Weekend Cooking- Visiting CineBistro in Sarasota

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On our last trip to Florida, we ran into Tropical Storm Emily so we decided to get out of the rain and go to a movie. We both wanted to see Dunkirk since I reviewed the book (here), and we headed over to the CineBistro in Westfield Siesta Key.

When I was in high school and college, I worked at a mall cinema, and it was the best job a young person could have, but that was many years ago. The CineBistro we visited was a stunning sight to behold, and nothing like where I used to work.

After you buy your ticket (or in our case get our Fandango ticket scanned), you enter a huge full bar area, with plenty of seating for those who are having dinner. You don't even have to go to the movies to hang out at the bar.

The bar area

To the left of the bar is a small private dining room that you can rent to have a birthday party. It really seemed like more of an adult place to have a birthday party, rather than for kids.

Party Room

You then walk down a long hall, and you'll see a cart in front of the theater where the next movie starts. On the cart are bottles of wine from Francis Ford Coppola's vineyard (where else?), and samples of the Chef's Menu for the day. Today's menu featured Mojito Chicken Flatbread, Grouper and Guava Empanadas.

The Food Cart

You can order food to be delivered to your seat up to thirty minutes before showtime. Each seat is a huge recliner, with a food tray that swivels in and out for access. We didn't get there in time to order food, so we got popcorn from the concession stand. The popcorn is served in a white ceramic bowl, and the sodas are served in actual glasses. How very grown-up!

Mmm...popcorn

Ad we ate our popcorn and watched the coming attractions with our feet up, we decided that this is the only way to see a movie. We will do all of our movie-going at the CineBistro, even if we have to fly to Florida to do it.

By the way, Dunkirk is an amazing movie. I'm not big on war movies, but this is really the British counterpart to America's Saving Private Ryan. Writer/Director Christopher Nolan is sure to get an Oscar nomination for this incredible cinematic achievement, and my favorite actor, Mark Rylance, is wonderful in this movie as well. I highly recommend you see Dunkirk at your local cinema. And if you have a CineBistro near you, give it a try. Their website is here.