Results tagged “willywonka”

MUSIC: Scottish indie sensations Camera Obscura bring their pop and their rock to the Seaport tonight. They're joined by The Last Town Chorus. After that, there's only one more show down there this season!

While it is best known as a dessert-only place, there is no molten corn syrup river running through Room 4 Dessert. The restaurant also lacks the Willy Wonka clichés and kit-built, old-world Vienna museum mumbo jumbo of certain chocolate chains. Room 4 Dessert eschews the garish Candyland factor in favor of minimalist offerings like its “nrj”- a mix of red grapefruit sorbet topped with segments of the fruit, smoked tea ‘air,’ and a base of litchi fruit. Will Goldfarb’s menu is also notable for two things: a minimum of sugar- the chef uses herbs, seeds, and spices to pique flavors- and the tiny superscript numbers that appear next to menu choices, like decimal versions attached to software releases. The numbers identify each dessert’s latest incarnation, and highlight Goldfarb’s restless experimentation.

There is a story behind Oktoberfest—something about a grand wedding that took place in Bavaria two hundred years ago. But for us it’s just an excuse to drink a lot of good beer. One excellent place to start your celebration is Bierkraft in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Here you can choose from hundreds of different bottles. The shop also carries a wide selection of artisanal cheeses, and every Tuesday it offers a free tasting of beers paired with cheese. (Tastings start at 7pm, but it’s best to arrive around 6:30pm to secure a ticket as the small space fills up quickly.)

The churning vats of chocolate, cocoa powders in a trifecta of shades, and towers of nougat can only be likened to the magical world of Willy Wonka. Max Brenner Chocolate by the Bald Man opened at 5 p.m. yesterday to ecstatic crowds of sugar-hungry passerby, with friendly servers doling out free samples of caramelized pecans coated in nougat and cocoa powder, and tables in the cafeteria-sized dining room quickly filling up.

When Gothamist was a little kid we always looked forward to our Upstate vacations. Sure, helping Grandpa milk the cows was fun, and visiting our older cousins was always a treat, but the real treat came at night. Our cousins lived a mile or two north of a Nestle's Chocolate plant. On nights with a southerly breeze the whole town would fill with the smell of chocolate. It was as if we had moved to Willy Wonka's town. Awesome!

Even our beloved fictional characters aren't safe from Forbes Money-Obsessed Lists. Forbes just released their Richest Fictional 15, and while presumed "fictional" Santa tops the list with infinity dollars, two of our city's finest -- SUNY alum Daddy Warbucks ($27.3 billion) and Arthur Bach ($2 Billion) -- come in 2nd and 11th. Other noted billionaires include Scrooge McDuck, who's presently "hiding due to fear of bird flu," the reclusive Willy Wonka who "was hit hard by low-carb diet craze," and Mr. Burns who "credits longevity to Satan." Six of the characters, such as the last-ranked wizard Lucius Malfoy (who invests in both Halliburton and Wal-Mart -- why are we not surprised? Excellent profile of his muggle money stock portfolio), inherited their fortunes, whereas two made their billions in banking.

As Gothamist brought the glass of Hermitage to our mouth we experienced what could only be described as the “Beggin’ Strips” moment. It was subtle but unmistakable – the aroma of bacon.

Like many others, Gothamist headed to the movies this weekend. We saw Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (the Oompas Loompas rule), and to our surprise, more disturbing than Johnny Depp's characterization of Willy Wonka was the behavior of some of our fellow moviegoers. During the afternoon showing full of adults and children alike, a young girl start to bawl during the movie. Not fun for the rest of us, but it happens. Except usually parents will usher a child out of the theater if the crying is excessive. But these parents let her cry for at least 10 minutes, before other moviegoers of the aggro kind started to scream, "GET HER OUT!" repeatedly. So the bawling girl's father takes her down to the middle of the theater...but doesn't take her out, letting her cry there longer. That's when an angry patron trying to get his $10.50 worth stood up and got in the father's face. After a few moments of the two men staring each other down (some possible pushing might have occured but we were trying to watch the movie), the father took his daughter, plus his wife and other child, out of the theater.

It seems many film critics think Burton’s “darker” Willy Wonka bears an uncanny resemblance to Michael Jackson clad in Austin Powers’ wardrobe. E! reports that “a PG-rated kids' fantasy--linked to a fallen pop star with longish black hair, pale skin, a whisper for a speaking voice, a penchant for military garb and a recent acquittal on child-molestation charges is likely not what the Hollywood studio had in mind when it turned Burton.” Depp insists his Wonka’s look and demeanor was not inspired by Michael Jackson, but by Captain Kangaroo and Mr. Rogers (??) and that “everyone is entitled to think what they want, even while being violently wrong.” While we agree Jacko-Wonka is slightly creepy, we find the connection odd as anyone who even skimmed Amazon’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory customer feedback would know that Dahl’s Wonka dislikes children and would sooner grope a balding Oompa Loompa before sharing his marshmallow-fluffed bed with little boys.

It’s that time of the year again – that special time you brave New York’s notoriously humid and sticky summer to battle for one more blanket inch on a crowded park lawn. This year’s free outdoor movie festivals – RiverFlicks, Riverside Park Movies Under the Stars, Brooklyn Music & Movies Series, and HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival–offer a wide range of musicals and old favorites, from The Sound of Music to The Big Lebowski (see below for June/July schedule). Also be sure to check out the Rooftop Films series, showcasing short, low-budget and underground films every Friday at Automotive High School in Williamsburg and every Saturday at Old American Can Factory in Brooklyn at 9:00 PM; $8.

Wilder’s public disapproval might just be backlash at Burton who told Empire Magazine he found the 1971 version "quite disturbing" and The Chicago Sun Times the film was a bit too “sappy” & failed to incorporate author Roald Dahl’s vision:

"It's sappy when it shouldn't be sappy and it's weird. Let's just say it's not one of my personal favorites. I'd rate 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' much higher… I responded to the children's book because it respected that children can be adults, and I think adults forget that. There can be darkness and sort of foreboding. Very sinister things are very much a part of childhood. I like that sort of humor and emotion put together."

When Gothamist read about the electronic silencer that can muffle phone calls you get in your office cubicle, we instantly thought of WKRP in Cincinnati's Les Nessman. We've long attempted to create our own special space in our office cubicle, but we have never put down the tape to demarcate our bounty. Anyway, our first thought was whether or not the silencer, the Babble, would be an office expense or something that employees who don't want to their private calls to be aired will pick up. Sure, law firms and other businesses dealing in "highly confidential" matters will probably get them, but something like the Babble would be so much easier than speaking pig Latin.

We told you it was coming, and now it's finally here: the Seventh Annual Chocolate Show New York, which began this past Thursday, November 11th, and ends this Sunday, November 14th. Gothamist knew that there'd be everything from a fashion show to cooking demos to art displays made of chocolate. But what we were really excited about was getting to try so many different chocolates, all in one afternoon.

Hudson River Park also starts its outdoor film series, RiverFlicks, this week. Films begin at dusk (generally between 8-8:30pm), there will be free popcorn and beverages available for purchase.

It'll be a while before we see Tim Burton's version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, starring Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka, but till then, there is Big Fish, about a young man trying to understand his dying father's life (more at Greg's Movie Preview). Albert Finney plays the father, with Ewan McGregor playing the father as a young man, and Billy Crudup as the son; Jessica Lange and Alison Lohman play the mother at different ages. And from the looks of the new trailer, it definitely looks beautiful and odd.

Bad boy turned current critical and audience darling for his turn in Pirates of the Caribbean Johnny Depp may play Willy Wonka for Tim Burton's adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Michael Fleming writes in Variety that "Depp and Burton...came away from their meeting sparked to make the film and negotiations are expected to begin shortly." Additionally, the film would be produced by Brad Grey, Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston (via their production company Plan B...so...many...pretty...people...our...head...hurts) and Michael Siegel who manages Roald Dahl's estate. Gothamist thinks this is brilliant. We never thought of Willy Wonka as being sexy, but okay.