“The Philadelphia” is classic, about an extravagantly happy man in a restaurant, whose outlook, he explains, is L.A. all the way. He informs another diner that he is unmistakably displaying a Philadelphia. The waitress complains she has a Cleveland.
Anarchically comical and irreverent, five gifted actors skillfully showcase their talents playing completely different characters in each of six scenes. We especially liked Jenn Harris as the eager student of a universal language, taught by charlatan academic Carson Elrod, and giant Matthew Saldivar as the expansive, self-satisfied, world-kissing “L.A.”
One of us was an actress in her former life and understudied all of the parts in All in the Timing—a damn impressive feat. Understudies are so under-sung! Where is the Tony Award for best Broadway understudy? Theatre Row Review believes there should be one.
Steakhouses are often all-male, but if there’s a woman dining at Uncle Jack’s Steakhouse, she’s liable to be Japanese and chic. This is because Jack’s is one of very few restaurants on this continent serving Kobe steaks ($250 for 16 oz, $125 for 8 oz). There is also an appetizer of Kobe meatballs– and lobster cocktail as well as shrimp cocktail. Crab cakes served in a shrimp-colored shrimp sauce were amazing. Fridays during Lent: one-dollar oysters and clams from 4 to 6 p.m.
Our dry-aged Porterhouse and filet mignon were ordered medium and were beautifully charred on the outside, juicy and red inside. The filet mignon was ambrosial. Steaks are served bone-in or bone-out, in an interesting nod toward worldwide proto-vegetarianism. Not that a vegetarian would set foot in a steakhouse, however Uncle Jack’s anticipates them, with its ambitious selection of seafood, shellfish, salads, vegetables garnished with a giant potato chip, and potatoes done every which way.
