exit, stage left...

(l to r) soapydave, dave the subterranean engineer, soapygina, autumn the dharma bum.
found in the heart of downtown inglewood is the ironwood stage and grill. in these parts, the ironwood is known for it's cavalcade of singing stars that takes to its stage rather than its cuisine. i found myself there on thursday with a small group of friends: dave, gina, and autumn.

the ironwood, contrary to it's rather austere exterior, has a rather quaint and homey interior. resembling a log cabin, in restaurant has pinewood floors and log clad walls. definitely a place where people can hang out.

the menu is small yet interesting. dave chose the jerk ribs. gina ordered the ironwood rustic burger. autumn and i would munch "the dagwood" sandwich - chicken breast seared in cajun spices, topped with jack cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato on a po' boy bun. the skinny on this sandwich? deelish... the strips of chicken were tender and juicy and expertly doused with "cajun spices". the accompanying ingredients bolstered the flavour of the chicken. the lettuce was crisp and the tomatoes were fresh. and the bacon? mmmm...extra crispy bacon. my only suggestion is to either substitute the "po' boy" bun with a whole wheat option or toast the bun. the only disappointment was the soup that came with sandwich. i think it was a chowder. very thick and rather tepid in temperature. fire the soup chef...

overall, it was a good feed. the service was very good. the waitress was beautiful in a simple yet elegant way. i was mesmorized with her presence. i ordered all the side dishes for the sandwich. how embarassing...

another fun evening out... we should do it again.

the play? oh yah, the play...

tom was a star. seriously, he was pretty damn good considering he's never acted on stage before. in a one man play or actually any play for that matter, the success of the acting depends on whether the actor has made the critical transition of drawing in the audience to believing he/she is the character he/she is playing. tom had the advantage here in that hank williams lived and died before i was around. i've seen a clip or two of hank but hardly enough to formulate an opinion of whether tom was accurate in his depiction.

that aside, i found it difficult to suspend reality for the first act. after all, that was tom up there. i think most people who know him as a fan or friend had that difficulty for the majority of the play. however, for me, i thought the tom really picked it after the second act. that was when hank really went into a tail spin, getting drunker, more obnoxious, and all religious on us.

i thought the music was excellent with most of the classics (except "tear in my beer") included in the repetoire. tom's rendition of 21 hank tunes was heart wrenching and upbeat when it had to be. he really poured his heart into it. i thought the dialogue really put the songs into context. did i mention, the band was great as well?

worth the 20 bucks? dang right it was...