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GIN BATTLE: FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!
Gin and battling are old buddies. British troops fighting the Thirty Years' War were given 'Dutch Courage' during the long campaigns in damp weather through the warming properties of Dutch gin. Hence the name. Fortunately you can leave your musket at home on March 13, when some of the city's finest bartenders will be going head-to-head at Nomad's 'Gin Battle'. Sixty guests are invited to sample six gin and tonics made with whatever incarnation of the spirit the mixologists believe beget the best G&T, when combined with Fever Tree tonic. Bartenders from The Edgbaston, The Church, Purnell's Bistro and 40 St Paul's will be urged to merge their creations with edible garnishes and cordial liqueurs, before guests vote upon the victor. If votes are tied, duelling pistols will, presumably, come out. Tickets cost £25 with Nomad bar snacks - which could include their excellent venison sausage roll with spiced red cabbage ketchup - costing extra.
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Venue: Cedar Lebanese Food, 169 Mary Street, Balsall Heath, B12 9RN
Choice: Roast chicken, vegetables and tahini (£5) Chooser: Naomi (waitress)
Cedar Lebanese is that rare beast - a fast food takeaway serving healthy fare that's ludicrously affordable. For a fiver they’ll fill your plate (or take-out dish) with a colossal combination of whatever you pick from the daily-changing counter. Throw in an extra stonebaked flatbread or pastry and you’ll easily feed two. There’s no pretension in this pocket-sized cafe, with three little tables huddled around the counter, all warmed by a gargantuan gas-fired stone oven at the back. It’s a haven for vegetarians and vegans, with a focus on fresh, unfussy, home-cooked, soul food (huge chunks of olive oil roasted aubergines, tomatoes stuffed with rice, homemade hummous and salads, including an authentic, parsley-intense tabbouleh). There’s usually a fish dish and chicken roasted on the bone to make it super succulent and doubly delicious, plus the occasional lamb stew or kebab. It’s friendly, family run and the service is every bit as good as the food. Friday is barbecue night. Go.
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DO NOT PASS GO,
DO NOT COLLECT £200
Go to jail, at the Library of Birmingham. Observe a replica cell, which - in line with current government regulations - measures 3.75m by 2.5m and houses two adult males, for what can be up to 23 hours a day. Stay on the outside, or dive in and join the former inmates (now performers) in incarceration, to learn of their sentences and how their experiences have affected their lives. You can additionally lodge your views on the sentences that were handed down to the prisoners using a touch-screen console and set what 'privileges' you believe the prisoners should be entitled to in their cells; these could include such ‘comforts’ as a guitar, newspapers, or a television. Until March 12 (Tuesday to Saturday), Go To Jail can also be experienced at Shop Front Theatre, Coventry from April 26 to 30. Entry is free.
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MOVIE CHOICE:
HAIL, CEASAR!
The Coen brothers have the kind of track record where they could incinerate many movie lovers’ wardrobes and still get long queues for their next film. This may be more Burn After Reading-tier than No Country For Old Men, but there are still plentiful ideas on display, and they’ve attracted the kind of cast usually only available to skillful blackmailers. Josh Brolin takes the lead as a studio fixer in Fifties Hollywood tasked with finding George Clooney’s kidnapped star. His subsequent encounters with a series of increasingly ludicrous figures can feel a tad episodic, and some do land better than others, but you can’t argue with the invention on display – and the Coens’ affection for a culture that is shockingly close to fading from living memory makes for a good-natured trip to the flicks. Times & trailer
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