Reel Chefs: Inspired Gourmet Pairings of Food & Film

Let me start off by saying, this is not a paid review.  In fact, the venue & event planners most certainly do not even know I exist.  I just happened to be invited to this by a friend and decided to pitch my two cents to anyone who is interested.

First things first.  What is it?  The Revere Hotel is a swanky looking hotel, that I believe is either brand new or totally remodeled, not exactly sure.  They have a theater on the premise and they have begun a series titled Reel Chefs.  Basically, they show a movie and pair a menu of dinner and cocktails around the theme of the movie.  The movie showing we attended was Goodfellas.

The menu sounded amazing:

There were also signature cocktails for the night.  They included:
Scorsese's Sidecar:
D'USSE Cognac, St Germain, Fresh Lemon Juice
Funny Like a Clown
Grey Goose Cherry Noir, St Germain, Claret Syrup, Fresh Lemon Juice
The Last Word
Bombay Sapphire, Green Chartreuse, Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur, Fresh Lime Juice
Wise Guys
Bacardi 8, Marini Rosso Vermouth, Cointreau, Grenadine

Three of our party of five ordered Funny Like A Clown, and two ordered Wise Guys.  The bartender was less than impressive.  He mixed up 3 drinks together and when he poured them, only two were 3/4 full and the third cup was about 1/4-1/2 full and he topped it off with the same mixture he topped off the others, however, we could clearly see the proportions were WAY off.  In my opinion, he should have mixed two at a time, or just made the third alone.  Bad move. Especially for ten bucks a pop.  Even worse was that my second drink came with no ice.  I don't mean, just a little, I mean none.  It was hard to drink and quite honestly, ten bucks wasted.  The Wise Guys were okay, but super strong.  Some may like that.

 

The theater itself is beautiful.  Super modern and swanky.  We sat 3 in one row and 2 in the row behind us.  At first I thought the little tables were adorable.  Until we heard silverware being dropped all throughout the movie.  I think they're probably better suited to be a cocktail table, as there is not enough room for dishes, silverware and a drink, never mind for both my husband and I.  I ended up eating with my plates on my lap.

The chef came out and introduced himself, albeit about 15 minutes later than the posted start time.  He was likable and sounded like he was pumped up for the event, especially the movie, as he grew up in NY.

The First Course (PRIMO):  My two friends that were seated behind us were overlooked and not served.  In fact, they had to go find a server to get their first course.  I actually really enjoyed the flavors.  I do wish there were a larger vessel underneath the caponatina, because there was a lot left on my plate begging to be sopped up with a crusty piece of bread.

The Second Course (SECANDO): Again, flavors terrific, the down side to ours, was that it was lukewarm at best.  This time around only one of the two behind us was forgotten.  The upside is that the waiter accidentally gave our row an extra, so we three shared the extra.

The Third Course (TERZO): The meatball was great.  I don't often fry a meatball before cooking.  My Italian family always let meatballs cook right in the sauce, so this was a change for me.  The issue with this course, unfortunately, was the way underdone pasta.  I mean, it was hard.  It's too bad because the meatball and sauce were great.

So all in all, we had a fun night.  I wish I knew exactly how many of these dinners have taken place.  My guess would be that this is all new.  And if that is the case, there is understanding to the hiccups.  Any new program will have wrinkles to iron out.  

MY OVERALL OPINION OF #REELCHEFS:  Fantastic concept!  A few new bartenders, maybe some work on the timing and this will be a winner!  If this continues I will check it out in a few months and hopefully things will be on track.

Revere Hotel Boston: http://www.reverehotel.com/

@RevereBoston

#REELCHEFS