Some of my long-time readers might remember that 'way back in February I was promised the birthday present of an LOTR geek's dreams. My wonderful kiddos made plans to chip in and finance an Alamo Drafthouse Lord of the Rings marathon/feast for us. (The rather hefty tab would be wasted on Henry, who was thankful not to be included.)
Well, months passed. And the scheduled marathon/feast, which had been put on a few times a year in the past, didn't seem to be finding a way onto the Drafthouse's busy schedule. Finally, the word was out for a December date, and Sally got her computer ready to be an early purchaser. [As it turned out, she had to be very early, since they told us they had sold out in eight minutes!]The paucity of showings meant that Hal and Carey would have to miss out, since they would already have departed for their New England holiday trip. But their absence, while most unfortunate, was the only thing that wasn't absolutely perfect about the event!
Yes, we did have to get there a little early (for the 11 a.m. start) and wait in line to be sure we'd get good seats. But there was the Drafthouse decor to admire (see above right), free old-school Tron to play (see above left), Onions to read...in short, the wait time went quickly. And our seats were fantastic!
This was my only attempt at a shot during the event, but I got a good one! The Doors of Moria glowing in the moonlight and empty wine glasses littering the table!
What an amazing experience! I can't decide which aspect—the movies or the food—was most enjoyable.
The food was what made the day unique, though. What a spread! Sally had upgraded to the wine package, so we truly ate like Númenorean kings the whole day long. We can't figure out how they were able to serve so many people (probably about 150?) and have the plates always a perfect temperature, lovely to look at (as much as we could see in the dark) and heaped with such high quality, and imaginative foodstuffs! I just wish I could have taken a picture of each plate but Sally assured me that would be very bad form as we were served during the movies.
I also wish I had not licked the first few plates so squeaky clean, as I had to skimp on some of the later items due to a seriously distended stomach. I haven't eaten so much in a single day in years!
The menu is pictured on the right (click on the image to see a larger version) and a quick look will give you an idea of how imaginative the fare is. The first 3 items came out during the first movie, with two each for the second and third. Our favorites were probably the pork/cheese galette (I didn't even know what it was before, but WOW! what a delicious little pastry!) and the mead (since it was also a very pleasant surprise). But everything was scrumptious. The lamb, tomato soup, eggs, sausages and strawberries, especially.
Not to mention the "lembas bread"—yummy scones (complete with authentic leaf wrappings) that unfortunately I had little room for:
Being in the same theatre with a group of other geeks was fun as well. There were folks in costumes, including the girls pictured on the left in the lobby. One of the group had made their dresses. And the girl wearing a replica of my favorite Arwen dress, on the right, had it made for her by her grandmother!
A bonus feature came in between the first two movies. Sally dashed back to our seats after a potty break to tell me she had seen FRODO in the hallway. Now, we hadn't been drinking that much, so I took it to mean that Elijah Wood was visiting the theatre.
And I was right! He came out shortly thereafter and had a chat with the chef/master of ceremonies, answered some questions from the audience, and just gave us all a thrill.
The food was what made the day unique, though. What a spread! Sally had upgraded to the wine package, so we truly ate like Númenorean kings the whole day long. We can't figure out how they were able to serve so many people (probably about 150?) and have the plates always a perfect temperature, lovely to look at (as much as we could see in the dark) and heaped with such high quality, and imaginative foodstuffs! I just wish I could have taken a picture of each plate but Sally assured me that would be very bad form as we were served during the movies.I also wish I had not licked the first few plates so squeaky clean, as I had to skimp on some of the later items due to a seriously distended stomach. I haven't eaten so much in a single day in years!
The menu is pictured on the right (click on the image to see a larger version) and a quick look will give you an idea of how imaginative the fare is. The first 3 items came out during the first movie, with two each for the second and third. Our favorites were probably the pork/cheese galette (I didn't even know what it was before, but WOW! what a delicious little pastry!) and the mead (since it was also a very pleasant surprise). But everything was scrumptious. The lamb, tomato soup, eggs, sausages and strawberries, especially.
Not to mention the "lembas bread"—yummy scones (complete with authentic leaf wrappings) that unfortunately I had little room for:
(picture taken during an intermission)
Being in the same theatre with a group of other geeks was fun as well. There were folks in costumes, including the girls pictured on the left in the lobby. One of the group had made their dresses. And the girl wearing a replica of my favorite Arwen dress, on the right, had it made for her by her grandmother!A bonus feature came in between the first two movies. Sally dashed back to our seats after a potty break to tell me she had seen FRODO in the hallway. Now, we hadn't been drinking that much, so I took it to mean that Elijah Wood was visiting the theatre.
And I was right! He came out shortly thereafter and had a chat with the chef/master of ceremonies, answered some questions from the audience, and just gave us all a thrill.
And so, what about the movies? With all this other stuff going on, was it worth spending 11 hours inside on a nice, crisp winter day?!
Heck, yes! We had both worried about getting tired, getting stiff, not really being able to enjoy the last movie, etc., but it was wonderful!! Not tired at all!! And it was such a delight being able to see the whole panorama of the story all at once. To know as one movie ended that you wouldn't have to wait a year (like we did when they first came out) for the next one, or even until the next night!
One reason the viewing was so enjoyable was that, for the first 2 movies, we were watching the extended cuts! On film! What a treat! For some reason, films of the extended versions of FOTR and TT are available but not ROTK. However, we were happy to be able to see any of the extra footage from the DVDs on the big screen.
I'd do this again in a heartbeat. But, with the following enhancements:
- have all kids present
- share the wine upgrade so that not too much booze is consumed (and save some $$)
- hold back from cleaning plates in early courses
- and, maybe, make myself one of those dresses!
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