Friday, May 19, 2023

Air

Starring: Matt Damon, Jason Bateman, Viola Davis, Ben Affleck
Director: Ben Affleck
Running Time: 1 hour, 51 minutes
Rating: R

I hadn't been anticipating a movie like this in quite a while. Being a Tar Heel and a fan of MJ, I'm always interested in watching anything related to the GOAT. I'm also a big fan of Ben Affleck as a director (Argo, The Town, Gone Baby Gone are all excellent films) so this was a movie I was not going to miss. I also wasn't going to go to the movie theatre to watch it (ha) so I squealed with delight when I saw that it was available to stream on Amazon Prime. I quite enjoyed the film, but it does beg the question, why exactly did this movie need to get made, and why now? I feel a bit hypocritical asking that, but it does kind of feel like a group of friends doing a passion project, which is fine. We all know the outcome of the story - did we really need 1 hour and 51 minutes to tell it?

Aside from those questions, I really did find the film entertaining. Matt Damon shines, per usual, as Sonny Vaccaro, a basketball talent scout for Nike who believes an NBA rookie named Michael Jordan will save their shoe division. Enter excellent supporting castmates in Jason Bateman as chair of Marketing, Ben Affleck as Nike CEO Phil Knight, Chris Messina as MJ's agent and Viola Davis as the matriarch of the Jordan family. All eventually work together towards luring MJ away from competitors Converse and Adidas, but it's not an easy road.

The story takes place in the 80s, and they really drive home that fact - lots of iconic 80s tunes, clothes, office furniture - they do a good job setting the scene. Sometimes I felt the shots were too sepia-toned, but this was clearly a choice. It was also a choice for us to never see MJ's face, which I thought was interesting. Affleck has chosen to highlight the supporting characters in the Air Jordan story, instead of MJ himself. 

If anything, watch this film for some spectacular performances (Bateman and Davis really shine) and if you're a basketball fan. It's an entertaining 2 hours for sure, but at the end, you may ask yourself the same questions as me. 

Saturday, May 13, 2023

M Test Kitchen

If you live in the Triangle, you've no doubt heard of the M Restaurants - you've got M Sushi (the best sushi I've ever had), M Pocha (Korean street food), M Kokko (Korean fried chicken + ramen), M Tempura (next on my list), and the latest hot spot: M Test Kitchen. Basically, they cook whatever they feel like and if it's well-received, perhaps you'll see it on one of their other restaurant menus. I jumped at the opportunity to dine here when it opened at Fenton in Cary last month. I felt like we were in on a secret - while we had an early reservation time (not surprising), the place was surprisingly empty. By 7pm, every table (and bar seat) was occupied. The atmosphere is minimalist, the service is spot-on, and everything we tasted was delicious - and we tasted almost everything on the menu. I can appreciate a small, focused menu that executes beautifully and M Test Kitchen does just that. Just be sure you don't get too attached to anything - they revamp the menu often, and we were already on version 1.8!

Channeling my inner Gail Simmons

The food menu is on one page, and the drink options take up three pages. They take their bevvies seriously. I ordered The Triad, combining Japanese Whiskey, Amaretto and Cointreau and it was  slightly sweet and delightfully boozy. My husband opted for the Black Sage, with Irish Whiskey, Sake, St. Germaine, Sage and Blackberries. It was a flavor combination he had never tasted and said it was "highly drinkable".

The menu is divided into three sections: Cold, Warm and Sweets. We started off with Roasted Shishitos with Edamame and Plum. Being that it was the first thing we tasted, it set the bar incredibly high. The humble shishito peppers are perfectly blistered, not too oily, and rest on a stunning edamame hummus. I would have licked this plate clean. Dollops of plum puree bring a subtle sweetness, but the star of this show is that hummus!

Crispy Rice with Salmon Tartare was another favorite bite of the night. Beautiful squares of golden brown fried rice is topped with mounds of salmon, with Carolina mustard seeds for some acid and a pop of texture. This felt like a really funky and adventurous bite of nigiri. Absolutely fantastic.

Amberjack Tataki with Yuzu and Lotus was a beautiful presentation, featuring slices of that meaty fish topped with crispy lotus root slivers and pops of yuzu. The slight saltiness of the lotus was a great match for the seasoning on the fish, but the yuzu was TOO citrus-forward for me. It almost overpowered the delicate bite.

My entire dining party was very excited to order the Kani Crab XO Fried Rice, but much to our surprise, we couldn't locate any crab in the dish! Instead, beautifully cooked Shrimp sat atop the mound of flavorful rice, with julienned cooked Egg and Scallions too. The kitchen must have been out of the crab that night, or it was VERY carefully disguised.

It's a bit disappointing when the Cucumber and Herb Salad that is served alongside the Char Sui Ribs is the star of the dish (at least, the star for me). The ribs were just a bit dry, and had a touch too much sweetness from the hoisin glaze. The men at the table devoured them though, which was fine, because I was all too eager to have extra servings of the refreshing shaved cucumber salad. 

Another standout dish was the Crispy Tilefish with Green Curry. Thick, meaty white fish is surrounded by a creamy, only slightly peppy Green Curry sauce, with a mound of sticky White Rice underneath. The crispiness comes from the fish skin AND the scales, which are fried, resulting in a delicate salty crunch. This is extremely rich and comforting and I was disappointed to have to share.

Just when you think you've had all the Carrot Cake you could ever want, M Test Kitchen goes and does it right. They deconstruct the classic dessert, plating little cubes of moist, spicy Carrot Cake with sweet Carrot Puree, Candied Walnuts and Ginger Ice Cream. This was beyond anything that I was expecting. I love a good restaurant dessert, especially ones like this, that totally reinvent the wheel.

Do yourself a favor and make a reservation here before the word gets out even further. This is an awesome spot for a girls night, date night, or when you want to have yourself a little Top Chef adventure. I'd like to come for every iteration of the menu.