August 8 - No Reservations Feast

I told you a little bit about the NO RESERVATIONS feast last week, but way back then I couldn't say much more than the fact that we were going to be having it. That was all well and good, but unless you're throwing a pot luck it's always weird to invite people to a dinner party without letting them know what they can expect to eat. So now I'd like to introduce... the NO RESERVATIONS feast menu:

We start with Kate's Seared Scallops with Saffron Sauce (seen in the trailer being eaten by her therapist, Arvin Sloane). Then we have Nick's Spaghetti with Grandma's Red Sauce (also in the trailer, this time going into the tummy of Little Miss Sunshine). But you aren't even close to done yet, as we then will be bringing out Nick's Free-form Pizzas with Salad and Grissini. I haven't seen the movie yet (why would I skip out on seeing it with the food?) and I don't remember the pizzas from the movie, but I did have to Google grissini to find out that that means breadsticks, so if you had to look it up also you don't have to be discouraged. You do, however, have to remain hungry, because we've still got two more courses to get through, starting with Kate's Stuffed Quail with Truffle Sauce and then Zoe's Miniature Pancakes with Fresh Organic Fruit, dusted with powdered sugar. All of that food, plus wine pairings with each course, and the proceeds benefit Capitol Area Food Bank. Advance tickets are recommended and available here.

Thursday at Lamar - MC Chris!

MC Chris has his nerd street cred in spades. He's done voice work for all of your favorite Adult Swim shows and he's toured the country performing his nerdcore rap to thousands of screaming fanboys. But besides that, he knows his 80s movies.

He's been by twice before, with GHOSTBUSTERS and INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM, but this time the MC is outdoing himself by hosting the one and only film to feature the kid from E.T. as a daydreaming videogame nerd who realizes that his dad is the only hero he needs, CLOAK & DAGGER. Unlike a lot of the other movies you saw as a kid, you probably haven't rewatched this gem since 1987. That's a shame, if only for the fact that it was filmed in San Antonio and features Henry Thomas shooting at people on the River Walk. Plus they go to that other Alamo for a key kidnapping scene! And there's a creepy lady with two fingers missing! And they have to play an Atari game to help save us from a national security emergency!

If you miss this you might as well hang up your pocket protector forever and go join the football team, cause no self-respecting nerd could possibly stay away.

The show is Thursday, July 26, at midnight at South Lamar. Advance tickets are still available right here.

Master Pancake at the Lamar on July 25!

MASTER PANCAKE THEATER returns to the Alamo screens this month with perhaps the ultimate summer movie of all time - CONAN THE BARBARIAN. Now, I know, CONAN might not have as many explosions as other movies. And there aren't giant robots, either (but can you imagine how awesome it would be if Conan did fight a Transformer?). I stand by the claim of CONAN as an ultimate movie of the summer, though, because no one in the movie bothers with those pesky "shirts" that we're all burdened with whenever we aren't at Barton Springs.

Of course, a lack of clothing isn't the only requirement when you're cooking up an ultimate summer movie; you also need plenty of quotable lines. And 25 years ago, Arnold Schwarzenegger said one of the greatest lines of movie history:


"Top 3 things in life: To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women."

Ahhhh. What more can you want? Oh! How about if this month's rotating cast member to join John and Joe was actually TWO cast members? And what if they're Mac Blake and David Jara, all around funnymen and award-winning filmmaker duo responsible for the number one BLANKS ON A BLANK film, RACCOONS ON A SPACE SHUTTLE?

MASTER PANCAKE will be rotating between the Village and South Lamar every Wednesday during the interim while we await the construction to finish at the Ritz, starting July 11. Don't miss it!

Tickets to Lamar showings available here.

Tickets to Village showings available here.