Entertainment

Latest news & movie, music, event and restaurant listings for Jersey

"Winter brings to mind a crisp, homey and hearty atmosphere, so we incorporated those feelings into new flavors in our menu," related Rene Abaring, Palmer's Crossing's executive chef who was instrumental in the new menu's design. "We have found just the right balance of flavors and textures to provide something comfortable, yet innovative, for every palate.

For example, seven salads adorn the new lunch menu, including golden beet & pecan chicken salad and jumbo Maryland crab salad atop baby arugula and consummating sun-dried tomato vinaigrette. Lunch entrees offer an interesting selection, with beef goulash served over fresh herb pappardelle and tiara of shaved Parmesan taking center stage as the chef's signature recipe.

JOEL RYAN/ASSOCIATED PRESSAmy Winehouse performs last year at a British music festival.

Amy Winehouse dropped her appeal a Norwegian conviction for illegal marijuana possession, the Associated Press reports. She and husband Blake Fielder-Civil had been arrested during a concert stop in Bergen for possession of a 1/4-ounce of marijuana, and paid fines of $428. it's not known why her lawyer withdrew the appeal, other than the obvious: That Winehouse isn't the most appealing witness.

She was due to appear in Bergen for the appeal next week, but she's currently enjoying a prolonged Caribbean vacation in St. Lucia. The latest pictures of Winehouse shows her looking a bit more fleshed out and on the arm of a rugby player-turned actor, People reports.

Playing in a style influenced by such modern masters as McCoy Tyner and Herbie Hancock, Dre Barnes is an impressive, dedicated jazz pianist and composer who delivers his choice notes with a firm touch and potent rhythmic heft. His wares -- from the alluring original "The Enchanted One" to the insightful covers of classics like Billy Strayhorn's "Lush Life" and Wayne Shorter's "Black Nile" -- are soundly presented on his debut CD, "Wandering Spirits" (Drebop).

Barnes teams with bassist Essiet Essiet and drummer Quincy Davis Thursday, 8 and 10 p.m., at The Kitano, 66 Park Ave. at 38th Street, New York. No music charge, $15 minimum. Call (212) 885-7000 or visit kitano.com.

Teaming with cellist Alisa Horn and trumpeter and flugelhornist Marvin Stamm, pianist Bill Mays has come up with something unique in his Inventions Trio. The group's has a vibrant sound and explores a varied repertoire, from classical works by Debussy to jazz classics from Charlie Parker to Mays' alluring originals. The band released its debut CD, "Fantasy" (Palmetto) in 2007, and just issued its second album, "Delaware River Suite" (No Blooze Music). The band will play pieces from both recordings when it appears tonight10, 6:30 and 8:45 p.m., at Shanghai Jazz, 24 Main St., Madison. No music charge; $20-$30 minimum at tables, $10/bar. Call (973) 822-2899 or visit shanghaijazz.com. The trio also appears Jan. 23-24, 8 and 10 p.m., at The Kitano, 66 Park Ave. at 38th Street, New York. $25 music charge, $15 minimum. Call (212) 885-7000 or visit kitano.com.

GEORGE MCNISH/THE STAR-LEDGERCedar Walton during a 2005 performance at the Newport Jazz Festival.

The pianist and composer Cedar Walton is one of jazz's premier artists, a musician known for inviting compositions and for improvisations packed with intriguing ideas delivered with beguilingly plump notes. Trumpeter and composer Roy Hargrove is like a younger Walton, a jazz ace who has made a name for both his superlative writing and playing. In a very intimate performance, the musicians will alluringly investigate an array of originals and standards in their debut as a duo Friday and Saturday, 7:30 p.m., at the Allen Room, Jazz at Lincoln Center, 5th Floor, Time Warner Center, 60th Street at Broadway, New York. $67.50. Call (212) 721-6500 or visit jalc.org.

AP PHOTOJosh Brolin

Josh Brolin and Jeffrey Wright are citizens of good standing in Shreveport, La., once more. As if they ever would want to return.

The two men were filming the George Bush biopic "W" in the northern Louisiana city last summer when police claim they and other crew members interfered with them during a fight in a bar, the Associated Press reports. Reports at the time said that the two actors also got pepper-sprayed by police.

Los Angeles attorney Blair Berk (who happens to be the DUI lawyer to the stars, repping Heather Locklear, Mel Gibson, and Lindsay Lohan) says that prosecutors in Shreveport have promised to drop all the charges and the cast and crew members.

BOB FILA/CHICAGO TRIBUNE

James Simon, a Rutgers professor who directs the university's New Use Agriculture and Natural Plant Products Program, has made the study of herbs his life's work. But there's one herb that presently has nothing to do with his research but is, nonetheless, always at hand in his Princeton kitchen. It is bay leaf, which he uses to flavor his soups, Moroccan-style dishes, and stews, and which the International Herb Society has designated "herb of the year" for 2009.

"Ninety percent or more of the bay leaf comes from the steep hills of Turkey. They manually pick the leaves and dry them to 10 percent of their moisture on drying racks out of the sun so they retain their green color," said Simon. "It makes a beautiful ornamental plant. You can grow it on your porch and bring it inside. You can use the leaves fresh."

ANDREW SULLIVAN/STAMFORD ADVOCATEFrugal fare such as bean soup can be a reliable comfort when money's tight in uncertain times.

Food trends are fickle. They ebb and flow with economic times and over the past few years they've run the gamut from designer sea salts to amazing feats of molecular gastronomy.

But as the New Year quickly unfolds and times being what they are, America keeps tightening its belt. So 2009 promises to be a year of living and eating simply.

Gone are the guilty excesses of the past decade; fancy multi-course tasting dinners on the town; highly sought after cult wines and culinary must haves like rare white truffles unearthed from faraway hills in Tuscany or Japanese bred dry-aged Kobe beef.

EVAN AGOSTINI/AP PHOTORihanna performing last month in New York with Chris Brown

The good girl will go clothed in Malaysia.

Rihanna has promised to cover up while performing next month in the mostly Muslim nation as part of her "Good Girl Gone Bad" world tour, the Associated Press reports.Pressure from conservative elements there forced Gwen Stefani to go modest and may have led Beyonce to cancel her Kuala Lumpur stop (though Beyonce diplomatically blamed "scheduling conflicts").

LOUIS LANZANO/AP PHOTORip Torn

Actor Rip Torn has been arrested for drunk driving. And no, it's not 2006. Or for that matter, 2004.

This is the third time in five years that the character actor, known as the interstellar immigration honcho in "Men in Black" and the producer on "The Larry Sanders Show," has been popped for DUI. He was, however, acquitted by a Manhattan jury of the 2004 offense, telling the jurors "this is one of the great events in my life ... I love New York."