win win

This movie has a small but universal message – A.O. Scott describes it as “a good movie about trying to be good.” In life, Alex Shaffer is champion wrestler and first-time actor. As Kyle, he captures a detachment that seems so common among kids from his generation. He and Paul Giamatti put a genuinely human face on New Jersey, as they try to get through to one another. These are not the cartoon characters that you see on Jerseylicious, etc. They have faults. They face temptation, and they try to redeem themselves. Win Win reminds us that it is how you deal with consequences and how you embrace opportunities that test the real strength of your character; that determine whether or not you are good.

other delightful thingS:: Luol Deng shooting from half court and making it! Also, Bulls crushing the Heat in Game 1.
:: Peter, of Peter Bjorn and John, jumping around on stage. Wouldn't it be amazing if you found this much unmistakeable joy in your job?
:: Bridesmaids! Go if you want to laugh, and enjoy a most excellent cameo.
:: Chick-fil-A in IL. Nuggets and lemonade!

jam

Mmm jam. Both brunch items we ordered were surprising. I ordered the egg whites that had some vegetables listed after, like an omelet, and Charlie ordered the blueberry pancakes. The egg whites arrived poached and served like a salad with some lemon zest - very light and refreshing. And, the pancakes were blue, blue, blue! I've never seen food this blue. On previous occasions, we've had the Spanish omelet (with and without anchovies) and the French toast with pink peppercorns. It's hard to order badly here.

highS :: going on a weekday - avoids the weekend brunch crowd,
very pleasant
:: food - everything we've had is good

lowS :: cash only - but they have an ATM

xoco

Pronounced JOco...I think. It's a Mexican sandwich place. The seating/serving is confusing - they sort of help you along with this with some things but not others. They get you a seat and bring you your food, but not your drinks?? There are a lot of sandwiches to choose from, but they are not all created equal. For instance, the short ribs in my Pepita were bland, but somehow overpowered the pickled jalapeños, which, on their own, were good. Charlie's sandwich was good, but the old switcheroo doesn't work well when one one person (me) orders badly. Churros are good, corn-y, but good. Some people seemed to get chocolate sauce with theirs. We did not. We got the Mexico City style hot chocolate, which when eaten with the churro was good. When you drink the hot chocolate on it's own, it's begging for a finger-dipped-in-sugar chaser. I would try this again but not without studying the extensive menu first.

highS :: pork? - pork sandwiches seem the way to go
:: pickled onions and peppers - mmm
:: churros - once I accepted the corn taste, they were great

lowS :: service - weird. We were seated in this crossroads of servers and cooks going in and out of doors with big dirty pans. This crossroads smelled like bleach and garbage - yuck.
:: short ribs