9:10 to Zuma

One of the unexpected pleasantries of the new year already has been the steady stream of visits to London by some of our Chicago-based colleagues. We do a fair amount of business in Europe, including the UK, so guys from MAS have been passing through town. This week, Marty and Karl graced our doorstep and after we all slid down the dinosaur's back, we were able to convene for a late dinner at one of my favorite restaurants in the world, Zuma. We couldn't get a reservation until "half 9" as they say around these parts, and leaving the house for dinner a few minutes after 9pm is a bit late imho. But not surprisingly, even on a Monday night, the place was packed. The scene is great, but the food is even better. It's a Japanese restaurant that's not only expert at sushi but has superb grilled meats, including chicken wings with lime and salt.

Zuma is hardly a hidden gem, but it's Nobu in this town that gets all the headlines. Indeed, I recently saw an article ranking Nobu (the one off Park Lane, not Berkeley Square) as one of the top 20 restaurants in the world. What a joke. Nobu is without question the most overrated restaurant I've ever come across. It's fine, really, but with food that's not as good as Zuma or my hometown favorite, Japonais, and service and prices that are ruder and higher, respectively, in a city replete with expensive snobby places, Nobu gets a big thumbs down from me.

Speaking of thumbs, two big ones up for my favorite rental of the year thus far - 3:10 to Yuma (come on, did you think this post's title was an accident?). The movie starts slow (as all good Westerns do), but ends up weaving together both action and a morality tale, all beautifully filmed in the Arizona desert. Russell Crowe is such a presence on the screen, but what made this film special was Christian Bale, who held his own throughout. I will watch this one again. Then again, I'll likely watch Escape from New York again, so don't necessarily believe the hype.