- URBAN COFFEHOUSE EVENT CALENDAR

OCTOBER 15,.1995
A.D.

AINA
KIAVIEGIERK

Open
Stage

Dimmer at Da

YI Joveno

Da Moreno is a small,
oddly situated restaurant located
On fourth street, near Kmart and
next to the Bagel Street Cafe.
There is a smali patio in the frent,
twinkling with white Christmas
lights and in perfect view of the
local colour; while inside the
restaurant there are long,
purposely dinged walls fancied by
replicant paintings of cherubs and
the like, then lined by white-
clothed tables and prominent

wine glasses,.. It is fairly intimidat-

ing, for such frugal fiends as
Charles and |, to sit down toa
place setting complete with two
wine glasses (one for water, |
suppose) three forks, two spoons,
etc, and not understand the
purpose of such excess, —other
than the fact that someone is
actually paid to do our dishes,
rather than having their turn to
them, as we do at home. Our
waiter, (indeed all high-class
restaurants must have male
servers, thought |, being a former
waitress in a var,) had a wonder-
fully foreign accent that seemed to
change between horrible Italian,
moderate French, and perfect
Canadian each time he met with
Ws. Our first duty was to order an
appetizer, which Charles did

OCTOBER 21, 1995
A.D.

mY StEry
mAChINE

without my knowing exactly what
the appetizer was. It turned out
to be many thin siabs of raw
sirloin, disguised under many slices
of parmesan cheese. It was fine
once | enshrouded it with bread
and crushed capers between my
teeth while it slid down my =
throat; | actually devoured a few
choice cuts in this manner, then
was about ready to let it back onto
my plate. As | gagged and
convulsed, | watched my open-
minded, open-mouthed escort
finish the remainder of bleeding
animal on our plate.

The rest of our dining
experience was a dream. | had the
chicken, which was thick and
sumptuous, garnished with roasted
peppers and just the right slice of
eggplant; Charles had the lamb,
which he praised to no end. It
really did have the effect of
melting in one’s mouth, as if
carved off a spit somewhere along
the Medditeranean. The entrees
were all quite simply prepared, and
therefore beautifully authentic,
and each were served with a side
of what tasted like wine-sauteed
vegetables, which were so unique
in taste. | simply had water, but
Charles ventured an Italian import
beer (it’s all Budweiser to me) and
was very impressed by its
smoothness.

For dessert, | tried the
creme brulee, which is a rich,

OCTOBER 22, 1995
BC.

FRANK
BAKER

STILL
WATERS

mildly sweet cream custard with a
hardened syrup crust along the
top, while Charles had the house
special, which, although I'm not
quite sure what it’s called, was
something like a lady finger cake
dipped in espresso and smothered
in chocolate sauce and mounds of

whipped cream. | begged and
pleaded, but he would not trade.

In all, including tip, the
bill came to around eighty dollars.
you'd be looking at about twenty
for each each course, twenty for
appetizer and dessert, and then
whatever it is you choose to drink.
Overall, the food was absolutely
heavenly; the atmosphere very
pleasant; and the service, pleasant
still. Only, if you're wondering
whether they treat students with
less care than they would, say, the
man in the suit at the next table,
they do. | don’t mind any
sobbery in fancy-class restaurants;
| figure it’s their job. In this one
case, and take my word for it, the
food does outweigh the service —
big time.

Seeing Stee! Magnolias
Blossom

Charles and | love the
theatre. We used to go to plays
quite a bit when we were in
Vancouver, and especially the small
Playhouse or Vancouver Island

AUNYING

FRO

ee 27, 1995

IVE
. AY (
REASON TTWOMINUTOBAIAUOE

OUT OF ALDA

productions, put on by amateur
writers, actors and directors. | will
say that for certain, | have never
been so moved by a play as | have
with this Steel Magnolias. | was so
enchanted by this play that, as

“soon as there was an intermission,

| nagged Charles into buying season
passes to Theatre Northwest, —
which he kindly did.

Theatre Northwest is a
small, obscure building within a
plaza on the other side of the
river. Because of its unusual
location, the actual theatre is
quite small; in fact, the stage is on
level with the audience seating,
which is small in itself. This
closeness between the setting of
the play and the audience created
an atmosphere of mutualness.
Unlike viewing from the theatres
we have past been in, we were not
spectators in a balcony looking
down on players in a play, or
raising or eyes to an actor a stage;
we were nearly a part of the
events, like friends that feel for
what's happening right before
them. Now, I'm not asking you to
take my word, because I'm a
pushover for emotional scenes, but
there is this one moment in the
play where the scene just pushes
and pushes and brings the
audience to the edge, and then
right when you think you're gonna
spill right over and die, they yank
you right back, and everything's

BOUND TO
FALL

fine. It's just so cool.

As for the acting, it was
just superbly cast. The characters,
the atmosphere, everything was
near flawless, (although | was
starved for theatre, and have lost
my critical edge by now). There
are weddings and births and
deaths, and in between those
things are five women, living and
doing hair and dying and moving
on. And for those of you who
think this might be a play directed
at women, and something only
women can be moved by, it isn’t
true! It is pure enjoyment, and
something | will always remember
gladly.

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GEORGE FOOD
BANK SOCIETY

needs your help!

Donations and Volunteers needed!

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