Food and a flick at Smitty's Cinema

Going to the movies. It's been a fall-back option to the "What do you want to do tonight?" question for decades. It's not the most creative suggestion, but it works thanks to its simplicity and cheapness.

Dinner is inevitably added to the plan as a pre-movie warm up. But the thing about dinner is you're often compelled to, you know, talk. Have a conversation. Swap stories.

It's a lot of effort some nights. But try eating in silence just once and suddenly you're "awkward" and "no longer needed at the office."

Bless Smitty's Cinemas for providing a conversation-free dining experience. All you need to do is sit back, chew your fries and watch the big ol' screen up front.

Smitty's in Biddeford (there's also one in Sanford) looks like any other movie theater at the outset. Brightly patterned carpeting flecked with escapee popcorn, the scent of microwaved butter, the electronic gunfire of a video game audible from the arcade.

The real Smitty's draw isn't obvious until you press through the door to the theater. Goodbye rows of tightly packed seats. Hello table for six! Hello rolling, reclining chair from heaven!

There are a handful of tables in the theater - and rows of seats up front if you're really hankering for the traditional theater experience. If you didn't grab a menu from the ticket counter a waiter will bring you one. That's right - a waiter.

It's a dinner-while-you-movie kind of theater. The menu consists of the deep fried basics like chicken fingers and fries, burgers and nachos. Beer ($2.99 Bud, Bud Light, Michelob Light, Miller Light, Coors Light, Rolling Rock and Michelob Ultra), a few mixed drinks ($4.99 Bacardi and cola or Bacardi and punch) and even wine is available as well.

Doors open long before the movie starts, so you can snag a table and get chowin' if you don't want food distracting you from your movie concentration. But you can order when the lights go down, too, if you dig the screen-watching/burger-chewing combo.

The theater is dark during the movie, though still well-lit enough for you to see what you're eating. Three cheers for that - since we were brought a side sauce that appeared to be growing some sort of fuzz. The waitress apologized profusely for the hairy marinara, but the full bill came at the end of the meal. Oh well.

It's a different way to see a regular old movie - with a bigger screen than your apartment and more personal space than other theaters. And being able to sip a couple of beers while you watch (without having to hide the bottle under your coat jacket) is kind of nice.

It isn't gourmet dinning here, but that's not the point. You don't go FOR the food - you go because there IS food (and drink).