It used to be, if you were going to open up a restaurant with a theme, you were going to own a sports bar.
But no longer. These days, more and more, themed restaurants involve popular culture. For instance, as you’ve likely heard, a couple months ago, when it opened, the Rue La Rue Café made a lot of news. The Manhattan restaurant is inspired by the late Rue McClanahan, one of the stars of The Golden Girls. It’s owned by Michael J. LaRue, a close friend of McClanahan’s, and Mark Bish, McClanahan’s son. The restaurant’s decor is something of a shrine to the show, and the menu features foods that made appearances on episodes of the show and recipes that the Golden Girls actresses used to make.
But, again, the Rue La Rue Café is one of many pop culture restaurants out there. If you aren’t a Golden Girls fan but love other shows, well, there’s probably something out there for you. Here’s a sampling of what’s on the menu of pop culture themed restaurants throughout the country.
BeetleHouse NYC
As the website prominently notes, this restaurant isn’t affiliated with Warner Brothers or Tim Burton, but it is inspired by the 1988 movie Beetlejuice, directed by Burton and starring Michael Keaton. The decor, the drinks, the menu – it’s all inspired by the movie. For instance, if you’d like a vegetable burger, you might want to get the Veggie Corpse Burger, “topped with sautéed mushrooms and onions in a red wine balsamic reduction with a toasted bun and avocado, tomato, lettuce and roasted peppers.” There are numerous Beetlejuice-inspired drinks, one of which is The Beetles juice, made of, according to the menu, “muddled blackberry and limes, Tequila Blackberry Schnapps, Angostura bitters and a splash of cranberry.”
Stay Classy Bar
This is a dining experience inspired by Will Ferrell, a traveling pop-up restaurant (owned and created by Zach Neil, who also owns BeetleHouse NYC). It started off in New York City and then made its way to Los Angeles. It’ll be in Boston at 295 Franklin Street, from April 14 to April 23 and is expected to make its way to Philadelphia and Miami next.
Walter’s Coffee Roastery
Are you a fan of the AMC series Breaking Bad (2008-2013)? You’ll probably love Walter’s Coffee Roastery, named after the main character, Walter White (played by Bryan Cranston), a high school chemistry teacher diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer who turns to a life of crime (making meth) to try and earn enough money, to have something substantial to leave his family after he is gone. The coffee is served in beakers, and as the web site promises, “We have coffee down to a science.” The coffeehouse has been such a hit that there are three locations – Istanbul, Brooklyn and Dubai.
Overlook Lodge
Did you like the book and movie The Shining? Well, you’ll probably love the Overlook Lodge. It’s a bar in Cincinnati, Ohio, and it’s inspired by the hotel in Stephen King’s The Shining (for instance, there are hatchets on the wall). Some of the drinks include, “Writer’s Block,” a mix of bourbon and apple-berry sweet tea, and “The Green Lady,” a mix of vodka, cucumber simple, lemon and lavender bitters. Oh, and of course, there’s a “Here’s Johnny,” a drink with chai-infused 4 roses, cardamom vanilla simple and apple cider.
Tuco and Blondie
The restaurant opened last September in Chicago. The restaurant is inspired by Clint Eastwood’s classic, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly. For instance, some of the cocktails include, “The Man with No Name” (that would be the character Eastwood often played in westerns), “Angel Eyes” (a character in the movie who is something of a sociopath) and “One-Armed Bounty Hunter” (another character in the movie). And, if you’re wondering, Tuco was played by the prolific character actor Eli Wallach, and Blondie was Eastwood’s nickname in the film. If you’re not familiar with the movie, your eyes are probably glazing over right now, but, boy, it’s a classic western worth seeing.
