Will Farrell

In every movie I've ever seen him in, you keep expecting him to take the joke too far to where it becomes stupid, like Adam Sandler or worse, Pauly Shore. But he never does. He always knows when to stop, when to pass off to the straight man.

And he consistently does this, movie after movie. Anchorman was better than expected. Bewitched was better than expected. Talladega Nights was better than expected (far better, in fact). After noting the string of movies that "looks like it'll be so dumb" when we saw the trailers and then subsequently enjoyed upon viewing, my wife and I concluded that Will Farrell himself sucks less than expected.

I greatly look forward to Stranger Than Fiction, which I believe shall be the crowning achievement of his career.

Mrs. Rice's Teriyaki Grill & Gourmet Wraps

I don't have very high expectations for fast food er, "quick service" teriyaki restaurants. Sometimes you get a reasonably tasty and balanced meal, and sometimes you get dubious meat with sticky sauce and clumpy rice. Anyway, the oddly named Mrs. Rice's advertises quality meats and house-made sauces. It's a short walk from my office and I wanted a quick and reasonably healthy lunch, so off I went.

I ordered a steak bowl and had barely stepped away from the counter when they handed me my finished order. Pickled ginger and hot sauce are available for decoration. The sticky rice was very good, obviously made fresh and cooked just right. The steak was definitely a step above dubious but also not especially high quality and was somewhat overcooked. The vegetables (mostly broccoli) were all right, slightly but not egregiously overcooked. The sauce was only so-so, having a slightly odd undertone I couldn't identify and lacking the balance of sweet and saltiness that makes for a good teriyaki sauce.

All in all, it was a decent but unmemorable meal. It's perfectly edible, indeed pretty good for quick teriyaki, but not something I would ever get a craving for or actively seek out except to fill the need for a fast and fairly healthy lunch.


--

And in the Sucks More Than Expected department:

The felafel pita from Extreme Pita is terrible. The felafel was served in pucks, mushy and almost entirely free of flavor. The also bland tzatziki sauce (no tahini available) did little to perk it up. Very sad.