Eating Everything at AMC

I generally don’t like to eat when watching a movie. Growing up I’d have popcorn, candy was a luxury, but it would never last throughout the movie. When I focus on something I tend to give it my undivided attention, including food. Which made me very self-conscious when eating around other people to the point where I’d avoid eating if I was not alone. That mindset slipped into my theater experience and eventually, I started not buying concessions. If I have food it’s usually gone by the time the trailers are done, otherwise, I’d be distracted from watching the movie.

However, something changed in me when I left my job in August. I was in the mood to try something new, and having not explored the menu at an AMC theater had really intrigued me. So, over two months I have tried (almost) everything on their menu to satisfy my curiosity. Now, for context, I couldn’t have everything. At the beginning of the pandemic, I gave up meat and fish. So naturally I avoided the hot dogs. I did try to taste a piece of everything I could have and that is what this list is made up of. So, starting with the least impressive food…

Jalepeno Cheese Stuffed Pretzel Knots

No, that is not a typo. I’m honestly not sure if they misspelled jalapeño or if this recipe is spelled that way to specifically cater to AMC. Regardless, their pretzel knots stuffed with spicy cheese were quite a disappointment. Surprisingly, they only came with 4 knots. They’re decently sized and the pretzel is good, however, each knot is not the same. Some will be bursting with cheese while others barely have any at all. The spice is hardly noticeable, and with a price approaching $9 it’s not worth a mixed bag of a handful of inconsistent snackage.

Stone-Fire Flatbread Pizza

This isn’t bad. AMC was smart to have a different type of pizza compared to their big brother rival, Regal Cinemas. The pizza is on the small side, but it can still be a decent snack. It’s not too much that you’d feel its weight sitting in the pit of your stomach as you watch a movie. My biggest knock against it is the fact that my local AMC is located in a mall, and a few feet away from it is the food court where they have pizza by the slice, of which their single slice is larger than this and far cheaper than what AMC offers. Decent, but not in the ballpark of competition when a real pizza option is mere feet away.

Pretzel Bites

AMC does not f— around when it comes to pretzels. Their pretzel bites come as salted with cheese, unsalted with cheese, garlic parmesan with cheese, cinnamon sugar with icing, or everything bagel with cheese. Since I’ve had regular pretzel bites before I wanted to do something different. My experience with these is with the cinnamon sugar with icing pretzel bites. Wild. AMC gives you a mountain of bites that are coated with cinnamon. They’re really good hot and the added icing dip made the experience surreal. The bites are relatively small so you don’t get a fluffy texture, and if you’re able to eat it all it does feel like your stomach is bulging. That said, I am curious to try the everything bagel and garlic parmesan flavors at a later date.

Bavarian Legend Pretzel

I went to see the remake of The Little Mermaid this year with my grandmother. We arrived a bit early so I decided it was a good time to try their pretzels. I ordered 2 because my grandmother wanted one as well, and a moment later an employee came out to tell me that they only had 1 left. And after a quick refund, I was so glad they only had 1 left because when the monstrosity they call a pretzel came out I couldn’t believe my eyes. No wonder it’s priced at $17!!

According to the box the pretzel that AMC has is 1.5 lb of weight. Between my grandmother and I, we barely were able to finish it. The pretzel was very good, and the fluff was heavenly, but man I could not imagine eating one by myself. I will never forget the experience of eating that thicc daddy, and one day I’m sure to order it again, but certainly, this is a once-in-a-blue-moon snack for me.

Impossible Nuggets

As I said at the top, I have stopped eating meat in recent years. I’ve tried many substitutes you’d find in the plant-based section of the grocery store, so when these little nuggets popped up as an option I was very curious how they’d perform compared to what I could find. And you know what? They’re really good. Far better than the nugget substitutes I eat at home. They taste really close to their meat counterpart, and I received more nuggets than I expected. I would happily get these once in a while.

Mozzarella Sticks

There are so many mediocre mozzarella sticks out in the world that when you find a good one you want to be loyal to it. Now, are these as good as Regal’s? No. For a big corporate chain, it’s actually ungodly how good Regal’s cheese sticks are, but AMC isn’t far behind. Their mozzarella sticks are solid and the price isn’t overcompensated like their pretzel knots. The last time I had them I’m pretty sure I was shorted a couple of sticks, which if that’s the only complaint I have then they’re doing fairly well. I believe these are the best movie theater snacks. Easy to eat, mostly quiet, and they’re quick.

Curly Fries

Mozzarella sticks may be the best theater snack, but AMC’s curly fries are the best bang for your buck you’ll find. Like they’re pretzel bites, AMC overstuffs the box with these crunchy delights. They’ll easily last you half the movie and if you’re looking for a meal substitute, because the movie is taking up part of your day, this is it. Just be careful you don’t drip sauce on your shirt. I was so enraptured by these fries last I got them that I dripped ketchup three times onto my shirt in the same exact place. I was so embarrassed. The price of these bad boys is under $7 and for the amount you’re getting it genuinely feels like a steal compared to everything else on AMC’s menu.

Thank you for reading Film Assist. If this post made your mouth water feel free to share it.

Now I’d like to ask a question: What are your favorite theater snacks that are not candy or popcorn?