Q-Tips Reviews

The Porch Restaurant – 1815 K St., Sacramento, CA 95811, (916) 444-2423, theporchsacramento.com

Q’s say: Nice place, good service & Great chicken and a lot of it. Will go back if in the area when we visit.

Danielle & Sean’s Wedding at the Ryde Hotel -14340 Hwy 160, Walnut Grove, CA 95690, (916) 776-1318, rydehotel.com

Q’s say: A beautiful, fun wedding. Wonderful meeting our new family members, really nice people.

Mrs. Q says: The Ryde Hotel does not have TV, no air con, no pool, no elevator, but does have free Wi-Fi. The Hotel offers a restaurant and an air conditioned banquet room and many many historical photos of musicians, celebraties, politicians who stayed at the Ryde. It was a perfect setting for the wedding, especially a “Swing/retro Wedding” susrrounded by family and good friends.

The House of Blue Leaves – Raven – 6157 North Clark Street, on the corner of Clark and Granville.
http://www.raventheatre.com/ FREE Parking
In Queens, New York during Pope Paul VI’s 1965 visit, struggling songwriter Artie wants to be famous and feel important while his heavily medicated wife Bananas just wants to feel. Can Artie’s old high school buddy, now a Hollywood movie producer, give him a shot at the big time? Or will a blessing from the Pope do the trick? Living means more than just survival to these misfits in this insanely funny play thu June 18th.

Q-Tips say: We really enjoy local playhouse productions. Ok, Mrs. Q says:
Yes, there were some very funny moments in this play. Yes, the 3 nuns were hilarious and the main character probably is lucky that his “dopey” girlfriend went without him. However, when has it become acceptable/and funny to make fun of the mentally ill/anyone suffering from PTSD/being deaf/killing someone, nothing humorous about either. The Q’s did not pay very much for the tickets and did enjoy parts of House of Blue Leaves but really are looking forward to the Scottsboro Boys coming to the Raven in the fall.

At MR. KELLY’s – If you enjoy local theater productions, make sure you see “At Mister Kelly’s” – threecatproductions.com at Berger Park on Sheridan Rd. Chicago

Q-Tips say: A well directed play about Mr. Kelley’s, a tiny supper club, that was located at 1028 N. Ruch St. from 1957 to 1975 where artists entered the stage from the kitchen and sat only 150 people. So many famous people performed there when they were just starting the careers – singers & comedy acts. .Anita O’Day, Phyllis Diller, Julie London, Barbra Streisand, Barry Manilow, Mel Torme, Cass Elliott Bette Midler, Sara Vaughn, Miriam Mikeba, Natalie Cole, Mort Sahl, Bob Newhart, Flip Wilson, & Bill Cosby – before what we know about him now, along with the history of Mr. Kelly’s. Kudos to Watson Swift for taking on the role of this controversial comedian.

Yes, you get to see them all along w/ a 3 member band and good lighting, set design and a very talented cast-everyone of them. For this production they do offer patrons wine /beer- $5.00 ea, or tap water. Obviously they don’t serve dinner.

Mrs. Q says: Can’t say enough about how we enjoyed “Mr. Kelly’s” – w/be at Berger, I was told, as of now, a full month. Some of the songs that were sung were songs that they performed at the beginning of their careers, so I was not real familiar w/ some of them- but still enjoyed. If time permits, see it, think you will enjoy Mr. Kelly’s – no sex, violence, or nudity- what a refreshing change from some of the performers we see today.

ELVIS and NIXON – On Dec. 21, 1970, one of the most popular men in the world met one who would soon be among the more loathed, shaking hands and trading small talk. During this weird Oval Office summit, Elvis Presley (the beloved) trash-talked the Beatles as un-American and Richard M. Nixon (the other guy) handed out souvenirs to the King’s courtiers. Nixon didn’t write about this encounter in his memoirs, but a photograph of him smiling while shaking hands with Presley is the most requested item from the National Archives — a bigger hit than even the Constitution or the Bill of Rights.

It was an improbable meeting of suspicious minds, instigated by Presley’s desire to be a “federal agent at large,” which would give him a badge that, Priscilla Presley later wrote, he thought would allow him to travel freely with guns and drugs. Presley personally delivered his request, handwritten on American Airlines stationery, to the White House, and a presidential aide pitched the get-together to the chief of staff, H. R. Haldeman: “If the president wants to meet with some bright young people outside of the government, Presley might be a perfect one to start with.” Mr. Haldeman was dubious. “You must be kidding,” he scribbled on the letter, though he did sign off on the visit.

Q-Tips say: Liked it. Very funny moments. Based on a true story and great acting by Kevin Spacey as Nixon and Michael Shannon as Elvis. Roles that are soooo different from other roles. A refreshing change from some movies with killing, blood, racial overtones, etc. Yes, the theater was filled with older types – the younger generation probably won’t care about Nixon and Elvis. Might not even know who Nixon is. SEE IT, you will enjoy the movie Elvis and Nixon. Mrs. Q says: Many great, funny moments especially when Nixon says: Great! I’m the President of the free world and I’m taking orders from a Sophomore in college (his daughter) regarding seeing Elvis and getting his autograph.

ITALIAN VILLAGE – 71 W Monroe St., Chicago, (312) 332-7005, italianvillage-chicago.com

Q-Tips say: The Q’s have not been to Italian Village in a while and it was ok. Huge portions of Italian Food, good drinks and a large take home container. Mrs. Q not being a real pasta person, was overwhelmed by the amount of pasta that came with her meal – Pappardelle con Veal Shank Ragu, slow roasted veal in a Bolognese style Ragu sauce with hand cut wide pasta and a cup of chicken soup. The Chicken Soup was a tad salty for me. The Mr. had Broiled Italian Sausage, Green peppers, onions and mushrooms in a tomato sauce, mostaccioli and a cup of Clam Chowder. Nice quiet relaxing dinner after the play.

We found ourselves in the Italian Village again after The Money Museum.  Mrs. Q had Prime Beef Carpaccio, Thinly sliced Prime raw beef, arugula, Parmesan-Reggiano, extra virgin olive oil for Mrs. Q.  The Mr. had pasta with sausages in Ragu sauce. Drinks were good. They have three different restaurants. This visit was in The Village rest. part. Cute decor.  The other two, The La Cantina and Vivere.

Cafe Amici – 1371 Main St., Sarasota, FL 34236, (941) 951-6896, cafeamicisrq.com

Q-Tips say:  Enjoyed our meal, service and drinks at this family owned Italian restaurant.

Our shared appetizer was: Carpaccio – Paper thin beef sprinkled with oil, lemon, and shaved Parmesan cheese. My main entree was: Braciole and Orechlette – Beef rollatini stuffed with garlic, parmigiana, parsley and slowly cooked served with homemade orechiette. I Was told by our waitress: It is Nonna Rita’s original recipe, a traditional Puglia district. The Mr. ordered for his main entree: Linguine alle Vongole – Littleneck clams over linguine pasta, oil garlic sauce. Along with fresh warm bread from the oven and an olive oil mix for dipping made for a delightful meal.

Having had many good meals in good Italian restaurants in Chicago, we can say this is a good Italian restaurant in the Sarasota Fl. area.

The Brilliant Young Mind – This heart-warming and life-affirming story follows the unconventional and hilarious relationship between student and teacher – whose roles are often reversed – and the unfathomable experience of first love – even when you don’t understand what love is.

Q-Tips say: We enjoyed this Netflick movie. Mrs. Q says: It’s pretty, it’s heartwarming, but it does both autistic and particularly smart girls a disservice. Much more and better than what the review says. Go ahead and enjoy.

CAROL – Carol, an unrequited lesbian romance set against the closeted and intolerant era of 1950s America. Carol (Cate Blanchett) is a rich wife who meets Therese (Rooney Mara), a department store employee who assists with her Christmas shopping. They are both drawn to one another in the strange way that love works, and their possible relationship could jeopardize Carol’s custody of her young child. Because of the time period, so much of this romantic liaison is internalized and thus we get longing looks, small gestures that are meant to speak volumes, and plenty of starting and stopping, leaving the audience to fill in the blanks. There’s no passion evident throughout the movie and I was left wondering what exactly Therese saw in Carol and vice versa. Neither woman has a particularly strong personality, though that could be a side effect of having to live publicly as a different person. I couldn’t get into them as characters and so felt little interest in seeing them together, which made the constant circling and nervous indecision even more belabored.

Q-tips say: It was ok but a tad long. Mrs. Q says: It has been nominated for some awards but see it as a rental you and you will enjoy not spending the money. Blanchett and Mara were excellent as was the character who played Carol’s husband. Tho the acting was good, Mrs. Q got tired of all the soulful longing looks. To me, it looked like a May/Dec. relationship between two gay women. Perhaps that is because it was in the 50’s and at that time gays did not feel as free as today to express their feeling in public and being gay was not as understood like it is today.