CANASTA COUNTS DOWN THE BEST STUFF OF 2012

Part IX: Matt Priest’s Top Ten TV Shows

10. Treme (HBO)
Treme still values mood and music over drama, but as always, its quirky, defiant characters band together to create a setting I’m always more than happy to settle into.



9. Mad Men (AMC)
It’s official: the guilty pleasure argument is over. Five seasons in, Mad Men is just too damn consistent - from the script and performances to the editing and design - to be written off as mere soap opera. And when characters fell prey to familiar, bad habits and some of this season’s storylines sagged, the show managed to find new electricity in the changing face of the sociopolitical climate and pop culture landscape of 1966 and ’67.



8. Louie (FX)
Week in and week out, Louie struggles fiercely and palpably like no other show on television to break free from the confines of the medium. And with an unprecedented amount of creative control for its creator-producer-director-writer-editor-actor, Louis CK, it’s hard to come up with another example of a program tapped so directly into its protagonist’s id. And it’s a messy - but often hilarious - joy to behold.



7. Boardwalk Empire (HBO)
This program’s richly-drawn characters, attention to detail and unflinching portrayal of violence manage to make the overly-glamorized gangster era feel “lived-in,” which is an accomplishment in and of itself. But it’s Steve Buscemi’s career-defining and seemingly effortless inhabitance of political boss Nucky Thompson that makes the show stick.



6. Game of Thrones (HBO)
The scope of this show remains staggering, as does its ability to deftly juggle an array of exotic settings, interwoven storylines and morally complex characters simultaneously. To my knowledge, nothing else on television more accurately translates that magical feeling of going to the movies from the cinema to our living rooms.



5. Justified (FX)
Justified is downright masterful when it comes to activating our pleasure centers… Between the mysteries, gunfights, hook-ups and one-liners, the show would likely be a blast even without its three best assets: a hero with a boatload of swagger and charisma to burn (Timothy Olyphant), an intellectually worthy and inexplicably likeable foil (Walton Goggins) and above all, a script that absolutely crackles. Each and every time the Deputy U.S. Marshal uses his gift of gab to calmly dissuade an enemy from unwisely drawing on him (which happens a LOT), he is hands-down the coolest cucumber on TV.



4. Breaking Bad (AMC)
Although there’s an ever-present sense of dread as Walter White marches arrogantly and unabashedly towards his own undoing, Breaking Bad manages to keep us mesmerized with a hazy, sun-soaked look, hypnotic, off-kilter rhythms and a giddy nihilism all its own. Like Tony Soprano, Dexter and Larry David, Walter is a protagonist possessing flaws the likes of which we rarely see on television… a character that practically dares us to disassociate ourselves from his plight on a weekly basis. A descent into darkness has never been so much fun.



3. Fringe (Fox)
Though it had its up and downs in terms of story, Fringe always managed to strike an equal balance between sci-fi nerdiness and genuine, human emotion… And perhaps most impressively, right through to the very end of its highly rewarding finale, in a way that even JJ Abrams’ previous masterpiece, LOST, wasn’t entirely able to maintain. Add to that a powerfully varied performance by John Noble that served as the heart and soul of the show, along with some of the best production values on TV, and geeks finally had another program to watch with pride.



2. Homeland (Showtime)
Despite a few plot contrivances that bordered on ridiculous, Homeland has continued to maintain a level of suspense from one episode to the next that most shows don’t manage to reach in even their best, fleeting moments. Built around two intense performances that constantly leave us second-guessing our instincts, as well as faith in our heroes, the addictive nature of Homeland can be a bit frightening.



1. Sherlock (BBC)
In an era when the internet can turn anyone into an instant detective and threatens to take the mystery out of everything, it’s all the more impressive that Sherlock manages to resurrect and modernize its main character without sacrificing any of the romanticism that made him beloved in the first place. This beautifully shot program also benefits greatly from the 90 min. running time of its episodes, revealing enough space to explore equally the cleverly designed puzzles as well as the wonderful relationship between Watson and Holmes, one that we sense is just beginning to reveal its complexities. Sherlock is the best show on television, period.

CANASTA COUNTS DOWN THE BEST STUFF OF 2012

Part VII: Ryan Tracy’s Top Five Restaurants

5. Blackbird (Chicago, IL)
How dare I give a Michelin-star rated restaurant the 5-spot, right? Well, I certainly hand it to them, they make a hell of a short rib, make it look real nice, and make it taste even better. However, for anyone that’s seen me hiding out behind the keys on stage, I’m a bigger guy and I honestly could have eaten all five courses with 8 well placed bites in about 45 seconds. So to you Blackbird, I give you a top 5 spot for your great food and skimpy portions.



4. Smoque (Chicago, IL)
If you hear a person from Tennessee, St. Louis, Kentucky, or any state ending in “Carolina” tell you that Chicago doesn’t know BBQ, drag them in here. This place was fantastic and really is the real deal when it comes to BBQ food including fall-off-the-bone meats, sauces you could drink by the gallon, and a delicious mesquite smell so good you’ll wish they could turn it into a new Yankee Candle scent. Having eaten “authentic BBQ” in all of those aforementioned states, trust me, it’s good. At the end of the meal if your friend is still whining about how it’s just not the same as back home, consider getting new friends that aren’t liars.



3. Seabreeze Cafe & Bar (Picton, New Zealand)
Okay, so the restaurant itself isn’t important here, what IS important is the ingredient--green shell mussels, a local ingredient prized by the Kiwis. A simple plate of mussels with butter, garlic and a piece of bread to soak up all the juices had me taking pictures of my food and extracting every bit of mussel I could out of the shell.



2. Greenhouse Tavern (Cleveland, OH)
In the flavor department, this was the best tasting food I had all year. It’s so good, I almost recommend you make a trip to Cleveland just for their chicken wings which smell almost as good as they taste. I fortuitously stopped in during Cleveland’s Restaurant Week which allowed me to try four different courses each more delicious than the last. Somewhere around the 2nd course I realized I was getting full and still had an entree and dessert coming. I stopped right there and had them wrap up the first two courses just so I could make room for the entree. Why isn’t it number 1 you ask? Well, unfortunately I had saved up just enough money over the last three years to afford…



1. Charlie Trotter’s (Chicago, IL)
I admit that most of what was served to me was probably over my head from a culinary standpoint, but I walked away from this 10-course, 4 1/2 hour meal like I just got done watching a Bond movie. It was action packed full of things I didn’t even know you could do to food, and displayed on “plates” in designs I never thought possible. Oh, and everything tasted amazing too. I was sad to see this iconic Chicago restaurant close up shop forever this year, but was glad I got the chance to visit before it did. Simply amazing.