A full course of favorites: Nourishment for brain, ears, palate
Columnist recommends nine recent likes
Mary Schmich
January 29, 2012
Every now and then I make an eclectic list of things I've liked recently. Here's the latest.
1. "A Better Life." The Mexican actor Demian Bichir seemed as surprised as everyone else last week when he was nominated for an Oscar for his lead role in this beautiful little movie. I caught it by chance on a long flight recently. I'd heard about it — an undocumented Mexican gardener struggles to raise his son alone in LA — and knew it was made by Chris Weitz, who also directed the blockbuster "The Twilight Saga: New Moon." But I'd feared it was either too earnestly didactic or too Hollywood gooey. By the last scene, I felt I'd watched something rare, subtle and true, and I wasn't the only passenger wiping my eyes.
2. The New United Airlines. Is it just me or is United Airlines a whole lot better — friendlier and more efficient — since it merged with Continental?
3. Ba Le Bakery & Cafe, 5016 N. Broadway, Chicago. "I brought sandwiches," a friend said as we headed off on a recent excursion. I bit into one. OMG. Where did this come from? From this Uptown shop that fuses Vietnamese and French tastes into sandwiches, noodle salads and spring rolls. They bake their French rolls daily. Most sandwiches are $3.50. And it has a Michelin recommendation.
4. Gillian Welch. I avoided the Gillian Welch bandwagon for years, for reasons I can't recall, maybe just because it was a bandwagon. Her new album, "The Harrow & The Harvest," won me over. Her songs sound old and modern all at once. They're a mix of bluegrass, country and some edgier sounds that distinguish her music from its rural ancestors. Her harmonies with her musical partner and guitarist, David Rawlings, are impeccable, and though iTunes classifies her as "folk," she sidesteps the genre's sentimental traps.
5. Trader Joe's Lemon & Triple Ginger Snap ice cream. One thing I like is readers who send me great suggestions. This one came from reader Mary Wylie, who wrote, "It's creamy and gingery and really delicious. It has made my list of my favorite things!"
6. "Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter" by Tom Franklin. Officially a mystery/crime novel, this book is so much more than that. Its two main characters were briefly boyhood friends in Mississippi, one white and middle-class, the other black and poor. The black guy grows up to be a cop, the white guy the town's pariah. They're bonded and divided by secrets. The book is funny, sad, wise. The writing dazzles. It recently won a Gold Dagger Award from the Crime Writers Association.
7. Domaine des Cassagnoles Cotes de Gascogne 2010. If you're tired of chewy white wines with alcohol content so high you reel after three sips, you might like this little French white. Crisp but with some body, it's way better than the typical $7.99 bottle. I found it at Binny's.
8. "The Rise of the New Groupthink." This recent New York Times Magazine piece (http://nyti.ms/zTEPtP) argues that the modern work vogue of unwalled cubicles and "teams" doesn't make for the best ideas: "Research strongly suggests that people are more creative when they enjoy privacy and freedom from interruption."
9. A good quote. I heard this on a radio show the other day. A money-saving tip, it's attributed to personal finance guru Dave Ramsey: "We buy things we don't need with money we don't have to impress people we don't like."
mschmich@tribune.com
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