Day 94—Tuesday, April 13th
Cinema Cafe
Alright, tonight I hope you’re in a movie frame of mind, because the name of the place we’re going to is, Cinema Cafe. I have two good reasons for this: 1.) I walked by it the other night and it looked cool because silent movies were playing on the walls and I thought it would be something different for the 365 Crawl. 2.) Like a dumbfuck I left my bag at Bar XII last night and I have to pick it up. Cinema Cafe is right next door, so I can kill two birds with one stone. Okay, let’s hit the road before someone from PETA reads that last sentence and comes after us with buckets of paint or something.
First stop is back to Bar XII where I left my bag last night. I called and they said they had it.
And here's Alex with the bag he retirieved from last night. Thanks Alex! And for those of you still wondering, he verified he wasn't giving me the finger in last night's photo. Just a slip of the finger. Thanks again for saving the bag, Alex!
Okay, it's just a hop and a skip next door to the Cinema Cafe.
They have a nice little intimate bar inside.
Sammy the bartender serves up an ice cold Corona.
And there's free popcorn at the bar! Cheers!
The front room has tables and a nice view of Third and 34th streets.
Silent movies are projected continuously on the back wall throughout the night.
Jared and Tara were enjoying sangrias and the silent movies in the back room.
Lions and Tigers and Beers...oh my!
Patrick is the manager and a hospitable host. He's also shopping an independent movie he produced.
There's really cool movie prints on the walls, here's Julia Roberts and Al Pacino.
You talkin' to me?
The Marx Brothers, my heroes and an early inspiration.
Morgan's a writer and a teacher who came in for a nightcap.
And to cap the night off, Patrick bought us all a shot on the house. Cheers and goodnight everybody!
Review
Okay, this place is officially a cafe, but there’s a bar in there so it qualifies for the 365 Crawl. This is a unique little hideaway in the Murray Hill area of Manhattan. There’s an intimate bar with friendly bartenders and tables in the front and back for dining. Silent movies are projected on the back wall and some of the features include The Three Stooges, Charlie Chaplin, Godzilla movies and Lawrence of Arabia. Vintage movie pictures and posters decorate the walls and of course there’s free popcorn at the bar.
There’s a full bar featuring bottled beer, a large wine list and signature Cinematinis including: Lemon Sorbet Drop, Lychee- Tini, Strawberry- Mint Gin Tini and a Blue Raspberry Cosmo. The menu is massive. They have a full breakfast and lunch menu, plus a brunch menu as well. The dinner menu offers up specialty pizza, sliders, sandwiches and dim sum. Some of the entrees include: Miso Glazed Scottish Salmon, Braised Beef Short Rib, Chicken Pot Pie and Black Pepper Seared Ahi Tuna Salad. Happy Hour runs from 4 to 7 pm Monday through Friday featuring five dollar cinematinis and sangria. The food is also five bucks during Happy Hour and you can feast on tapas, pizza and five different varieties of sliders.
There are two other Cinema Cafes owned by the same company on 45th St. and 70th St. So, yeah, it’s a chain, but a local chain so it’s all good. Lights, camera...beer!
Cinema Cafe
505 Third Ave. (@ 34th St.)
212-689-9025