Dinner in a Movie

Some people are serious multi-taskers. They brush their teeth in the car, they eat their lunch in line at the bank, and they can simultaneously surf the internet, pluck their eyebrows, and skim celebrity gossip magazines during conference calls. They are too efficient to get dinner AND a movie, they’d far prefer to get dinner IN a movie. Then there are those of us who simple love a good crepe and a glass of cava or a good burger and a pint of ale with our movie, with soft cushy theater-style seating and cleanup included. Here are a few places that will please the multitaskers and hedonists alike.

Academy Theater

academytheater2The Montavilla neighborhood’s Academy Theater is a little bit like paradise. Recently restored to its 1940s splendor, it boasts three theaters that play 6-7 different movies daily for only $4, reclining stadium style seating, pizza from neighboring Flying Pie Pizzeria, Nathan’s hot dogs, organic chocolate, ice cream, fresh fruit and garden salads, and the requisite popcorn and candy. There are ten microbrew beers on tap, wine, sodas, iced tea, organic juice, and they offer babysitting for some shows. As though that weren’t enough, on Mondays you can watch two consecutive movies for $6, and Tuesdays is buy one ticket get one free day. Babysitting, organic chocolate and free movies?? What more could you ask for?!

Bagdad Theatre

bagdadextWhen I go to the Bagdad Theatre, the first thing I do is place an order for a Terminator Chocolate Milkshake–a thick creamy concoction of Julie’s organic vanilla bean ice cream, Hershey’s chocolate syrup, and McMenamin’s rich, nutty, Terminator Stout–and a cheeseburger with tater tots, because there are few things that are more fun than going to see a super-cheap flick in one of the most nostalgically gorgeous old theaters in town and being served a burger and a beershake right at your seat. If you prefer your alcoholic beverages unadulterated with ice cream and chocolate syrup, then order up one of McMenamin’s beers on tap, or a bottle of wine. A great spot for a casual (and cheap—movies run $2-$3) date, after the movie you can further probe your date’s intellectual acuity and compatibility by claiming a seat at the theater’s adjoining pub and having a spirited discussion about the deep meaning and symbolism of important flicks like Velvet Goldmine and Role Models. Or, if it’s a warm night, grab an outdoor table along the sidewalk, order another beershake or pint of Hammerhead, and watch the passing Hawthorne Theater—always playing live.

  • Location: 3702 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Portland Map it!
  • Phone Number: 503.236.9234
  • Hours: Mon-Thu 11am-12am, Fri-Sat 11am-1am, Sun 12pm-12am

Kennedy School

kennedyschoolextWatching a movie at school was such a guilty childhood pleasure, because it seemed so illicit. Bring back that loving feeling at the McMenamin’s Kennedy School on NE 33rd Avenue, where you’ll only pay $3 to watch movies that have just recently departed the really expensive cinemas, and instead of having to survive on overpriced popcorn and Junior Mints you can get a burger, tater tots, and a pint of Hammerhead Ale to savor during the show. Kids are welcome at afternoon and early evening matinees; the theatre only lets big kids (21+) in after that.

Laurelhurst Theater

The Laurelhurst Theater makes as much of a visual impression today as it must have when it opened in 1923, with its glittering art deco facade enlivening the intersection of NE Burnside and NE 28th. And although movies were a little cheaper back in 1923 than now, the Laurelhurst is still a great deal–with four screens showing up to nine different movies each week for only $3 a show, a lineup which includes independent, art, classic and modern films. The theater sells New Deal pizza and Stacatto Gelato donuts, has a bundle of beers on tap, and will pour you a glass of wine too. Which reminds me, moviegoers must be 21+ after 3pm, but before then, bring the kids, all of them–children 12 and under get to see movies for $1.

Living Room Theater

livingrmtheater2Seeing as the Living Room Theatre is, after all, a theatre, you can order popcorn at the front counter. You can even order caramel popcorn. But once you’ve seen the entire menu, you’ll likely thumb your nose at mere popcorn. Because Living Room Theatre is Portland’s first and only “gourmet” movie theatre, so forget the Sour Patch kids and buttered popcorn with a Diet Coke chaser while you take the latest independent or foreign film you’ve been dying to see. Instead, order up the mixed olives, espresso flank steak skewers with shaved fennel, the deviled egg trio with caviar, bay shrimp, and red-pepper relish, and the bay shrimp salad stuffed into a ripe avocado half and topped with roasted garlic aioli, and a cucumber oregano martini to sip in between bites. Not your ordinary movie munchies. And, Living Room Theatre staff will deliver your food to you right at your seat. It’s a food and cinema lovers fantasy come true, and with relatively reasonable drink prices, finally—I don’t have to smuggle booze into the movie.

Mission Theater

missiontheaterThis groovy old brick building used to be a Swedish Evangelical Mission and Longshoreman’s Union, now it’s a great place to see a flick and consume hearty quantities of McMenamin’s pub grub ‘n brews, wine & cocktails. The theater shows everything from recent movie releases to cult classics and art films, even the Superbowl. Kids are permitted until 9pm (then it’s 21+), and those 11 and under only pay a dollar.

Pix Patisserie

pixintPix Patisserie is already the sort of establishment in which you can easily while away an entire evening drinking Lillet, eating pistachio macarons and chocolate-covered cherries, and reading Flaubert  until you start hallucinating that you’re in your favorite bar in Montmartre. But on Mondays at 8:30 pm at the North Williams location, you can trade out the novel for a movie, because it’s Pix Patisserie’s Monday Movie Night! The diverse lineup includes black and white classics like Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s Cleopatra, or harkens back to 80s with the likes of Pretty in Pink. You’re not in Paris, but it’s okay. Portland’s not such a bad place.

  • Location: 3901 N. Williams Portland Map it!
  • Phone Number: 503.282.6539
  • Hours: Mon–Thu 8am–12am, Fri-Sat 8am–2am, Sun 9am–12am

Press Club

IMG_2345Many people find Sunday nights to be depressing, the end of a weekend filled with relaxation, adventure, and/or champagne, and the beginning of a new workweek filled with strife, stress, and/or strangulation (in fantasy only, of course). But what if you could have one last Sunday hurrah, a relaxing adventurous one that involved champagne? Movie Night at The Press Club, the hip little SE Clinton street wine bar and cafe, promises all three. On Sunday nights at 9pm, you can watch interesting, eclectic films like The Mighty Wind, City of God, and Shakes the Clown, while enjoying a glass of wine, beer, or cocktail and full run of The Press Club’s menu of crepes, sandwiches and salads. It’s the perfect thing to take your mind off those dreaded Monday morning project status update meetings.

  • Location: 2621 SE Clinton St. Portland Map it!
  • Phone Number: 503.233.5656
  • Hours: Sun-Thur 11am-11pm, Fri-Sat 11am to midnight, Happy Hour Mon–Fri 4-6pm

St. Johns Theater and Pub

St. Johnstjohnspubs Theater just wouldn’t be a McMenamin’s if it didn’t have a storied past, and sure enough, this building–which was originally the National Cash Register Company’s exhibit hall for Portland’s Lewis and Clark Exposition–has had some adventures, including being barged down the Willamette River, and having served as a bingo parlor and played host to Gypsy wakes. These days the adventures are on screen, for $3 you can watch popular recent releases and enjoy a full McMenamin’s menu, including beer, wine and cocktails. Children are welcome until 9pm, then it’s a 21+ world.