino all over again.

Some have accused The Wolf of Wall Street of glamorizing the lifestyle it is meant to harpoon. At first glance, it’s a hard charge to deny. The on-screen opulence shows that Scorsese hasn’t lost his sense of style, the soundtrack is engagingly eclectic (everything from Etta James and Bo Diddley to Billy Joel and The Lemonheads), and the profane script is often hilarious. Funny eye candy or not, however, the film makes it clear that Jordan’s non-stop hedonism comes at a high – and inevitable – cost. If his arrogance in literally throwing away money is hard to take, then so too is his desperate, feeble attempts to get himself home while incapacitated by Quaaludes.

If the film’s general coarseness is an inextricable part of its morality play, its length certainly is not. At 179 minutes, The Wolf of Wall Street is at least a half hour longer than it needs to be. The problem lies in neither in Belfort’s rise (which features a memorable Matthew McConaughey cameo as a slick, shameless mentor) nor his fall (sudden enough to be jarring, but not short enough to leave us feeling shortchanged) but rather in the plateau in between. We can tell, relatively early on in Stratton Oakmont’s ascension, what kind of person Belfort has become. The piling of extravagance upon extravagance is, at best, redundant.

When a director has done as much ground-breaking work as Scorsese has, his legacy becomes a burden. Were The Wolf of Wall Street a debut effort, it would be hailed for its audacity. Instead, it is easy to see it as a sign that an old master has lost a step. Either way, it’s a flawed film, but one with significant merits.

8/10

American Hustle

Con artists Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale) and Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams) are coerced by ambitious FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper) into procuring additional arrests. They concoct a scheme to bribe Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner), the good-natured mayor of Camden, NJ, using a fake Arab sheikh (Michael Pena). As the scheme grows to involve more money and the involvement of congressmen and mobsters, Irving and Richie feud over Sydney, and Irving’s jealous wife Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence) threatens to ruin everything.

Directed by David O. Russell and scripted by Eric Singer, this freewheeling take on the ABSCAM scandal boasts an impressive cast and an irrepressible sense of fun. Despite this, its bombast too often gets the better of it.

At its core, American Hustle is a study in contrasts. Irving may be an adulterous conman, but he operates with prudence and concern for those around him while DiMaso the crusading lawman is arrogant and unfettered. Both characters are done justice by their actors, especially Bale (who is nearly unrecognizable as a heavyset, balding New Yorker). Contrasts exist too among the female leads: the faux-English Sydney manipulates with class while wife and mother Rosalyn is ignorant and uncouth. While Adams’ accent is hit-or-miss, Lawrence continues to showcase her range, playing Rosalyn as abrasive and ditzy but not without sympathy. Other acting highlights include Robert DeNiro as a high-ranking Mafioso and Louis CK as DiMaso’s beleaguered boss.

While the banter between these combustible, diametrically opposed personalities is frequently funny, it also proves to be a distraction. ABSCAM was a complex scandal with massive ramifications. Amid the bickering and relationship drama, however, it occasionally comes across here as a mere background event. This makes the film’s infrequent moments of tense drama – such as Irving coming to grips with a broken friendship and marriage or DiMaso finally realizing just how badly he’s screwed up – tough to take seriously.

All told, American Hustle is a fun ride, but neither as well-crafted nor as memorable as its prodigious hype suggests.

7.75/10

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

After waking from a 50-year deep freeze and helping to fend off an alien invasion, super-soldier Cpt. Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is still adapting to the modern world. He finds himself increasingly at odds with his employer, security agency SHIELD, and its secretive director, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). But when SHIELD is dealt a blow by a mysterious assassin called the Winter Soldier, Rogers is willing to put his life on the line to discover the truth and right some wrongs. Along the way, he enlists the help of Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson), an elite SHIELD agent with a checkered past, and Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), a military para-rescue veteran turned PTSD counselor.

Success can sometimes be as much a burden as a blessing. For the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the triumph that was The Avengers created a question of “Where do we go from here?” It’s a question that Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World each attempted to address, and it’s one that Captain America: The Winter Solider confronts head-on. Whereas its forebear, Captain America: The First Avenger, was an old-school war/adventure film, this latest installment is a political thriller dripping with contemporary relevance. Without giving too much away, SHIELD’s aggressive and ethically dubious approach to keeping the world safe functions as both a stakes-raiser for the entire MCU and, hyperbolic as it may be, a cautionary tale for a country that inches closer toward a surveillance state.

What’s most shocking about this maturation and change in tone is the creative force behind it. Directors Joe and Anthony Russo are best known for comedy (namely, Arrested Development and Community) while screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely gave us the Chronicles of Narnia films. Despite being unconventional choices, all four men acquit themselves well. The Russo brothers give the film a taut, hardnosed sensibility with room to breathe, mixing combat and car chases with quieter moments that allow for character growth. Meanwhile, the script manages to pay homage to several comic book storylines while still throwing in surprises here and there. It also allows the film to function equally well as a stand-alone adventure and a bridge to the next Avengers installment.

The acting too is above par for comic book action fare. Owing to his old-fashioned heroism, it’s easy for Captain America to come across as one-dimensional, but Evans is able to tap into Rogers’ inner conflict and humanize him. The same goes for Johansson’s portrayal of Romanoff. Though she continues to operate as a one-woman wrecking crew, watching her contemplate her place in the world makes her infinitely less cartoonish. Jackson is gold as Nick Fury, but why would anyone expect anything less? Among the newcomers, Mackie overachieves in an underwritten role: Wilson seems to only exist to lend a helping hand. And Robert Redford, as a SHIELD high honcho, is noticeably lacking in intensity.

Despite the seeming absurdity of having a comic book movie tap into the political zeitgeist, The Winter Solider succeeds in doing just that. There is a current running through the film, embodied by its hero, that reminds us that freedom is worth fighting for even if the cost is high. That notion may strike some as facile or stale, but in an era of drone strikes and domestic spying, it’s well-worth remembering. It just so happens that a spandex-clad shield-tossing octogenarian gets the point across more lucidly and more entertainingly than legions of self-serving ham-handed pundits ever will.

8.25/10

It's Your Roll! (CLOSED)

NOTE: It's Your Roll has since closed. Spring Garden Diner operates in its former location.


Located at 1901 Spring Garden Street, It’s Your Roll! specializes in made-to-order sushi and rice bowls. Sides, sweets, and a beer selection are also available.

If the Chipotlefication of sushi causes you to raise a skeptical eyebrow, you are hardly alone. However, It’s Your Roll! demonstrates once again that choice, more often than not, is a good thing. The restaurant’s premise is great for newbies and seasoned sushiphiles alike: choose between a roll or a bowl ($6.50 for veggie-only rolls, $7.50 for protein rolls, and $7-$10 for protein bowls) and pick your rice, protein, up to three veggies, fillings, and a sauce. Those who know what they are doing can craft their own custom combinations right away. Meanwhile, those who are daunted can start with familiar ingredients and gradually branch out. The owners, Doug and Greg, will gladly explain your options and allow you to sample.

What raises this above the level of a mere gimmick, however, is the variety and selection of ingredients. Regular and spicy variants of tuna, salmon, and shrimp join Summerfield Farms beef and chicken to give you plenty of proteins to pick from. You can top these with everything from the conventional (cucumber and carrots) to the unexpected (mango and goat cheese), and there are plenty of sauces as well. Further, all of the ingredients are fresh: the proprietors claim to not even own a freezer.

For our first time up, my companion and I opted for spicy salmon, avocado, cucumber, daikon, cream cheese, and ponzu sauce. The ingredients tasted as fresh as they looked, the spicy and the cool and the sweet balanced nicely, and the generous portion of pickled ginger on the side added another dimension. Within one bite, we were already scheming for a return trip.

Housed in the former Bianca’s, It’s Your Roll! is a small building with an also- small and somewhat inconvenient parking lot. Inside, however, the establishment makes good use of the space. The décor is appropriately Asian-inspired with a green-and-orange twist added for color. There are also a few decidedly quirky touches: lightbulbs have been repurposed as flower holders, and for 50 cents, you can buy custom origami from a gumball machine. As befitting a restaurant that opened earlier in the month, everything looked shiny and new.

As it continues to grow, It’s Your Roll! will likely augment the menu (the owners alluded to some tempura offerings). Until that happens, don’t expect the same breadth as a Sushi Republic. Do expect fresh, flavorful, friendly, fast, and fun, all at a manageable price.

9/10

The Counselor

Impressed by the extravagance of his eccentric friends Reiner (Javier Bardem) and Malinka (Cameron Diaz), the unnamed counselor (Michael Fassbender), a successful criminal defense attorney, partners with cartel middleman Westray (Brad Pitt) to import drugs from Mexico. But when the deal goes bad, the counselor, his fiancée Laura (Penelope Cruz), and everyone around them find themselves in grave danger.

Perhaps more so than any film in recent memory, The Counselor is less than the sum of its parts. Written by one of America’s greatest living novelists (Cormac McCarthy), helmed by a tried-and-true director (Ridley Scott) and featuring an A-list cast, there is, on paper, no reason why this film shouldn’t work. And yet in practice, it simply doesn’t.

The blame rests almost entirely with its screenwriter. Part of what makes McCarthy’s novels – and No Country For Old Men, the most successful screen adaptation thereof – compelling is the juxtaposition of expansive landscape and minimalist dialogue. This allows for both a healthy dose of symbolism and for characters to define themselves through action. The Counselor, in contrast, is an overly talky film wherein characters eruditely wax philosophical mid-conversation for minutes on end. This robs the pacing of tension, the characters and their interactions of realism, and the audience of respect. Presumably, we would have recognized the film as a treatise on greed without being clobbered over the head with the idea.

Had someone – such as The Coen Brothers – been around to pare down the peachiness, what was left might well have delivered up to expectations. The film is well-shot, well-scored, and well-cast. The flashy wardrobes form a nice contrast with the stark desert landscapes, the unconventional soundtrack restores some of the lost tension, and the cast does its best with the material. Fassbender starts off as a slightly smug, coolly detached blank slate, but his emotional range grows as his circumstances worsen. Bardem arguably overacts, but in doing so, he injects a sense of fun while Pitt is appropriately cynical. The real surprises here are Diaz and Dean Norris. The former, usually a liability in dramatic fare, is chilling as the avaricious, panther-like Malinka, and the latter, as a drug buyer, does a hilarious 180 from his best-known role as a DEA agent on Breaking Bad.

Upon release, some criticized The Counselor for being both bloody and bleak. Those qualities are a given in McCarthy’s oeuvre. The greater sin here is that The Counselor confuses pedantry and pretension for enlightenment and entertainment.

7/10

The Worx

Located at 106 Barnhardt Street by the train tracks in Downtown Greensboro, The Worx offers upscale comfort food: soups, salads, sandwiches, steak, chicken, and seafood. There is a full-service bar, rotating specials, and brunch on weekends.

The best way to describe The Worx would be as a dressed-up pub. The pricing and presentation occasionally strive for something greater, but it’s a false ambition. You won’t find anything off-the-wall innovative, but if you play your cards right, you can certainly take in a satisfying meal.

Housed in a 120-plus-year-old building, The Worx makes good use of its space inside and out. Outdoor seating is nestled in a cozy-looking porch. Indoors, there is an industrial theme that feels more appropriate than overbearing: red walls, metal art, solid brick, and ductwork (in other words, decidedly NOT The Mad Hatter). Though it fills easily, the noise level is tolerable, and servers seem to take good care of their tables.

The menu here is limited but with enough versatility to get by. Seafood mac and cheese and a jumbo stuffed portabella seemed to be the only derivations from formula. Familiar or not, however, the execution was successful. The fried green tomatoes, topped with pimento, bacon, and balsamic, were among the best I had. A crab cake sandwich was slightly sweet and well put-together on a thick, buttery bun. The thick-cut parmesan fries it came with were hot and fresh, but lacked a savory note; copious application of pepper fixed that. My companion’s black bean burger was better seasoned than most, and the soup of the day (a bratwurst and bean concoction) had a surprising but welcome lemony note.

Prices ran slightly high. Considering the recent influx of artisanal burgers, paying $9 to $10 for one that is not is becoming increasingly indefensible. Though worthwhile, the $9 fried green tomatoes were also pricy for an app. Given the downtown location, however, The Worx isn’t outrageous.

While it may not have the gravitas to impress across the board, The Worx has enough going for it to merit a return visit. At the very least, The Worx is not a misnomer.

8/10