A Comparison of the DMV Alamo Drafthouse Locations
Image Courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter
By Anthony Curioso
The Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas is a nationwide movie theater chain established in 1997. According to its website, its motto is “good food, good beer, and good film, all at the same place.” Alamo Drafthouse prides itself on two unique principles: waitstaff bringing food and drinks to each individual seat during your movie and an iron-clad ban on talking and cell phone use (both of which will get you kicked out of the theater and asked not to return after a warning) once the movie officially starts.
Alamo Drafthouse has several locations in the mainland United States. Two of these are near the DC Metro subway system. There is also an Alamo Drafthouse location that recently opened in my hometown, where my parents thoroughly enjoyed their experience and thus recommended that I visit the DC area locations. The DC Metro-accessible Alamo Drafthouse locations are Bryant Street, a six-minute walk from the Rhode Island Avenue station on the Red Line, and Crystal City, a six-minute walk from the station with the same name on the Blue and Yellow Lines.
The Bryant Street location has an enjoyable ambiance, with lobby lighting and posters that get customers in the right mood to watch a movie and give people ideas for movies they may want to watch next. The staff were very friendly, doing everything they could to make for an excellent experience for my first time at any Alamo Drafthouse location. Unfortunately, there is a massively steep hill to either approach or leave the Bryant Street location, no matter which direction you wish to approach or leave from. The presence of these hills forces me, as a wheelchair user, to either stand, walk to the rear of my wheelchair, and push the wheelchair up the hill from behind (which I did when going there) or ask someone, either a friend or a random passerby, to help me get up the hill (which I did when leaving after my movie finished.)
The Crystal City Alamo Drafthouse requires significantly longer Metro travel from the CUA campus than the Bryant Street location. This commute requires switching from the Red Line to the Yellow Line (at Gallery Place) or the Blue Line (at Metro Center) and then taking those lines to Crystal City, whereas the trip to Bryant Street does not require switching lines. However, I was also very impressed with the ambiance at the Crystal City location, and the staff were equally as friendly and dedicated to ensuring customers had a great experience. On top of this, although the trip between the Crystal City Metro station and the nearby Alamo Drafthouse location also requires traversing a hill, the hill in question in Crystal City is far less strenuous than the hills leading to and from the Bryant Street location, making it much easier for wheelchair users such as myself to get to the Crystal City location.
Both locations have the same menu items for food and beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic.) I ordered the Royale Burger with Cheese and (since I have been of legal age to consume adult beverages for more than six months now) the Whiskey Banana Split Boozy (spiked) Milkshake at the Bryant Street location. The burger also came with fries, and everything I ordered (burger, fries, and shake) was delicious.
At the Crystal City location, I ordered the Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich (which comes with fries and a pickle spear), “bottomless popcorn” with butter, and the same Boozy (spiked) Milkshake as I had at the Bryant Street location. I was again impressed by how delicious my meal was. However, I severely underestimated how massive the initial portion of popcorn would be when I ordered the “bottomless popcorn.” I thus could only manage to eat about one-third of the popcorn bowl on top of my other food before I felt too full to continue.
Overall, my Alamo Drafthouse experiences were a great way to spend my evenings through delicious dinners and great movies. In fact, I would rather go to Alamo Drafthouse than any other movie theater chain. However, because the trip to and from the Crystal City location requires far fewer hills to navigate, I would much rather see movies at the Crystal City location if given the choice between the DMV Alamo Drafthouse locations.
