October is the fourth-annual Dining Month on OnMilwaukee.com. All month, we're stuffed with restaurant reviews, delicious features, chef profiles, unique articles on everything food, as well as the winners of our "Best of Dining 2010."
The usual movie theater fare, like oily popcorn, Goobers and -- if you’re lucky -- a Mr. Pibb, is still a treat (a pricey treat) to enhance one’s film-watching experience. However, in the past decade, a few Milwaukee-area theaters introduced expanded menus that include "real food" like sandwiches and pizzas, allowing guests to combine their dinner-and-a-movie date into one destination.
Of course, the addition of alcohol in theaters was a good idea for many reasons, including as a complement to theater food. (The concept of drinking alcohol during a movie is nothing new; people have smuggled in flasks and bottles since the talkies, but the availability of booze sold in the theater vending areas is still relatively novel.)
Here’s a list of local movie theaters with noshing options that reach beyond Raisinettes:
Fox-Bay Cinema Grill
334 E. Silver Spring Dr., (414) 906-9994
foxbaycinemagrill.com
Fox-Bay features a full kitchen and bar. Food options range from healthier items like salads (Caesar, chef, Greek and Taco) and hummus to more indulgent items like potato skins, spinach / artichoke dip, battered mushrooms and onion rings.
Fox Bay offers a variety of pizzas, including the Very Very Veggie, The Meatzza, The Quatro Fromage, The Kitchen Sink and the margarita.
Wraps, burgers, sandwiches (grilled yellow fin tuna, chicken pesto, Portobello mushroom, etc.), desserts and a kids' menu are also available.
iPic Entertainment
5800 N. Bayshore Dr., (414) 963-8779
ipic.com
The wide armrests on iPic seats double as tables, making it easy to eat a meal while watching a flick. People place food orders at the lobby bar and then bring the food, which is served on China plates, into the theater with them. Guests are given a vibrating pager to alert them when their food is ready.
The menu includes burgers, salads, pizzas, boneless wings, quesadillas, spinach dip and more. iPic also features a full bar.
Majestic Theater
770 Springdale Rd., (262) 798-6800
marcustheatres.com
The Majestic Theater features a large theater called the Palladium which offers dining service from the theater’s CineDine menu featuring salads (chopped, Caesar, Asian, etc.), wraps (prime rib, chicken), pizzas (meat, cheese, Mediterranean, BBQ chicken), sandwiches (pulled pork, patty melt, burgers, veggie, etc.) and appetizers (chicken tenders, vegetable spring rolls, quesadillas, etc.)
Zaffiro’s Pizza, Take Five Cocktail Lounge, The Chocolate Shoppe (ice cream shop) and hot foods from the concession stand are also available to moviegoers.
North Shore Cinema
11700 N. Port Washington Rd., (414) 241-6180
marcustheatres.com
The main theater -- a 70-foot-wide "UltraScreen" -- offers dining options from the on-site Zaffiro’s pizza, the concession stand and the Take Five Cocktail Lounge.
Rosebud Cinema Drafthouse
6823 W. North Ave., (414) 607-9446
rosebudcinema.com
Recline on one of Rosebud’s red velvet couches with an array of beer and food, including whole-sized or personal pizzas, cheeseburgers, corn dogs, nachos, cheese ravioli, mozzarella sticks, meatball subs, chicken sandwiches and cheese fries. Plus, the Rosebud offers dessert items, including classic candies and an ice-cream fudge brownie. The beer list is particularly impressive, featuring Guinness, Riverwest Stein, Blue Moon, Spotted Cow, Bell’s Oberon, Hacker Pschorr, Samuel Adams, Harp and more. Mike’s Hard Lemonade is also on the menu.
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
