Au Rendez Vous and a borderless world

It was my first gastronomic experience with authentic French food. It was also my first experience waiting for a table, despite a confirmed reservation. My notoriety to be cranky when it’s well past supper time is something that I am not proud about. You see, Au Rendez Vous is a hole in the wall, no frills, no decor, family run home-style restaurant. The tables are so tightly set up that you can almost feel the love of that couple whispering away the intimate plans they had for the evening.

So, for lack of better ideas and enough layered clothing (to step outside), I stood by the door. While at it, I figured I would get some cheap thrill to reduce my wait time. The best way to evict a party that has already finished dinner is to give them a guilt trip. I furiously was munching on the mouth fresheners placed at the exit. It’s also the art of sporting a famished look that stares into entrée plates coming out of the kitchen. The trick worked I think, for the most part.

Almost an hour and few peppermints after I entered the restaurant, my entrée was served – Sol fish fillet soaking in a mustard sauce served with cucumber slices and raisin garnished pilaf. The sol was incredibly soft and almost melted away on my palate. For dessert, it was pistachio and maple syrup infused crepes. It was the best crepe I have ever had. So, it was definitely worth the wait time. So thats that.

In other notable events, watched Oliver Stone’s Alexander. It was an atrociously bad cinematic experience. He would be better off not making any more films and just regale with his past gems in Doors and Natural Born Killers.

The only thing that sparked my imagination after watching Alexander was the concept of a borderless world. One democracy, one rule of law that would nullify the pretentious cause and existence of a G8. There will be no trade alignments (NAFTA, EU, etc). No strategic defense alignments (NATO, etc). There will be free movement of populations. Blending of ethnicities. A thousand years from now, race and skin colors would have mutated so much that they would have become trivial to support identities. What’s the big deal about identity anyway? The whole notion of remembering where you come from?

Also, watched Me and you and everyone we know. This satirical masterpiece blends top notch characterization with a simple narration. Has the psychedelic existentialism message ala I Heart Hucklebee. It was the judged the best film at the 2005 Sundance fest. Talking about Sundance, watch out for this year’s fascinating line up at Park City, Utah from Jan 19^th to 29^th.