|THE REMARKER |life| May 12, 2017 |
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BUZZ
THIS ISSUE ETHNIC FOODS DAMN. REVIEW HEADLINERS
Reviewing the best of the best — and the worst of the worst.
Global Grub
DALLAS IS A MIXING POT OF DIFFERENT CULTURES. HERE, WE UNCOVER THE BEST GLOBAL FARE IT HAS TO OFFER — FROM THE COUNTRIES OF IRAN, JAMAICA AND ETHIOPIA.
Elaine’s Kitchen: Jamaica 2717 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Dallas, TX erk chicken is undoubtedly the vorful, and the jerk seasoning had best thing about Jamaica (or an almost paste-like consistency second best, depending on how and while the rice and peas that you feel about Reggae music). came with it were average, the Finding good jerk chicken, howchicken is totally worth it. ever, is far trickier—most places Getting to Elaine’s Kitchen that claim to serve “jerk chicken” is a bit of an effort — the place in fact serve plain old roasted looks a bit run-down, and pushy chicken with jerk seasoning sprin- vendors outside will try to sell you kled on the skin. things. I was delighted when I stumDig beneath the surface, howbled upon Elaine’s Kitchen. ever, and you’ll discover one of the It was searingly spicy, yet flashiniest hidden gems in Dallas.
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Samad Cafe: Iran 2706 Manor Way, Dallas, TX
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amad Cafe, which would probably be more popular if it wasn’t cash only, is an authentic Persian establishment operated on the outskirts of Dallas Love Field. And considering how addictive the food is, it might still count. I chose the kofta kebab-veal, mutton, lamb and beef on one skewer-spiced with parsley and mint and served with hummus.
The meat melts into an explosion of spice and herb the moment it hits your tongue, and it goes perfectly with rice or roti. A full meal that would set you back $20 anywhere else will run you less than ten here. As we were finishing, the owner wanted to put more food on our plates— It feels like eating at a friend’s house—a friend you’ll probably be dining with frequently.
Queen of Sheba: Ethiopia 14875 Inwood Rd, Addison, TX
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he first thing you need to know is that Ethiopian food is served communally. It’s traditionally eaten with thick stews and a flat sourdough bread called “injera.” The bread is both plate and utensil—you rip off bits and use it to carry the stew to your mouth. Our three meat dishes were a spicy beef or “zizil wat” done with stew beef chunks, a spicy chicken or “doro wat” done with thighs and/or drumsticks with
the skins removed and a mild chicken and “doro alecha” recipe where the only ingredient besides the herb/spice butter was a metric ton of tumeric. All dishes began with a base of onions, garlic and ginger cooked in clarified butter. Vegetarians will be quite comfortable as well; my personal favorite dish was “shiro wat” a stew of roasted and ground yellow split peas. It’s a new experience in many ways but a fun one.
REVIEW AUSTIN MONTGOMERY GRAPHIC MATTHEW COLEMAN
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Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN. is darned good
hat you need to know is that Kendrick’s music isn’t necessarily “fun”. You probably won’t jam out to “FEAR.” in your car or dance to “DUCKWORTH.” at a party, but DAMN. is much like poetry; it deserves your full attention and time to let it slowly burn itself into your mind. In Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City (GKMC), he was “Compton’s human sacrifice,” robbed of his innocence by a deadly cocktail of violence, urban decay and teenage hormones. To Pimp a Butterfly (TPAB) featured Kendrick as “the biggest hypocrite in 2015,” a man trying to confront political turmoil and be a leader for his people, while he can in fact barely lead himself.
DAMN. is the natural progression of these topics, combining GKMC’s plaintive introspection with TPAB’s barely-concealed rage, both with society and himself. Kendrick confronts his demons in so many words, but unlike the external threat of “Lucy” on TPAB,
these demons are all character flaws. The album is about his struggles to resolve the clashes boiling within him — between pride and humility, lust and love, urges for violent revenge and the idea that his community needs something better than another murder. It’s aggressive, it’s unflinching, it’s raw, and at times it’s a bit uncomfortable. This album could be perceived as Kendrick both coming to terms with and buckling under the savior complex that the world (and he himself) unofficially anointed on him after To Pimp a Butterfly’s earth-shattering release. You hear him explicitly adopt that language on several tracks, boasting of his power and influence on “HUMBLE.” and the aptly titled “GOD.”, but he clearly denies it in others. “XXX.”, for example, features his friend calling him for sage advice after the death of his son, and Kendrick (in what’s possibly the best verse on the album) launches into a violent revenge fantasy, declaring that were his son the one dead, he would be out for blood, whereas “LUST.” sees him wavering when confronted by his own inner desires. On DAMN., he isn’t some great person or black savior. He’s a normal human, fighting through normal human problems. And while he does get expressly political on several tracks, politics and social issues don’t take center
stage as they did in Butterfly. Rather, they are side characters to the central anxiety of this album: Maybe I’m just not a good person. Maybe I’m arrogant and childish and weak. Maybe I’m damned. If I were to die tomorrow gunned down like any other black man, like the fate I avoided so narrowly so many times, maybe I’m not going to heaven, maybe I’ll be forgotten. his is an extension of Kendrick’s previous sentiments about his legacy, which Butterfly’s “Mortal Man” dug into quite nicely. Every song is its own concept inside three to seven minutes, a brief window into Kendrick’s world. He lives and breathes music. He processes his life through music, questions things through music and even contradicts himself through music. This album plays more like an observer’s view of life than a first-person narrative, and features such a variety that nearly everyone will pick a different track as their favorite, and one where every record is spun without dismay. To me, that’s the earmark of a classic — which DAMN. certainly is.
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REVIEW AUSTIN MONTGOMERY PHOTO CREATIVE COMMONS
LIFE
Head iners Concerts Florida Georgia Line June 3 at 7:00 p.m. Starplex Pavilion
Kendrick Lamar July 14 at 7:30 p.m. American Airlines Center
J. Cole
Aug. 20 at 8:00 p.m. American Airlines Center
Zac Brown Band
Albums
Welcome Home May 12
Lil Yachty
Teenage Emotions June 2
Nickelback Feed the Machine June 9
Lorde
Melodrama June 16
Movies Baywatch May 25
Cars 3 June 16
Spider-Man: Homecoming
July7
Dunkirk July 21