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Benchmark American Brasserie
Nash, Texas
*Fine dining in Texarkana
Review by: Bella Roach
Restaurant Review
The Benchmark American Brasserie restaurant is one of the higher-end restaurants in Texarkana, well technically Nash, and it's located in the shopping mall close to Dixie Diner. The atmosphere there is very calm, polite and some would even say it is a romantic setting. While there is not a specific dress code, it's not a restaurant you would walk in wearing sweats- possibly dress up a bit.
The food is astonishing. It's a French American Brasserie, has French standards for it's food and most of the items on the menu are inspired by French cuisine-very upscale. I recently visited this establishment with a friend who ordered the roasted duck with jalapenos and he said it was delicious. I tried the steak which was delectable and it quite literally melted in my mouth-the lobster dip was amazing. as well.
Our meal at this establishment offered us a fine dining experience, complete with white table cloths and soft music. The service was great and everyone was very attentive and very knowledgeable about the menu.
Benchmark's location is completely unexpected as it seems to be the type of place you would find a fast food restaurant and not a fine dining establishment.
The pricing is in the mid to high range. Appetizers are $12- $16/ dinners with desserts can run from $19 - $40. Seem a little pricey? Possibly, yet the quality of the food is worth every penny. On a scale of 1-10, I would wholeheartedly rate it a 9.
Locally owned and operated by Jason and Chef Rebecca Williams, Benchmark definitely offers a wonderful dining experience. -Bella Roach
The Notebook
Review by: Bella Roach
If you have a few hours of downtime this holiday break and are looking for a good movie, The Notebook could be for you. Made in 2004, it's a timeless production and totally worth watching.
A love story set in the 1940s, The Notebook will have you sitting on the edge of your seat, laughing and of course, crying in the end. Often classified as a chick flick, it's based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks and anybody who's a avid movie watcher should enjoy this film.
The movie begins at a facility where the main characters are enjoying an afternoon together. The woman (played by Gena Rollins) has what appears to be Alzheimer's and doesn't know the gentleman (James Garner) reading to her is her husband. He is reading from a notebook which is about their lives together and how they fell in love years ago.
The scenes switch to the time when they met years before and the story continues from there. Noah (played by Ryan Gosling) and Allie (Rachel McAdams) encounter each other at a carnival and then one night Noah convinces Allie to finally go on a date with him and they fall in completely in love. It's later revealed that Allie must move away to attend school-they end up getting in a huge fight and breaking up.
Noah's best friend assures Allie that if he wants to stay in this relationship, he will write her. Noah expresses his love for her by writing a letter every day for a year, but she never got them. Allie is now in her 3rd year of college when she decides to join the WW2 war effort (women helped by becoming nurses). It is here where she meets a soldier and they begin dating and five years later they are engaged.
It seems like its a lost cause for Noah and Allie until one day, Noah is in the city and he sees her and realizes he never stopped loving Allie. Through the twists and turns of fate, it ends in a rather dramatic way since they were meant to be together. Allie breaks off her engagement and decides to stay with Noah.
The ending scenes return to when Allie and Noah are in the facility where Allie resides. She remembers Noah and their life together, but only for a few minutes, then she forgets him, gets confused and gets very upset. Noah then has a heart attack but makes his way into Allie's room that night and she remembers him. I won't give away the ending but it's worth the watch.
This movie is beautifully directed and brilliantly executed-you feel as if you were will them the whole time.
(5 out of 5 stars)
The Notebook won eight teen choice awards, a satellite and an MTV movie award.
Movie Review
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