Upscale Cajun
I was raised in Leave-It-To-Beaver Land in the middle of America, and you, for all I know, were raised in the mountains of Mongolia. It makes no difference, my brothers and sisters, because no matter how diverse our cultures, we're bonded by this shared memory: our mothers looking us up and down and scolding, You're…
Web Site of the Week
http://www.kissthisguy.com
Theater Equinox
One of my favorite moments in the theater year is that time in late spring when local venues announce their seasons to come. I like looking over these schedules for a few different items: for revivals of old favorites (e.g. this season's The Crucible at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center); for contemporary successes from…
New Look Same Family Feel
Imagine a town so devoid of culinary cultivation that even the opening of a Red Lobster seems like a leap toward civilization. Yes, we're talking about Largo, where the words "fine" and "dining" have seldom been seen together. Exceptions do exist: two peapod-size palaces of continental cuisine, Cafe Largo and Six Tables. But who could…
Orbitals
News briefs on
Mail Bonding
In Brown Bag, we like to feature comments and suggestions passed on from you, the budding wine fanatics. We publish the entries that are relevant to other readers, such as wines you enjoyed, interesting questions and cool stuff you've encountered. Sometimes it even gets amusing. Back in January, Jake called us "whiny slops" for our…
Samba in the Streets
Feel like dancing? Have a few mojitos and sway to the duple meter of Brazilian ballroom by way of Africa. Samba Room and Old Hyde Park Village host Samba in the Streets, a four-hour dance party featuring live entertainment by Latin Music Award-winner Tito Puente Jr. The free event is open to the public and…
Grill o’ Their Dreams
But they always dreamed of opening their own place, somewhere they could produce the terrific fare they knew they were capable of, in a casual, friendly setting. A year and a half ago, they relocated to Tampa's Carrollwood neighborhood and opened Michael's Grill. I heard about this amazing little eatery from my hairdresser. It took…
You Know Your Band Sucks if …
I was sitting on the can, flipping through a 2-year-old issue of Cosmo and marveling at how easy life could be for insecure, affluent, malleable women with intimacy issues. I mean, it's all right there in The Quiz, isn't it? For any and every romantic, relational, sexual, financial or self-esteem conundrum contemporary pressures have posed…
Lob Me Another
If you think you're seeing lobster on more Bay area menus, it's no shell game. A bumper crop of the crustaceans means lobsters are swimming into the mainstream. Once, we knew Mr. Lobster only as the big guy blushing scarlet, but today he's in all sorts of new guises, from savory soups to summery salads.…
Spins
Reviews of new releases from Eminem, The Makers, and Dave Jasper returns to blow kisses at Poison. ********************************************************** Eminem The Eminem Show Eminem is back … and just as irascible as ever. He's bashing his pill-popping mother, exploiting his young daughter by shoving her face first into the spotlight and objectifying women to the point…
Books
Viking/$25.95
Outtakes
Short reviews and synapses of movies playing throughout the Tampa Bay area. ******************************************* About a Boy (PG-13) It's a long way from American Pie to this compact little charmer about the redemption of a sexual predator, but that's exactly the journey taken by writer-directors Paul and Chris Weitz. About a Boy is based on a…
Making Other Arrangements
Nathan Golub resembles anything but a singer of dusty blues and aged country tunes as he approaches the stage at Classic Wax. The fair skinned youth wears short hair and eyeglasses. A threadbare "I (heart) New York" T-shirt and blue jeans hang from his lanky frame as he plugs his acoustic guitar into the speaker.…
Dvd Pick
About a Boy (PG-13) It's a long way from American Pie to this compact little charmer about the redemption of a sexual predator, but that's exactly the journey taken by writer-directors Paul and Chris Weitz. About a Boy is based on a 1998 book by popular Brit novelist Nick Hornby (High Fidelity) and boasts a…
Holy Road Trip
For one woman, the spiritual path to the Big G is fraught with pierogies, a bobcat and one hell of a big TV.
Brew This
Some teenagers put together garage bands. Michael Bryant put together a garage brewery. The owner of Dunedin's only microbrewery took his first steps toward becoming a brew master when he was just 13 years old. He'd stumbled on a small paperback book that contained simple recipes for homemade fruit wines and used his family's garage…
Fusion Indeed
After the shock and the numbing sight of people and buildings in flames following the World Trade Center attacks, I was not the only one who sought solace in the familiar pleasure of friends gathered around a table and the reassuring rituals of dining. My solution to the melancholia was a straight shot up West…
Wooing Moviegoers With ‘Windtalkers’
John Woo's come a long way since his first days in Hollywood. Back then, Woo was just another newly arrived, 99-pound weakling in a Hollywood that couldn't have cared less about his rep as the director of some of the best Hong Kong action movies ever made. Feeling his way through a couple of generically…
Letters
Responses to Francis X. Gilpin's coverage of the Mike Cone controversy, Trevor Aaron's story on the Albert Whitted Airport and kudos for the "K" girls — RhondaK and Kelli K — and events guru Cooper Cruz Escape From the OrdinaryRe: "International Plaza" by RhondaK (May 29-June 4) Several months ago I read a tiny square…
Coming of Age?
As Weekly Planet’s parent company turns 30, John Sugg wonders if it’s still an alternative, political potboiler or a potbellied media pig feeding at the advertising trough.
