FOOD TIP

Casserole-Style Enchiladas

Zavala Mexican Bistro

135 Boston Post Road, East Lyme

I was intrigued by the idea of enchiladas done in casserole form. So I ordered the spinach and mushroom concoction ($20) during a recent dinner at Zavala Mexican Bistro. It came in a small skillet, alongside an accompaniment of black beans and rice. Everything? Fabulous. The enchilada elements were layered in the casserole, and it all melded beautifully. The ingredients were corn tortillas, cheese, chipotle cream sauce, sour cream, onions and cilantro. The servings were quite healthy, so I could indulge in leftovers the next day.

– Kristina Dorsey

BOOK TIP

She Rides Shotgun

Jordan Harper

Hold on! Didn’t I review a Jordan Harper book last week? Why, indeed! THAT book, “Everybody Knows,” which was published last year, was so great that I went back for “Shotgun,” which came out in 2017 and won a Best First Novel Edgar Award. This one’s also very riveting. Polly is a brilliant 11-year-old forced to hit the road with her ex-con father Nate, who’s under a prison-mandated death sentence from a white supremacist gang. With echoes of Lou Berney’s brilliant “November Road” as well as — oddly enough — Ryan and Tatum O’Neil in “Paper Moon,” “She Rides Shotgun” is a relentessly episodic thriller with an astounding character arc for Polly. As for Nate, who wasn’t necessarily born to be bad but was inducted into the outlaw life by circumstances, his desperation to protect his daughter anyway he knows how might well mean that she, too, will have to make dark choices.

— Rick Koster

MUSIC TIP

Bleachers

Bleachers

It isn’t enough for Jack Antonoff to produce practically every chart-topping pop album out there. He is, after all, the go-to producer for Taylor, Lana, Lorde, et al. But he also has time to write and record his own albums under the banner of Bleachers. I loved Bleachers’ last release, 2021’s “Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night,” with its Springsteen-esque echoes (and, on one song, the actual Springsteen). The new self-titled Bleachers album has the same sense of musical adventure. “Modern Girl” has a dynamic rock spirit that, yes, has echoes of E Street, which means, in part, plenty of saxophone. “Isimo” likewise bristles with a driving melody. The moody, misty duo of “Me Before You” and “Alma Mater” are more in line with the indie haziness of Antonoff’s Swift work. And his work with Lana Del Rey, who is featured on “Alma Mater.” Bottom line: Antonoff is never less than a fascinating musical mind.

– Kristina Dorsey