Iron Man and the hungry cats.

I think I'm constitutionally unable to enjoy a movie unless I have a bucket of popcorn.   Never mind that I've usually downed most of it before the previews are even over: it's a part of the movie-going experience, as essential as the underage ticket-takers and the $4.00 drinks.  I love movie popcorn so much that I own a Whirlypop, a stove-top hand-cranked popcorn popper so good that, once you try it, you'll swear off the microwave dross forever. 

My favorite place for movie popcorn--and coincidentally, movies--is the Arclight in Hollywood.  They  make an awesome bucket of corn, sell only reserved seats, and have a couple of theaters with a bar where you can cozy up to a cocktail while viewing your film.  My kind of movie joint.  But my favorite thing about the Arclight is its location:  right across the street from the hungry cat.

The hungry cat (deliberately lowercase) is a restaurant owned by the husband-and-wife team behind Lucques and A.O.C., a pair of legendary LA restaurants.  The hungry cat is their foray into fresh seafood and even fresher cocktails.  It was originally a tiny joint, but has happily been expanded, although it's still impossible to get a table on a Friday or Saturday night (go anyway -- just sit at the bar).

Pumped from two hours of watching Iron Man (for some insight into the technology behind the Man, please visit my other blog, Digital Spritz), my friend and I sprinted over to the cat and parked ourselves at the bar.  Cocktails ensued, made from fresh fruit infusions stored in glittering bottles over our heads.  My choice was the Echo Park, made from vodka, lime juice, muddled mango and cucumber, and a bit of chili salt.  First sip, and I forgot about the movie popcorn (although for some reason, the image of Robert Downey Junior's buff pecs hung with me for a while).   But that was only the beginning.  We still needed to move on to the food:  a classic market salad with crumbled egg; tuna tartare with cilantro and a bit of radish salad; grilled California sea bass with morel mushrooms and greens topping homemade pasta; softshell crab cooked with 26 Chinese spices on a mound of sweet, sweet forbidden rice.  (We had to reserve the entrees when we were ordering, as they were specials and going fast.  We also had to hide them from our neighboring diners, who were eyeing them greedily.) 

But wait:  there's more.  After the cocktails, we moved on to wine.  The winner:  2007 Auratus Alvarinho-Trajadura.   Not knowing much about Portuguese wine, and feeling quite brave with vodka, I ventured into this one, noting the resemblance between the words "Alvarinho" and "Albariño."   (When I do my next Wine Crawl post, you'll learn all about Albariño, which is a Spanish varietal known for its friendliness to seafood.)  My choice was a wise one:  it was perfect with both the sea bass and the spicy crab.  The hint of Trajadura in the blend gave a bit of roundness and body to the wine, nicely balancing the crispness and acidity of the Alvarinho.  And at a retail price of $19, it's a wine worth keeping around.  De nada, amigo.

As for the cat, my friend and I took our time, indulged our senses, and came away sated and happy, as if we'd had the place to ourselves.  Which is how great service makes you feel, even on a busy Saturday night.  Out on the street, Hollywood was just starting to rock, and the lights were bright at our next destination, Amoeba Records, where we went to shop for--what else?--movie soundtracks and cocktail music.