New York City is finally getting its first, much-hyped Alamo Drafthouse, and though an exact opening date is still TBD, the theater's continuing to tease future moviegoers, this time with some tantalizing details about all the delicious things we can expect to eat once the theater opens.
The theater-slash-eatery-slash-craft beer bar announced yesterday that the kitchen at the Downtown Brooklyn location will be headed up by native New Yorker Chef Fernando Marulanda, who's previously worked at places like Tavern on the Green and Bouchon. He grew up in East Harlem and spent weekends eating at Katz's Deli and Patsy's Pizzeria, but says that "nothing came close to when grandma cooked."
It's in that spirit that he's cooked up a menu full of items such as made-to-order flatbread pizzas, spiced lamb with roasted peppers, caramelized onions, and golden raisins, and Cuban-style "Ropa Vieja Beef Tacos." The official menu isn't out yet, but other teased items include fresh edamame hummus with crispy wonton chips, a spicy jerk chicken sandwich with coconut lime dressing, and the "Williamsburger," which is a chuck and brisket combo topped with garlic aioli.
"I've attempted to represent the flavors of our many diaspora," Marulanda said. "From Middle Eastern to West Indian, from Argentinian to Italian, from Cuban to German. New York City is a place anyone and everyone can call home, so when you come with your family to watch a film at the Alamo Drafthouse Downtown Brooklyn, the aromas and flavors of home will also be with you. I grew up eating all of this, being born and raised here means it still runs deep in my veins and heart."
The theater will also be serving "only the finest craft beers," though details on those are still to come.
Located at 445 Gold Street, right by MetroTech and Borough Hall, the cinema will screen movies both new and old on digital and 35 mm, and promises to be "a movie-lover's paradise featuring seven screens celebrating all forms of cinema... a diverse programming slate blending the best arthouse and independent releases with Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters."
In the time before its opening, the theater is sponsoring several pop-up events, such as a screening of "low budget shot-on-video trashterpieces" at Brooklyn Brewery and Frank Henenlotter's Bloodthirsty Butchers at the Anthology Film Archives in Manhattan. And of course, there's also the all-day Star Wars marathon at Kings Theatre on August 7th.
Don't forget to put away your phones:
