Movie Review

Minari offers unique take on pursuit of the American Dream

The American Dream is a term that has been around since at least the early 1930s, although one could argue the idea started with the Declaration of Independence itself. For almost 250 years, millions have looked at the United States as a place where anyone can become successful if they just work hard enough, although the reality of that idea is not quite that simple.

Nevertheless, that idea is at the heart of Minari, which follows a Korean family as they move to Arkansas in the 1980s for somewhere they can call their own. Leading the way is the father, Jacob (Steven Yeun), who’s found jobs for both him and his wife, Monica (Yeri Han), at a local poultry plant as a means to an end of starting their own Korean vegetable farm.

The family, which also includes daughter Anne (Noel Cho), son David (Alan S. Kim), and soon grandma Soonja (Youn Yuh-jung), has a variety of difficulties getting their dream started, including spartan living conditions, a lack of easily accessible natural water on their land, and more.

What the film doesn’t include is much animosity toward a Korean family establishing themselves in a mostly white area. There is some casual racism displayed, but for the most part, people are welcoming of them, especially Paul (Will Patton), who helps out with the farm.

Written and directed by Lee Isaac Chung, the film derives most of its drama from the family’s changing dynamics. These include Monica’s frustration with Jacob’s stubbornness, concern over David’s lifelong heart problems, and how Anne both helps and hurts things after her arrival.

Somewhat unexpectedly, Chung mostly eschews the big moments that films like these typically contain. There are a lot of signals that indicate the plot is headed in a certain direction, but Chung decides to go the less-obvious route the majority of the time. This allows the focus to remain on the characters, and you really feel like you know all of them by the time the film ends.

The flip side of that is not all that much happens over the course of the film. Anyone waiting for that big twist that will change the family’s fate one way or the other will be left wanting. The film is a character study through-and-through, and it succeeds mightily at that.

Yeun, who’s starred in The Walking Dead, Sorry to Bother You, and Okja, is the undisputed star of the film, carrying the story as his character struggles to make his dream a reality. Han is his equal in many of the scenes, demonstrating the quiet fury of her character. Yuh-jung is a delight as the character who causes the most disruption, as is Kim with his cherubic face and joyful demeanor.

Minari may not offer the emotional release of many other films oriented around families, but with its in-depth look at its various characters, it more than makes up for that lack. Where it comes down on the attainability of the American Dream is up for interpretation, but the journey is one worth taking.

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Minari will open in select theaters on February 12. It will debut on premium video on demand on February 26.

Alan S. Kim, Steven Yeun, Noel Cho, and Yeri Han in Minari.

Steven Yeun, Alan S. Kim, Youn Yuh-jung, Yeri Han, and Noel Cho in Minari

Photo by Josh Ethan Johnson, courtesy of A24

Alan S. Kim, Steven Yeun, Noel Cho, and Yeri Han in Minari.

News You Can Eat

This Dallas restaurant news has tons of tempting dishes to check out

basque cheesecake bulla gastrobar

Bulla Gastrobar

Basque-style cheesecake at Bulla Gastrobar.

January can be a sleepy time in the Dallas restaurant scene but 2023 has been an exception, and this roundup of restaurant news is proof. Most of what's here is about new dishes and new seasonal menus, but there's also news about chef appointments and celebrity chefs on TV.

Here's what's happening in Dallas dining news, collated from press releases, emails, and online sites:

Loro Asian Smokehouse & Bar has launched two ramen specials for February, served Tuesdays-Wednesdays after 4 pm: Smoked Brisket Ramen or Grilled Prawn Ramen, both featuring Balinese curry, sun noodles, ajitama egg, green onion, and sesame, both $18.

Bulla Gastrobar, the Spanish-style restaurant located in Legacy West, has launched a new Winter menu featuring clams with pork belly, Galician soup, braised short ribs with house-made potato chips, braised lamb with patatas panaderas, pear fiocchi pear-filled pasta, with honey blue cheese sauce, cauliflower with bechamel sauce, and Basque-style creamy cheesecake with blueberry compote.

Ford’s Garage, the restaurant inspired by the heritage of the Ford Motor Company, has a new limited-edition comfort-food menu featuring seasonal dishes with a twist including Philly Cheeseburger, a half-pound black Angus patty with caramelized onions, red bell pepper, Pepperjack cheese, beer cheese, and apple-bacon jam; 10-oz bone-in pork chop with apple slices, bacon jam, and rum glaze, with two sides; and Belgian waffle bites with caramel sauce.

Mendocino Farms has rolled out a new limited-time menu featuring a Countryside Cobb with Romaine, spinach, red onion, bacon, asparagus,, green onion, pickled peppadew peppers, Gruyere cheese, and boiled egg ($8 through February 10 if ordered online or via the Mendocino Farms App); Chicken Parm Dip sandwich with chicken, Mendo’s krispies, mozzarella, Grana Padano cheese, pomodoro sauce, basil, and Calabrian chili aioli on a sesame roll; plus new sides including Beets & Farro, Spicy Dijon Potato Salad, Creamy Potato Leek Soup, and Vegan Chili. At all five area locations: Preston Hollow, Addison, Plano, West Village, and Downtown Dallas.

Mod Pizza has added oven-baked wings, available in six- or 12-piece portions in five recipes: Original, BBQ Hot Honey, Buffalo, Sri-Rancha, and Parmesan Garlic Rosemary. The wings join other recent menu innovations that include a plant-based Italian Sausage, a new salad menu, and a series of seasonal, limited-edition No Name Cakes. A spokesperson says that wings have been in their culinary pipeline for a while, and they'll have more new items throughout 2023.

Dickey’s Barbecue Pit has a spicy new limited-edition Atomic Barbecue Chicken Sandwich, a collaboration with its virtual Wing Boss concept, featuring smoked chicken breast, pickles, onions, and a fusion of Wing Boss’ Atomic sauce and Dickey’s Sweet Barbecue sauce. It'll be available February 6-April 30.

Fuzzy's Taco Shop has brought back two favorite tacos: The Spicy Chimi Fajita Taco features a flour tortilla with garlic sauce, cheese, fajita beef or chicken, pico de gallo, and spicy chimichurri sauce made with parsley, cilantro, jalapeños, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and salt. The Saucy Brisket Poblano Taco has shredded brisket, Butt Burnin’ sauce blended with Dr. Pepper and topped with poblano peppers, red onion, avocado, garlic sauce, feta, and cilantro on a warm flour tortilla.

Dunkin' has a new winter lineup featuring the Brownie Batter Dougnut, Brown Butter Toffee Latte, Stuffed Biscuit Bites, and Bacon Avocado Tomato Sandwich.

DQ restaurants in Texas are offering a deal on their Texas T-Brand Tacos, consisting of crunchy corn shells filled with beef, shredded cheese, lettuce, tomato, and taco sauce, three for $5 through the end of February.

Grimaldi's, the pizza chain, has launched a new Garden Ranch Salad with Romaine lettuce topped with red pepper, red onion, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, croutons, and ranch dressing.

Razzoo's Cajun Cafe has added new $9.99 lunch entrees all day Monday–Friday. featuring Cajun Fried Steak and Cajun Fried Chicken, both served with mashed potatoes and andouille cream gravy, and Andouille Sausage with Red Beans & Rice.

Freebirds World Burrito has added Hero tortillas, which contain 2g of carbs, designed for people who like burritos but are trying to lower their calories and carbs. It'll be a third tortilla option at Freebirds, the other two being flour and cayenne tortillas.

The State Fair of Texas is seeking applicants who'd like to become one of the nearly 90 concessionaires at the 2023 event. There's an application online or go to BigTex.com.

Hawthorn, the restaurant in the lobby floor of the AT&T building in downtown Dallas, now has executive chef Eric Spigner in the kitchen. Spigner has worked at Greenbrier Country Club, Pizzaiolo, and Nova in Dallas. Spigner was nominated for Rising Star Chef in CultureMap's 2019 Tastemaker Awards and also won on the Food Network Show Chopped.

Dallas celebrity chef Tiffany Derry will be a contestant in the fourth season of Guy Fieri's iconic culinary competition, Tournament of Champions, which returns on Sunday, February 19 at 7 pm on Food Network, where chefs from the East and West coast will face off in a bracket-style culinary competition.

Greenville Avenue Pizza Company owner Sammy Mandell helped set a Guinness Book of World Record. Mandell traveled to Tulsa to join World Pizza Champions in partnership with The University of Tulsa and set a new world record for World’s Largest Pizza Party to benefit Make-A-Wish Oklahoma at an event on January 21 that had a total of 3357 participants. The attempt is a charitable initiative of World Pizza Champions, as many members from around the country and world were in Tulsa to together author a cookbook.

Genghis Grill has a new restaurant prototype set to debut in spring 2023 that will be half the size of today's locations, with a goal to get customers in and out in under 15 minutes of placing an order, as well as a separate pick-up area for to-go and curbside parking spots.

Dallas-based Avocados From Mexico is making its "AvocadoGlow" brand color official through a partnership with PANTONE. The new color emulates the tones you see when you cut into a ripe avocado. They've launched a limited-edition Avocado Glow Collection that includes throw pillow, wallpaper, apron, oven mitts, coasters, a serving tray and a guacamole bowl.

Texas Food & Wine Alliance revealed its 2022 grant winners, giving away more than $107K in grants to 19 winners and one honorable mention statewide. Dallas-Fort Worth recipients included Cafe Momentum, Wicked Bold Chocolate, and Funkytown Food Project.

The FDA Modernization Act 2.0 was signed into law. This ends an 80-year-old requirement for animal testing in the development of new drugs and allows manufacturers and sponsors of a drug to use alternative testing methods to animal testing. Huge!

lists news-you-can-eat

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