Dinner-and-a-movie is a time-honored tradition with one flaw: The two elements of the date are not designed to be done simultaneously. Yes, you can hit up the AMC snack counter for “Funachos” (a real thing) and a supersized Top Shelf Long Island Iced Tea from MacGuffins Bar (also real). But if you’re watching Downton Abbey? That kills the vibe. Uniting your mood, food and film of choice under a common theme is one of the few pleasures we have these days, and we must embrace it.
To that end: Here are five dinner-and-a-movie combos to keep you safe, sane and satisfied.
#CarryOutAndCarryOn, Nashville. We’ll see you on the other side.
Spanglish + Cafe Roze
Spanglish goes great with Cafe Roze's offerings
There’s a scene in 2004’s Spanglish that haunts me. Adam Sandler plays a cool, collected fine-dining chef whose life is upended when his wife — a brilliantly unhinged type-A monster played by Téa Leoni — hires a kind, smart, smokin’-hot Mexican-American woman named Flor (Paz Vega) to be their housekeeper. Equal parts comedy and drama, Spanglish is a warm, nuanced movie that brings it all: family drama, cute kids, affairs, class struggles, inspired parenting and — the pièce de résistance — Cloris Leachman as a hooch-loving grandma with a soft heart and a sharp tongue.
Around the halfway point, Sandler makes a sandwich: a BLT with melted cheese and a runny egg. It sounds simple, but so much care is given to cooking the bacon and toasting the bread and pouring the perfect beer that your mouth might begin to water as he cuts the sandwich in half. He does that on a plate, which no self-respecting chef would ever do with a chef’s knife, but aside from that, it’s perfection — and it should be: Thomas Keller made it. Brutally, Sandler gets interrupted before he can take a bite.
That, friends, will not happen to you, because you’re going to Cafe Roze for its simple yet sophisticated BLT. It’s made with caper aioli and watercress, and its turmeric hard-boiled egg is better suited for carryout than a runny one. The full Roze menu is available, but have some fun with the bodega produce, dairy and pasta (Mr. Aaron’s Goods!), as well as the dishes you can’t always get — like savory smoked trout salad, the chocolate croissant (usually only on Saturdays) and the true barn-burner: miso-ranch dressing. A final note: You’re going to see a lot of wine and balmy SoCal vistas in Spanglish that you can’t currently enjoy, so grab a $16 bottle of Mesta Verdejo (a citrusy Spanish white) from Roze to soften the blow.
Practical Magic + Rosepepper Cantina
Practical Magic pairs with a margarita from Rosepepper Cantina
There’s an argument to be made that the food pairing for Spanglish should be Mexican. That’s valid, and if you want Rosepepper Cantina with that film, bump it up. But better yet, go double-feature on these movies and dinner. Roze and Rosepepper are a half-mile apart, and there are no rules now, so it’s something to consider.
But why, you ask, is Practical Magic paired with Rosepepper, anyway? If you’re familiar with the 1998 witch-based rom-com, then you already know — but here’s some background for the rest of you. Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman play sisters raised by wacky aunts, played by Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing. The movie’s got spells, curses, spooky houses, “girl power,” a frog that burps jewelry, light exorcism and PG-13 Halloween shenanigans. While all of this may not sound like a seasonal match, Practical Magic is a vibe match for one reason: midnight margaritas.
Imagine it: You wake up at midnight to the sound of a blender. Still in your PJs, you make your way to the bottom of the creaky old staircase, where your kooky aunts place a frosty margarita in your hands. Naturally, you all then dance around the kitchen to Harry Nilsson’s 1972 novelty hit “Coconut.”
It is ridiculous and fun, and the only scenario in which anyone should wake you up at midnight. I’ve always imagined that Practical Magic’s margaritas taste like Rosepepper’s, and that (plus a month of quarantine) is how we got here. Of course, Rosepepper serves its ’ritas on the rocks, but that travels better with takeout anyway. Bonus: The scene ends with the drunken singing of a phrase that describes all our delivery-dependent lives right now: “Someone left it on the poooooorch!”
Superbad + Joyland
Match Superbad with a selection of offerings from Joyland
The plot of 2007’s Superbad isn’t new: High school seniors (played by Jonah Hill and Michael Cera) attempt to buy booze and get girls in this Judd Apatow-produced coming-of-age comedy. Look, I know: Superbad is downright filthy and often problematic, particularly viewed through a 2020 lens. But it’s also hilarious, heartwarming and watchable, and that’s enough for me right now.
Like most high-schoolers, the Superbad dudes spend far too much time loitering around convenience stores, which brings us to dinner at Joyland. Sean Brock’s newest (and only currently open) concept focuses on gas-station food, optimally executed. A fan of tidy, precise Japanese convenience stores, Brock perfected a small menu of items now available curbside.
The country-ham biscuit with redeye gravy is stellar, griddled to give it a perfect country-general-store crust. Follow that with a double cheeseburger. Based on the fact that Googling “Sean Brock cheeseburger” returns 450,000 hits, everyone knows to order this, but let’s be clear: This version is every bit as good as Husk’s. When it comes to chicken-on-a-stick, you have three choices. The Dipstick (with sorghum-Texas-Pete sauce) and the Joystick, which comes “original” or dusted with Momofuku spicy seasoning. Both feature delicious, crunchy dark meat on a stick, but Momofuku is the move. The lightly tingling Szechuan peppercorns will keep you coming back, as will the curly fries and a milkshake that ought to leave you comatose by the time you meet McLovin.
Point Break + The Centennial / Midnight Oil
The Swayze and Keanu classic goes great with dinner from Midnight Oil
Every respectable Patrick Swayze fan knows The Centennial. On the wall of the currently shuttered Nations bar, you can see something you’ve heretofore experienced only in your dreams: a gigantic close-up of Swayze’s face from Point Break. If you don’t know this ’91 classic, you are under 30 and about to have the best night of your life. If you do know it, but it’s been a while, I’ll remind you: Keanu Reeves plays an FBI agent who goes undercover to infiltrate a group of bank-robbing surfers, led by Swayze’s Bodhi. On top of that you’ve got Gary Busey doing his best Normal Person impression, a fight in which a surfboard is used as a weapon and a script that was — no shit — developed by Oscar winners. One was Kathryn Bigelow, currently the only woman to ever win an Academy Award for Best Director (with 2008’s The Hurt Locker), and the other was her then-husband James Cameron.
The connection here is obvious: Dinner must start with The Centennial’s perfect chicken wings in their eponymous tangy sauce. To get those, however, you’ll need to go around the corner to their new venture, Midnight Oil. The plug was pulled on Oil’s mid-March opening due to the COVID-19 shutdown, but they’ve since opened for takeout with a pared-down menu of breadsticks, wings and pizza. For $18-$22, score a massive 20-inch pie from their garage-door storefront on 51st Avenue. My go-to is the Sweet Heat, topped with spicy jalapeños, crispy capicola and honey. It is a pie as hot, sweet and meaty as Saint Patrick himself. While you’re there, pick up a frosé. Oil makes theirs with rosé and vodka, which gives it the B.D.E. most frosés lack. At $10 for 16 ounces, your wallet can handle two. Sadly, your liver cannot.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off + Nicky’s Coal Fired
Grab a slice of Nicky's Coal Fired to complement the John Hughes classic
When it comes to rewatchability, John Hughes is the undisputed king. In this 1986 comedy, Matthew Broderick is at the height of his powers as the titular Ferris Bueller, a preternaturally charming senior who skips school to enjoy one glorious day running around Chicago with his girlfriend and his best friend. The movie has everything we don’t right now: eating out, art museums, public shenanigans, sports, parades, live music, landmarks! What I wouldn’t give to be dragged on an eighth-grade field trip right now …
Naturally, we pair this with Nicky’s Coal Fired. While Chicago transplants Caroline and Tony Galzin have mostly shuttered Nicky’s kitchen for the time being, they’ve fired up a few new ways to fake it till we make it (à la Ferris). This week, they’re launching “We Make It” Sunday dinner pickup with premade meals (Mama G’s meatballs, baked pasta) that you can just pop in the oven while you mix up a cocktail from your take-home Aperol-spritz kit. The second option is Nicky’s “You Make It” series, aka “Italian Comfort Cooking With Chef Tony.” Every Friday at 5:30 p.m., Nashville tunes in on Instagram (@nickysnashville) to make ricotta, cannelloni or pizza while feeding questions to Caroline. (Take a shot every time someone brings up the White Sox or one of Tony’s relatives tells him he’s doing something wrong.) The best part of “You Make It”: Nicky’s offers contactless meal-kit pickup for each week’s recipe. You preorder, they gather ingredients from local purveyors like Bells Bend Farms, and you swing by Thursday to pick up your goods plus a carafe of red or white wine. Most weeks they sell out, but even if you don’t cook alongside them, it feels pretty good to tune in and “get together,” whatever way we can right now.
