Dinner-and-a-Movie Destinations

Reel Love

by Gary M. Kramer

The lounge at this cozy gastropub is the home of FancyPants Cinema, a free weekly screening program of locally made short films. Every Tuesday night around 10 p.m., aspiring filmmakers can present their work to the assembled beer-swillin' crowd. Please note that throwing empty Chimay bottles does not count as feedback.

A $25 prix-fixe deal gets you dinner at 12 Lounge plus a ticket to a current film. The menu offers cheesesteaks and club sandwiches, served with onion rings or a baked potato. A Saturday night seat costs $12 as it is, making this combo cheaper — and better — than anything they have at the concession counter.

Whether you dine in at Tiffin or tend to take away your chicken tikka, become a member of their Bollywood film club. Fill out a form and pay $3 to rent a DVD — like Fanaa or Dil Chahta Hai — for five days. When you return the movies, do yourself a favor and grab some vindaloo, too.

Noir classics like Double Indemnity unspool in luminous black and white on the bar's flat-screen TV. Sit at the large community table at this swanky Rittenhouse favorite and you'll find it hard to pay attention to your dining companions. It's oh so easy, however, to pop the kitchen's Asian-fusion calamari like it's popcorn.

A pitcher of Distrito's margaritas is a must while watching Nacho Libre, Three Amigos or titles from the legendary Santo vs. [insert monster/villain here] series on the huge screen facing the upstairs seating area. Just don't get so drunk that you grab one of the 600 luchador masks off the wall and start interpreting scenes in the dining room.