Remember the Alamo (Drafthouse)

Day: 62
High Temp: 74F
Job Status: Still Unemployed (but I had an actual interview on Monday!)


I want to apologize for the long lapse in blog posts during October. Tom and I have spent the past few weeks preparing to move again (more in a later blog), and so that has been taking up much of my free time this week.

But, today's post is not about moving and hard work, but about one of the absolute coolest thing anyone can do when they visit Austin, and that is go see a movie at the Alamo Drafthouse. I have been to the Alamo twice, and it is quite an experience. What you need to know about Alamo is that it is a combination movie theatre and full service restaurant. They have removed every other row of seats to put in high tables, and you can order anything from burgers and fries to classic movie fare like Sno-Caps and popcorn. They also serve beer and wine and dessert. You just write what you want, and your waiter brings it to you. Amazing.

The Alamo mainly shows first run movies, but they do lots of fun stuff like a Dirty Dancing "quote along" viewing, and an MJ Thriller screening and dance party. And, the previews aren't like normal theatres where you have to sit through ads for Coke and lame trivia questions. Here they play videos, commercials and TV clips relating to the era or theme of the movie you are there to see. They do also show a few upcoming attractions right before the movie starts.

When my mom was here visiting for a week just after we arrived, I had my first Alamo experience when we went to see Julie & Julia. The movie itself was alright. I love food, and Julia Child, but parts of the story were a bit slow. Unfortunately, the stuff they showed before the movie upstaged the actual feature. The majority of the pre-movie viewing was clips from Julia's iconic PBS cooking show The French Chef. They were almost worth the price of admission on their own. And the food was pretty good too. I had baked mac 'n cheese with green chilies a beer.

After our first experience, Tom and I were eager to return. He had snagged some free coupons for weeknight tickets, so last week he took me to see The Informant!. Tom's comment that it is odd to eat dinner in the dark was spot on, so this time we opted to just go for milk shakes and a shared basket of fries. And no offense to my love, Bobtail, but the shakes at the Alamo are the best milk shakes I have EVER had. I opted for the plain chocolate, while Tom ordered the indulgent chocolate peanut butter cup. Seriously, these things taste amazing and have such a luxurious, creamy texture. They taste like smooth, melting ice cream that hasn't been diluted by extra milk to achieve the right consistency.

Oh, the movie? It was alright. It started out good for me, pretty funny, but I think it's just a bit too long and rambling. However, parts of it are shot in Chicago, which made me both happy and extremely wistful for home. And, once again, the pre-feature clips managed upstaged the movie a bit. This time, we were treated to late 80's, early 90's era music videos like Pat Benetar's Anxiety (Get Nervous), and Alice Cooper's Identity Crisis ("sometimes I'm slashin the face..." seriously, watch it). And then there was the PSA style message from the American Association of Bakers (or something like that) that detailed both the wonders of the modern mechanized baking process and the nutritional virtues of bread.

It's just so kitschy and fun to see a movie at the Alamo Drafthouse. And if you ever get off your butt to come visit me, we will definitely have to take in a movie there.