SIDEBAR
OSCARS PARTIES AT HOME
Award-winning Oscars parties don’t have to be confined to public spaces. Create your own at home with a few suggestions from our cast of professionals.
Like a memorable movie, a good party needs a solid set. Kristine Finke, design sales manager at Bold American Events, suggests a red carpet entrance, waves of champagne and “linens and textures for a rich, luxe feel. Bring the gold and silver hues in for a fun metallic mix that will add Oscar statuelike details.”
Edibles get top billing. Dustin Claypool, executive sous chef at Bold American Events, recommends an extreme close-up on small bites and miniature main course tasting plates guests can graze on throughout the night. He says add special effects to traditional snacks with trendy ingredients such as Sriracha or coconut milk.
Movies remain synonymous with popcorn. Consider swinging by CaJa Popcorn in Buckhead and grabbing one of its popular batches. Sea salt caramel, pimento cheese and spicy BBQ top CaJa’s A-list of customer favorites. Would you rather direct your own popcorn production? Kevin Peak, owner of CaJa Popcorn, offers the following recipe:
Buffalo Ranch Popcorn
3/4 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup ranch salad dressing mix
2 1/2 gallons popped popcorn
Melt the butter and fold it into the popcorn. Combine the salt, cayenne pepper and salad dressing mix and sprinkle it onto the popcorn.
Not content simply watching the Oscars from the couch? If you don’t have a ticket to the big event Sunday night at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, you still have a chance to walk down a red carpet. Wannabe leading ladies and men can partake in one of several Oscars-related events around Hollywood South this year. We zoom in on three of them:
Oscars Viewing Party
When it comes to old school movie houses, the Earl Smith Strand Theatre on the Marietta Square has serious credentials. It originally opened in 1935 with a screening of the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musical “Top Hat.” When organizers decided to try to bring the venue back to its glory, Hollywood legends Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward even helped donate to the cause. The reborn version of the Strand had its official grand opening in January 2009, and it keeps history alive in a variety of ways. The Strand often screens classic celluloid, and its Lumière Lounge piano bar has a silent film theme. Both the main theater and the lounge play host to the Oscars Viewing Party. The red carpet arrival begins at 7 p.m., and the telecast drops at 8:30 p.m. Each guest enters the Strand while strolling along the red carpet and pausing for a photo. Those ages 21 and older can enjoy drinks while soaking up the telecast in the Lumière Lounge located on the second floor. All ages can gather in the art deco theater and root for their favorite flicks, actors and actresses. Guests can pick the winners for a chance at scoring tickets to upcoming Strand events.
7 p.m. Feb. 22. Free. Earl Smith Strand Theatre, 117 N. Park Square, Marietta. 770-293-0080, earlsmithstrand.org.
17th Annual Academy Awards Telecast Viewing Party at Pricci
Pricci, Buckhead Life Restaurant Group’s upscale Italian eatery, rolls out the red carpet each year on Oscars night for this black-tie-optional soiree. Think “Grand Budapest Hotel” swanky. Lights cut through the sky as guests arrive and hit the ruby rug while in-house paparazzi snap away. With the help of a green screen, partygoers can virtually pose next to Angelina Jolie, Jack Nicholson and other Tinsel Town A-listers, and take the free photo home. Atlanta media veteran Tom Sullivan emcees the event, and chef Piero Premoli whips up a four-course dinner designed with cinematic flavor. Premoli, a native of Milan, Italy, even christens dishes with movie monikers from Risotto en Selma to Little Boyhood Lobster Cannelloni. Wash it all down with a Foxcatcher Cappuccino or a specialty cocktail. Choose from two seatings, one at 6:30 p.m. ($59) and the other at 8:30 p.m. ($75). Folks who opt for the earlier seating gain access to Pricci’s Green Room Lounge, where complimentary Rotari sparkling wines will flow. Pricci screens the awards on a fleet of jumbo plasma TVs. Flex your movie knowledge muscles with film trivia and maybe walk away with prizes including a $250 Ultimate Dining Card.
6:30 and 8:30 p.m. Feb. 22. $59-$75. Pricci, 500 Pharr Road N.E., Atlanta. 404-237-2941, buckheadrestaurants.com/pricci.
Hollywood’s Big Night
CinéBistro at Town Brookhaven, a movie theater-meets-restaurant, has a red carpet of its own on Academy Awards night. Guests 21 and older arrive and have the opportunity to pose for snapshots as they enter. You can even play your own imitation game and dress like your favorite movie star, then sashay into a pre-show reception for champagne and cocktails. Ticket holders each score a reserved seat in the theater — a high-back leather rocking chair to be exact — and access to a four-course dinner served in the theater itself. The massive meal includes a gnocchi appetizer with red chili basil butter; butter poached monkfish with roasted cauliflower puree; braised beef short rib with potatoes; and chocolate cake with Kahlua panna cotta.
6:30 p.m. Feb. 22. $65 per person. CinéBistro at Town Brookhaven, 1004 Town Blvd., Suite 1070, Atlanta. 404-333-0740, cinebistro.com/brookhaven.
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