Anne Machalinski

I can’t eat beef or white bread or potatoes or chocolate (just shed a tear about that one), so my options are somewhat limited. I went for the seared tofu salad and it was pretty good. It was actually very good… just haven’t totally gotten on the tofu bandwagon yet.

What I wished I was having was one of the “healthy” cocktails, like a blood orange margarita or kiwi-mint mojito, or a glass of organic wine, but it was just past noon and I was eating alone, so figured I should save the drinking for a more social occasion.

Anne Hathaway, known for her scummy ex-boyfriend and hilarious role in “The Devil Wears Prada,” is brilliant as the just-out-of-rehab sister of “Mad Men’s” Rosemary DeWitt (Rachel), the bride-to-be. DeWitt, charming and quirky on “Mad Men,” holds her own in this film and is both believable and engaging. Tunde Adebimpe as her fiance is an interesting casting choice. I’m not sure about his acting chops, but I do love the music he makes with TV on the Radio.

I guess what I loved most about this movie is its authenticity. I felt like I was actually part of the family, experiencing the happiness and the drama, wanting so much to forgive but finding it near impossible. It’s difficult to watch at times, especially when Hathaway rants and raves at the rehearsal dinner and her mother, Debra Winger, finally lets out her true feelings.

Loved the music and the over-the-top nuptial scenes, some of which reminded me of “Monsoon Wedding,” one of my top-5 favorite movies. And had major house lust for the family’s old Victorian with a huge front porch and sprawling lawn. I want that house!

Yesterday afternoon I finally made it to the Upper East Side boutique, one of two in New York and five in the U.S. (the others are in Las Vegas and Chicago, Markoff’s hometown). I love chocolate, generally, but I wouldn’t classify myself as a chocolate snob. I tend to like Mr. Goodbar’s as much as Jacques Torres (or almost as much). But my experience at Vosges may have transformed me into a chocolate connoisseur, a habit which will prove to be expensive (two-bite truffles are about $3 a pop).

Over the past two days I had five truffles total. I started with the Balsamico, which I learned on the Web site is a dark chocolate truffle with a twelve-year-aged balsamic vinegar from Modena blushes with roasted hazelnuts. It was tasty, but nothing out of the ordinary.

Next up, the Red Fire, another dark chocolate with Mexican ancho and chipotle chillies, plus Ceylon cinnamon. Mmmmm. Now we’re talking.

Next I moved away from the dark and onto a white chocolate, the Rasta, part of the limited Zion collection, a flavor journey through the flowers, fruits and herbs of Jamaica. Not normally a huge white chocolate fan, but wowza. With ginger, nutmeg and mango, this truffle was delicious.

This morning I devoured the final two, the Bebop, a dark chocolate truffle with sumac and mint, and the Naga, a milk chocolate truffle with sweet Indian curry powder and coconut. It’s official. My mind has been blown. My favorite was the Naga, but the rest were rich and delicious as well.

In addition to the truffles, there are exotic chocolate bars, including a bacon bar, and other savory treats, like caramel toffee and chocolate-covered tortilla chips.

The video is an interview with Maya Angelou from CBS News. Fast forward to 3:11. I like the way she speaks and what she says, I guess.

Watching this got me thinking about her writing. Here’s a favorite Angelou poem:

Touched By An Angel

We, unaccustomed to courage
exiles from delight
live coiled in shells of loneliness
until love leaves its high holy temple
and comes into our sight
to liberate us into life.

Love arrives
and in its train come ecstasies
old memories of pleasure
ancient histories of pain.
Yet if we are bold,
love strikes away the chains of fear
from our souls.