Last year, venues from the OC Fair & Event Center to shopping centers found ways to satisfy the demand for live events.
The OC Fair launched a series of sold-out drive-in concerts, while drive-in movies were reimagined on the upper decks of parking garages.
One drive-in movie concept going strong into 2021 is a partnership between the Tustin-based Mess Hall Market and the art house theater The Frida Cinema. They began a partnership last summer by screening movies on the upper deck of the Mess Hall’s parking structure, with the Mess Hall, part of the Flight office development, serving as a glorified snack bar.
What started as a Tuesday night specialty has expanded into multiple screenings each month. It seems guests have been more than happy to indulge in the nostalgia that comes with attending drive-in screenings. Titles have included everything from family-friendly, cult-classic flicks like “Gremlins” and “Hocus Pocus,” to double-feature and triple-feature classic monster and horror-themed nights featuring films like “Night of the Living Dead” and “Godzilla.”
Before each screening, attendees can order snacks or complete meals at any of Mess Hall’s chef-driven concepts, including Big Parm (from the kitchen of Slapfish founder Chef Andrew Gruel, see page 4), The Drink Bar, Fonda Moderna, Fowl Play, The Little Greek, Saigon Kitchen, The Sandwich Society, Slapfish, and VaKa Burger.
Upcoming Shows
According to Megan Crabtree, general manager of Mess Hall, the food hall is always on the hunt for partners to host activities that will be mutually beneficial and provide unique experiences for guests.
“With the new demand for pandemic-friendly entertainment options, we had been considering implementing movie nights, but needed to find the perfect partner to execute these events logistically,” Crabtree said. “We initially reached out to The Frida Cinema in Santa Ana to collaborate and got a couple of dates on the calendar in late summer. Due to the success of those first few events, we decided to expand the series to be a regular occurrence—first with our weekly Tuesday Drive-In, Dine-Out nights, and then continuing to add additional dates each month as we continued to sell out these events.”
Thanks to the drive-in nights, the programming has provided the Mess Hall restaurants with regular traffic.
“It has allowed us a perfect ‘win-win’ opportunity to give back to Mess Hall Market by drawing new patrons to their family of eateries,” said Logan Crow, executive director of The Frida Cinema. “For us, it has been as exciting to welcome new audiences to our drive-in, as well as it has been to watch them head down to Mess Hall Market and discover a new favorite spot to grab a bite. We continue to be so grateful that Mess Hall Market reached out to us, and welcomed us to partner with them to create ‘Drive-In, Dine Out.’”
Upcoming January dates for the drive-in experience: Jan. 12: “Scarface,” Jan. 15: “Clueless,” Jan. 19: “Repo Man,” Jan. 22: “Basket Case” and “Brain Damage” Double Feature, Jan. 23: “Twilight,” Jan. 26: “Taxi Driver,” and Jan. 29: “Fist of Fury” and “The Way of the Dragon” Double Feature. The Frida Cinema posts updates on the drive-in movies and dates on its website at thefridacinema.org/drive-in.
The Review
I attended a Drive-In and Dine Out movie in December. Getting in and out is a breeze, the screen is plenty big for good viewing, and I brought a portable FM radio for the sound (you can also use your car radio).
For dinner, I ordered a Truff Burger from VaKa with baby arugula, New York white sharp cheddar cheese, white truffle oil, beer braised caramelized onions, and roasted garlic aioli, plus the twice-fried fries. The burger is perfect for holding in one hand with a napkin in the other. I love truffles, and quickly gobbled up this tasty burger. The fries are among the best I’ve had—being fried twice does make a difference.
I also had a fresh slice of Big Parm pizza. Next time, I plan to order an entire lobster pizza—or maybe the spicy garlic shrimp pizza. Leave it to Chef Gruel to add seafood to his pizza options.
Mess Hall: 1705 Flight Way, Tustin, messhalltustin.com
