Off to Oz - but where's Dorothy?

Today, once again, I went out to lunch with a friend.  Although my bank balance is decreasing and my waistline the opposite, I find lunching with friends to be a wonderful pastime.  There are few pleasures in this world that top a lovely meal that is washed down with a great glass of wine.

On this fine day my friend and I decided to try out the delights of Prezzo, in Manchester.  The restaurant hasn't been open that long, but it has immediately become the best choice for a more sophisticated night time meal in The Printworks.

As we're both eager beavers when it comes to food we decided to meet at noon.  Typically we were the first in the restaurant, but that meant we were seated immediately.  Thankfully a few others arrived shortly after, which took some of the heat away from us: smiley servers looking to swoop in.

As far as the food goes I would say it's rather good.  It was freshly made and tasted very nice.  We shared a garlic bread with cheese as a starter, which was yummy, and my friend also had the crab cakes, which I avoided due to my phobia of food from the sea - don't ask!  For main I believe she had the carbonara and I had a 'classic' pizza.  I did feel like a bit of a fraud when I asked for a margarita pizza with an extra topping of pepperoni sausage - yes, a pepperoni pizza!  To be honest I half expected the lady to spurn my request and send me packing to Pizza Hut, but to my relief she was very nice and just smiled.

Both mains were very 'healthy' portions (rather large); my pizza seemed to be bigger than the plate it was on.  But that is never a negative as I hate feeling hungry after a meal.  It was so delicious I managed to eat every last morsel - carb overload!  To wash all this food down we each had a glass of Rose Blush that was delightful!  Oh and a glass of tap water to boot because that's how we roll!

After the meal we had a quick mooch around the shops and then headed back to The Printworks in order to watch Oz: The Great & Powerful.  I had been eagerly awaiting the film's release ever since I'd seen the trailer.  As a massive fan of the original film (The Wizard of Oz),the sequel (Return to Oz) and even The Wiz, I hoped that this would live up to the magnitude of those that had come before.

On a side note I've also seen Wicked in London, which is one of the best musicals I have ever had the pleasure to see.  Glee may do a great job of introducing people to such great works, but it is in no way comparable to the impact of a proper show.  I'm even going to see it again when it tours in Manchester later this year.

Anway back to the movie.  It was in all honesty not as amazing as I thought it would be.  I don't know whether that is due to my very high expectations, or simply the lack of character development and engagement.  It felt more of a children's film than a classic for the whole family, which is a shame as there are some great actors in it.  I guess it's probably not fair to compare it to the original, as that is simply iconic.

All in all I would say if you fancy going watching it, it's definitely worth a look.  But don't get your hopes up too high... above the chimney tops!

Take care,

Neil x

p.s. Sorry for that last bit, I couldn't help myself!