Nothing soothes and restores like a bowl of congee, silken Chinese porridge made only with rice and water. Porridge King, a cheerfully efficient congee house in a happening Asian shopping center, makes an excellent one with preserved pork and salted egg ($5.50). The salty pork and egg give the porridge richness and depth. And if you throw in hunks of a long, unsweetened Chinese doughnut ($1.50), warm from the fryer, you have the ultimate satisfaction of chewiness and crispness with a creamy hot soup.
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For a guy whose film career launched more than 40 years ago, Robert De Niro is hardly showing any signs of creative fatigue. The quintessential method actor has six upcoming films in pre-production, one directed by Jodie Foster, another by Barry Levinson. This month, the two-time Oscar-winner turns heads in a place many wouldn’t expect to find him: behind the camera, directing "The Good Shepherd," which opens Friday.
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Former Stray Cat Brian Setzer is as hot as ever. The Brian Setzer Orchestra even has been nominated for a Grammy Award: "My Favorite Things," off "Dig That Crazy Christmas" on Surfdog Records, is up for best pop instrumental performance. Setzer performs live with his 18-piece rockin’ big band in the popular fifth annual "Brian Setzer Orchestra Extravaganza." The show, which features holiday classics and other music, is onstage at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and 8 p.m. Friday at the Fox Theatre, 2215 Broadway, Redwood City.
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A few thoughts inspired by a recent screening of "Rocky Balboa"…» Sixteen years after Sylvester Stallone left his prolific franchise bleeding on the mat with the lackluster "Rocky V," the brand name endures. It’s easy to smirk at "Rocky Balboa," yet another retelling of the underdog story whose endearingly simple hero spouts hoary clichés and trite motivational speeches before returning to the ring. But Rocky’s salt-of-the-earth charm is real, and the grand finale doesn’t disappoint.
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Who knew Donald Trump was such a compassionate guy? The multitasking mogul, in his role as head of the Miss USA pageant, offered misbehaving crown holder Tara Conner a second chance after allegationsof drug and underage alcohol use jeopardized her title.
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Talk about differences. If 2005 was all about oldsters, 2006 is ringing out as the almost polar opposite. These past 12 months, it’s been all about young bands that seemingly materialized out of nowhere. On the surface, everything felt like business as usual, with Paris Hilton’s bid (plea?) for dance-diva legitimacy, the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ motion for continued relevance and the gradual transformation of Bruce Springsteen from coliseum gladiator into boxcar-hopping hobo.
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Rarely has an American filmmaker recounted the horrors of war from the perspective of a onetime enemy, but here is Clint Eastwood’s "Letters From Iwo Jima," the stirring companion-piece to "Flags of Our Fathers," reimagining one of World War II’s most harrowing campaigns from the standpoint of the Japanese. In doing so, it reaches a simple, inescapable conclusion — that war, while sometimes inevitable, is truly barbaric, and that our adversaries often have more in common with us than we might like to believe.
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Imagine five sexy young people dancing, swaggering, swinging, swaying and skateboarding. Oh, and tumbling, climbing poles, jumping through hoops, spinning in rings, and doing handstands — on each other’s heads. That’s what goes on in "Traces," a perfectly thrilling, high concept theatrical event onstage at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. The holiday show, great for families, is presented by Circus Center, home of Pickle Circus.
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And to think you were worried that Lindsay Lohan doesn’t have enough positive influences in her life. The actress has found some new role models — strippers.
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There are only a few more days to experience the city from a fine artist’s point of view, as San Francisco’s Newmark Gallery presents work by Anna Conti, Anthony Holdsworth, Beryl Landau and Toru Sugita in "San Francisco Cityscapes — Contemporary Visions of Our City." The third annual group exhibit of contemporary paintings by Bay Area artists closes Saturday. Hours are from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. The gallery is in the Union Squarearea at 251 Post St., Suite 412.
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