Picture Palace: Wellfleet Drive-In Theatre

Restaraunt Review: Flemming's Donut Shack

"Many thanks for sending me some of your doughnuts.  They were very delicious."
-John Fitzgerald Kennedy in a letter to Fleming's Donut Shack
Sept. 3, 1960

I have always found vacation's to be an  excellent time to discover new eateries.  That was certainly the case on a recent trip to Massachuesett's Cape Cod (or as the locals call it- "The Cod").  Located a rather close distance from our hotel, Fleming's is a an almost mythic shack.  The on-line reviews had my mouth watering well before even stepping foot in the place.  They made me cautious not to get my hopes up too high though.  One review spoke of it as an unattainable white whale, never open when the reviewer was in town.  The few who had been spoke of a sour cream donut, which got my imagination going.  The local guide book said they were open until around Labor Day.  It was a week after Labor Day.  Would they still be open?

They were!!  And were they ever fantastic.  Set back from the busy main Cod road, the first thing you are greeted with is a beautiful front porch with comfortable looking Adirondack chairs.  It was Sunday morning and the place was filled with older customers (a sure sign of a good donut shop, to be sure.) I was tempted by the Apple Fritter, a sultry looking number.  I was here for the donuts.  After reading of the sour cream I had to get one of them.  I chose a chocolate glazed as it's companion.  And a cup of hot coffee to wash it all down with.  The Mrs. and I found a place on the porch to set and eat for a spell.  They were two wonderful donuts, smooth dough with a pleasing after taste.  The coffee was a delight.  Everything about Fleming's was a treat.  I look forward to returning to the Cod and perhaps re-visiting the Donut Shack for an apple fritter or two. 


Address:4680 Route 6, Eastham, Massachusetts 02642
Price Range: $$ 1/2
Cuisine: Cod Vacation Donuts

Lies My Father Told Me

My father's side of the family helped found my home town.  Naturally my dad has story after story of all the eccentrics that once occupied the town.  There was Waxy and High Crotch and of course John Eck's dad.  John was a classmate of my father's and lived nearby.  John's father earned a living by training monkeys in his front yard then renting them out to circuses and parades and whoever else had monkey needs.  As any one who ever worked in the monkey industry will tell you,it's an incredibly fickle mistress.  Eventually the area's monkey needs ran dry and John Eck's dad moved to Miami Beach to become a hotel detective.  This is one of the stories my dad has been telling me since I was a kid.  It's a great story filled with monkeys and hotel detectives. It's never really been far from my thoughts when I reminisce about my home town.  Flash back ten or so years.  I was reading David J. Skal's fantastic book The Monster Show: A Cultural History of Horror, which ties the history of horror films in with what was happening with the world at the time they were released.  John Eck's dad kept coming to mind.  There were many pages written about Tod Browning's 1932 film Freaks, starring a menagerie of actual side show performers, including one half-boy Johhny Eck.  I wondered if he was in any way related to the John Eck of my dad's childhood.  I mean how many Ecks are there out there, plus the circus trained monkeys seemed like a major clue.  So when my dad was visiting for a weekend I asked if John Eck's dad had legs.  "No," my dad says "why?"  I explain the book I read and Johnny Eck.  I show him a picture of the famous 'King of the Freaks.' 
 

"That sure looks like John Eck's dad!" he says.  I'm incredulous.  "You mean to tell me you have a story you tell about a guy who raises monkeys and becomes a hotel detective and you fail to mention he has no legs!!!!"  He casually replies"I don't like to discuss other people's shortcomings."  For the next year or so I tell everyone who would be mildly interested the tale of the legless monkey wrangling hotel detective from my hometown.  Eventually my father confesses- John Eck's dad had legs.  It was a lie.  Which is one of the many things I love about my dad.  Why lie about that?  People lie to cover up embarrasments or for financial gain.  To make others feel better or for themselves to seem more important.  My dad lied for no other reason than that I could go around with thoughts of monkeys and leglessness and Miami Beach in my head. 

Summer Movie of the Summer 2011!!!

   Well gang, it's that time of the year again.  It seems like just yesterday we were naming Piranha 3-D the Summer Movie of the Summer 2010. Now it's time to do it all over again.  It is looking like a sequel-tastic summer.  As you regular readers of Film Frenulum know, we do not usually condone sequels.  We reward originality.  We'll admit there are a few sequels and remakes that have piqued our curiosities.  Conan the Barbarian, Rise of the Planet of the Apes (AKA Rise of the Apes), Fright Night,  and X-Men: First Class all have potential though we're not holding our breath.  I was a huge Smurf fan as a kid, but the big screen version looks like total dreck.  Why take a property that takes place in the olden days of knights and castles and such and update it to modern day New York?  It makes as much sense as basing the next Sex and the City movie in Narnia.  Director Raja Gosnell has a pretty awful track record, having previously bungled not one but two live action Scooby Doo movies.  He did give the world Big Momma's House, so he's not all bad.

  Anyways, we researched extensively the summer's upcoming releases.  One source we used was Moving Pictures magazine's Summer Movies '11 guide.  They preview pictures starting April 8 (technically early spring, but what evs) and run until August 26 (neglecting close to a month of summer, but calendars can tricky).  Taking a page from their book we have decided to bestow our Summer Movie of the Summer 2011 award on a picture that technically starts in the spring.  Don't worry though, we will wait ten days after it's release to see it on the first day of summer.  Ladies and germs, without further ado, I give you our 2011 Summer Movie of the Summer......

 

  J.J Abrams has turned out to be a pretty great director.  He made the only watchable Mission Impossible movie and made the first Star Trek movie we have seen since 1986.  We love the Spielberg small town adventure movies of the 80's and this looks like a fantastic tribute to them.  We'll see, we've been wrong before.  Apollo 18, Captain America, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark and Shark Night 3-D all sound awesome.  Here is the IMDB description for Shark Night: "A weekend at a lake house in the Louisiana Gulf turns into a nightmare for seven vacationers as they are subjected to fresh-water shark attacks."  I'm sold, let's make Shark Night an official runner-up.  Alright, see you all back here next year.  And don't forget the sunscreen.

 

   The one remaining video store in my hometown closed this week.  It was a Blockbuster and having been a hater of them I never rented anything there.  The video stores I frequented were boarded up years ago.  The town library still lends movies and Best Video, which comes by it's name honestly, is still open a few towns over.  I bet there is a Redbox somewhere in town.  A kiosk though does not equal a video store.

   My father was early in buying a VCR.  So early that the nearest video store was a forty-five minute drive away.   So we didn't rent all too often.  My only real memory of the store is of staring at the box for Piranha 2: The Spawning and wishing we'd rent that instead of the kid friendly stuff we were most certainly picking up. 
    That all changed a year or two later when our town got it's first video store, The Video Library.  Located in the same plaza as Boss Pizza and the excellent used bookstore The Book Swap (both still there), The Video Library was a godsend. Video stores soon sprouted up all over the place and we of course had memberships at every one in the area.  Places like Reel to Reel, Robar's Video and Now Playing.  Then in the early 90's Tommy K's comes to town.  A large regional chain, Tommy forces out all the small mom and pop shops.  But it's ok, they have a huge selection of videos, even a shelf called Cult/ Off-Beat.  And they rent porn.  A few years later, Blockbuster comes to town.  No porn.  A well know history of renting censored versions of movies.  A family video store.  Tommy K's hangs in there for a few years, but eventual closes.  And now Blockbuster is on it's way out. Chapter 11.  I happened to be in town on the last day the store was open.  A closing video store is a great place to get cheap movies.  I can't resist the urge.  I bought a stack of DVDs.  They had no VHS.  I did get Piranha 3-D on Blu-ray though, so I guess the circle is complete.

Restaurant Review: Demet's Donuts

 
 There is something so refreshing about eating from a tray.  In this crazy go-go world we are often encouraged to be constantly moving.  It is a rare occurrence when one is offered the chance to sit for a spell and just relax.  I recently had the opportunity at the excellent Demet's Donuts.  The Mrs. and I wandered into this wonderful little shop a little bit after noon on a Saturday.  Boy, were we lucky we got there when we did!  Demet's donut supply was nearly depleted!  Shelf after shelf sat empty, a few remaining crumbs all that was left of the splendor that had once occupied them.  My options being limited to a jelly, a honey glazed and a partially dismantled cruller I chose the first two.  The kind woman behind the counter asked if it was for there or to go.  I explained to her that I wished to eat them on the premises.  It was at that moment the tray made it's appearance.  Memories of school lunches came rushing back.  Of accidentally thrown away retainers and my beloved Taco Day Thursdays at my old high school.  Sitting down with a tray containing what was surely the last two whole donuts of the day, I was met with a feeling of elation.  A small victory had happened, it was clear to all who were present.  And the donut, you ask.  How were the donuts?  Heaven on earth!  They were both surprisingly fluffy on the inside.  The jelly one had easily a 3/4 of an inch of donut between the jelly center and the outer edge.  Demet's coffee made for an excellent counterpart to their fantastic donuts.  I can easily recommend either sitting for a spell at Demet's or if you a hosting a dinner party bringing some home as an after dinner treat!
 

















Address: 199 Mystic Ave,  Medford, MA 02155
Price Range: $1/2
Cuisine: Northern Atlantic Donut