Author Archives: Larry Sanderson

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

Acasa, My Home
NYT Critic’s Pick | Documentary | Directed by Radu Ciorniciuc
A family’s dispossession to make way for a nature park is the subject of this Romanian documentary.


A marshy field of dreams: A scene from Radu Ciorniciuc’s documentary, “Acasa, My Home.”
By A.O. SCOTT

MLK/FBI
NYT Critic’s Pick | Documentary | Directed by Sam Pollard
Sam Pollard’s fascinating documentary chronicles the F.B.I. director’s obsession with the private life and political affiliations of the civil rights leader.


The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., as seen in Sam Pollard’s documentary “MLK/FBI.”
By A.O. SCOTT

Film About a Father Who
NYT Critic’s Pick | Documentary | Directed by Lynne Sachs
In her new documentary, Lynne Sachs assesses her relationship with her father, Ira Sachs Sr., who fathered children with multiple women.


Ira Sachs Sr., as seen in Lynne Sachs’s documentary “Film About a Father Who.”
By BEN KENIGSBERG

Some Kind of Heaven
NYT Critic’s Pick | Documentary | Directed by Lance Oppenheim
This documentary co-produced by The New York Times visits a retirement community the size of a small city.

Barbara Lochiatto, a resident of The Villages, in the documentary “Some Kind of Heaven.”
Barbara Lochiatto, a resident of The Villages, in the documentary “Some Kind of Heaven.”
By BEN KENIGSBERG

My Little Sister
NYT Critic’s Pick | Drama | Directed by Stéphanie Chuat, Véronique Reymond
A cancer diagnosis only strengthens the bond between adult twins in this perceptive Swiss drama.

Nina Hoss in “My Little Sister.”Credit...
Nina Hoss in “My Little Sister.”Credit…
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

One Night in Miami
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Drama | Directed by Regina King
A 1964 meeting of Malcolm X, Cassius Clay, Sam Cooke and Jim Brown is the subject of Regina King’s riveting directorial debut.

A moment in time: A scene from Regina King’s “One Night in Miami.” Kingsley Ben-Adir, left, as Malcolm X, taking a photo of Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge), Cassius Clay (Eli Goree) and Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.).
A moment in time: A scene from Regina King’s “One Night in Miami.” Kingsley Ben-Adir, left, as Malcolm X, taking a photo of Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge), Cassius Clay (Eli Goree) and Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.).
By A.O. SCOTT

— Of Possible Interest —

Bloody Hell
R | Action, Horror, Mystery, Thriller | Directed by Alister Grierson
Cannibals and comedy are mixed in this deranged ride from the director Alister Grierson.

Ben O’Toole in “Bloody Hell.”
Ben O’Toole in “Bloody Hell.”
By TEO BUGBEE

Dr. Bird’s Advice for Sad Poets
R | Drama | Directed by Yaniv Raz
This Yaniv Raz drama, about a Walt Whitman-obsessed teenager with a pigeon as an imaginary therapist, is drunk on its stylistic affectations.

Lucas Jade Zumann in “Dr. Bird’s Advice for Sad Poets.”
Lucas Jade Zumann in “Dr. Bird’s Advice for Sad Poets.”
By GLENN KENNY

Food! Glorious Food!

LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION
I Recommend Eating Chips
When our horizons are narrow, junk food — shelf-stable, reliably flavored and yet endlessly unique — offers us a taste of infinity.
By SAM ANDERSON

How High-End Restaurants Have Failed Black Female Chefs
Training and advancement as a chef can be hard to find in American fine-dining restaurants, according to Black women who have tried.
By Korsha Wilson

EAT
The Case for Stewed Tripe
There’s abundant offal to be had at the supermarket, and this spicy, slurpable dish is exactly how you should cook it.
By GABRIELLE HAMILTON

SHOPPING GUIDE
Shopping for Kettles
It’s not just for boiling water — so choose something with a little style.


When you’re buying a kettle, “look at it as art, as well as a functional element,” said Sarah Blank, a kitchen designer in Greenwich, Conn. (The Corvo EKG Electric Kettle is $149 at Fellow.)
By TIM MCKEOUGH

A GOOD APPETITE
This Spicy White Bean Soup Is a Poem in a Pot
Filled with winter greens, savory beans and just a little bit of turkey, this piquant soup is both hearty and light.

Lemony white bean soup with turkey and greens.
Lemony white bean soup with turkey and greens.
By Melissa Clark

FRONT BURNER
An Online Lesson in Olive Oil
The Museum of Food and Drink in Brooklyn hosts a discussion, with experts from Tuscany and Calabria, Italy.
Food for Thought: First Pressed, an Olive Oil Exploration presented by MOFAD and the Greene Space, Jan. 25, 8 to 9:30 p.m., $15 or $65 including a tin of olive oil (limited supplies), mofad.org.
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

FRONT BURNER
Dream of France, Through Recipes


“Plat du Jour,” a new cookbook by Susan Herrmann Loomis, includes seasonally focused recipes like beef bourguignon.
“Plat du Jour: French Dinners Made Easy” by Susan Herrmann Loomis (Countryman Press, $30).
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

FRONT BURNER
The Easiest Paella Comes From a Kit


Meg Grace Larcom, the chef of the Boqueria restaurants, teaches a virtual paella class next month, and it includes a ready-to-make meal kit.
Boqueria Paella Kit and class, $150, includes shipping; $100 without the class, order by Feb. 18 for national delivery; fully cooked paella for local pickup or delivery, with seafood, vegetables or chicken and chorizo, $24 to $48, depending on the variety and size, boqueriarestaurant.com.
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

FRONT BURNER
The Tea’s the Thing


A new tea blend from Harney & Sons raises money for Shakespeare’s Globe in London.
A Midsummer Night’s Tea, 20 sachets, $12, 800-832-8463, harney.com.
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

A Foolproof Path to Dinner, by Way of Korea
J. Kenji López-Alt puts his fridge odds and ends to work in crunchy, savory, wildly adaptable jeon.


This sauerkraut jeon is perfect for busy weeknights.
By J. Kenji López-Alt

FRONT BURNER
A New Cassis to Sip or Mix


Current Cassis, from a producer in Greene County, N.Y., is less syrupy than French crème de cassis.
Current Cassis, $28 for 375 milliliters, upstreamwine.com, currentcassis.com.
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

THOSE WE’VE LOST
Thomas Verdillo, 77, Dies; Restaurateur Went from Red Sauce to Blue Ribbon
He put a refined twist on traditional Italian-American cooking at his South Brooklyn restaurant, Tommaso. He died of complications of Covid-19.


Thomas Verdillo was the owner, head chief, sommelier and chief tenor at his restaurant, Tommaso, in Brooklyn.
By GLENN RIFKIN

Food! Glorious Food!

Voices From the Front Lines of America’s Food Supply
Eleven workers, from the factories and farms to the highways and supermarkets, tell how they got themselves — and us — through a catastrophic year.

CRITIC’S NOTEBOOK
From Toxic Chefs to Covid, Restaurant Workers Deserve Better
A former Momofuku employee’s account of a rage-fueled workplace is an all-too-familiar story. But it raises questions about how we treat restaurant staffs in the Covid era.
By PETE WELLS

What’s the First Thing You Will Do When the Pandemic Ends?
We put that question to readers and received more than 800 responses. Here are some of the highlights.
By SARA ARIDI

Some Covid Survivors Haunted by Loss of Smell and Taste
As the coronavirus claims more victims, a once-rare diagnosis is receiving new attention from scientists, who fear it may affect nutrition and mental health.
By RONI CARYN RABIN

BANGKOK DISPATCH
Conjuring Up the World Through the Sense of Taste
Housebound because of the pandemic, an international correspondent finds a way to travel the globe in her kitchen.


Nukazuke pickles at the Nishiki Market in Kyoto, Japan.
By HANNAH BEECH

A Shrimp Creole for Our Times
The dish revels in improvisation, making it perfect for these tumultuous, unpredictable months.


By VALLERY LOMAS

Albert Roux, Chef Who Brought French Cuisine to London, Dies at 85
Mr. Roux and his brother, Michel, opened Le Gavroche in the late 1960s, raising the level of fine dining in the city and offering a training ground for some of the restaurant industry’s future stars.

Albert Roux in an undated photo. Le Gavroche, the restaurant he opened with his brother, Michel, in 1967, is credited with bringing fine French cuisine to London.
Albert Roux in an undated photo. Le Gavroche, the restaurant he opened with his brother, Michel, in 1967, is credited with bringing fine French cuisine to London.
By Christine Hauser

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

Pieces of a Woman
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Drama | Directed by Kornél Mundruczó
Vanessa Kirby gives an intensely physical performance as a woman whose life and marriage are upended by the death of a child.


Vanessa Kirby in “Pieces of a Woman.”
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

Soul
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG | Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Music | Directed by Pete Docter, Kemp Powers
This inventive tale stars Jamie Foxx as a jazz musician caught in a world that human souls pass through on their way into and out of life.


Jamie Foxx voices the character Joe Gardner, right, in “Soul.”
By A.O. SCOTT

Dear Comrades
NYT Critic’s Pick | Drama, History | Directed by Andrey Konchalovskiy
With a bureaucrat as the central character, the film at times takes on a bleakly comic tone as it fills in the circumstances surrounding a massacre.


A scene from “Dear Comrades!”
By BEN KENIGSBERG

Sylvie’s Love
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG-13 | Drama, Music, Romance | Directed by Eugene Ashe
Tessa Thompson and Nnamdi Asomugha star in a swoony love story that wonderfully rethinks the classic Hollywood melodrama.


Lights, camera, romance: Tessa Thompson and Nnamdi Asomugha in “Sylvie’s Love.”
By MANOHLA DARGIS

— Of Possible Interest —

‘Wonder Woman 1984’ Review: It’s Not About What We Deserve
PG-13 | Action, Adventure, Fantasy | Directed by Patty Jenkins
The sequel to the 2017 hit finds Diana Prince, a.k.a. Wonder Woman, pining for love and saddled with a movie unworthy of her.


Truck mayhem: Gal Gadot in Patty Jenkins’s “Wonder Woman 1984.”
By Manohla Dargis

Well, the furnace quit

So last night around 7:00 pm, two weeks before a new furnace is going to be installed, the 20 YO one quits. The condensate pump had been misbehaving, primarily because it was filled with gunk, and I’d tried to rinse it out, but finally gave out and took it apart and really cleaned it out. Anyway, the furnace stopped igniting around the same time. It would turn on the fan, increase the fan speed, and then slow down the fan again. No heat. I called my power companies home warranty line around 9:30, and a repair guy arrived around an hour or so later. After a considerable amount of time, a diagnosis was achieved, and off he went to retrieve a new part. An hour or so later, the part was installed, and the furnace started running again.

Food! Glorious Food!

The Most-Read Food Stories of 2020
Readers turned to the Food section for advice on quarantine cooking, expiration dates and comfort food — lots of comfort food.
By SARA BONISTEEL

Remembering the Restaurants America Lost in 2020
This has been a harrowing year. From fine-dining trailblazers to longtime neighborhood favorites, we commemorate just some of the many places that had to close their doors forever.

CRITIC’S NOTEBOOK
Before They Closed, Restaurants Opened Doors for Us
Ligaya Mishan counts the many ways she misses eating out, and the lessons it taught her about the world and its possibilities.
By LIGAYA MISHAN

Is Dairy Farming Cruel to Cows?
A small group of animal welfare scientists is seeking answers to that question. Facing a growing anti-dairy movement, many farmers are altering their practices.
By ANDREW JACOBS

GOOD QUESTION
Will My Popcorn Explode?
The odds that all of your popcorn kernels will pop simultaneously aren’t zero. Maybe think instead of the multiple lotteries you’re more likely to win.
By RANDALL MUNROE

Road to Recovery
Grocery trends: Fewer new products, but more changes in supermarkets and shopping
By Cara Rosenbloom

With a Fortifying Soup, Haitians Share Their Pride in Independence
Even in the pandemic, they’ll celebrate Jan. 1 by doling out soup joumou, a dish defined by national and familial traditions.


Soup joumou is traditionally made with squash, beef, pasta and assorted vegetables. This version, from the New York author Cindy Similien, includes handmade dumplings.
By PRIYA KRISHNA

FRONT BURNER
Green Chutney From a Minneapolis Family Recipe
The sisters Sheilla and Yasameen Sajady turned the cilantro chutney made by their mother, Fatima, into a business.


Maazah Chutneys and Aioli, $8.99 for eight ounces, maazah.com.
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

Ending 2020 With a Sweet Bit of Release
The hot chocolate bomb is a tasty metaphor for a pent-up year.


By HANNAH SELINGER

Voraciously
If you want to see 2020 go up in flames, start with these 3 recipes
By G. Daniela Galarza

8 sweet and savory shortbread cookies to pair with tea, coffee or wine
By G. Daniela Galarza

FRONT BURNER
A New Source for Alcohol-Free Libations
Chris Becker, a former technology consultant, has about 170 nonalcoholic beers, wines and spirits on his website, Better Rhodes.
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

Indulge in Some Hot Cocktails
Festive and full of good cheer, these warm drinks will bring comfort to cold nights ahead.


The Winter and Smoke combines Scotch whisky and Lapsang Souchong leaf tea.
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

Smaller bowl, same punch: Scaling down New Year’s drinks for one or two

From left: Pomegranate Fizz, Stocking Clementine and Pear-tridge in a Chai Tea, individual punchbowl cocktails.
From left: Pomegranate Fizz, Stocking Clementine and Pear-tridge in a Chai Tea, individual punchbowl cocktails.
By M. Carrie Allan

Food! Glorious Food — The Too Close to Christmas Edition

It’s Peak Season for Tamales in Los Angeles
Big tamaladas are canceled this year, but many of the city’s tamaleras press on because tamales, along with the cultures and microeconomies they sustain, are essential.


At her outdoor kitchen in Montebello, Calif., Claudia Serrato and her family make tamales with blue corn and braised bison.
By TEJAL RAO

See the Beauty of Tamales de Frijol Being Made
Alfonso Martinez of Ponco’s Tlayudas, a Los Angeles pop-up, demonstrates how to make tamales de frijol
By GENEVIEVE KO

How Will We Eat in 2021? 11 Predictions to Chew On
Meal kits from your favorite restaurant, snacks that help you sleep and other ways the food world may respond in a year of big changes.
By KIM SEVERSON

Five Kwanzaa Celebrations Around the Country
For many Black Americans, the holiday is a time for bonding, joy and repose. The Times visited five households to see how people cook and gather, engage and reflect.
By NICOLE TAYLOR, NYDIA BLAS, CELESTE NOCHE, BRIAN PALMER and TIMOTHY SMITH

These Bacon and Eggs Practically Cook Themselves
A big holiday breakfast is great — unless you’re the one stuck making it. This sheet-pan recipe is the solution.


By GENEVIEVE KO

Reclaiming the Tiki Bar
Tiki bars are a beverage industry mainstay — with a painful and underexamined past. Can the format be repaired?
By SAMMI KATZ and OLIVIA MCGIFF

Henry Haller, Chef for Five Presidents, Dies at 97
He had the high-level skills necessary for the job but also a welcome flexibility, allowing him to thrive in the, well, pressure-cooker that is the White House.


Henry Haller preparing for the White House wedding reception of Lynda Bird Johnson, President Lyndon B. Johnson’s oldest daughter, in 1967. Johnson was the first of five presidents Mr. Haller served.
By GLENN THRUSH

THE LIVES THEY LIVED
Cecilia Chiang Lost Everything in China, and Built It Back in California
She twice escaped war in China, and eventually landed in an America that was hungry for a new kind of Asian cuisine.


By JADE CHANG

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Drama, Music | Directed by George C. Wolfe
Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman star in a potent adaptation of August Wilson’s play.


Viola Davis stars in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” August Wilson’s 1984 play about a recording session in Chicago in the 1920s.
By A.O. SCOTT

Food! Glorious Food!

Opinion
My 50-Pound Bag of Flour Is Gone. My Sanity Remains.
Turns out, all I needed to survive lockdown was sourdough.
By Farhad Manjoo

In Sweden, Infections and Calls for a Lockdown Are Rising
The country has been keeping restaurants and bars open, trying not to let the pandemic disrupt life. But the second wave is forcing the authorities to reconsider their approach.
By Thomas Erdbrink and Christina Anderson

A Deeper, Darker Look at James Beard, Food Oracle and Gay Man
A new biography traces the influence he wielded as a writer and the pain he endured for his sexuality in an unwelcoming world.


James Beard in his Greenwich Village kitchen in 1964, the year his memoir, “Delights and Prejudices,” was published. He wrote extensively about his childhood and food memories, but never publicly acknowledged that he was gay.
By JULIA MOSKIN

Make A DIY Seltzerator
With our constant need to hit ‘refresh’ right now, sparkling water is in high demand. Here’s how to save money and the planet by making it yourself.
By MEREDITH PAIGE HEIL

EAT
Your New Favorite Condiment: Salsa Macha
This chunky Mexican chile oil can make everything from fried eggs to potatoes more delicious.


By TEJAL RAO

A Traditional, but Unexpected, Christmas Showstopper
Yotam Ottolenghi usually leaves the Christmas meals to his husband. But dessert is where he shines, making this riff on the classic bûche de Noël.


If the flavors of winter could be rolled into one, then this meringue roulade would be the result.
By YOTAM OTTOLENGHI

16 Delightful Cooking Projects to Brighten Up the Holidays
If you’ve got time on your hands, these recipes are a joy to make.
By ALEXA WEIBEL

Our Food Staff’s 18 Favorite Holiday Recipes
Reporters and editors shared the NYT Cooking recipes that have become holiday traditions in their homes.
By ALEXA WEIBEL

18 Easy Holiday Desserts
No-fuss treats for a sweet season.
By MARGAUX LASKEY

The Small Luxury of Chocolate Truffles
Enticingly imperfect, hand-rolled truffles are a one-bite affair.
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

FRONT BURNER
Whimsical Sauce Bowls for Sushi Fans
The lids to these bowls from the designer Nam Yoon become chopstick rests.


By FLORENCE FABRICANT

FRONT BURNER
A Scandinavian Spread for the Holidays
Aquavit and sweDISHnyc.com offer Julbord kits for a festive celebration.


Aquavit Christmas to Go, $195 for two, 65 East 55th Street, 212-307-7311, aquavit.org; Christmas in a Box, $150 for two, $65 additional, sweDISHnyc.com, 917-251-7093.
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

To the Ends of the Earth
NYT Critic’s Pick | Drama | Directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa
A Japanese TV host is lost in and out of translation in Uzbekistan.


Atsuko Maeda in “To the Ends of the Earth.”
By GLENN KENNY

Gunda
NYT Critic’s Pick | G | Documentary | Directed by Viktor Kosakovskiy
This astonishing documentary offers an intimate look at the lives of a sow, her rambunctious piglets, a one-legged chicken and a herd of cows.


Gunda with one of her piglets in Victor Kossakovsky’s documentary.
By MANOHLA DARGIS

Giving Voice
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG-13 | Documentary | Directed by James D. Stern, Fernando Villena
Netflix’s inspirational documentary follows talented theater kids who are devoting themselves to Wilson’s writing.


Cody Merridith performs an August Wilson monologue in the documentary “Giving Voice.”
By ROBERT DANIELS

— Of Possible Interest —

Let Them All Talk
R | Comedy, Drama | Directed by Steven Soderbergh
Meryl Streep plays an author trying to reconnect with college friends in Steven Soderbergh’s film.


Meryl Streep and Lucas Hedges in “Let Them All Talk.”
By MAYA PHILLIPS

Sing Me a Song
Documentary | Directed by Thomas Balmès
The French filmmaker Thomas Balmès follows a Bhutanese boy as he becomes a man and finds a life outside the monastery where he grew up.


“Sing Me a Song” a documentary film | Directed by Thomas Balmès about a boy in a Bhutanese monastery. It follows his film “Happiness,” which introduced the young boy, Peyangki
By KRISTEN YOONSOO KIM

The Prom
PG-13 | Comedy, Drama, Musical | Directed by Ryan Murphy
Ryan Murphy takes on the Broadway hit “The Prom,” with help from Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman and Keegan-Michael Key.


The bright (small) lights of Indiana meet Angie Dickinson glam: Nicole Kidman and Jo Ellen Pellman in “The Prom.”
By MANOHLA DARGIS

Funny Boy
Drama | Directed by Deepa Mehta
Deepa Mehta’s sprawling coming-of-age drama follows a boy who realizes he is gay in a country that criminalizes homosexuality.


Arush Nand in “Funny Boy.”
By BEN KENIGSBERG