Scmthingi cooking ||^
in the Carolinas
23
VOLUME 20 . ISSUE 24
arts & lifestyle
Dining in, dining out?
The age-old question and thoughts
on the subject from the Carolinas'
LGBT community
by Donald Miller
Seems like almost every night of the
week I’m faced with the same dilemma
One of the many talents queers excel in:
cuisine with style.
when it comes to dinnertime with my part
ner. Are we preparing a meal at home or
are we going out somewhere?
Partner’s first response: “I don’t know.
What do you feel like eating?”
• My reply: “I don’t know. I was thinking
maybe you had something in mind.”
Partner’s second response: “I don’t
know. What do you want to do?”
How many of you have heard that dialogue
before, or experienced it first hand?
There are so many options to choose
from — especially in a city as large as
Charlotte.
Just about every ethnic variation in
cuisine can be found here — from French
and Italian to multiple variations on Latin
American, Asian, Ethiopian and Indian.
One option I hadn’t thought about
before was having your meals prepared
for you by a personal chef. My partner
works in the restaurant business and
quite often doesn’t feel like preparing a
meal after having spent a day around
food. I’m the first to admit I’m no culi
nary whiz, though I’m not half bad when
it comes to fixing simple things quickly
and well.
On those nights when you don’t feel like
lifting a finger the personal chef option
seems particularly appealing. In Charlotte,
Chef Melissa Woods offers just such a
service.
“As a service, we plan a customized
menu with meal options to meet your
dietary needs and requirements,” says
SINCE 1904
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Record Roundup
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Esera speaks out
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Woods. “You can come home after a hard
day to a clean kitchen and meals specifi
cally tailored for you and your family. We
accommodate your schedule and needs to
provide a personal service that allows you
to enjoy your family meals in a stress-free
environment.”
As indicated, Woods offers meals tai
lored to your specifications, as well as her
own specialty menu. You can get more
details about her service at
www.menubyme.com.
In this issue’s C^-Style (pg. 23) Edward
Norman offers recommen^tions for some
of his fayorite dining experiences around
Charlotte.
For this story, Q-Nofes reached out to
gays and lesbians in both Carolinas for
their take on interesting places to dine and
their favorite food items.
Chapel Flill’s openly gay town coun-
cilmember Mark Kleinschmidt, also a bust
attorney for the Center for Death Penalty
Litigation, had this to say: “ I don’t get to
cook at home very much, but when we do,
my partner and 1 enjoy a Caribbean mari
nated chicken and baked sweet potatoes.
“My favorite restaurant is the Lantern
in Chapel FJill. Their coconut braised
pork shank — when available — is
indescribable. Although it’s been open
for a few years now, the Lantern is
probably the hippest place to dine out.
Not only are their dishes over the top in
terms of quality, they have the coolest
bar in the back.
“Crooks in Chapel Flill and Acme in
Carrboro are two long-standing town
favorites. Crooks is the home to the origi
nal Shrimp’N Grits and is quintessentially
Chapel Hill.”
From Columbia, S.C., partners Bert
Easter and Ed Madden shared a wealth of
knowledge about area restaurants and one
of their own specialty items.
“One of our favorite places to go to is
the Mediterranrean Tea Room on Divine
St.,” says Woodard. “They serve a broiled
shrimp cooked in a white wine sauce with
garlic and jalapeno peppers. It’s incredible.
Among other noteworthy dining spots
popular with the LGBT set, Woodard
points to The Alley Cafe, Hunter Gatherer,
Panara Bakery Rising High, Yo Burrito and
Casa Linda.
Woodard confirms Easter is the culi
nary brains in the family, though he con
firms there are some items he can excel
with, when called upon.
Easter’s the kind of guy who will find
something at a restaurant he enjoys so
much — he’ll go straight to the source to
get the recipe.
“Ed and I visited a great Tapas restau
rant called Terra Nostra while we were
attending a conference in Chattanooga,”
see DINING on 24
Lily Tomlin's still a working girl
Tomlin talks about 'Nine to Five,'
'Working For The Man' and being out
with Jane Wagner
by Lawrence Ferber
Most folks can’t wait to punch out of their
nine to five gig. Not Lily Tomlin — she’s actu
ally been waiting for an opportunity to clock
back in. With the release of the all-new
“Sexist, Egotistical, Hypocritical Bigot Edition”
DVD of the 1980 comedy classic “Nine to
Five,” Tomlin was able to do just that, reunit
ing with co-stars Dolly Parton and jane
Fonda to whip up a basket of extras including
a new documentary and commentary track
sure to bring a smile to any fan of this camp
classic The over-the-top, exuberant perform
ances by this dream team trio in “Nine to
Five,” not to mention its outlandish revenge
fantasy plot, raised the film to gay icon sta
tus and made the women heroines to all of
working-class America.
You probably know the plot by now:
After they’ve endured enough verbal abuse
and humiliation from their “sexist, egotisti
cal, hypocritical bigot” of a boss Mr. Hart
(Dabney Coleman) — Violet (Tomlin),
office manager at Consolidated Inc.,
Doralee (Parton), the vice president’s sec
retary, and Judy (Fonda), a recently
divorced new employee, band together for
revenge. After fantasizing gonzo ways of
dispatching Hart (during a memorable jx)t-
smoking scene) they enact a vengeful plot
that leads to tons of complications involv
ing rat poison, kidnapping and, of course,
vindication for the ladies.
Empowering yet wonderfully screwball,
the film launched an ABC TV series; a
massive chart hit for Parton (the Oscar-
nominated theme song, “9 to 5”); and even
inspired the name for a real-life emjx)wer-
ment organization, 9to5 National
Organization of Working Women. Yet
while the corporate landscape has
changed since “Nine to Five” played in
theaters — a mere eight years later the
film “Working Girl” depicted a despicable
female boss — Tomlin feels the film
remains relevant today.
“There’s still not equal pay [for men
and women],” Tomlin notes. “Some work
places have daycare but it’s not prevalent
everywhere. There are still fewer female
bosses.”
Tomlin had her own days of working
for the man to draw ujx)n when cast in
“Nine to Five” — during the 1960s, while
looking for employment as an
actress, she temped in several
offices and served a stint as wait
ress at the Howard Johnson’s in
Times Square. Yet, Tomlin reports
that during this time she never
had to wreak vengeance on a
boss the way Violet and friends
did. “No, they probably
had to take out their
frustration on me!” she
laughs. “The only time I
went off on a job...!
used to work the
Howard Johnson’s
breakfast shift a lot. Is
there anything you hate
more at breakfast than
getting that little hard
block of butter to put on
your already cold toast?
The cook had a great big
tub of softened butter he
would throw on the grill, and
I’d try and sweet talk ,
,, 'We were so much more out
him into swiping my ^ imagine/ - TomUn
toast with it so I could on life for gays and lesbians in
serve it to my cus- Hollywooa in the 1970s.
tomers in a more appetizing, thoughtful
way. He wouldn’t do it, he was such a
bastard, so I ripped off my apron and
threw it down on the floor and
jumped up and down yelling ‘1 quit!
The cook won’t even put soft butter
on my toast!’ That’s the only time I
ever lost it on a job like that.”
Tomlin pauses to reflect for a
moment, and then thinks better
of her response. “Oh no, I did
do lots of things,” she adds,
amused. “I could talk forever.
But I didn’t do it to the boss
— only to the JxDssy women
in the office like the secretaries
who would run you to death.”
Luckily, Tomlin found a
way out of offices — except for
those constructed on sound-
stages — when she found
fame on TV’s “Laugh-In” in
1969. There she created her
enduring, obnoxious telephone
operator character, Ernestine. By
the 1970s, Tomlin was bring
ing home Emmy Awards for
see TOMLINon 19