Boston, MA
‘Menus-Plaisirs’ serves up decadence a la Wiseman
Boston-born, 94-year-old non-fiction film wizard Frederick Wiseman turns his gaze to one of the most celebrated restaurants in the world in “Menus-Plaisirs – Les Troisgros,” and I hesitate to say that the results are delicious. Even at a feast-worthy length of 240 minutes, I remained fully engrossed in this unflinchingly exhaustive examination of the way a French restaurant that has had three Michelin stars for over 50 years operates. Anyone wondering if Wiseman made the film in order to get to eat at Le Bois sans Feiulles in France’s Loire Valley for as long as it took to make the film is not alone.
Over the course of the drama, we spend time with restaurateur-patriarch Michel Troisgros, a master of the history of the culinary arts in France and the Far East, and learn about his very high standards as he passes the baton to his son Cesar, while his younger son Leo runs another family restaurant La Colline. We also hear about a third Troisgros restaurant. Guests at these establishments, especially Les Troisgros, often stay at a hotel also operated by the Troisgros family.
At first, we see how greens and vegetables are chosen. But soon enough the conversation shifts to fish: trout, pike and perch. Have you had a quenelle? Could you master a mousseline? In addition to the produce market, we visit a fromagerie, where cheeses are made and aged, a vineyard and a cattle ranch, where we learn about the latest techniques for raising plants and animals in organic, renewable and humane ways. Throughout the film, Wiseman will divide his time between the restaurant and its grounds and the nearby farms and markets where the food is examined and procured.
In the kitchen, a young chef steps away to read a recipe out of Escoffier’s “Le Guide Culinaire.” We watch as artichokes and asparagus are trimmed, cockles sorted, crayfish corralled. We hear about Cesar’s design for a completely open kitchen, divided between hot and cold, where everything from meat and fish to breads, cakes and pastries can be made. Brains and other sweetbreads are on the menu as are humble hams and pigs’ feet. Efficiency, order and cleanliness reign supreme. No one is screaming or having a meltdown. Gordon Ramsay would not feel at home here.
Bottles of La Tache and Puligny-Montrachet might be had for a breathtaking 10,000 euros or more. Assistants and servers are sent to nearby woods to collect flowers to decorate the plates. A farmer explains how his cattle are directed in the field using movable fences to feed evenly on the grass. Hams are smoked, bread baked. The entire, precision operation suggests something military. Menus are discussed and written. A cheesemonger rattles off the names of 30 varieties on his tray.
For all of his career, Wiseman has been pulling aside the curtain on different institutions: a public hospital (“Titicut Follies”), library (“Ex Libris”), park (“Central Park”), racetrack “Racetrack”), zoo (“Zoo”) and ballet troupe (“La Danse”). Here, he gives us a restaurant surpassing in exclusivity the one in the recent (and not very good) foodie satire “The Menu” with Ralph Fiennes and Anya Taylor-Joy. Le Bois sans Feiulles (The Forest Without Leaves) is a restaurant for the 1%. It is a family restaurant, if your family’s name is Bezos, a subject Wiseman strangely does not address.
Toward the end, we visit a humble shepherd-farmer who supplies the restaurant with goat cheese and identifies his goats by name. A vineyard owner speaks passionately about plants that do not “compete” with the vines. Beekeepers proffer honey. Back at the restaurant, tablecloths are ironed; vases placed on tables, a helicopter lands on a patch of grass outside. We visit a wine cellar full of treasures. Cesar mingles with his guests. How many more helicopters can be expected?
(“Menus-Plaisirs – Les Troisgros” contains obscenely expensive food and drink)
“Menus-Plaisirs – Les Troisgros”
Not Rated. In French with subtitles. At the Coolidge Corner Theater
Grade: A-
Boston, MA
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Boston, MA
Boston College Football Coach, Players Talk Impact of 1984 Team on 40th Anniversary of Hail Flutie
Saturday was an important day for the Boston College football program.
Not only did the Eagles secure bowl eligibility with a 41-21 win over the UNC Tar Heels, but it also marked the 40th anniversary of the “Hail Flutie,” a Hail Mary touchdown pass that former quarterback Doug Flutie threw as time expired to give Boston College a 47-45 win over the reigning national champions the Miami Hurricanes.
Members of the 1984 team were in attendance at Alumni Stadium and were honored as a way to mark the milestone.
After the game, Eagles head coach Bill O’Brien as well as quarterback Grayson James and offensive lineman Drew Kendall spoke about the impact of that team and how them being at the game helped them come out with the victory.
“It’s sweet,” said James. “Just being able to know what he’s done, done for this program, just being able to see guys like that come back and support, it’s awesome. It makes us want to put on a show for them and put on a show for the whole BC community, so it definitely got us going knowing that team was there today.”
Kendall emphasized that the season and that team made impacts on the program that are still felt today.
“Obviously they kind of put Boston College on the map,” said Kendall. “They were, I believe, a top five team in the country, No. 2- I’m not 100-percent, but they really put Boston College on the map and what they did has kind of allowed Boston College as a program to thrive. Of course Doug Flutie is the only Heisman at Boston College so hopefully we can get another one day but their toughness and their determination has really rubbed off through the program throughout the years.”
O’Brien shared that he showed film from the Hail Flutie game the day before the Eagles matchup against the Tar Heels as a part of preparation.
“I told them in this room on Friday, I showed them the last drive of the Miami game,” said O’Brien. “That that was a team, quite obviously, that played 60 minutes. They understood what playing 60 minutes was all about and on this screen right behind me, I showed that drive. And then, when you have the ‘84 team here, they were 10-2, ranked fifth in the country, Heisman Trophy winner in the house, you got to play well. It’s kind of in the same vein a little bit as the Red Bandanna Game, like you got to play well in these games. There’s a lot of tradition here at Boston College and for those guys to be here meant a lot to our program and it was important for us to go out there and win.”
The Boston College Eagles (5-5, 2-4 ACC) football team looks to become bowl eligible as it returns to Alumni Stadium to take on the UNC Tar Heels (6-4, 3-3 ACC).
Both teams are currently dealing with injuries in the program.
Below is a look at the latest injury updates for both teams.
[This story will be updated throughout the game with the latest injury news].
LB Caleb LaVallee | Questionable: Tar Heels linebacker Caleb LaVallee’s status for today’s game has yet to be determined. He has not played since UNC’s Nov. 2 game against FSU. He is dealing with a lower body injury and has been reportedly “monitored” this week.
RB Darwin Barlow | Questionable: Tar Heels running back Darwin Barlow’s status has yet to be revealed. Barlow’s appeared in three games this season, most recently in the team’s Nov. 2 game against FSU.
TE Bryson Nesbit | Out: Tar Heels tight end Bryson Nesbit will miss the game against the Eagles with an injury.
DB Max Tucker | Out: Eagles defensive back Max Tucker will miss the Eagles game against UNC. Tucker exited Boston College’s matchup against No. 13 SMU early in the game and did not return. Eagles head coach Bill O’Brien considered him “day-to-day.”
DB Bryquice Brown | Out: Eagles defensive back Bryquice Brown will miss the Eagles game against UNC. Brown exited Boston College’s matchup against No. 13 SMU and did not return. Eagles head coach Bill O’Brien considered him “day-to-day.”
LB Kam Arnold | Questionable: Eagles linebacker Kam Arnold’s status for today’s game has yet to be revealed. Arnold has missed Boston College’s last three games with an upper body injury.
RB Turbo Richard | Questionable: Eagles running back Turbo Richard’s status for the game has also not been revealed. Like Arnold, Richard has also missed the Eagles last three games as he’s dealing with an ankle injury.
Players Out For Season: LB Owen McGowan, CB Amari Jackson, RB Alex Broome, LB Jaylen Blackwell.
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