By Jason Bonner, Advertising Manager

dinner

Fernando’s Mexican Cuisine, a restaurant located on the northeast corner of Midway and Northwest Highway, offers both Tex-Mex and traditional Mexico City specials.

Its atmosphere has the amenities expected from a Mexican restaurant: a nice bar, comfortable seating, and a friendly sentiment from the staff. On a Saturday night, the place is, as one would expect, busy with patrons enjoying their meals and company.

Even though the place was busy, the kitchen staff still managed to pay attention to detail and create tasty entrees. The staff was courteous and helpful, not to mention swift. They managed to refill drinks and bring out the food as soon as it was prepared.
The Guacamole Acapulco was made with fresh ingredients and served with crisp, warm tostados chips to create an appealing appetizer. The Tex-Mex entrees had large portions, and the taste was above average. The ‘Mario’ platter had a choice of two enchiladas, guacamole, chili con carne, and Mexican rice and beans.

The Mexico City house specials were pricey, but the aroma from surrounding tables gave the impression that the restaurant was popular not for its Tex-Mex, but for its traditional dishes.

When craving food from south of the border, look no farther than Fernando’s Mexican Cuisine.


movie

For a movie released before Thanksgiving, The Ice Harvest will have staying power through the Christmas season.

The movie takes place on a cold and rainy day in Wichita, Kan. on Christmas Eve. The main character, Charlie Arglist, played masterfully by John Cusack, starts the movie by successfully stealing over two million dollars from the local mob boss, Bill Guerrard. He is nervous about the crime he just committed, tensely walking back from the bank he withdrew the money from to the car outside waiting for him. Billy Bob Thornton’s character, Vic, is waiting anxiously for his partner Charlie to return with the money. These two characters only need to survive the night because they are planning on skipping town in the morning. For these two, surviving the night isn’t as easy as it seems.
The local mob boss, played by Randy Quaid, somehow found out about the crime Charlie and Vic committed. As a result, he hires a hit man to track Charlie and Vic down.

To pass the time, Charlie goes around to local clubs and bars to meet with old friends and evade the hit man, Roy Gelles (Mike Starr). In one particular scene, Charlie encounters an old friend who is now married to his ex-wife. Pete, acted by Oliver Platt, is belligerently and obnoxiously intoxicated on Christmas Eve. Charlie manages to take care of his friend, avoid Roy, and schedule a time to reconvene with Vic to get their money and leave town.

The Ice Harvest has a dark side to its humor, however. It contrasts light comedy with gruesome violence to perfection. The director, Harold Ramis, manages brilliantly to pull together envy, disloyalty, and greed and blend it with offbeat humor. Billy Bob Thornton and John Cusack shine as they perform with the comedic timing that makes them unique. Oliver Platt’s drunk character steals the scenes he is in. Even the hitman, Roy, has moments of humor on rather dark occasions.

Unlike Ramis’ earlier works like Caddyshack or Animal House, The Ice Harvest’s dark side reigns over its comedy. The plot twists are unique, but some scenes are not for the weak hearted. The comedy tries to keep the atmosphere light and ultimately succeeds after all the bad things that happen.

Overall, for a small budgeted movie, The Ice Harvest should not have trouble breaking even and entertaining audiences well past this year’s Christmas Eve.