I made my maiden voyage to the Arlington Cinema ‘n’ Drafthouse this weekend and was excited at the prospect of table service during the movie, and even more excited once I saw the menu. Unfortunately, the very swift delivery of my fountain-poured Coke product was the highlight of the dining experience.
I ordered “nachos deluxe,” which could have been a very nice meal of tasty nachos and all the fixings but instead was a small gathering of cheap movie house chips, melted Velveeta and some tiny dabs of sour cream and jalapeños and cheap salsa. It was a mushy mess with no fork to eat it with. Velveeta on my fingers has always been less of a problem than it seems like, but it was messy all the same.
My mother, who was in town for my birthday, had some chicken dish she said she couldn’t even taste (seriously) and my wife had the eggplant parmesan, which she said was somewhere between okay and good.
I had high hopes for this movie house but now am not sure I will return unless it is to simply watch a movie and have a few beers. Usually I give a restaurant two chances before ending the relationship but in this case I think I will break it off early. Three samples at once is good enough for me.
On the other hand, the Drafthouse has wine tastings, $1 movie admissions on Mondays and even monthly bus trips to Virginia wineries. Definitely go check it out but don’t arrive hungry unless you plan on filling up on beer and good movies.
This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs
