Alamo Drafthouse debuts vegan-heavy menu that will freshen up your film
I’m not afraid to admit that at times, I’ve thought about going to a movie theater and skipping the movie entirely.
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema has some of the best cauliflower wings in Denver. My friends and I will show up early for a movie at the Sloan’s Lake location to catch up over a drink at the theater’s bar, but then it all changes when the wings arrive.
Suddenly, everyone else on the planet is gone. Friends? What friends? It’s just me and the cauliflower now.
So when Alamo reached out to say it was holding a tasting to debut a new vegan- and vegetarian-heavy menu, my first reaction was to clutch my metaphorical pearls in fear that the cauliflower wings had been replaced. (Thankfully, that’s not the case.) My second reaction: I need to try this menu.
Rick Schulenberg, kitchen manager for the Sloan’s Lake location, moved to Denver two months ago from Kansas City, Mo. Soon after starting work, he made a big push for fresh food, which included revamping the menu to put a greater emphasis on vegan options.
The theater chain debuted the menu of eight vegan dishes a month ago. Here are some you should check out.
The Veggie Supreme Pizza with its vegan cheese is a great summer night dish before a movie (or during, since Alamo serves its full menu inside theaters). It’s loaded with oven-dried Roma tomatoes, red onions, kalamata olives and mushrooms. But the real shining touch is the roasted red and yellow peppers that add a refreshing touch to each bite. Cost: $13.
The Curry Chickpea Salad was one of my favorites. In the mix are golden raisins, spiced cashews, quinoa and heirloom tomatoes, served with a pita. But what really makes the dish is the arugula, which balanced out the spiciness of the crunchy cashews. Cost: $11.50.
If you haven’t heard about Beyond Meat, here’s the scoop: This California-based company makes plant-based food like burgers and sausages that taste amazingly like the actual product. It’s been too long since I’ve had a meat burger to make a fair comparison between the two, but I really enjoyed the Beyond Meat Vegan Burger at Alamo. The best part of the dish, though: the caramelized onions. Cost: $15.
Along with the food menu, Alamo showed off some new seasonal drinks. Here are two of them:
Bartender Alicia Russell came up with the Ginger Palisade,a loose take on a julep with Old Forester 100 proof bourbon, ginger syrup, peaches and mint. Both the ginger and the booze pack a punch. Cost: $10.
Scott McCully concocted the Cold Spring. It’s Monkey Shoulder blended Scotch whiskey, Drambuie, St. Germaine elderflower liqueur, Genepy herbal liqueur and mint, the latter of which lingers in your mouth after a sip. This one is also dangerously boozy. Cost: $13.
Back to the food at Alamo: After tasting this new menu, I realized it might be time for me to start diversifying my order the next time I’m at Alamo. But don’t worry, cauliflower wings: You will always have my heart.