Movies we saw this week:

Under fun:


"The Lives of Others" (2006)

"The Lives of Others" was an awesome story. I guess you could say that this was a Cold War era drama. It's about a Stasi agent who spies on certain "people of interest" in East Germany, who gets entangled in the lives of those whom he spies on. The acting is simply superb. There is a a great deal of nuance with the way the story unfolds, which is amazing for a directorial debut.

"The Aristocrats" (2005)

I'd say it took me at least twelve and a half minutes until I figured this out. I did experience the intial revulsion of the very frank retellings of this reputedly famous joke. I think you will, too. I will not spoil it for you. DJKung remarked that my poor sense of humor prevented me from "getting it." Would you believe that this movie was courtesy of our town's public library, which impressed me. Yay for public libraries!

Raves for Raymond's

Under food:



Raymond's

28 Church St.

Montclair, NJ 07042

(973) 744-9263

www.raymondsnj.com





It was a lovely fall day yesterday, with a bit of summer warmth lingering in the air. DJKung, our friend Ozzie-Wan-Kennozie and I had a nice al fresco lunch at Raymond's in Montclair. Typically, this place is jam-packed on Sundays, but there was a minimal wait last Thursday for an outside table.



The menu emphasizes breakfast fare, but nothing too hearty. For lunch, it seemed that sandwiches and burgers were the way to go. We ordered some items from their seasonal menu.

Egg salad sandwich with sun-dried tomatoes.

Ozzie-wan got an egg salad sandwich. It came with some sliced cukes and olives, which she pronounced as "very European." Ozzie-wan'll give a more detailed assessment in the comments below.

DJKung ordered an omelet with basil pesto (below, left), which he said was very good. I was particularly taken by their fries, which are nicely browned, skinny and crispy. I got the spinach and goat cheese sandwich (below,right), which was excellent. There's a layer of sauteed spinach, another of sauteed onions, and tangy goat cheese. Mine also came with the cukes and olives.








































Butternut squash soup with chives, I think. Doesn't it look so pretty?

I thought the butternut squash soup could have been more squash-y and more nutty in flavor. It was a bit bland and pasty.

Raymond's is a nice place to linger. It is BYOB and their items are generally solid. DJKung highly recommends their burgers.