The Big Wedding - Preview/Review

I went to see it because it's packed with heavy hitters - Robert Dinero, Katherine Heigl, Diane Keaton, Topher Grace, Amanda Seyfried, Susan Sarandon, and Robin Williams. And they certainly didn't disappoint. With lots of twists and turns - even one or two unexpected ones - the film is quite funny. But it also manages to carry some weight too.

The adopted son of a divorced couple is meeting his mom for the first time at his own wedding, his very Catholic mom from who doesn't believe in divorce and doesn't speak English. Without giving too much away, suffice it to say that everyone is quite entangled with one another, including the family of the bride to be and there are some messy familial relationships that beg resolving.

But, as you might expect, all's well that ends well.

I wasn't too thrilled when one character announces that she's sexually interested in women, calling her desire a fetish. It makes being a lesbian or being bisexual sound naughty or taboo. Not really what we need right now. I know the definition of fetish, and I suppose she could simply be implying obsession. Still, I think a better word could have been chosen.

Regardless, The Big Wedding is definitely worth checking out. I don't see any Oscars in its future. But I can certainly see it gaining a permanent place on the don't miss romcom/dramedy shelf.

Going Renaissance at Scarborough Faire

After living in Dallas for almost eight years, we finally made it to the Renaissance Festival at Scarborough Faire. We had a blast and looked pretty damn good, if I do say so myself thanks to our killer Renaissance costumes.

For the whole scoop, check out my guest blog at CraveDFW!

There's a new Salata in town!

I'm not always a salad girl. But when I am, I like them fresh with lots of topping choices.

A new Salata opened yesterday on Blackburn in Uptown and it fits my salad bill perfectly. I like my salads like I like most of my foods - with an Asian flair.

So, I opted for the Salata mix, which has a nice variety of lettuces, cabbage, and spinach. Then I added snow peas, bean sprouts, cranberries, oranges, almonds, pita crisps, and herb-marinated shrimp.

My salad maker was very nice about adding as much - or as little - as I wanted. Next time I'll remember to ask for more oranges. And the shrimp weren't very exciting. They were a tad bit overcooked and the seasoning didn't do much for me.

When I hit Salata again, I'll go for the chicken instead (of which there are four varieties - Herb Marinated Grilled, Pesto, Spicy Chipotle, Asian BBQ). My colleague over at the Cleansed Palate said the Spicy Chipotle was delish.

I tasted a couple of dressings and went with the Ginger Lime. It was awesome but a little fat heavy for me. So, I asked for a smaller portion. Next time I'll likely go fat-free mango.

They also offer salad wraps and soups.

Considering the size of the portions and the options, Salata is very nicely priced at $8.00 for salads  and $7.00 for wraps. Adding chicken adds $2 to the salad ($1 to the wrap) and adding seafood (they also have salmon, krabmeat, and seafood mix) adds $3 ($2 to the wrap), a little pricey for the latter to my mind.

Bite size brownies and cookies round out their menu, and although I was a good girl and steered clear this time around, I have to say they looked very tasty.

The new Salata is bright and well-staffed and ideal for a quick bite at a nice price. And if their first days are any indication, this is going to be yet another busy Uptown eatery.

Uptown 3000 Blackburn Dallas, Texas 75204

(214) 599-8507

Mon-Fri: 11:00 am - 9:00 pm Sat-Sun: 11:00 am - 8:00 pm