GYPSY 83
In the spring of 2001, proto-gay high schooler Clive (Kett Turton) is penning his term paper on “Stevie Nicks: Unlikely Godmother of Goth” with help from his pal, Gypsy (Less Than Perfect’s Sara Rue), a disaffected lump of a young woman trapped in a bustier and the inertia of her 20s. In Todd Stephens’ quirky…
Square Café
Location: 1137 South Braddock Ave., Regent Square. 412-244-8002 Hours: Breakfast and lunch Tue.-Sat. 7 a.m.-3 p.m., Sun. 8 a.m.-3 p.m.; dinner Fri. and Sat. 5-10 p.m. Prices: Soups, salads, and appetizers $4-11; entrees $18-26 Fare: Modern American Atmosphere: Fine diner Liquor: BYOB Square Café has a dual personality — family diner by day, sophisticated bistro…
THE INCREDIBLES
Following lawsuits, superheroes have been banished to incognito lives of quiet desperation: The former Mr. Incredible now shuffles paper at an insurance company to support his family in the ‘burbs — until a secret agent lures the out-of-shape crime-fighter back into to the fray. Writer/director Brad Bird (Iron Giant) crafts a thoroughly entertaining and smart…
L-Word, Christian Soldiers
Clouds were gathering in Ohio on Election Day, threatening rain, but as the rush-hour traffic shuffled through Oakland, Pittsburgh was awash in a sun-streaked dawn. At the corner of Fifth and Bigelow, a group of students were holding “Honk for Kerry” signs. They cheered and waved as drivers honked and waved back. Inching through the…
THE POLAR EXPRESS
With its near-photorealism, and the imaginations of director Robert Zemeckis and crew taking off from Chris Van Allsburg’s gorgeous kiddie book, this animated film is a visual treat, from a child’s iris reflecting light like polished stone to the sight of timber wolves galloping through snowy nighttime woods. The spare story follows a boy skeptical…
How do the Port Authority bus routes get their numbers?
The dimensions of the pyramids, the calendars of the Aztecs, and the Port Authority bus-numbering system … for generations, mystics and numerologists have sought meaning within these esoteric number sequences. Do they betoken some previous intervention of God? The presence of an alien intelligence? In fact, according to Fred Mergner, they signifiy something even…
Cast of Thousands
“I registered in September!” fumed Piper Lincoln as she sat in a courtroom on the seventh floor of the City-County Building on Nov. 2, just minutes before the 8 p.m. deadline to vote. “I never received my voter-registration card.” Assuming her story is true — and there are many others like it — something went…
False Dawn
Do you mind if I revisit the freaking nightmare that was the election? Never have I been so wrong about so much in such a short period of time. The Monday night before voting day, I turned on C-SPAN to see Bruce Springsteen strumming and singing for the Kerry…
How Kerry Won … Pennsylvania
At Staging Area 11 of the John Kerry get-out-the-vote effort — the awning-covered macadam fronting the Steamfitters Union facility in the West End — a large box of “John Kerry will protect our heritage” pamphlets sat untouched on a table. They featured the Democratic nominee in full hunting camouflage, toting a rifle. That Pennsylvania…
Best of 2004
Entertainment & Nightlife Best new bar/clubLevel Club LoungeStrip District2nd: Deja Vu Lounge3rd: True Best dance clubMatrixStation Square2nd: Sanctuary3rd: (Tie) Chemistry Night Club & The Upstage Best jazz clubDowe’s on NinthDowntown2nd: James Street Tavern3rd: Crawford Grill Best shot-n-beer barDenny’s BarSouth Oakland2nd: (Tie) Gooski’s & Jack’s Bar3rd: Dee’s Café Best sports barSports Rock CaféStrip District2nd: Hightops3rd: Buffalo…
The Heat Goes On
“The silver lining” to George W. Bush’s electoral victory, says David Meieran of the Pittsburgh Organizing Group, “is that the anti-war movement will be easier to reinvigorate” to 2003 levels. Not that POG, Garfield’s Thomas Merton Center and other left-activist groups waited for the outcome of the presidential election to plan a protest. Pittsburgh…
Text Message
It’s tougher to write a book than to read one. But even if, as Lee Gutkind says, “Everyone knows that writing is the hardest profession in the world,” the writer, teacher and literary entrepreneur quips that “publishing might be a little harder.” The trials of the independent publisher constitute a theme…
Best Japanese/Best New Restaurant: Nakama
Music poured out from the porch of the Carson Street Deli, a diesel truck slowly roared by, and some excited school kids scuttled past us as my wife and I ducked into the vestibule of Nakama on the South Side. I expected our next few steps to finesse a serene transition to an interior dimmed…
A Conversation with Peter Divito
Lifelong Pittsburgher Peter Divito has a master’s degree in criminology, and has spent his post-college years working with kids on probation and with confrontational social issues. Divito founded 20/20 Proof, his music zine in which, besides interviews and reviews, 20 regular fans list their 20 favorite albums and the reasons why. (Plus there’s…
Best Family-Friendly Restaurant: Eat’n Park
Several regional restaurants serve 24-hour breakfast, and wherever we take our family to eat, the waitstaff inevitably chatter at our 6-month-old in high-pitched gibberish. That’s not unique. But after 55 years, Eat’n Park still manages to distinguish itself to families like mine. “The placemat has a monkey on it,” notes 7-year-old Simon, stretching the cheese…
Mates of State
Easily one of the best-natured husband-and-wife pop duos in the business, Mates of State often seems to exist for the sole purpose of putting smiles on the faces of college-radio deejays, record collectors and other shoegazer types who might be in serious danger of overdosing on yet another agonizing Bright Eyes or Cat…
Best Breakfast: Pamela’s Restaurant
On the surface, the Shadyside location of Pamela’s Restaurant seems a nice fit with the modern ‘Burgh aesthetic of chain boutiques and gourmet novelty that dominates Walnut Street. But, as the bacon and homefries will tastily attest, Pamela’s is still a meat ‘n’ potatoes kind of place. And while it may be lite-rock fare in…
Silkworm
Maturity is a funny thing. We’re conditioned to strive for this developmental plateau of existence within the American narrative of progress, but once the shoe fits, we wish it good riddance and miss the days of barefooted bliss. The opening refrain of It’ll Be Cool, the latest record from Silkworm, communicates this aged ennui with…
Best Hamburger: Tessaro’s
“Kelly has been an avid hamburger eater all his life,” says Tee Harrington. She is speaking of her son, Kelly Harrington, who studied to be a teacher while his heart hungered for something more. So what did he do? He bought the neighborhood motorcycle bar and turned it into a bona-fide restaurant specializing in hefty,…
Daddy G
Just over a decade ago, the marijuana industry breathed a sigh of relief. Not necessarily hard hit, but certainly slightly worried at the unprecedented rise of ecstasy to near universal club-kid usage in the late ’80s, those in the European herb professions must have smiled nervously as they watched the likes of Massive…
Best Thai restaurant: Thai Me Up
SWM, 30, 5’11”, 210, n/s, enjoys literature, good films, art, science, history and baseball; Thai-curious, ISO fiery dish for hot times, oral pleasure, possible LTR. I had been thinking that I needed more innuendo in my culinary life. Too many anonymous encounters with laconic all-night diners had left me restless, and cooking by myself two…
The Three Rivers Film Festival
The 23rd annual Three Rivers Film Festival, presented by Pittsburgh Filmmakers, continues through Thu., Nov. 18. Tickets for most films are $7 each; exceptions are the closing-night event with photographer Duane Michals ($10) and the screening of Sunrise with live musical accompaniment ($10). A Six Pack festival pass offers six single admissions for $35, plus…
Best Coffeehouse: Beehive
Kumar Ramanathan, 29, of the North Hills, a.k.a. “Chocolate Love,” and “the-coffee-guy-with-the-big-purple-hat” — he and I are in the green room, the quiet room. The carefully etched graffiti on the bench beneath me patiently demands, “Where were you when I was coming down?” Music loiters in the door to the next room over. It might…
Resisting Paradise
From where I sat — in a reclining black leather chair in my living room, watching a video — Barbara Hammer’s Resisting Paradise began with a mystery. “There is no document of civilization which is not at the same time a document of barbarism.” These words appeared on my television screen, letter by letter…
Best Fish Sandwich: Wholey’s
The category is “best” local fish sandwich, but gauging by the way restaurants tout their fish sandwiches, “biggest” or “most famous” might have been the category in contention. Nevertheless, “best” it is, and a lot of practice and a lot of consistency is what makes a winner. Wholey’s kitchen manager Aaron Van Buren, who was…
Stage Beauty
You won’t have to brush up your Shakespeare to enjoy Stage Beauty, which revolves around a series of productions of the final scene of Othello, in which the furious Moor kills Desdemona, his eternally mortal beloved. But don’t let that scare you off. Adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher from his play, and directed by Richard…
Best Polish Food: Bloomfield Bridge Tavern
Serving a dual purpose as the unofficial welcome sign to Bloomfield and, as it proudly boasts, “The only Polish restaurant in li’l Italy,” the Bloomfield Bridge Tavern and its busy exterior of self-promotion and Polish history (Madam Curie and Casimir Pulaski can be found on the colorful facade) has become both a recognizable landmark and…
BEING JULIA
Annette Bening is simply luminous in this backstage dramedy from István Szabó adapted from a W. Somerset Maugham novella. Bening is Julia Lambert, the toast of 1938 London’s light-comedy stage. Utterly self-absorbed and always “on,” Julia pings from one off-stage overly dramatized scene to another: her husband of convenience (a droll Jeremy Irons), a youthful…
Best local seafood restaurant: Monterey Bay Fish Grotto
It was a wet, black night. The perfect night for … fish! Instead of plunging into the inky depths of Neptune, we made an ascent — to the Monterey Bay Fish Grotto. We traversed that famous portal to the great beyond, open only once every seventh year — i.e., McArdle Roadway — to Pittsburgh’s perch…
BRIDGET JONES: THE EDGE OF REASON
Despite securing the man of her dreams, thirtysomething Londoner Bridget Jones (Renée Zellweger) is still a boo-hooing insecure blob. She breaks up with Mister Nice-But-Dull (Colin Firth) and on a business trip finds herself tempted by the Tasty-But-Caddish Ex (Hugh Grant). Beeban Kidron’s sequel to 2001’s Bridget Jones’s Diary simply re-arranges the familiar characters (and…
Best Late Night Bite / Best Pittsburgh Smell: Primanti Brothers
The aroma hits you halfway down 18th Street from Penn Avenue: a fried, meaty smell you have to swim through. A few steps more and you’re inside, where it smells like ketchup. “It’s the coleslaw,” corrects Andrea, a one-named blonde from Switzerland sitting at the bar, fresh from an anniversary party at Level. Andrea was…
