Hey Folks…
Whenever I get the energy to do so…I note down my two cents on places I’ve visited, things I’ve tasted, and stuff I’ve enjoyed or hated. Now I’m going to see how I do on a blog totally devoted to such ramblings. Let’s see how it goes, ok? Oh yeah, and it’s not like a true monarchy – so feel free to sound off on whether or not you agree, ok? That’s what the comments are for.
Bon Vivant
(defn from m-w.com)
Etymology: French, literally, good liver
Date: circa 1695
: a person having cultivated, refined, and sociable tastes especially in respect to food and drink
The name is also inspired by Ang Lee’s Eat Drink Man Woman. One of my favorite films by this guy (my favorite film by him is his first: Pushing Hands)….he attended NYU with Spike Lee. According to my film professor – Ang Lee and Spike Lee won a bunch of film student awards during their academic careers. Ang Lee liked to joke that people kept getting them mixed up – “which Lee?”
It’s a lovely film about the passions and loves of one Chinese family and their only true connection is over the exotic dishes created each Sunday evening, by their father, a famous chef in that country. I adored how the food was served up in this film – it made my mouth water. I’m always hungry after watching the damn thing. This film doesn’t borrow from American sentimentality, when it comes to meal time and family (a la Soul Food, Beauty and the Beast, Fried Green Tomatoes, etc). Instead, it empathizes the lack of communication and affection that barely keeps the lid on the pot of simmering emotions: years of resentment, un-resolved issues, and fierce family loyalty. But all of the best meals must end. You get your doggie bag of goodies….don’t piss off Master Chu now, that food is till good! And well, the sisters and their father, they have to move on with their own lives, beyond the Sunday dinners and to their own families or destinies….sometimes both.
“This worry is what makes us a family.”–Chu to his daughters