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Food, Flicks Make A Satisfying Mix

Tribune photo by JAY CONNER

Steak salad, left, shrimp cocktail and pasta primavera share space on Tampa Pitcher Show's culinary marquee.

By MARY PATRICK

Tribune correspondent

Published: December 4, 2008

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TAMPA - Despite its charms, the Tampa Pitcher Show is not the sort of place you go to enjoy a foreign or independent film where you need to catch every nuance to understand what's happening.

But the latest James Bond flick? Why not?

At a regular theater, you'll likely get stadium seating, but the only food will be popcorn and candy that you'll need a home equity loan to afford. At the Tampa Pitcher Show, the view isn't great - it's basically a large room filled with tables and a screen against one wall - but the food, while not extraordinary, is infinitely better and you get more for your dollar.

Many are the times that a pizza there has helped take the sting out of sitting through another mind-numbing action flick, or a glass of sangria has taken the edge off another movie aimed at 13-year-olds.

On a recent visit - "Quantum of Solace" was showing; not bad - we started with a pitcher of the red sangria, which we have always enjoyed. It's a bit on the fruity side, with a hint of cinnamon that makes it a notch above average.

That describes the menu: nothing spectacular, but a notch above average - and certainly better than what you will get at your local multi-screen megatheater.

The appetizer menu is loaded with the sort of thing you might expect - nachos, chicken wings, chicken quesadillas, potato skins - but also features Bubba Gump Shrimp (popcorn-sized shrimp) and the Killer Bread Loaf, which is drenched in garlic and herb butter and smothered in mozzarella. There's also a smaller version called Killer Stix. Both are recommended for those who don't mind the taste of garlic.

We tried the Primo Nachos, and they weren't joking about the size of the portion ("serves two or more"). The salsa (it's advertised as homemade) was fine, but the cheese was liquid. Still, it was serviceable.

It should be noted here that the menu also offers more conventional popcorn and nachos fare, as well as chips and onion dip. There are also candy bars available for the traditionalist in your group.

There are a surprising number of good salads, including the Mahi Mahi Caesar and Osaka Salad. The Asian Chicken Delight is particularly good, with teriyaki, ginger and garlic-glazed chicken over a spring mix salad.

The pizza offers all the usual toppings, with the addition of pineapple, jalapeno and tomato. The dough is good, the sauce fine, and the grease factor relatively low. Like a lot of things here, it's better than you might expect from a movie theater.

A favorite is the Black & Blue Burger, because it's hard to go wrong with a patty of beef smothered with bleu cheese and topped with mushrooms. The French Dip also does not disappoint.

The restaurant offers more upmarket entrees, including a New York Strip that came cooked to order and very juicy. The house steak sauce tasted a bit like A-1, but then we don't mind A-1, so it wasn't a problem.

To our way of thinking, anything offered at a movie theater beyond the traditional - and we haven't even mentioned the full bar and lounge, which might interest people even more than the food - is worth checking out.

Now that smoking has been banned, it's an excellent place for parents to take their children and allow the little ones to simultaneously experience two of their favorite things: chicken nuggets and animation.