Monthly Archives: June 2023

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

Sin La Habana
NYT Critic’s Pick | Drama | Directed by Kaveh Nabatian
In Kaveh Nabatian’s new drama, an Afro-Cuban dancer tries to bring his girlfriend to Canada through a sham marriage.


Yonah Acosta in “Sin La Habana.”
By CLAIRE SHAFFER

— Of Possible Interest —

Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken
PG | Animation, Action, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy | Directed by Kirk DeMicco, Faryn Pearl
The newest animated adventure from DreamWorks follows a high schooler who transforms into a giant tentacled sea creature.
By NATALIA WINKELMAN

Nimona
PG | Animation, Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Thriller | Directed by Nick Bruno, Troy Quane
A zingy, chintzy, idea-driven animated feature based on the ND Stevenson comic.
By AMY NICHOLSON

Every Body
R | Documentary | Directed by Julie Cohen
The documentary follows three openly intersex people, set against the larger backdrop of decades of secrecy and unnecessary surgeries.
By TEO BUGBEE

Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed
Documentary | Directed by Stephen Kijak
Stephan Kijak’s new documentary seems keenly interested in the ways in which the closeted actor’s sexuality manifested itself, largely unintentionally, in his movies.
By CALUM MARSH

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
PG-13 | Action, Adventure | Directed by James Mangold
The gruff appeal of Harrison Ford, both de-aged and properly weathered, is the main draw in this generally silly entry in the long-running franchise.
By MANOHLA DARGIS

Food! Glorious Food!

CRITIC’S NOTEBOOK
‘The Bear’ Season 2 Puts a Little Optimism on the Menu
With a gentler tone and reverence for hospitality, the Hulu show reaches beyond the chef to give other workers the spotlight.
By TEJAL RAO

A Proto-Pizza Emerges from a Fresco on a Pompeii Wall
That doughy disc with delectable toppings seen in a 2,000-year-old painting is not a pizza, experts insist. But can we get one delivered anyway?


2,000-year-old painting on the wall of a house in Pompeii house showing what may be a distant ancestor of modern pizza.
By ELISABETTA POVOLEDO

Simple, Satisfying 3-Ingredient Barbecue Sauces
An Alabama white sauce, a South Carolina mustard sauce and a North Carolina vinegar sauce: Each comes together in minutes with just a few staples.


This mustard sauce enhances the sweetness of pork, but it works equally well on fish like salmon.
By STEVEN RAICHLEN

A Potato Salad That Packs a Serious Umami Punch
Serve with barbecue slathered in one of Steven Raichlen’s three new sauces and Millie Peartree’s sweet-tart Hennessy coladas.
By MIA LEIMKUHLER

EAT
A Dessert Recipe So Good, I Was Sworn to Secrecy
A friend told our columnist never to write about this easy Hawaii-style sherbet. Lucky for you, she did anyway.


By LIGAYA MISHAN

FOOD & DRINK
What’s the Best Local Beer to Cook Your Brats in?
Stop using the Coors Light that’s been sitting in your garage fridge and reach for one of these Minnesota beers instead.


By Matt Lambert

What Does It Mean to Be an Asian American Brewer?
Across the U.S., Asian beer makers are putting their mark on an industry that is still predominantly white.

Oscar Wong stands behind the bar holding a beer across from his daughter Leah Wong Ashburn.
After retiring, Oscar Wong embarked on a second career as a founder of one of the few Asian-owned breweries in the United States. His daughter Leah, left, took over in 2015.
By T.M. Brown

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

The Stroll
NYT Critic’s Pick | Documentary | Directed by Zackary Drucker, Kristen Lovell
In this documentary, transgender sex workers speak for themselves without sanitizing or sensationalizing their experiences.


Kristen Lovell, who directed and appears in the documentary “The Stroll.”
By DEVIKA GIRISH

— Of Possible Interest —

Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy
Documentary | Directed by Nancy Buirski
A documentary examines how the winner for best picture of 1969 captured shifts in American life.
By BEN KENIGSBERG

Surrounded
R | Western | Directed by Anthony Mandler
Playing a woman disguising herself as a man, Wright is haunting and haunted, and Michael K. Williams is an energetic presence in one of his last roles.
By GLENN KENNY

Sublime
Drama | Directed by Mariano Biasin
A teenager dreams of pop songs, and his best friend, in Mariano Biasin’s tender gay coming-of-age drama.
By ERIK PIEPENBURG

Food! Glorious Food!

THE POUR
Robert Mondavi Changed Wine. His Grandson Aims to Change Farming.

Carlo Mondavi takes on climate change by pushing regenerative and organic agriculture, with the help of a smart electric tractor.
Carlo Mondavi with a Monarch electric tractor. He believes it will help to make organic farming less expensive than farming with chemicals.
By Eric Asimov

Hawaii’s ‘Local Food,’ a Rich Mix That Isn’t Strictly Hawaiian
A blend of influences and ingredients from the many groups who have settled there, this cooking tradition is still sparking creativity, and some complications.
By Elyse Inamine

Why Egusi Is More Than Just a Great Soup
Incredibly popular across West Africa, the dish can vary from cook to cook and place to place, but, for Yewande Komolafe, it’s a quick link to the past.

A blue rimmed bowl filled with a reddish stewy egusi and a doughy swallow sits on an aqua ikat print backdrop.
Stewed leafy greens and mushrooms are bathed in a nutty, creamy sauce of ground egusi seeds for this classic dish.
By Yewande Komolafe

EAT
These Fish Tacos Couldn’t Be More Brilliant
Golden pineapple and a deep-red marinade make this dish pop with color and flavor.

Three fish tacos with pineapple pico de gallo on a yellow plate, on a wooden countertop.
By Eric Kim

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

Asteroid City
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG-13 | Comedy, Drama, Romance | Directed by Wes Anderson
In his latest film, Wes Anderson and his all-stars go meta with a TV show about a theatrical play that, in turn, is about a small town, U.S.A.


Grace Edwards, left, and Scarlett Johansson in “Asteroid City.”
By MANOHLA DARGIS

Elemental
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG | Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Sci-Fi | Directed by Peter Sohn
The latest movie from Disney/Pixar tucks a romantic comedy inside a high-concept premise. It’s smoldering and splashy.


Wade (voiced by Mamoudou Athie) and Ember (Leah Lewis), center, in “Elemental.”
By AMY NICHOLSON

— Of Possible Interest —

The Blackening
R | Comedy, Horror, Thriller | Directed by Tim Story
With more jokes than jump scares, this comedic horror film is as tartly amusing as it is provocative.
By LISA KENNEDY

The Flash
PG-13 | Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi | Directed by Andy Muschietti
In the latest DC Comics blowout, Ezra Miller suits up as the speedy superhero alongside special guests like Batman (hello, Michael Keaton).
By MANOHLA DARGIS

Stan Lee
Documentary, Biography | Directed by David Gelb
Disappointingly, this creation story of Lee gives way to the characters he helped create.
By AMY NICHOLSON

Food! Glorious Food!

EATING LAB
Are all calories created equal? Your gut microbes don’t think so.
For weight loss, whether you feed your gut microbiome high- or low-quality calories makes a difference, a new study suggests
By Anahad O’Connor

Pyrex and Instant Pot maker files for bankruptcy protection in US
Instant Brands, which blames rising interest rates for financial problems, will continue to serve retailers
Jasper Jolly

EAT
How Yotam Ottolenghi Comes Up With a New Recipe
Familiar ingredients — peppers, eggplants, tomatoes — lay the foundation for creations like this Moroccan dip.


By Yotam Ottolenghi

A GOOD APPETITE
This Easy Lemon Tart Has a Timesaving Twist
A press-in-the-pan shortbread crust and an easy lemon curd filling make this stunning pastry a snap to bake.

An overhead image of a sliced bright-yellow tart on a white platter against a background.
A bracing lemon curd is at the heart of this classic tart.
By Melissa Clark

NEWSLETTER
The Veggie
Grilled Vegetables for Maximum Summer Whimsy
Try these three easy techniques to get more from your market haul.
By Tanya Sichynsky

4 nonalcoholic bitters for even better zero-proof cocktails
By Allison Robicelli

Food! Glorious Food

The QR-Code Menu Is Being Shown the Door
A dining innovation that once looked like the future has worn out its welcome with many restaurateurs, customers and servers who say it takes the joy out of dining.
By AMELIA NIERENBERG

TRILOBITES
In Search of an Antidote for Poisonous Mushrooms
Researchers are finding clues to a potential remedy for consumption of the death cap species, a potentially lethal mushroom.
By ALLA KATSNELSON

THE POUR
Weed Wine Is an Underground Favorite. Can It Survive the Gummy Era?
It’s delicious, but prohibited commercially, even where cannabis is legal. That hasn’t stopped winemakers from sharing recipes.
By ERIC ASIMOV

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

You Hurt My Feelings
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Comedy, Drama | Directed by Nicole Holofcener
The director Nicole Holofcener’s characters are known for their brazen honesty. But it’s dishonesty that drives her new film, starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus.


Tobias Menzies and Julia Louis-Dreyfus in “You Hurt My Feelings,” the director Nicole Holofcener’s latest comedy.
By WESLEY MORRIS

— Of Possible Interest —

Will-o’-the-Wisp
Unrated | Comedy, Fantasy, Musical, Romance, Sci-Fi | Directed by João Pedro Rodrigues
Or, at least, he kinda-sorta tries to rebel in this romantic, futuristic fable from the Portuguese director João Pedro Rodrigues.
By AMY NICHOLSON

The Little Mermaid
PG | Adventure, Family, Fantasy, Musical, Romance | Directed by Rob Marshall
Disney’s live-action remake, with Halle Bailey starring as Ariel and a diverse cast, is a dutiful corrective with noble intentions and little fun.
By WESLEY MORRIS

Food! Glorious Food!

36 HOURS
Vancouver
By Remy Scalza Photographs by Jennilee Marigomen

James Beard Foundation, Whose Awards Honor Chefs, Is Now Investigating Them
The group behind “the Oscars of the food world” created a new process to weed out nominees with problematic pasts. But that process has troubles of its own.
By BRETT ANDERSON and JULIA MOSKIN

Diners Are Fed Up With Minimal Service. Will a Little Warmth Win Them Back?
As prices rise and seasoned help is harder to find, some restaurants are trying to provide a more welcoming experience for their underwhelmed guests.
Service is relaxed and personal at S & P Lunch in Manhattan, a tight space where close interaction between the staff and customers is almost inevitable.Credit…Nico Schinco for The New York Times
By Kim Severson

A GOOD APPETITE
This Sweet-Tart Roasted Salmon Is Ready in No Time
Paired with red rhubarb, these brilliantly pink fillets are on the table in 25 minutes.

An overhead image of a parchment paper-lined sheet tray topped with salmon fillets. They’re finished with roasted pieces of rhubarb and sliced scallion greens.
Rhubarb is an incredible foil to rich ingredients, like salmon. Here, it’s roasted alongside fillets, to cut through the fish’s richness.
By Melissa Clark

How to Make the Juiciest, Most Succulent Grilled Chicken
Cooking skin-on legs over moderate heat yields gorgeously charred skin and tender meat, Genevieve Ko writes.

An overhead image of a white platter topped with crisp-skinned chicken legs.
A simple soy glaze brushed on at the end of cooking enhances this grilled chicken.
By Genevieve Ko

The Best Olive Oil You Can Buy at the Store
By Michael Sullivan

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

Past Lives
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG-13 | Drama, Romance | Directed by Celine Song
Celine Song’s film debut, starring Greta Lee, follows two childhood friends who share a wistful kind of love across two decades and two continents.


In “Past Lives,” Teo Yoo, left, and Greta Lee play childhood friends who reconnect in New York City.
By MANOHLA DARGIS

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG | Animation, Action, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Sci-Fi | Directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson
This charming sequel to the 2018 animated movie expands the multiverse concept, without shamelessly capitalizing on fan service.


Miles Morales (voiced again by Shameik Moore) is joined by countless Spider-Men in this sequel.
By MAYA PHILLIPS

After Sherman
NYT Critic’s Pick | Documentary | Directed by Jon Sesrie Goff
A New York-based filmmaker wades into the deep waters of his Gullah Geechee heritage and South Carolina roots.


A scene in “After Sherman,” a documentary | Directed by Jon-Sesrie Goff. “I’m Gullah, born in exile,” Goff says.
By LISA KENNEDY

Reality
NYT Critic’s Pick | TV-MA | Drama | Directed by Tina Satter
A new docudrama starring Sydney Sweeney as Reality Winner is gripping, even as it strips a true story of its political context.


Sydney Sweeney as Reality Winner in the docudrama “Reality.”
By AMY NICHOLSON

— Of Possible Interest —

Being Mary Tyler Moore
Documentary | Directed by James Adolphus
This charming documentary aims to peek under the smile of a groundbreaking television star.