Hello All! I am sorry that we had disappered for a while. Covid 19 threw us some curve balls, and I didn't feel that I could do this blog justice. However, we are back in the saddle again. I am going to blog just when I feel like I have something to say, no set schedule. So keep your taste buds ready, and email addy's updated :)
So this review will be about 2 local theaters. Well 3... I know I know, let me explain.... We live in Northwest San Antonio. We have many theaters on this side of town, but the two that are closest to me are Santikos Westlakes (Formerly Alamo Drafthouse Westlakes) and Flix Brewhouse.
I would like to do a little memoriam for Alamo Drafthoust Westlakes location (think of the Oscars). Fred and I were frequent visitors to this theater pre Covid 19, but we lost it due to Covid 19. There are other Alamo Drafthouses here in San Antonio, but again this was the closest location to us. For those not familiar with Alamo Drafthouse, it is a small chain theater that originated in Austin, Tx. They have regular movies for regular prices. Westlakes had recliners, I guess the others do too, but I am not sure. Since they are down 1 theater and were closed for quite some time, I would guess they franchise had enough money to throw at the other theathers. I am not salty at all....... The food was beyond good. They had Hatch Green Chili queso. A ton of different burgers, that were all really yummy. Their pizza was sooo good. The crust was crispy, sauce delicious, and they didn't scrimp on the quality of their toppings. They had beer, and other alcohol (I think I am not a drinker), and of course coffee, tea, and coke. Best of all they had servers that will bring it to your seats. You write down what you want on a piece of white paper, fold it in half lengthwise (or hotdog style), and your server will come pick it up. Sweet!! They set a really high bar. This is important information to have as we progress in this review, as it is hard not to compare the other two theaters to Drafthouse. Making this the 3rd Theater I am reviewing, get it? Or the 1st maybe, you know what I mean....
Now on to the reviews of the actually exisiting theaters I will start with the one closest in proximity to Fred and I (he is generally my movie buddy, unless it is a chick flick). That would be Flix Brewhouse. This is a newcomer to SA. It is off 1604 between Potranco and Dove Creek. It opened 2 weeks before everything closed down for Covid, closed down for the Covid duration, and reopened in March-ish time frame. We have been twice. They have clean facilities, recliners, and great video/sound qualtiy. Like Alamo Drafthouse they also have servers. It is as if Alamo Drafthouse and a chain theater had a baby. A labradoodle, so to speak. Cute and cuddly, but has some chops. There are some customer service snafus they are working through, but who isn't post covid (if there is such a thing). Our first trip there Fred's recliner didnt recline, we bought it to the attention of the server and absolutely nothing was done to rectify this. I know poor baby your recliner didn't work, it was a 3 hour movie. The movie was pretty slow, and how is Fred going to nap if his chair wont recline.... Anywhooo, the food and proximity to home led us back there for more punishment. No more wire coat hangers.... Sorry I digress. I had a cheese burger which came with fries, and a diet coke (hee hee gotta save calories somewhere) and Fred had a peperoni pizza. They were both good. The fries were crispy and seasoned well. The pizza crust crispy, sauce tasty, the peperoni had pools of fat in the middle. You know like little peperoni tea cups filled with peperoni juice. If that is your thing, this is right up your alley. The side of Ranch was not homemade. We also ordered queso. While it wasn't gas station queso it was more "homemade" than most chain theaters, it wasn't an elevated version like they had a drafthouse, but I wouldn't kick it out of the bed for eating crackers.. While they have some customer service issues to work out, our 2nd visit was an experiment in terror, we were compensated for those experiments. So out the rating for this establishment on a scale of 1 to 5 buckets of popcorn is gonna be a 4.
On to our next Theater!! Santikos Westlakes. This was kinda bittersweet for me and Old Fred as it is the same space that Alamo Drafthouse once resided. It looks a lot different inside. It is also a mix of Drafthouse and a chain theater, but not a cute one like a labradoodle. An all business one like I dont know, something all business. Whatever the opposite of a mullet is, that is this theater. They do have hot food. NO SERVERS. So you go to the concession stand to order. The menu has a mix of carnival food meets theater concession stand food options. They have a sports bar area, and a game room, those are new. When you order your food, you are given your cups for your drinks and popcorn, and they take your phone number. They have Concessions area with little lockers.. In this space you fill up your drinks and popcorn. Then you head to your seats. When your food is ready, they text you a barcode, you go to the lockers, scan your barcode, the locker pops open and you grab your food. Very futuristic, but no personal touches. The coke machine is one of those Coke Machines that has a billion different Coke choices and flavor add in's. I love those. Most have lots of sugar free caffiene free options. The hamburger was pretty good, but the pizza was not. It was very much like gas station pizza, and the queso, was that yellow cheese like substance that comes in a little cup. You pull the plastic off the top to eat it. You normally find this at gas stations, movie concession stands, and Walmart. Not that there is anything wrong with that, I love to dip my popcorn in that cheese, but come on now... The pizza crust was soggy, the cheese was very obiviously poor quality, and the peperoni I dont even know what to say there, other than BUYER BEWARE!! They are finishing up with an overall score from 1 to 5 popcorn buckets a 2. Their seats reclined so Fred could nap appropriately, and the burger was good. A girls gotta recognize....
Tomorrow Fred and I are off to a new breakfast eatery that my daughter Scrappy Doo loves. Fred and I are partial to First Watch, so we thought we would compare these two.
Happy Eating! Till next time!
Mel Cann & Fred
