Golden Compass for $12 in NYC

Alana and I spent the last week in NYC. There is so much vegetarian food it's impossible to hit it all. Our favorites were Red Bamboo and Cafe Lan. Red Bamboo has all of your favorites in mock form: cajun shrimp. bbq ribs, roasted chicken, fish sticks, the list goes on and on. The shrimp tasted pretty damn close (well if you've been a vegetarian for 11 years at least) and my ribs were smoky and meaty, if not the "same" as a real rib. Cafe Lan is a vegetarian Vietnamese restaurant whose owners are Buddhist. The food here was out of this world. Their BBQ Tempeh was crisp and tender, and the Papaya salad is out of this world - Not to mention the fact that entrees will only run you $8-$10, which isn't too shabby for New York.

We saw the Golden Compass as well. The story was engrossing and it was well made, but the editing and story flow were rushed and choppy. Alas I haven't read the book, and I'm afraid that will increase the disappointment level. All in all it was entertaining, and seeing a giant polar bear mosh some bad guys rates right up there with top bad ass film moments of the year.

It was a Death Metal Coen Brothers Kind of Week

Alana and I went to the Faceless/Arsis/Enslaved show at the Bluebird Theater on Wednesday. All 3 bands were good. Faceless sound was a bit muddy to me, I couldn't make out the high end. They were talented, but it wasn't anything that got me excited. Arsis killed, I hadn't listened to much of them (and by much I mean a cursory glance at their Myspace page, oh I'm so ashamed). Let's just say I picked up "United in Regret" as soon as I could. Very talented musicians, good stage presence, and smoking riffs. Enslaved was dark, and surprisingly catchy but their stage setup was weird, their amps were pointed towards the center of the stage, which made it next to impossible to hear the 2nd guitar. All I could make out was a little bit of drums, lead guitar, and some vocals. That aside, they were really good, the cold weather outside was a perfect backdrop for their Nordic darkness.

Friday we caught No Country for Old Men at the Mayan. What a terrific film. It was exciting, tense, well written, well acted, and a thinker. You can't ask for much more than that. It's definitely one of my top movies this year behind The Santa Clause 3.