Monthly Archives: February 2021

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

The Father
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG-13 | Drama | Directed by Florian Zeller
Anthony Hopkins gives a scalding performance as a man stricken by dementia in this clever drama.


Anthony Hopkins in “The Father.”
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

A Dramatic Film
NYT Critic’s Pick | Documentary | Directed by Eric Baudelaire
This documentary gives middle school children a chance to show their experiences.


Mohammed Samassa, left, and Fatimata Sarr in the documentary “Un Film Dramatique.”
By TEO BUGBEE

This Is the Life
NYT Critic’s Pick | Documentary | Directed by Ava DuVernay
Ava DuVernay’s 2008 documentary, now streaming on Netflix, is a personal love letter to a slice of Los Angeles’s 1990s hip-hop scene.


Medusa is one of the hip-hop artists featured in Ava DuVernay’s 2008 documentary “This Is the Life.”
By ROBERT DANIELS

— Of Possible Interest —

The United States vs. Billie Holiday
Biography, Drama, Music | Directed by Lee Daniels
Lee Daniels’s hectic biopic portrays the singer as a victim of abuse, addiction and government persecution.


Andra Day as Billie Holiday in “The United States vs. Billie Holiday.”
By A.O. SCOTT

Tom and Jerry
PG | Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family | Directed by Tim Story
This feature-length expansion of the popular cartoon is too brainless for adults, but its kid-friendly title characters are barely supporting players.


The animated characters Tom and Jerry navigate New York City streets in “Tom & Jerry.”
By JASON BAILEY

Food! Glorious Food!

Under Fire, a Portland Chef Tries to Build a Fairer Workplace
Gregory Gourdet has revamped his plans for a Haitian kitchen, after being caught up in a citywide furor over the treatment of restaurant workers.
By BRETT ANDERSON

Annie’s Pledges to Purge a Class of Chemicals From Its Mac and Cheese
The move comes nearly four years after a study showed that chemicals believed to cause health problems in children and reproductive issues in adults were found in mass-market macaroni and cheese packets.
By MICHAEL CORKERY

Where the Rare Citrus Grows
For French chefs and perfumers, a government-run grove on Corsica — home to some 900 varieties — has become a place of pilgrimage.


A selection of fruit from the Citrus Biological Resource Center in San Giuliano, Corsica, including, clockwise from top left, Corsican citrons, makrut limes, Meyer lemons, Timor pomelos, Okitsu Satsuma mandarins, bergamot oranges, Clanor sweet oranges, clementines, Page mandarins, Samuyao papedas, Clemendor mandarins, Star Ruby grapefruits, Chinotto sour oranges, variegated lemons, variegated sour oranges, Fukushu kumquats, Buddha’s hand citrons, Hong Kong kumquats, Brown River finger limes and Faustrime finger lime hybrids.
By ZOEY POLL

The (Surprising) Rise of the Sheet Pan
How did this unflashy piece of equipment become a home cooking star? (It has something to do with Martha Stewart.)
By GENEVIEVE KO

For Maximum Flavor, Make These Spice Blends at Home
Grind these five versatile, beloved mixes ahead of time, then keep them on hand for cooking that’s full of verve and depth.


Clockwise from left, five spice, garam masala, sweet baking spice, baharat and za’atar.
By MELISSA CLARK

‘Stop this madness’: NYT angers Italians with ‘smoky tomato carbonara’ recipe
Recipe using bacon and parmesan cheese attracts ire of chefs, foodies and farmers’ association


Coldiretti said pasta carbonara was one of the most ‘betrayed’ Italian recipes abroad.
Angela Giuffrida Rome correspondent

Just Desserts
We asked, you answered: Here are five reasonably easy desserts for the week ahead.
By EMILY WEINSTEIN

Jay-Z and LVMH, Two of the World’s Biggest Brands, Go Into Business
LVMH, owner of Dom Pérignon, will acquire half of Armand de Brignac, Jay-Z’s Champagne line known as Ace of Spades.
By KATHERINE ROSMAN and VANESSA FRIEDMAN

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

Nomadland
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Drama | Directed by Chloé Zhao
Frances McDormand hits the road in Chloé Zhao’s intimate, expansive portrait of itinerant lives.


Frances McDormand in Chloé Zhao’s film “Nomadland,” in which she shares the screen with several nonprofessional actors and real-life van travelers.
By A.O. SCOTT

Flora & Ulysses
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG | Adventure, Comedy, Family | Directed by Lena Khan
A 10-year-old cynic, a bushy-tailed superhero and a cast stacked with beloved comic actors make this lovable Disney film something to see.


Matilda Lawler as Flora in “Flora and Ulysses.”
By MAYA PHILLIPS

I Care a Lot
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Comedy, Crime, Thriller | Directed by J Blakeson
Nasty people do terrible things in this wildly entertaining Netflix caper about guardianship fraud.


Rosamund Pike in “I Care a Lot.”
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

Texas

Well! Of course, a progressive socialist state like Texas would be getting all of its power from renewable sources like wind turbines and rooftop solar panels! I’m sure every Republican in Texas can testify to that! They just love green and socialism down there!

Food! Glorious Food!

THE WORLD THROUGH A LENS
An Inside Look at Cuba’s Constant Struggle for Clean Water
Across the country, battling water scarcity requires a vast array of workers, from inspectors and fumigators to truck drivers and pipe layers.
By SANNE DERKS

Our 17 Coziest Vegetarian Soups
These heartening recipes are here to convince you that comfort is best served by the spoonful.


Curl up with a warming bowl of garlicky white bean and tomato soup from Ali Slagle.
By ALEXA WEIBEL

5 Recipes for Mardi Gras at Home
Mardi Gras looks a little different this year, but these recipes will help you get into the spirit.
By SARA BONISTEEL

Say It With Carbonara
You could say “I love you” with chocolate, but isn’t a bacony, eggy, cheesy pasta so much better?
By EMILY WEINSTEIN

A GOOD APPETITE
There’s No Better Time for Maximalist Brownies
Stuffed or topped with the likes of sugared coconut, pecan pie filling or salted pretzels, these brownies are not about subtlety.


It’s time to take your brownies over the top.
By MELISSA CLARK

EAT
A Brazilian Treat for Home Cooks in a Hurry
Brigadeiros are sweet, fudgy, and easy to make. Keep them in your freezer to eat anytime.


By TEJAL RAO

‘Rock stars of American cheese’: the enduring legacy of Cowgirl Creamery


Peggy Smith, left, and Sue Conley of Cowgirl Creamery. Photograph: Courtesy of Cowgirl Creamery
Over the course of two decades, Sue Conley and Peggy Smith created a beloved California brand – and helped redefine our relationship to food
Charlotte Simmonds in Oakland

THE POUR
How to Think About Wine Vintages
Conventional wisdom can often lead consumers away from delicious wines. Better to think of individual years in terms of character than of quality.
By ERIC ASIMOV

S. Prestley Blake, a Founder of Friendly’s, Dies at 106
With a $547 loan from their parents, he and a brother opened the Friendly Ice Cream Shop in 1935, then built it into a chain of hundreds of restaurants.


S. Prestley Blake outside a Friendly’s restaurant in Port St. Lucie, Fla., in 2001. He and his brother started the business with a $547 loan from their parents.
By DANIEL E. SLOTNIK

Maria Guarnaschelli, Book Editor Who Changed What We Cook, Dies at 79
She introduced Americans to new cuisines and helped transform cooking from a domestic chore to a cultural touchstone, inspiring her daughter, Alex, to be a chef.


Maria Guarnaschelli in 1997 in her office at Scribner while she was overseeing a major revision of the best-selling “Joy of Cooking.”
By JULIA MOSKIN

My worthless survival advice

Free and worth what you paid for it!

While it’s nice to have an extra house in the Caribbean, full geothermal heat systems, and backup generators that self-test every month, most of us live a little lower on the hog, so what makes for a survival kit that you probably can’t buy at Neiman Marcus?

1. Heat — A backpacker alcohol stove and a gallon of denatured alcohol or ethyl if you can afford it. Sterno is a good solid fuel alternative but it has a shorter shelf life — the alcohol evaporates.
2. Sleeping — Enough mummy sleeping bags for your pod.
3. Light — LED tea candles and a couple larger LED lights.
4. Communications — Charged battery cellphone chargers and a cellphone.
5. Entertainment — Playing cards, chess, checkers, or other games.
6. Food — Pantry supplies like soup, crackers, canned beans.
7. Water — Something to store water and some source of drinkable water.

Note: This list ain’t gonna keep your pipes from freezing, it’s not shrimp on the barbie, and yes, a landline is better, but if the power is out and you ain’t got a landline, you probably ain’t going to get one put it right now.

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

Minari
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG-13 | Drama | Directed by Lee Isaac Chung
Steven Yeun plays the patriarch of an immigrant family adjusting to American rural life in Lee Isaac Chung’s lovely new film


Yeri Han and Steven Yeun in “Minari,” about a Korean-American family that moves to the Ozarks.
By A.O. SCOTT

Judas and the Black Messiah
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Biography, Drama, History | Directed by Shaka King
In Shaka King’s historical drama, Daniel Kaluuya plays the radical leader Fred Hampton, with Lakeith Stanfield as the informer who betrayed him.


A Marxist-Leninist messiah: Daniel Kaluuya (second from left) as Fred Hampton, with, from left, Dominque Thorne, Darrell Britt-Gibson and Caleb Eberhardt.
By A.O. SCOTT

Land
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG-13 | Drama | Directed by Robin Wright
In her feature directing debut, Robin Wright plays a woman who moves alone to the mountains.


Robin Wright in “Land,” which she also directed.
By GLENN KENNY

The World to Come
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Drama | Directed by Mona Fastvold
Katherine Waterston and Vanessa Kirby play two women who share a gradually recognized love in upstate New York in 1856.


Katherine Waterston and Vanessa Kirby in “The World to Come.”
By BEN KENIGSBERG

— Of Possible Interest —

To All the Boys: Always and Forever
Comedy, Drama, Romance | Directed by Michael Fimognari
This final installment of the Netflix rom-com trilogy is earnest, bright-eyed and without a hint of cynicism.


Noah Centineo and Lana Condor in “To All the Boys: Always and Forever.”
By MAYA PHILLIPS

Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar
PG-13 | Comedy | Directed by Josh Greenbaum
The “Bridesmaids” writers Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo nix the raunch for an absurdist adventure complete with musical numbers, an evil underground lair, and a talking crab.


Kristen Wig as Star and Annie Mumolo as Barb in “Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar.”
By BEATRICE LOAYZA

Lapsis
Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller | Directed by Noah Hutton
Noah Hutton’s good-humored sci-fi movie takes aim at corporate greed and worker exploitation.


Dean Imperial in “Lapsis.”
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

There Is No I in Threesome
TV-MA | Documentary | Directed by Jan Oliver Lucks
A director and his fiancée chronicle their yearlong open relationship in this documentary that offers a clever examination of perspective.


Jan Oliver Lucks, right, with Zoe in the documentary “There Is No ‘I’ In Threesome.”
By NATALIA WINKELMAN

Food! Glorious Food!

Restaurants Find a New Revenue Source: Feeding the Hungry
What began as an emergency measure in the pandemic’s early days has turned into a long-term business plan that could help many kitchens keep running.
By JANE BLACK

The Birria Boom Is Complicated, but Simply Delicious
With infinite variations, the regional Mexican stew is now a TikTok and Instagram star in Los Angeles and beyond.


Food trends come and go, but a bowl of birria with warm corn tortillas will never lose its appeal.
By TEJAL RAO

Meet the Proseccos You’ll Be Drinking This Summer
Italy has given Prosecco rosé the stamp of approval, and producers are starting to send these pink bubblies to America.


By FLORENCE FABRICANT

AN APPRECIATION
Remembering Joe Allen, Who Fed Broadway in Untheatrical Style
The theater district restaurateur was famously reserved, but I caught some close-up glimpses from the next bar stool.


By PETER KHOURY

Joe Allen, Theater District Restaurateur, Is Dead at 87
His restaurant Joe Allen and another he opened next door, Orso, have been popular hangouts for celebrities and celebrity-watchers and the flagships of an international empire.


Joe Allen at his regular spot at the bar at Joe Allen, the popular Manhattan theater district restaurant he opened in 1965, before his block was christened Restaurant Row.
By JOYCE PURNICK

June Rose Bellamy, Adventurous Burmese Princess, Dies at 88
She traveled the world, hosted a TV show in the Philippines, married a dictator (out of patriotism, she said) and, among other things, opened a cooking school in Italy.


June Rose Bellamy in 2017 at Sesto On Arno, one of her favorite restaurants in Florence, where she started her own cooking school.
By PENELOPE GREEN

Obituaries
Maria Guarnaschelli, influential cookbook editor, dies at 79


Maria Guarnaschelli, right, with her daughter, chef Alex Guarnaschelli, in New York in 2013.
By Emily Langer