While a jumbo tub of hot buttered popcorn is one of our most frequently indulged guilty pleasures, we think a good movie deserves a little better company than junk food. Try out our movie and meal pairings for yourself or feel free to suggest one of your own favorites in the comments.
The Movie: Silver Linings Playbook
The Meal: Legends Sports Bar (formerly Coach & Willie's)
See Also:
- 2012 Best Sports Bar in Downtown Phoenix: Coach & Willie's
- Looking for Director David O. Russell in Silver Linings Playbook
- Movie 43 and Dinner at Davanti Enoteca in Scottsdale
Silver Linings Playbook Can two sad people make one happy couple? Silver Linings Playbook examines just that, asserting that they can. We decided to watch this Oscar hopeful football and love flick in keeping with the Super Bowl madness earlier this week.
The unconventional rom-com follows Pat's journey to recovery after a violent outburst resulting from his wife's infidelity and a pre-existing but untreated bi-polar disorder. Pat (Bradley Cooper) is kind of like Mark Wahlberg's character in I Heart Huckabees: absurdly optimistic, depressed and searching for meaning in self-improvement. However, Cooper's take on this archetype is a bit more realistic and less goofy.
On Pat's path to wellbeing he meets a recently widowed woman named Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) who copes by sleeping with oodles of people. Believe it or not, Pat and Tiff don't end up boning, but become friends in their sadness and common medications. Tiffany tries to help Pat reunite with his wife, who has a restraining order out against him, and in return she asks Pat to be her dance partner for a competition.
Would you believe after Pat begrudgingly agrees to dance with Tiffany that the pair fall in love? While the ending is pretty obvious, the genuine moments of heartache, confusion, pain and anger make it worthwhile. Plus, Robert DeNiro and Jacki Weaver shine as Pat's flawed but loving parents. Hopefully, we can find something to love at dinner this week just like Pat and Tiffany found each other.
Legends Sports Bar and Restaurant Although we glossed over the sporty aspects of SLP, we did decide to go to a sports bar for dinner. We always love to hit up Coach & Willie's when we're downtown for a game so we decided to drop by for a bite. We were met with banners covering the old signage saying "Legends Sports Bar and Restaurant." While Coach & Willie's has a new name and new ownership, when we checked the menu, it literally hadn't changed at all. It even still said Coach & Willie's.
Around 8 p.m. on weekdays, Legends has $3 pints--so we grabbed a pint of Hop Knot to start. Immediately after sitting down, we heard a regular remark that the huge menu hadn't gotten any smaller since the new ownership, which to be fair, doesn't fully take effect until the grand opening on February 15. However, it is the sort of vast, picture-filled menu that you know Gordon Ramsay would have called the old owner's donkeys for making. We decided to keep it simple and not take any chances.
Since we were in on a Monday, we got the $7 burger special. While they offered a pizza burger with mozzarella, pepperoni and marinara, we went for the classic burger with cheddar, onions, lettuce and tomato. The juicy and actually medium-rare burger was definitely the way to go--especially since it comes with a side of fries, pretty much making it restaurant quality at fast food prices. We finished up with a slice of key lime pie, which isn't made in house, but is still a decent piece of pie.
Overall, Legends is a great place to grab a burger.
