News-Press – Page 38

DRINK OF THE WEEK: Toma Restaurant & Bar’s Tuscan pear

May 16, 2013November 1, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

Tuscan pear NIK BLASKOVICH/NEWS-PRESS — Tuscan pear
NIK BLASKOVICH/NEWS-PRESS

When Emilio’s closed last year (at first for a rumored remodel) its fate seemed uncertain. But now it has reopened as Toma Restaurant & Bar, and regulars can breath easy: the restaurant has continued the Italian cuisine and widened out the restaurant a bit. This is all thanks to Tom Dolan, who spent many years working here and didn’t want to change too much. (Toma is Tom’s nickname.) The owners handed it off to Tom and his wife, Vicki, without too much of a fuss. And the nice thing? He kept Raul Alarcon as bartender, who has been making cocktails here for some time now.

Bonjour, Cannes: Two SBCC filmmakers make it big with their short

May 12, 2013October 7, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

Santa Barbara City College filmmakers, from left, Gabi Guillen, screenwriter; Michelle Magers, producer; and Benjamin Goalabre, director. STEVE MALONE/NEWS-PRESS

On Monday, two Santa Barbara City College filmmakers will be flying out to that most famous and illustrious of cinema events, the Cannes Film Festival.

In a combination of talent and luck, along with hard work, Benjamin Golabre and Gabriella “Gabi” Guillen submitted their film to several fests right after it won at this year’s 10-10-10 student competition at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

The Modern Face of LA – INFORMATIVE DOCUMENTARY OF FAMED ARCHITECT JOHN LAUTNER ENTERTAINS

May 10, 2013November 3, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

For a man who despised Los Angeles, John Lautner created some of the grandest versions of modernist architecture in the city, buildings and private homes that bring back the space-age future of the ’50s, yet also were all specifically built to fit into their surroundings, not stick out from it. In this recent documentary, “Infinite Space: The Architecture of John Lautner,” that closes off UCSB Arts & Lectures’ Art Architecture series, Mr. Lautner’s life is traced through loving explorations of his surviving work.

Mr. Lautner’s own voice drops in here and there to occasionally elucidate the history of a home, and his accent and tone is classic Midwestern, clipped, efficient, nasal. It’s the voice of a man who devoted his life to work, and we hear anecdotes of hours, sometimes days spent looking at a topographical property map before a sudden flurry of sketching and creation.

Raise Your Glass – ‘Cheers’ writer Cheri Steinkelner helps celebrate the sitcom’s 30th anniversary

May 10, 2013November 3, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

Cheri Steinkelner wrote for the television show "Cheers" for several seasons. Courtesy photo — Cheri Steinkelner wrote for the television show “Cheers” for several seasons.
Courtesy photo

Sometimes you wanna go to a 30th anniversary show where everybody knows your name. And on Saturday, Cheri Steinkelner will do that when she chats with brothers Glen and Les Charles and James Burrows, the creators of “Cheers,” the classic TV sitcom set in a Boston bar. Ms. Steinkelner, along with her husband Bill, wrote for the show from season four until its penultimate tenth season. She even became one of the executive producers.

The actual “Cheers” anniversary took place in September of last year, celebrating the broadcast of its first episode, but the celebrations continue in this Pollock Theater exclusive chat, which also includes a visit from actor George Wendt, who played bar regular Norm.

Drink of the Week: El Encanto’s Rocket Gimlet

May 9, 2013November 3, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

Where should you take your dear ol’ mom for Mother’s Day? If you really want to show her a good time and some great views of Santa Barbara, consider El Encanto, which has just re-opened after a major renovation.

The patio seems even bigger than before, the view remains exquisite and the bar … wait, they moved the bar? We had to go investigate the new cocktails and were met by bar manager Emre Balli and bartender Randy Brown, both of whom have a lot of experience under their belts, most recently at San Ysidro Ranch.

Anime at its Most Modest

May 3, 2013November 3, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

Goro Miyazaki doesn’t have it easy. As the son of Hayao Miyazaki, and heir apparent to Studio Ghibli, which is responsible for some of the best animated features of the last 25 years, from “My Neighbor Totoro” to “Ponyo,” Mr. Miyazaki has some pretty big shoes to fill. So it’s not surprising that his second film,”From Up on Poppy Hill,” keeps things modest.

Goro directs a script written by his father and adapted from a girls’ manga series from 1980, and the result is sort of plain. Flashes of potential can be seen here and there, but there’s very little magic.

A Little Night Music – Broadway’s Bernadette Peters comes to The Granada

May 3, 2013November 4, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

At 65, Bernadette Peters has earned the title of Broadway legend. For 60 of those years she has been performing — in television, movies, musicals and going on the road solo. Her appearance at The Granada Saturday night will find Ms. Peters working with her most basic elements, spare accompaniment, a set list of well-loved standards, and her powerful voice.

“My main goal is to entertain, and these are songs that I love singing. I get to pick my own songs,” she says.

The Shared Crossing

May 3, 2013November 4, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

Marion Freitag, left, and Ann Dusenberry in "Unfinished Business." Rod Lathim photo — Marion Freitag, left, and Ann Dusenberry in “Unfinished Business.”
Rod Lathim photo

Writer/director Rod Lathim first premiered his new play as a one-act in 2012 as part of Dramatic Women’s evening of shorts. But, like the title suggests, “Unfinished Business” wasn’t done, not for the author.

“It was the first peek into that world, and I thought the last,” Mr. Lathim says with a laugh. “I thought it would see the light of day briefly and then move on. But this play really caught me off guard and continues to a year later.”

Where the Squeegee Goes – Fascinating documentary follows one of the world’s most famous painters

May 3, 2013November 4, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

Gerhard Richter has had a career as both an abstract painter and a creator of realistic portraits, in between going all nihilist with his series of flat grey paintings and then sensationalist with his grubby, ill renderings of photos of the Baader-Meinhoff gang.

He’s been called great, and he’s been called rude words. In Corinna Belz’s inquisitive documentary, “Gerhard Richter Painting,” she circles around the question of the man behind the name as he prepares for several retrospectives and new openings — and, yes, also as he paints.

THE INN CROWD: It’s a hit: fried green tomatoes

May 2, 2013November 4, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

Editor’s note: The next episode of “The Inn Crowd with Chef Budi Kazali,” featuring a demo of Fried Green Tomatoes, Arugula Salad and Remoulade with guest chef Fannie Flagg, best-selling author, begins a weeklong run on the News-Press TV Food Channel at tv.newspress.com on Sunday.

One guess what dish author Fannie Flagg would make as part of her guest chef duties on “The Inn Crowd with Chef Budi Kazali.”