Squid Eats: Original Skiff Fish & Oysters

Original Skiff Fish & Oysters is the restaurant at Hotel Champlain Burlington, a Hilton property not far off the lakefront in Burlington, Vermont.  We recently visited for the first time for the front end of a dinner-and-a-movie date.  It was pretty quiet for a Saturday night but admittedly, we were on the early side with a 5:15 reservation.  Even so, I wonder how much business they get beyond hotel guests.

Obviously, given the name, seafood is the main feature.  We shared a half-dozen oysters and a farmer's salad to start.  For entrees, I got the bone-in pork chop, my wife the fish fry.  They need a shellfish main.  I would have ordered it.  Clams came with my pork chop but I long for crustaceans.  

Last week, I wrote about how one must consider with fine dining if it's truly worth the cost.  Original Skiff, while still on the pricier side, was cheaper than Bistro de Margot and yet I would say the food was better.  The sauce for my pork chop was divine.  On the way out, one of the hosts asked about our highlight of the meal (a solid customer service move).  The fries from the fish fry dipped in the sauce for the pork chop was my choice.

A couple of odd quirks of note:

• The menu was on place mats - a fine choice for a seafood establishment in my opinion.  But they took them away after we placed our order.  I would have been perfectly happy to keep mine.
• My wife's plate spun and we don't think it was supposed to.  The little circular thing underneath was more prominent than the outer ridge.  Poor design.

But those are minor gripes.  Overall, it was an excellent meal.  I'd go again, particularly if they add a lobster dinner to the menu.

Star Trek: Starship Down

Episode: "Starship Down"

Series: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Season 4, Episode 7

Original Air Date: November 13, 1995

via Memory Alpha

Our friends are out on a Defiant adventure for trade talks with the Karemma.  When one of the Karemma ships is attacked by the Jem-Hadar, our heroes rush to defend it.  Meanwhile, Quark gets to know Hanok, the Karemma trade minister, better.  Initially mistrustful of one another, they must work together in the end to dismantle a torpedo.

This is one of those episodes that is just fine - solid quality but not exactly memorable, at least for me.  As such, I was a bit surprised when our child claimed it as one of their favorites.  "Good character development for everyone," they explained.

Hmm.

Let's see.  Sisko nearly dies.  As he lies on the ground in front of her, fighting to stay conscious, Kira pours her heart out to him, talking about how important he is to her as a religious figure even though they never talk about it and she knows it makes him uncomfortable.  In a C-plot, Worf makes further adjustments to his leadership style in the midst of crisis.  We get to see multiple sides of hustler Quark in action, skillfully managing the relationship with Hanok as both adversary and friend.  We see O'Brien's pride in both his captain and his engineering crew.  Bashir saves Dax's life and they celebrate the healthy friendship they have found together.

Yeah, that's pretty good for one episode.

Acting Notes

via Succession Wiki

James Cromwell (Hanok) was born in Los Angeles, January 27, 1940, to actress Kay Johnson and blacklisted actor/director John Cromwell.  He graduated from The Hill School, a prep school in eastern Pennsylvania, then studied at Middlebury in Vermont and Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh.  He studied acting at HB Studio in New York.  

Before August 1995, Cromwell had a reasonably successful career, boasting numerous film roles plus appearances in several high-profile TV series.  In August 1995, not long before this episode aired, he became a Hollywood superstar, practically overnight.  That was the month the surprise commercial and critical smash hit Babe was released.  Cromwell played Arthur Hoggett, a farmer with an adorable sheep-herding pig.  The role earned him an Oscar-nomination.  His phone has hardly stopped ringing since.

He has appeared in many successful films, including L.A. Confidential, The Green Mile and The Artist.  Television work includes principal roles on Six Feet Under, American Horror Story: Asylum and Counterpart.  To date, he has seven Emmy nominations, winning once.  

On top of everything else is an impressive Star Trek resume.  "Starship Down" was already his fourth Trek credit.  For the 1996 film Star Trek: First Contact, Cromwell was cast as Zefram Cochran, the inventor of the warp drive, an essential development in Trek history.  He has since appeared as Cochran three more times, including a Mirror Universe episode on Enterprise and as a holograph in Lower Decks.  

Squid Eats: Bistro de Margot

Bistro de Margot is a fine dining French restaurant in Burlington, Vermont.  My wife thinks we had been before but if so, it was a long time ago - maybe for Restaurant Week one year.  

Fine dining is fun.  You get pampered.  You get food that looks and tastes beautiful.  If you do it right, you leave feeling warmed, both body and soul.  The question is always whether or not it's worth the price.  Is it really twice or even three times as good as a perfectly acceptable meal somewhere else.  

We each got the 3-course prix fixe.  I got the Terrine de Foie Gras & Homard (foie gras and lobster terrine) to start, Steak Frite for my main and Tart Tatin aux Coings & Raisin Secs (quince and golden raisins tart Tatin) for dessert.  In my opinion, appetizers and especially dessert are where fine dining shines brightest.  Anyone can produce a strong entrée.  A strong opener and a dazzling finish are what truly make the show.  I was not disappointed.  I'll eat just about anything with lobster in it and the foie gras complimented it nicely.  My steak was lovely, though the fries were a bit too salty.  You don't see quince on a menu very often so I was intrigued.  The dish was sweet and warm with a gentle tang.  Very nice.

We were definitely pampered.  Our waitress was bubbly and charming and the chef stopped by to be sure we were enjoying our meal.

Worth the price?  For the food alone, no, but for food+service+atmosphere, it's getting closer.  My wife said I wasn't so impressed the first time but I enjoyed my meal on this second visit.  It wasn't our best meal of the weekend.  I may get to that next week.

My wife felt a little annoyed by the other customers - the Stowe upper class, she guessed.  She was facing the middle of the room whereas I faced the wall.  They didn't bother me so much.

Star Trek: Tattoo

Episode: "Tattoo"

Series: Star Trek: Voyager

Season 2, Episode 9

Original Air Date: November 6, 1995

via Memory Alpha

During an away mission, Chakotay discovers symbols which are remarkably similar to ones he encountered as a young man during a formative experience with his father.  Evidently, there is a mysterious link between his ancestors and the inhabitants of this far away planet.  

Like I've said before, watch out when the wooden flute music kicks in during a Chakotay story.  We're in for meaningful Native American culture connections.  Why do these stories set my teeth on edge?  This particular tale, while certainly far-fetched, is very sweet at its heart.  I certainly appreciate the broader theme of a society valuing its connections with the natural world.  I'm very much in favor of meaningful development for Chakotay.  So what's the problem, Squid?

For generations, white people have co-opted a highly romanticized version of Native Americans and it was all over 1990s screen media.  The image of the noble savage who lived simply and treasured the Earth suited the environmental movement perfectly.  As is so often the case with white liberalism, their heart was in the right place.  The trouble is that the image fails to appreciate the complexity of Native American cultures - yes, that's plural cultures with an S.  Indigenous populations live and breathe throughout the Americas right now.  They have survived long past their 19th century stereotypes.  

What is portrayed in Voyager is a deeply white perspective.  As previously discussed, if the producers were serious about pursuing this angle, they should have hired a native actor.  I don't fault Robert Beltran.  It was a gig.  He did his job and for his own part, he portrayed native culture respectfully.  I blame the higher-ups.  

If you are curious about native television produced by native creators offering a broader, more realistic presentation, I highly recommend Reservation Dogs.  

The B plot is better.  The Doctor gives himself a cold to show the crew they should be better able to endure their own ailments.  Kes messes with him by making the cold last longer than it was supposed to.  Ha!  What's even funnier is the fact the story was entirely Robert Picardo's idea.

Acting Notes

via WikiSein

Richard Fancy played the "alien" Chakotay encounters on the mystery planet.  Fancy was born in Evanston, Illinois, August 2, 1943.  Most of his high-profile work has been on television.  He is best known as Mr. Lippman, Elaine's boss, for ten episodes on Seinfeld.  He also had multiple appearances on It's Garry Shandling's Show, The Wonder Years and General Hospital.  Films include What About Bob?, Nixon and Primal Force.  "Tattoo" is his second of two Trek credits.

Squid Flicks: The Godfather Part II

Title: The Godfather Part II

Director: Francis Ford Coppola

Original Release: December 20, 1974

My Overall Rating: 4 stars out of 5

via The Godfather Wiki

On their last weekend of winter break, the Purple Penguin had a request.  They wanted to watch The Godfather, never having seen it before, and asked if either of us would be willing to watch with them.  For me, it's one of those films that lives in our collective cultural consciousness whether you've actually watched it or not: The Wizard of Oz, The Shining, Jaws, Star Wars, etc.  I'm pretty sure I've only seen it twice all the way through, yet I feel I know it as well as a lot of movies I've seen more.  There are lines that everyone knows, even if they don't know the context:

"I'll make him an offer he can't refuse."

"Some day, and that day may never come, I will call upon you to do a service for me."

If you can manage the lines in Marlon Brando's voice, all the better.

I begged off this viewing but once it was over, they were still up for more.  Obviously, we needed to watch Part II...  

Godfather Part II is one of the rare sequels that is widely considered to be better than the original.  I prefer it myself and for much the same reason that I prefer The Empire Strikes Back to A New Hope.  For both franchises, the first movie is, of course, outstanding - each setting the standard for an entire genre.  In both cases, the second movie opened up a broader universe, a longer timeline, a wider moral spectrum.  

Before I get too deep in the weeds on the comparison, I should focus on the movie at hand...

Like the first movie, Godfather Part II tells the tale of the fictional Corleone family, the most powerful organized crime organization in America.  Like the first movie, the second follows the separate though intertwined sagas of Vito Corleone, the original head of the operation, and that of his son Michael, the new godfather.  But Part II switches freely between two timelines.  We follow the Michael story as proper sequel to the first story.  Now that the Corleones have established supremacy over the other New York families, Michael moves the base of operations to Nevada while also trying to "go legit."  For Vito, we get the origin story from his early life in Sicily to his rise to power in Little Italy.  We also get a new actor in the part: Robert DeNiro.  

I mean, is a mob movie even a proper mob movie without Robert DeNiro?  Nearly everything I've ever seen him in has left me wanting more.  He and Brando were the first actors to win Oscars for playing the same role.

The production budget for the second movie was twice that of the first and most of it must have gone to travel expenses.  We visit New York, Lake Tahoe, Los Angeles, Sicily, Miami and Cuba.  Witnessing the Cuban Revolution is particularly meaningful.

Like Empire, Part II reveals seemingly endless avenues for further exploration.  Every Corleone sibling sitting at the table in the final scene offers his or her own tangent possibilities.  

The Purple Penguin liked the first one better for a simple reason: they don't like Michael.  That's fair.  He's a monster, after all.

I don't know if I'll ever watch Part III.  I can't help being curious but the movie is notoriously terrible.  I'm 100% certain my wife would never watch with me.  She has seen it before and is disinclined to make the same mistake twice.  Maybe the kid and I can watch someday.

Star Trek: Rejoined

Episode: "Rejoined"

Series: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Season 4, Episode 6

Original Air Date: October 30, 1995

via Wikipedia

A Trill science team arrives at the station, led by Lenara Kahn (Susanna Thompson), complicating matters for Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell).  Lenara is a joined Trill and her symbiont Kahn's previous host Nilani was married to Dax's previous host, Torias.  Reassociation by later hosts is forbidden by Trill law so Lenara and Jadzia must keep their interactions professional.  There's a problem.  The two are clearly still in love.

In my post about the TNG episode "The Perfect Mate," I wrote about the television romances I truly believe.  Kahn/Dax is top of the list for me.  Their irresistible attraction is obvious from the beginning.  The build up of sexual tension is deliciously excruciating.  Then the kiss.  Wow!  It's not just the best Trek kiss or the best same-sex kiss or whatever.  It's one of the greatest on-screen kisses you'll ever see.  Evidently, Farrell asked Thompson's husband beforehand about what turned his wife on.  His advice was clearly helpful.

Within the context of the narrative, the fact that Jadzia and Lenara are both women is irrelevant.  Nobody cares.  This was intentional, of course.  Star Trek seemingly always has a cover ready in situations like this.  For instance, Kirk and Uhura shared their groundbreaking kiss in "Plato's Stepchildren" because they were under mind-control.  Avery Brooks, who directed the episode, and most of the creative staff have long downplayed the historical relevance of "Rejoined," claiming it's not really about homosexuality.  Terry Farrell, on the other hand, has always embraced it, celebrating the many LGBTQIA+ fans who have approached her over the years and told her how meaningful the story was to them.

In the real world, there was push back.  Paramount received plenty of angry correspondence from conservative fans, just as they had for "Plato's Stepchildren."  It would be another 22 years before Star Trek had a same-sex kiss between two men.  

Acting Notes

via Live Action Wiki

Susanna Thompson was born in San Diego, January 27, 1958.  She graduated from San Diego State University.  "Rejoined" was her third of six Star Trek appearances.  Her films include Little Giants, Random Hearts and Dragonfly.  On television, she has had principal cast roles on Once and Again, Kings and Arrow.  

Squid Flicks: Russian Ark

Title: Russian Ark

Director: Alexander Sokurov

Original Release: May 22, 2002

My Overall Rating: 4 stars out of 5

via Wikipedia

An unnamed, and unseen, narrator wanders through the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg with his companion, "the European," representing the Marquis de Cuistine, a French traveler.  The camera follows the narrator's perspective as the two pass through time and space, each room of the enormous mansion/museum inhabits a different period of Russian history.  They see Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, both Tsar Nicolases.  They witness a 19th century ball, the siege of Leningrad and a diplomatic apology.  Through it all, they see art - so much art.  Apart from being the royal residence for centuries, the Winter Palace is home to the Hermitage Museum, one of the most extraordinary art collections in the world.

Russian Ark is a technical marvel.  Thanks to what was at the time new technology, the entire film was shot in a single, 87-minute take.  Well, they didn't actually get it right until the third attempt but still met the initial goal: one shot for the entire story.  

Where do you go from there?  Makeup and costumes are first rate.  And of course, the art itself is lovingly, majestically documented.  It reminded me somewhat of another Russian film we saw at the Green Mountain Film Festival several years ago, Francophonia (review included in this post).  That movie focused on a different museum (The Louvre) but the trippy atmosphere and the historical sweep feel similar.  In fact, both films could fit well in a museum-themed movie binge, along with Dahomey and maybe Bringing Up Baby or Night at the Museum for comic relief.  

I definitely felt overstimulated by the end of Russian Ark, though the final shot of mist over the River Neva provides a bit of relief before the credits roll.  Otherwise, it's definitely worth your time.