Author Archives: Larry Sanderson

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

Dos estaciones
NYT Critic’s Pick | Drama | Directed by Juan Pablo González
A woman tries to keep her family business running in this film that employs dreamlike rhythms and documentary-style realism.


Teresa Sánchez in “Dos Estaciones.” She plays María, the owner of a failing tequila factory in Jalisco, Mexico.
By MANOHLA DARGIS

Barbarian
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Horror, Thriller | Directed by Zach Cregger
Two strangers explore the basement of their Detroit rental home in this gleefully twisty horror movie by Zach Cregger.


Georgina Campbell in “Barbarian.”
By BEATRICE LOAYZA

True Things
NYT Critic’s Pick | Drama | Directed by Harry Wootliff
This character study from Harry Wootliff bottles the lightning of a torrid fling.


Ruth Wilson with Tom Burke in “True Things.”
By NICOLAS RAPOLD

Speak No Evil
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Horror, Thriller | Directed by Christian Tafdrup
A weekend visit turns nightmarish for an innocent Danish couple in this coldblooded satirical thriller.


Fedja van Huet, left, with Morten Burian in “Speak No Evil.”
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

Food! Glorious Food!

Michelin Reveals 2022 New York Area Additions
The star ratings will not be revealed until October, but the Michelin Guide offers a glimpse of the new restaurants making the list.
“Michelin no longer publishes printed guides in North America; it’s all digital on guide.michelin.com and a free app.”
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

The Dreamiest Shrimp Pasta Anchors This Summery Menu
Overindulge at the market? Turn sweet peppers into a starter, toss the corn into a pasta main and finish the meal with a berry-topped lemony Prosecco slush.

Recipes: Bell Pepper Salad With Capers and Olives | Shrimp Pasta With Corn and Basil | Prosecco Lemon Slush
By David Tanis

Spicy Shrimp-and-Greens From an Ottolenghi Head Chef
This dish was inspired by a childhood in the Philippines and created in a London test kitchen.


By YOTAM OTTOLENGHI

Our Place Introduces a Tagine Lid for Its Pans
The domed lid is meant to fit the company’s pans, but it can top most 11-inch skillets.


Moroccan tagine, $80, fromourplace.com.
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

Tune In to a Talk on a Black Caterer of Early America
Henry Orr, who was born into slavery in 1792, catered for government figures and bought his and his family’s freedom.
“Henry Orr, a Black Caterer in Early Federal Washington, D.C.,” Sept. 21 from 6:30 to 8 p.m., Culinary Historians of New York, free for members, $10 for nonmembers and guests, eventbrite.com.
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

A GOOD APPETITE
This Salad Silences the Okra Critics
Filled with crisp broiled okra and served with a garlicky yogurt dressing, this summery recipe is deeply lovable.


Seasoning charred okra with cumin brings out the spice’s earthy flavor.
By Melissa Clark
Recipe: Charred Okra Salad With Garlicky Yogurt

10 happy hours to hit up in the Twin Cities
Beverages and bites that won’t break the bank.
LYDIA CHRISTIANSON

WINE SCHOOL
What’s the Deal With Riesling?
The dry white wine can’t seem to win fans. Are wine lovers generalizing from bad wines, or is riesling’s appeal profound but too narrow?
By ERIC ASIMOV

WINE SCHOOL
Your Final Wine School Assignment
This last class will examine Alpine white wines, but after 100 classes, the most important messages should carry through to a long and pleasing relationship with wine.


By ERIC ASIMOV

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Comedy | Directed by Adamma Ebo
Regina Hall and Sterling K. Brown star in this satire about a fallen megachurch pastor and his first lady praying and angling for a comeback.


Regina Hall and Sterling K. Brown play a couple desperate to revive their megachurch after a scandal.
By LISA KENNEDY

The Cathedral
NYT Critic’s Pick | Drama | Directed by Ricky D’Ambrose
In this striking, formally rigorous drama, the director Ricky D’Ambrose revisits his Long Island childhood with restraint and tenderness.


In “The Cathedral,” Brian d’Arcy James, center, and Monica Barbaro, far right, play the protagonist’s parents, here at their wedding on Long Island in the 1980s.
By MANOHLA DARGIS

Food! Glorious Food!

Would You Take Out a Loan to Buy This Week’s Groceries?
Americans are increasingly turning to “buy now, pay later” services for food and other everyday essentials. And there are signs that the practice is putting some in deep debt.
“Buy now, pay later” services, which allow consumers to pay for goods in installments, often without interest, have become increasingly common for food purchases.
By Priya Krishna

This Vietnamese Dish Is Layered, Luminous and Striking. It’s Also Forgiving.
The first taste of bánh cuốn led to a yearslong project of culinary discovery.


By BRYAN WASHINGTON
Recipe: Bánh Cuốn

On Remote Farms and in City Gardens, a Native American Movement Grows
Through classes, seed banks and plantings, tribes across the United States are reclaiming their agricultural roots, growing healthy foods and aiming for self-sufficiency.
By KEVIN NOBLE MAILLARD
Recipes: Tepary Bean Salad | Three Sisters Bean Patties With Raspberry Aioli

FRONT BURNER
Make More Room on Your Charcuterie Board
The company Brooklyn Cured has released a black truffle salami, cured beef bresaola and a Tuscan red wine salami.


Brooklyn Cured Black Truffle Salami ($36 for three), Spicy Bresaola With Calabrian Chile ($38 for three packs of slices), Tuscan Red Wine Beef Salami ($34 for three packs of slices), brooklyncured.com.
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

A GOOD APPETITE
3 Party Pies You Can Eat With Your Hands
Pie bars offer most of the same delights as their latticed counterparts, but are a lot more convenient, Melissa Clark writes.
A slab of creamy peach bars sits atop a piece of parchment paper set onto a marble cutting board. About half of the slab is cut into cubes. The orange-colored peach slices pop against the cream-cheese base.


These creamy peach pie bars are a little like cheesecake, but heavy on the fruit.
By Melissa Clark
Recipes: Raspberry Pie Crunch Bars | Coconut Pie Bars | Creamy Peach Pie Bars

21 Vegetarian Grilling Recipes for Labor Day Weekend
Change up your party with these deeply flavorful vegetarian options.
By Alexa Weibel

A Spicy Tomato Pasta for All Seasons
Alexa Weibel’s recipe is as great with ripe cherry tomatoes as it is with packaged ones from the grocery.
By MARGAUX LASKEY

14 Chicken Recipes Our Readers Can’t Get Enough Of
Baked, tossed into a salad, served with rice, and more ways to prepare everyone’s favorite poultry.
By TANYA SICHYNSKY

Soups and Stews for Summer
Recipes for when you need some coziness and comfort on a hot day.
By TEJAL RAO

This Nonalcoholic Aperitivo Is More Bitter Than Sweet
The new offering from Wilderton, a nonalcoholic spirits company in Portland, Ore., is perfect for cocktail hour.


Wilderton Bittersweet Aperitivo, $34.99 for 750 milliliters, wildertonfree.com.
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

Roland Mesnier, Pastry Chef to Five Presidents, Dies at 78
French born and French trained, he served up inventive and ambrosial desserts in the White House for more than two decades.

Roland Mesnier with the first lady, Laura Bush, in 2006. As the pastry chef at the White House for nearly 25 years, he created elaborate confections like this Christmas gingerbread White House.
Roland Mesnier with the first lady, Laura Bush, in 2006. As the pastry chef at the White House for nearly 25 years, he created elaborate confections like this Christmas gingerbread White House.
By Sam Roberts

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

Funny Pages
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Comedy | Directed by Owen Kline
Owen Kline’s wonderful feature debut about an aspiring comic-book creator delves into a buzzingly alive, if anxious, world of cartooning.


In “Funny Pages,” Daniel Zolghadri plays a young cartoonist, who, though desperate for validation, seems to despise almost everyone.
By MANOHLA DARGIS

Alienoid
NYT Critic’s Pick | Action, Fantasy, Sci-Fi | Directed by Dong-hoon Choi
This bonkers Korean movie could not pick just one cinematic genre, so it went for half a dozen of them at once.


Kim Woo-bin in “Alienoid.”
By ELISABETH VINCENTELLI

— Of Possible Interest —

Private Desert
Unrated | Drama | Directed by Aly Muritiba
This L.G.B.T.Q. drama from Brazil follows a distraught police academy instructor with a history of violence as he searches for his mysterious online girlfriend.
By BEATRICE LOAYZA

Three Thousand Years of Longing
R | Drama, Fantasy, Romance | Directed by George Miller
George Miller directs a visually sumptuous, grown-up fairy tale with Tilda Swinton and Idris Elba. It jumps across time but too often just stumbles.
By MANOHLA DARGIS

Food! Glorious Food!

His Medium, Salted Butter. His Craft, Sublime.
Gerry Kulzer, the new butter sculptor at the Minnesota State Fair, is ready to capture the likenesses of the dairy princesses, if only he can sculpt their tresses in time.
By Christina Morales

WHAT’S NEW 2022
Berlin, Back in Full Swing
Berlin’s 178 museums, seven symphony orchestras and three opera houses are once again up and running, along with a flourishing restaurant and nightclub scene.
By CHARLY WILDER

Greek Party Islands Chill Out
For years, Santorini, Mykonos and Ios have been known for their embrace of excess. But some new operators on Greece’s Cycladic Islands want to break that cycle.
By Sheila Yasmin Marikar

UKRAINE DISPATCH
Devouring Oysters by Battlefield, Ukrainians ‘Switch Off for a Bit’
A businessman’s unlikely oyster farm not far from the front lines with Russia has offered a rare sanctuary for battle-scarred Ukrainian troops.
By MICHAEL SCHWIRTZ

FOOD MATTERS
How the Chile Became Hot
Why did the consumption of hot peppers — after centuries of cultivation and global migration — come to confer status and sophistication?
By LIGAYA MISHAN, PATRICIA HEAL and LEILIN LOPEZ-TOLEDO

Shortcuts to Big Flavor
Dried minced onion, snack-size nori sheets and crème fraîche pack a punch in vegetable-forward cooking.
By TEJAL RAO

23 Easy Tomato Recipes for Summer
Let the indisputable season’s star shine in a simple sauce, pasta, salad or beyond, with any of these delicious dishes.
By Tanya Sichynsky and Alexa Weibel

Tuesday Fancy Mussels
Jazz up any ol’ Tuesday with a 15-minute pot of shellfish.
By TANYA SICHYNSKY

Vegan, Indian-Inspired Soups From Maya Kaimal
Choices like lentil and creamy spiced butternut come in shelf-stable packages with two servings.
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

This Cutting Board Won’t Harm Your Knives
Artisan Revere makes them from end grain, a configuration of wood that is said to be the least damaging to knife edges.
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

All You Need for This Crisp-Tender Skillet Cake Is Rice and a Little Time
A gorgeous snack drizzled with honey or a way to shuttle soups, stews or grilled meat from plate to mouth, this simple dish is the best kind of exercise in patience, Yewande Komolafe writes.


Sinasir, flat skillet cakes made from fermented rice, are perfect vehicles for sopping up soups and stews.
By Yewande Komolafe

A GOOD APPETITE
This Easy One-Pan Chicken Recipe Has a Trick Up Its Sleeve
If you’re not already trimming your corn kernels off the cob this way, you should be, Melissa Clark writes.


Sweet corn kernels are a lovely accompaniment to chicken thighs, especially when sautéed in chicken fat and browned butter.
By Melissa Clark
Recipe: Skillet Chicken Thighs With Brown Butter Corn

J. Kenji López-Alt’s Summer Staple? Guacamole With Grilled Corn
A restaurant dish melding the dip with creamy esquites loosely inspired the chef and cookbook author’s new favorite.

A white bowl of guacamole speckled with grilled corn kernels sits in the center of a frame. To the left are some tortilla chips in a bowl.
This guacamole is rich with flavor and texture.
By J. Kenji López-Alt
Recipe: Guacamole With Grilled Corn

Behold the Fruit Sandwich
In this Japanese treat, ripe, seasonal gems are enrobed in cream and nestled between slices of milk bread.


By LIGAYA MISHAN
Recipe: Fruit Sandwich

‘If You Can Make a Salad, You Can Make Kimchi’
Kimjang, the act of preparing kimchi, allows Koreans of the diaspora to keep the tradition alive — and invites everyone to join.


In a world where most people buy their kimchi at the store, making it at home has become a priority for Koreans who wish to carry on the tradition of kimjang.Credit…Tanveer Badal for The New York Times
By Eric Kim
Recipes: Kimchi | Baek Kimchi (White Kimchi) | Baek Kimchi Jjigae (White Kimchi Stew)

Ice Cream?
At KSTP-TV Ashley Halbach says, “Minneapolis ice cream shop Bebe Zito is now selling a pint with THC gummies mixed into the product. Bebe Zito says the ‘Pineapple Express’ pints taste like a pineapple upside-down cake. They started with a pineapple base and added salted caramel-soaked pineapple upside-down cake mix-ins and THC gummies containing hemp-derived THC (Delta-9) from a local Black-owned company, Cultivated CBD. … The ice cream packaging shows that each pint contains a total of 40 THC gummies and that each gummy has 1.25 mg of THC.”

Water Spinach

In days of olde, before COVID wracked the land, whenever I bought water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica) at the farmer’s market, it was usually dismissed with ‘insect ridden’ or ‘too old’ and chucked into the garbage. Well, after the passage of time, and the advent of inflation at the Asian stores, the last two bundles I’ve bought at the King of Spinach’s stall have received quite different treatment. After the purchase, I texted someone that we could either eat it or they could take it to their sister’s — their choice. It seems either the growers have improved or my eyes have improved, but their sister did not get the bundle tonight, and, oh my, the stems were crunchy.

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

The Territory
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG | Documentary | Directed by Alex Pritz
This documentary is a thrilling look at an Indigenous group’s fight to keep illegal settlers from destroying their land in the Amazon rainforest.


Bitaté, the young leader of the Uru Eu Wau Wau, in “The Territory.”
By CLAIRE SHAFFER

Three Minutes: A Lengthening
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG | Documentary | Directed by Bianca Stigter
Using footage from a three-minute amateur movie shot in 1938, this rousing documentary about a Jewish town in Poland is a haunting meditation on the memory of the Holocaust.


Footage from the three-minute home movie that serves as the basis for the documentary “Three Minutes: A Lengthening.”
By BEATRICE LOAYZA

— Of Possible Interest —

El tiempo perdido
Documentary, Biography, History | Directed by María Alvarez
This cozy documentary sits in with a group of older readers in Buenos Aires who gather at a cafe to savor Proust’s “In Search of Lost Time.”
By NICOLAS RAPOLD

The Legend of Molly Johnson
Drama, History, Thriller, Western | Directed by Leah Purcell
A stoic frontier woman harbors an Aboriginal fugitive in this earnest and didactic western.
By TEO BUGBEE

Food! Glorious Food!

Dented, Dated, Discontinued? At the Salvage Grocery, It’s Called a Deal
Salvage food stores have long been a lure for the frugal and the intrepid. But inflation, environmentalism and some clever rebranding are expanding the fan base.
By KIM SEVERSON

CRITIC’S NOTEBOOK
In a Tense Political Moment, Taiwanese Cuisine Tells Its Own Story
The relationship between the island’s cooking and the food in mainland China is complex.
By TEJAL RAO

This Bakery Wants to Be Carbon-Neutral
A bakery in the Catskills is trying to be as sustainable as possible. Here’s an inside look.
By DEVORAH LEV-TOV

I Eat at Restaurants for a Living. That’s Not Why My Stomach Always Hurt.
Half the world’s population has H. pylori, a type of bacteria that can mess with digestion. So why doesn’t the problem have a higher public profile?
By Priya Krishna

The Lamp That’s Taking Over New York
A sleek newcomer, the Pina Pro, is appearing on droves of outdoor tables in the city — and sometimes disappearing, as diners fall for its mellow glow.


The Pina Pro lamp (pictured here at Momoya in SoHo) has popped up at restaurants across New York, its prevalence buoyed by outdoor dining.
By Priya Krishna

A GOOD APPETITE
The Best Summer Dinner Is Assembled, Not Cooked
Adding quickly grilled shrimp to a classic pairing of melon and feta turns a light weeknight meal into a hearty, yet refreshing main.


You can use any kind of melon or a combination in this simple salad.
By Melissa Clark
Recipe: Grilled Shrimp Salad With Melon and Feta

Late Summer Tomatoes Are Perfect for Spaghetti al Pomodoro
The purest distillation of summer umami with just four ingredients.


By ERIC KIM
Recipe: Pasta al Pomodoro

The Best End-of-Summer Party Starts With Tacos
Here are expert tips on how to put together a delicious spread that gives you even more time with family and friends.


Carne asada and arroz rojo are just two elements of a festive, low-effort spread.
By Genevieve Ko
Recipes: Carne Asada | Arroz Rojo (Red Rice)

TRADITIONS
And for Our Next Course … the Centerpiece
Chefs, artists and other creatives are making edible spectacles a meal’s main event.
By ALICE CAVANAGH and CHARLY GOSP

Zucchini Time
If you haven’t thought about zucchini lately, you should.
By EMILY WEINSTEIN

The Season for Grated Tomatoes
Plus a bonus recipe for sizzled eggplant.
By TEJAL RAO

THE POUR
12 Reasons to Love California Chardonnay
The wines have evolved, but the negative stereotypes linger. These diverse bottles will challenge what you think you know.


These bottles reflect a style of California chardonnay that prizes freshness and finesse.
By ERIC ASIMOV

Jan Longone, Influential Scholar of Food History, Dies at 89
The cookbook collection that began in the basement of her home became the Janice Bluestein Longone Culinary Archive at the University of Michigan.


Jan Longone, whose extensive collection of cookbooks and culinary ephemera became the Janice Bluestein Longone Culinary Archive at the University of Michigan.
By KIM SEVERSON

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

Stay on Board: The Leo Baker Story
NYT Critic’s Pick | Documentary, Sport | Directed by Nicola Marsh, Giovanni Reda
In this documentary, a professional skateboarder turns down the Olympics for the chance to live openly.


The documentary “Stay on Board: The Leo Baker Story,” directed by Nicola Marsh and Giovanni Reda, uses a combination of archival, observational and interview footage.
By TEO BUGBEE

The Princess
NYT Critic’s Pick | Documentary, Biography | Directed by Ed Perkins
The director Ed Perkins uses only found footage to create a harrowing account of Diana’s life and death.


Diana, Princess of Wales, in the documentary “The Princess.”
By GLENN KENNY

Girl Picture
NYT Critic’s Pick | Romance | Directed by Alli Haapasalo
This Finnish comedy about three high school girls grants them a judgment-free sanctuary.


From left, Eleonoora Kauhanen, Aamu Milonoff and Linnea Leino in “Girl Picture.”
By AMY NICHOLSON

Emily the Criminal
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Crime, Drama, Thriller | Directed by John Patton Ford
Aubrey Plaza’s wonderfully nuanced performance anchors this absorbing story of a young woman’s descent into lawlessness.


Aubrey Plaza in “Emily the Criminal.”
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

— Of Possible Interest —

Day Shift
R | Action, Comedy, Fantasy, Horror, Thriller | Directed by J.J. Perry
Jamie Foxx is a blue-collar vampire hunter and a steadying hand on the tiller of this frenzied action comedy.
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS