COVER STORY
Fare with flair
Couch potato's night out
|
|
|
|
|
MORE INFORMATION
|
|
Stoughton Cinema Pub Theatre 807 Washington St. (Route 138), Stoughton. 781-344-4566. Route 93 south to exit 2 (Canton) onto Route 138 south. Free parking behind theater in commuter rail parking lot. Open Friday, Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday. (Get directions).
|
|
Stoughton Cinema Pub
Not every night cries out for lobster Newburg. The $2.99 admission and a most unusual snack bar at the Stoughton Cinema Pub Theatre make for a couch potato's dream dinner and a movie.
Located in Stoughton center, this 1927 erstwhile live theater feels at first like the set of "The Last Picture Show." The concession stand, though, is bustling and full color. Right next to the popcorn popper is a row of beer taps and a blackboard touting the evening's dinner specials - that's right, dinner specials.
The brief menu is basic fast food. Homemade pizza goes for $6 a pie or $1 a slice, hamburger and cheeseburger plates come with chips and a soda for $3.50.
The weekly specials include favorites such as chicken parmesan subs, Buffalo wings, and meatball subs. Bottled imports, including Corona with fresh lime, and wine complete the bar offerings. For dessert try the popcorn with real butter, the usual candy fare, or a glass of chardonnay.
Connoisseurs of cuisine rapide will appreciate that nothing is slowly petrifying under heat lamps here. Everything is made to order and delivered right to your seat. As I watched previews last week, the waitress was thoughtful enough to deliver mustard for my soft pretzel without my asking. Why stay at home with a small screen, reruns, and a pizza you have to go to the door for when you can see a decent film and have your pizza delivered straight to your seat?
The movies are second-run features. Since reopening the theater in June, theater manager, projectionist, bartender, and chef Mike Harmon has noted that different films wake different appetites. "The action movie and PG crowd really goes for the hot dogs and pizza. For a film like 'Tea with Mussolini,' I'll have coffee, teas, and cookies. I try to serve the crowd that comes in," he said.
Harmon, who has been in the theater business for years, said that more than the movies themselves he loves "having people come in and you treat them like you really want them here. You know you're really putting on the show for them."
Harmon's family is out there with him, making the crowd feel at home. That's his mother-in-law in the ticket booth, and his wife and niece are at the concession stand.
Finally, the fine art of theater dining is at its most polite when you can keep your dinner out of your lap. Be sure to ask for one of those nifty trays to attach to your cup holder.
Previous page | Next page
|
