several weeks ago, i was on a zoom chat with some friends who were discussing mcu. shamelessly, i interrupted the conversation to ask, “what is mcu?” some of them held their heads in their hands in disappointment, others had their mouths open, aghast. “kelsey, it’s the marvel cinematic universe.”

“ah, of course it is!” was my response. i’ve heard good things, i’ve heard bad things, and then i decided that 2021 would be the year i would journey through the mcu. this week was week one of our journey, and we went over to our neighbors’ dave and jenn house to start with captain america: the first avenger. we also decided that this ritual would be the prime opportunity to pair the new movie viewing with some new eats. so, each movie will go along with a nearby restaurant we haven’t yet tried, and as the journey progresses, i’ll rank them all. let’s go!

we’ll start with dinner, since we ate before we pressed play. jenn raved about and recommended we try jerusalem bakery, about 15 minutes away from our neighborhood. as far as i am concerned, it’s hard to go wrong with fresh ingredients and shaved meat, so it was easy to like the food. i had the falafel entree and have decided regardless of restaurant i now need to stop ordering falafel to-go. don’t get me wrong, it was good, but by the time it is prepped and you drive home, it loses that richness and moist bite. on the other hand, phillip had to fight me for his chicken shawarma platter. it was good the first time and even still delicious when the leftovers were reheated this weekend. so far, so good! (p.s. i promise to take pictures next time 🙂 )

as for the movie, there was more to be desired. generally, i didn’t totally despise the storyline, and yes, i understand that super powers are not a thing. i also grasp that strength-enhancing serum is unreal. further, i realize that these movies involve supernatural characters and plotlines. nonetheless, the scale of just how unreal some of the things were in captain america: the first avenger had me rolling my eyes almost all night long! i mean, that big plane at the end. did it need to be that big? probably not. does there always have to be a love story between the hero and some gorgeous someone? apparently so. is that zipline scene really that believable? not in our world, so what i understand i must come to terms with if i am going to get through 20+ movies is that i need to simply appreciate them for what they are: entertainment.

now, i do look forward to how all the back stories and characters will intertwine in later movies, and some of the films have some of my favorite actors in the cast. and, let’s be honest, their bodies are positively ripped, and it’s hard to argue with that. perhaps most importantly, though, i’ll actually be able to talk about it when mcu comes up in conversation! and that is nearly priceless. well, for us it’ll cost us a bunch of dinners, but that is a price i am willing to pay.

check back as our mcu journey continues and come at me with your suggestions, whether it’s the proper viewing order or restaurants in our area we just must try. if nothing else, we should all be entertained!