6 minute read

Recently Reviewed

Next Article
The Foilies 2020

The Foilies 2020

DALI’S LAO THAI CAFE Some of the best Laotian and Thai cuisine can be found at this six-table, family-run establishment in a Sanford strip mall. From the gravy in the seafood lad na to the stellar laab laced with orange Thai hots, everything is made from scratch in-house. The khao poon, a Laotian coconut curry soup of rice noodles and shredded chicken, is worth the drive alone. Closed Tuesdays. 1181 Rinehart Road, Sanford, 321-363-3728; $$ BAGEL BRUNO Vegan, hearth-baked Montreal-style bagels lend much gratification to breakfast and lunch routines. Purists beware: Sandwiches, be they egg and cheese or smoked salmon with capers, come toasted, but toasted is the way you’ll want such specialty items as the pizza bagel or the classic reuben – which comes with bagel tops sliced off for an added crisp. Foxtail Coffee shares the space. Open daily 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. 3405 Edgewater Drive, 407-601-2914; $ HUNGRY PANTS Hungry Pants’ menu of mostly veg and vegan rice bowls, salads and handhelds caters to flexitarians and semi-vegetarians, though meat-cravers can opt for a salmon wrap, turkey reuben or cheeseburger. Of note are the chilled soba noodles with shiitake and bok choy, the beet and citrus salad, and black bean and sweet potato wontons served with a delightful house-made hot sauce. End with a slice of sour orange pie, or two. Open daily. 3421 S. Orange Ave., 407-412-6300; $$ SEA THAI Chef Jack Jone’s specials (offered four days a week, Fridays through Mondays) advance Thai cuisine in this city like no other, with dishes like khao soi in an incredible curry broth and tempurabattered soft-shell crabs pan-fried in red curry paste with shrimp fat and palm sugar. Pastes and broths are painstakingly made – sample the delicate wontons in broth fashioned from pork bone, soy and ginger for a small taste. Soy-tamarind wings and a haute seared salmon salad are must-haves if available. 3812 E. Colonial Drive, 407-895-0985; $$ ALEX’S FRESH KITCHEN Chef-driven diner in Casselberry serves breakfast and lunch items a notch above others in the area – mini chicken & waffles over a drizzle of vanilla sauce, chicken cheesesteak with white cheddarand-garlic aioli, and a gratifying turkey club. Potatoes are given the proper treatment here, be they home fries or French fries. Desserts, like chocolate banana cake and red velvet cupcakes, are baked in-house, gluten-free and shockingly moist. Closed Mondays. 1015 State Road 436, Casselberry, 407-636-5048; $$

Now Open!!

Happy Hour Everyday: 3 PM to 8 PM Hookah + 2 Drinks: $15.99

We would like to welcome you to one of the most luxurious lounges in Orlando/Winter Park area. Where the laidback chill Atmosphere weekdays meet the vibrant vibes of the weekend. Offering Alcohol beverages/coffee/hookah and more!

Brand New 2,400 sq ft Hookah lounge with stage, DJ, lights, bar, plenty of parking. Special rental pricing for Sorority Parties, Special Events, Anniversaries, Birthdays and Private Parties. conveniently located

8385 S. HWY 17/92 Fren Park, FL 32730 407-927-7999 | @dreamlounge407 We’re open 7 days a week (3 pm to 2 am)

Liam Neeson and Lesley Manville in Ordinary Love

BY STEVE SCHNEIDER

PHOTO COURTESY BLEECKER STREET

OPENING THIS WEEK: Bacurau If The Hunt and Beneath Us didn’t slake your jones for stories that put the common person in the crosshairs of sadistic elites, take a trip to the little Brazilian village of Bacurau. It’s the site of some weird shenanigans that involve everything from hovering drones to hallucinogenic drugs to nefarious manipulation of Google Maps. (Not our Google Maps!) What ties all of this persecution-of-the-innocentstype-stuff together – besides some pure and unadulterated grindhouse ultraviolence – is a story of community resistance that many observers are interpreting as a scathing swipe at Brazilian politics of the Bolsonaro era. In all likelihood, these are the same people who actually understood the Mexican sociopolitical context of Y Tu Mamá También while certain others thought they were simply processing an extended stag-party joke. (Meekly raises hand.) Anyway, Bacurau includes performances by both Sonia Braga and Udo Kier, so there’ll be plenty of genre kicks for you, even if you’re not into that whole biting-commentary angle. And if it does well enough, maybe there’ll be a sequel, Bacurau Banzai. Take a bow, Steve’s dictation program. (NR; tentatively scheduled to open Friday at Enzian Theater, Maitland)

ALSO PLAYING: Baaghi 3 The third installment in the Baaghi series of action thrillers has taken something of a critical pasting back home in India, with naysayers decrying a lack of storytelling logic in its portrayal of one man’s violent quest to rescue his brother from ISIS kidnappers. In the film’s defense, director Ahmed Khan has made the (wholly reasonable, IMHO) point that nobody expects logic from the Fast and the Furious movies, so why should an Indian director be held to a higher standard? Hey, Ahmed: Fast & Furious 9 just got pushed to 2021. Go kick its ass! (NR; playing Universal Cinemark at CityWalk and XD)

DUE TO THE COVID-19 OUTBREAK, THEATERS MAY BE CLOSED. CALL YOUR THEATER FIRST FOR CANCELLATIONS.

Hope Gap For only the second time in 22 years, acclaimed British screenwriter-playwrightnovelist William Nicholson (Shadowlands, Gladiator) has stepped behind the camera to direct a film based on one of his own scripts. This one’s the story of a Sussex woman (Annette Bening) who is blindsided by her husband’s (Bill Nighy) announcement that he wants a divorce. Seriously, Annette: You didn’t realize his heart belongs to Joe the personal manager? You’re the one person on Earth who hasn’t seen Love, Actually? (PG-13; playing at Regal Winter Park Village & RPX)

Ordinary Love Here’s another limited-release drama about an older married couple facing a serious crisis. Only in this case, it’s not infidelity that’s the issue, but rather the wife’s diagnosis with breast cancer. And like Hope Gap, this movie also stars a Love, Actually alumnus, namely Liam Neeson. Wait a minute: Didn’t he have a dead spouse in that picture too? And in ... real life? I’m starting to think the guy is bad luck. Shout out to Liam: You just made No. 1 on the social-distancing list, buddy boy. You mess with the bull, you get the facemask. (R; playing at Regal Winter Park Village & RPX)

This article is from: