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This article was prepared for the July 18, 2001 edition of U.S. 1

Newspaper. All rights reserved.

Dinner, Date, and the Silver Screen

Summertime is movie time. But if you’re already weary

of the high-octane onslaught of blow ’em up dramas and

out-of-this-world

spooky cyber-effects, New Brunswick City Market has planned a

civilized

summer alternative.

The "Dinner and a Movie" series, set in the opulent splendor

of New Brunswick’s State Theater — a former RKO movie palace —

begins with happy hour in the lobby, followed by a fun classic feature

film on the big screen, then sends its couples to any one of 17

participating

New Brunswick restaurants and night spots for a prixe fixe meal,

special

discount, or complimentary dessert, all through the magic of a $6

ticket stub.

Representing the dinner component of the "Dinner and a Movie"

series are Delta’s, the Frog and the Peach, Caebel’s Steak and Fresh

Fish, Green Grotto, Harvest Moon Brewery and Cafe, La Fontana

Ristorante,

Makeda Ethiopian Restaurant, Marita’s Cantina, North Star Cafe, Nova

Terra, The Old Bay Restaurant, The Round Grill, Sapporo Sushi and

Steak House, Soho on George, Stage Left Restaurant, Szechwan Gourmet,

and Tumulty’s Pub. Call or drop by for the brochure that lists

addresses

and phone numbers for all these eateries.

"Dinner and a Movie" opens Thursday, July 26, with "The

Big Easy," and features Cajun hors d’oeuvres and Hurricanes from

the Old Bay Restaurant. The New Orleans thriller, starring Dennis

Quaid and Ellen Barkin, begins at 6:30 p.m. Directed by Jim McBride

and released in 1987, this New Orleans mystery-romance features Dennis

Quaid and Ellen Barkin as sexy adversaries in a police scandal. Quaid

plays a seductive detective investigating a series of mob-related

murders, while Barkin plays an assistant district attorney looking

into allegations of an entire cop force on the take, including Quaid.

The series continues with a stellar restored print of the Beatles’

1964 hit "A Hard Day’s Night," directed by Richard Lester,

on Thursday, August 2. "Like Water for Chocolate," the popular

Mexican feature soaked in cooking and food, is featured on Thursday,

August 9. Directed by Alfonso Arau and based on the popular novel

written by his wife, Laura Esquivel, the film tells its imaginative

story of enduring love with magic realism, tradition, and drama,

amidst

tables groaning with piquant dishes you can almost smell.

The final food-oriented offering in the series is "Big Night"

on Thursday, August 16. This gem of a film, a hit on the 1996 festival

circuit, brought renewed acclaim for Stanley Tucci, its co-writer,

co-producer, co-director (with Campbell Scott), and star. It tells

the beautiful and touching story of two Italian brothers (Tucci and

Tony Shalhoub) fresh off the boat and trying to make it in the

restaurant

business in America. It co-stars Isabella Rossellini and Minnie Driver

and enough fine food to make you happy that dinner is included.