My Top 5 Obsessions This Week

Hello  my semi constant readers! I am back a little sooner than usual with some new treats this Halloween . All treats and no tricks.

1) The Exorcist, the scary new series on Fox featuring Geena Davis and Alan Ruck and newcomer Alfonso Herrera as the hunky priest. Rounding out the cast are some fresh faces Hannah Kasulka and Brianne Howey as the daughters. No spoilers here for the surprisingly twisty plot.

2) Noir Lounge in Hayes Valley in San Francisco is an atmospheric sensory delight from the 1940's with a dark  clubby feel with beautiful leather chairs to sink into and mood lighting and luxe sofas to relax and try some of the hand crafted cocktails or tasty wine offerings and delicious food. Oh , and there are several screens showing old movies like Noir Classic -The Maltese Falcon, filmed right in SF. And on certain days in October- Classic Horror films.

3)  Ms. Mary's Southern Kitchen in Carrollton Texas, right outside of Dallas proper harkens  back to the best old school soulful cooking with Buttermilk Fried Chicken, Mac 'n' Cheese, Green Beans and fresh Cornbread. But the triple tiered cake - The Butter Butter Cake  with heavenly buttercream frosting is the perfect ending with their Lemony Sweet Tea.

4) Miranda Sings, the Youtube sensation for a number of years is on Netflix with a new series - Haters Back Off. the darkly comic parody  of the power of social media and the quest for fame without the talent is at times hilarious and full of squeamish pathos. Featuring the rubber faced Colleen Ballenger as Miranda, Angela Kinsey ( from The Office) as her adoring mother and Francesca Reale as her long suffering sister, sweet wannabe boyfriend Patrick (Erik Stocklin) and the scene stealing Steve Little as Uncle Jim her creepy agent-manager/uncle.

5) Rounding out number five this week is a close friend Gregg Plummer. Check out his catalog of ambient music at www.greggplummer.com. owner of Greggwerx Studios in San Francisco, he has a huge following all over the world with his hypnotic ambient sounds. Check out his new single release _Gregg Plummer Violet Bliss Slap Happy Mix on YouTube.

My Top 5 0bsessions This Week

Hello everyone,we are rapidly approaching the holidays and so many events. Some great tv watching and wonderful food. Here are some of my highlights.

1) Hedwig and the Angry Inch with Darren Criss and Lena Hall. A high recommendation for The musicality and joy Darren brings to the role

. Lena Hall's voice is gorgeous and haunting.

2) Nomica restaurant on Market St in San Francisco. I went with my good friend Denise Bellotti.  Well crafted cocktails are tasty and served with flair. Presentation was on point but the food was the star . The Karaage fried chicken and waffles, the gyoza wings and Shigoku  raw oysters with seaweed granita were amazing.

3) One of the shows I am obsessed with is the darkly comic Better Things with the fantastic Pamela Adlon. A working mildly successful Hollywood actress with 3 quirky daughters are different kind of family than what we have seen before. I cannot wait for each episode.

4) Angeline's Louisiana Kitchen in the heart of Berkeley is a treat for all of us who love Nola. The Buttermilk Fried Chicken with ginger vanilla sweet potato mash and blue lake green beans and the Vodoo Shrimp with rice are standouts.

5) Westworld is everything I had hoped for and more. This dark and haunting version has a great cast including Evan Rachel Wood , Thandie Newton and Ed Harris in a villainous role. Production values and cinematography are of the highest degree.