Monthly Archives: April 2024

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

Terrestrial Verses
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Drama | Directed by Ali Asgari, Alireza Khatami
Ordinary Iranians face a maze of byzantine rules and small indignities in this series of gripping vignettes.


Sadaf Asgari in “Terrestrial Verses,” written and directed by Ali Asgari and Alireza Khatami. The movie unfolds as a series of vignettes.
By ALISSA WILKINSON

Nowhere Special
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Drama | Directed by Uberto Pasolini
This understated tear-jerker sees a dying single father making future family plans for his toddler son.


Daniel Lamont, left, with James Norton in “Nowhere Special.”
By GLENN KENNY

Challengers
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Drama, Romance, Sport | Directed by Luca Guadagnino
Zendaya, Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist play friends, lovers and foes on and off the tennis court in Luca Guadagnino’s latest.


Two sides of a love triangle: Zendaya and Josh O’Connor in “Challengers.”
By MANOHLA DARGIS

— Of Possible Interest —

Humane
R | Horror, Thriller | Directed by Caitlin Cronenberg
Caitlin Cronenberg’s debut feature is set in a dystopian world that’s alarmingly believable.
By ALISSA WILKINSON

Food! Glorious Food!

36 HOURS
Munich


The statue of Bavaria, the female personification of the southern German state, looks over the expansive Theresienwiese, the site of the annual Oktoberfest beer festival.
By A.J. Goldmann

WHERE TO EAT
The 25 Best Restaurants in Austin Right Now
There’s plenty of barbecue and Mexican — as you’d expect — but also world-class Japanese, Korean and more. Comments welcome, as always.
By PRIYA KRISHNA and BRETT ANDERSON

No, Your Spaghetti Doesn’t Have to Be al Dente: 5 Pasta Myths, Debunked
A veteran food journalist settles some long-simmering disputes on a slippery subject.
By Julia Moskin

Could Eating Less Help You Live Longer?
Calorie restriction and intermittent fasting both increase longevity in animals, aging experts say. Here’s what that means for you.
By Dana G. Smith

The Best Fish Is Also the Most Local. Why Is It So Hard to Find?
Seafood caught in nearby waters has long been left out of the farm-to-table movement. But these people have set out to get it into stores and restaurants.
By MELISSA CLARK

With a Fresh Look and Recipes, Manischewitz Courts a New Generation
The 136-year-old company’s products have been staples in American Jewish households for generations. After a major rebranding, the matzo ball soup comes with merch.


A new brand identity for Manischewitz leans heavily on a shade of orange inspired by its matzo ball soup.
By REMY TUMIN

Carbonara Ramen
With its bright pink packaging and spicy contents, these Korean-made instant ramen packs are going viral online and flying off shelves.


introduced in 2017, Samyang Food’s buldak carbonara ramen capitalized on the company’s already popular spicy ramen.
By Eleanore Park

A New Gochujang Pasta Has Entered the Chat
Alexa Weibel’s gochujang pasta balances the red chile paste’s pungency with sweet shrimp and juicy cherry tomatoes.


By Melissa Clark

This chef wants to help you cook ‘misunderstood’ vegetables


Becky Selengut at the University District Farmers Market in Seattle.
By Rebekah Denn

Behind a Vegan Chef’s Holistic Empire, an Ugly Reality
Matthew Kenney, one of the most famous names in plant-based cuisine, has left a trail of burned investors, bounced paychecks and graphic text messages.


Matthew Kenney, shown here in a 2017 photo, is one of the world’s best-known vegan chefs. Seventeen of his restaurants have closed since late 2021.
By Brett Anderson

That other grain — rice: https://youtu.be/1ivJsV1A5oU?si=XA3mx5PNsFzPE-Yi

Can there be delish dessert with less sugar? Absolutely, say these chefs
We don’t have to reflexively use refined sugar to sweeten. Dates often do the trick – in a way that’s healthier for us and the planet
Caroline M Saunders

Can a Brewery Make Good Wine? These Beer Makers Say Yes.
In an effort to reach an increasingly diverse customer base, brewers are turning over some of their equipment to producing wine.

A man and a woman hold up glasses of wine. Colorful light refracted through the wine glasses shine on their faces.
Fermenting fruit for sour ales inspired Joe and Lauren Grimm, the married owners of Grimm Artisanal Ales in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, to start a sister winery, Physica Wines, which released its first vintages last year.
By Joshua M. Bernstein

NYTimes Critics Pick Movie(s)

Ain’t none.

— Of Possible Interest —

Rebel Moon — Part Two: The Scargiver
PG-13 | Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi | Directed by Zack Snyder
A delirious, pulpy mishmash of knockoffs, Zack Snyder’s film isn’t good, but it sure is something.
By AMY NICHOLSON

Stress Positions
Not Rated | Comedy | Directed by Theda Hammel
The writer-director Theda Hammel’s biting, delirious quarantine comedy skewers white gay men in a world where fact, fiction and authentic experiences collide.
By LISA KENNEDY

Food! Glorious Food!

WHERE TO EAT
The 25 Best Restaurants in Boston Right Now
It’s not just seafood and Italian. There’s great Vietnamese, omakase, Peruvian and even bagels worth seeking out. (Don’t worry, there’s also great seafood and Italian.) We’ll see you in the comments.
By KEVIN PANG, PRIYA KRISHNA and BRIAN GALLAGHER

A Radicchio Salad for People Who Don’t Think They Like Radicchio
The Danish chef Frederik Bille Brahe shares the recipe for the star dish at his newly reopened Copenhagen cafe, Apollo Bar & Kantine.


By Gisela Williams

How to Make Frozen Shrimp Even Faster (and More Delicious)
You’re 20 minutes and a few simple steps from a fresh spring stir-fry built from a freezer staple.

Two blue bowls filled with rice, shrimp and asparagus sit against a pink background.
Placing frozen shrimp under running water, then rubbing them with salt, helps keep them snappy.
By Genevieve Ko

2 Simple Cocktails for Lemon Lovers
Get ready for summer with homemade hard lemonade and the Sgroppino, an icy Italian favorite.


Lemon is an easy way to balance cocktails, as in this hard lemonade that’s both reminiscent of and far removed from the six packs of yore.
By Rebekah Peppler

“Is it too subtle?”

Gay Native American artist in Venice?


Jeffrey Gibson in his studio in Hudson, N.Y., with a painting, at right, for his U.S. Pavilion exhibition at the Venice Biennale, opening April 20. The work, titled “Whereas It Is Essential to Just Government We Recognize the Equality of All People Before the Law,” cites the Civil Rights Act of 1875 in close, angular letters.

Will Venice ever be the same? Will Venice ever be different?

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

Food, Inc. 2
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Documentary, News | Directed by Robert Kenner, Melissa Robledo
Directed by Robert Kenner and Melissa Robledo, the sequel about food production in the U.S. is, in some ways, a more hopeful film.


“Food, Inc. 2,” Directed by Robert Kenner and Melissa Robledo, begins by describing how the last few years have shown the risks of letting a handful of mega-suppliers dominate the market.
By BEN KENIGSBERG

Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Comedy | Directed by Wade Allain-Marcus
Wade Allain-Marcus has directed a rollicking update of the 1991 cult favorite.


Donielle Hansley Jr. and Simone Joy Jones in “Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead.”
By AMY NICHOLSON

In Flames
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Drama, Horror | Directed by Zarrar Kahn
Set in Pakistan, the story of a young woman and her family, hemmed in by men, shifts from realism to genre, with heart-pumping consequences.


Ramesha Nawal in “In Flames.”
By ALISSA WILKINSON

Civil War
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Action | Directed by Alex Garland
In Alex Garland’s tough new movie, a group of journalists led by Kirsten Dunst, as a photographer, travels a United States at war with itself.


Kirsten Dunst plays a war photographer in Alex Garland’s “Civil War.”
By MANOHLA DARGIS

It’s Only Life After All
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Documentary, Music | Directed by Alexandria Bombach
The director Alexandria Bombach benefited from the musician Amy Ray’s archivist instincts in this warm, compelling new documentary.


Amy Ray and Emily Saliers were routinely mocked for being too earnest, too poetic, too folky, too lesbian. The documentary “It’s Only Life After All” takes a look at their legacy.
By ELISABETH VINCENTELLI

Food! Glorious Food!

36 HOURS
36 Hours in San Juan, Puerto Rico
Bar-hop in an old quarter, explore a street splashed with murals and fly kites on the lawn of a fortress in this Caribbean capital.
By LUISITA LOPEZ TORREGROSA

WHERE TO EAT
The 25 Best Restaurants in Chicago Right Now
We scouted the city’s vast food scene, from stellar hot dogs and renowned Italian beefs to refined tasting menus. (And we’re here for your comments.).
By KEVIN PANG, PRIYA KRISHNA and BRIAN GALLAGHER

Yes, You Can Wash Cast Iron: 5 Big Kitchen Myths, Debunked
A veteran food journalist digs into some common misconceptions about salting pasta water, browning meat and more.
By JULIA MOSKIN

Asparagus Season Is Fleeting. This Easy Recipe Is Forever.
After the heaviness of winter, this miso-infused dish from Yotam Ottolenghi is a breath of fresh air.


By YOTAM OTTOLENGHI

Where to Drink Wine in Chicago
Great wine lists abound in this fascinating city. Here are eight places with distinctive lists that stand out.
By ERIC ASIMOV

The Bumpy Gourd That’s Winning Over Bartenders
In bars from Hong Kong to Vancouver, the medicinal tang of bitter melon is making its way onto drinks menus.
By BECKY COOPER

10 Red Wines to Drink Now: Austria Edition
There’s more to Austrian wines than grüner veltliner. Its reds range from juicy and refreshing to satisfyingly complex.


Many of Austria’s red wines are made with blaufränkisch or zweigelt grapes.
By Eric Asimov

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

Yannick
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Comedy, Drama | Directed by Quentin Dupieux
Audience members revolting against bad art isn’t a new thing, but Quentin Dupieux puts a fresh twist on that theme in his surreal new comedy.


Raphaël Quenard in “Yannick.”
By ELISABETH VINCENTELLI

Housekeeping for Beginners
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Comedy, Drama | Directed by Goran Stolevski
Sad news forces a diverse group of friends to take unorthodox action in this volatile, affecting drama.


Mia Mustafa in “Housekeeping for Beginners.”
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

The First Omen
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Horror | Directed by Arkasha Stevenson
A prequel to the original franchise, this debut feature from Arkasha Stevenson is a thrilling mash-up of horror tropes that gives the story new life.


Sônia Braga, left, with Nell Tiger Free in “The First Omen.”
By BRANDON YU

Chicken for Linda!
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Animation, Comedy, Musical | Directed by Sébastien Laudenbach, Chiara Malta
In this madcap film, a mother’s apology leads to a delightful misadventure that begins with mourning and ends with a father’s favorite recipe.


A scene from “Chicken for Linda!”
By LISA KENNEDY

The Beast
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi, Thriller | Directed by Bertrand Bonello
Bertrand Bonello’s latest film, starring Léa Seydoux and George MacKay as lovers in three different eras, is an audacious sci-fi romance.


Léa Seydoux in “The Beast,” a film directed by Bertrand Bonello.
By BEATRICE LOAYZA

The Old Oak
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Drama | Directed by Ken Loach
A family of Syrian refugees connects with a once-thriving mining town in Ken Loach’s moving drama.


Ebla Mari, left, and Dave Turner in “The Old Oak.”
By ALISSA WILKINSON

Música
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG-13 | Comedy, Romance | Directed by Rudy Mancuso
Rudy Mancuso stars in and directs an inventive debut feature about a man with synesthesia who tries to manage his complicated life and relationships.


Rudy Mancuso in “Música,” a film that’s confidently, intentionally overwhelming.
By AMY NICHOLSON