Natalie Portman and I have different definitions of the ‘real world’
Senator Amidala agreed that once he changed into his casual evening attire, the post-Darth Vader Anakin Skywalker cleaned up very well
So, like most heterosexual males of the species my age, I have something of a love affair with Natalie Portman and her lovely fluttering eyelashes. I was going to say her lovely brown locks, but then I thought of V for Vendetta.
And what’s not to love? She’s a heck of an actress who has played more and more complex roles as she’s grown older. Off screen, she seems to be intelligent and highly articulate to boot. I mean, I’m sure her Huffington Post blog entries are written by a publicist just like every other celeb on the site who isn’t Alec Baldwin. But that can all be excused by those fluttering eyelashes.
Sadly, like most celebrities, she loses touch sometimes with what happens in the reality most of us live in where there are no security guards, red carpets, and agents who manage every little detail in your life.
Take last night’s episode of Top Chef Las Vegas on Bravo. Portman, a vegan, showed up to surprise the competitors. Cooking for Natalie and her buddies required them to prepare a meal without their usual stand bys of lots of meat and cream, which seem to be the primary ingredients in most of the dishes these guys produce. This was harder work for them than the usual seared scallop drowned in sri racha aioli that passes for winning food on national cable television.
And at the judges’ table at the end, Natalie made one of those wonderful braindead declarations that only comes out of the mouths of people who have been privileged with fame and fortune. She argued that the challenge – making a vegan dish on the fly – was “real world” because she shows up all the time at restaurants that don’t have a real vegetarian or vegan option and good chefs will improvise and prepare something just for Natalie on the spot.
Yes, *that* real world.
Maybe it’s time for the mother of Luke and Leia to get a bit of reality rehab. I don’t think most of the vegans out there would tell you that their version of reality involves high class chefs improvising meat- and dairy-free dinners for them on the fly. Most of them have to settle for the cheezy blaster that holds the cheese and the blaster and hope there’s still a garden burger in the freezer when they get home. I’m glad Natalie is important enough to command special dining accommodations when she’s on the set of ‘Thor.’ But her experience is distant from what the rest of us would might call reality.
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Word, M-Roston. I’m not complaining, but my “real world” version of eating out means eating at VEGAN restaurants, or not doing it at all. Because a garden salad without dressing is not dinner.
Furthermore, if Natalie is so passionate about her veganism, she ought to stop supporting non-vegan restaurants with her bling bling. Whether they make her a custom meal or not.
Actually – she’s right. Of course it depends on where you’re eating (rule out McDonalds) but any chef worth his sea salt will be able to easily prepare a good vegan meal.
It’s a test of a few things, especially how well stocked a kitchen is.
Now, if the restaurant you’re eating in has ANY stars, they shouldn’t even blink when you say “I’d like a vegan starter, entree and desert, please” even when it’s not on the menu. Other places may blink, but if the kitchen can’t accommodate vegans, kosher, jain and celiacs, they aren’t a real kitchen.
I think you used the word ‘Should’ a few times too many in that comment. Obviously vegans should have more dining options available to them, but celebrity vegans are the only ones who actually get them.
In response to another comment. See in context »If she was a vegan, she would not have indulged in the buttery sauce that Jen put on her dish. I know she ate it because she commented on the sauce.
And Michael, I agree with you. Stars get what they want, when they want it. Well, that and maybe if you LOOK like Natalie Portman. Sad, but true. THAT’S the real world indeed.