Best Picture Pairings (a.k.a. Oscar Nom Noms)

how to pair this year’s nominated films with appropriate snacks

Dear reader,

I love going to the movies. But more than going to the movies, I love eating at the movies. In middle and high school, I used to fill my sweatshirt with Sour Patch Watermelon, Sour Straws, and the occasional pack of Milk Duds like some noisy kangaroo. In college, I snuck in my beloved Trader Joe’s Vinho Verde in a water bottle. Now, as a fully fledged adult, I exclusively go to movie theaters that serve cocktails. This past year, I’ve reached the exclusive status of “Top Brass” at Alamo Drafthouse — I’m officially a cinephile — but really I’ve just spent a lot of time in the dark guzzling an unhealthy amount of vegan ranch (iykyk).

With the big awards a few weeks out and most of the nominations available to stream, here’s my Binge and Braise (™) Oscars edition: your guide for how to satiate your body and your mind.

Best Picture Nominations & Pairings: in order of my ranked choice ballot

1. The Brutalist (in theaters): While borscht hails from Lazslo Toth’s native Hungary’s neighbor (Ukraine), this

   Betty Williams
   ’s recipe for Beefy Borscht meets the requirements of being 1) Eastern European in heritage, 2) can simmer through the first 100 minutes, and 3) is hearty enough to provide you with the physical and mental fortitude for the second 100 minutes.

2. Anora (Apple, Amazon, $5.99): It has to be a riff on Jake Cohen’s “Russian Nachos” — caviar and potato chips. There is no other answer.

3. I’m Still Here (in theaters, pre-order on Apple, Amazon): This movie is both nourishing and challenging. Feijoada, a rich and cozy black bean stew from Brazil would be the perfect accompaniment to Fernanda Torres’s performance. I love this movie!

4. Dune: Part Two (Max, Netflix): Make your own Dune Popcorn Bucket. (or spend $805)

5. The Substance (Apple, Amazon, $5.99): I cannot, in good conscience, advise eating during this movie. Consider a glass of ice water and a Xanax.

6. Nickel Boys (Apple, Amazon, $19.99): This movie is poetic, troubling, and thought-provoking. I would follow

   Corina Zappia
   ’s tenets of Instant Pot minimalism and make something simple and soothing: corn or mushroom risotto.

7. Conclave (Peacock): The body and blood of Christ, obviously. Red wine, crackers, some bloomy rind cheese, if you must.

8. A Complete Unknown (Feb 25, Apple, Amazon, $19.99): This is an old school movie that calls for old school movie pairings: popcorn, Raisinets (Timmy’s favorite snack (gross)), or Milk Duds (also approved by Timmy (delicious)), and a questionably sugary drink that will give you a stomach ache before you find out if Bob Dylan ever went electric.

9. Wicked (Apple, Amazon, $19.99): in order to celebrate the first installment of this series appropriately, the snacks must be pink, green, and a little bit basic. If you don’t have time to make @ Paris Starn’s pistachio strawberry princess cake, just pick up some Lofthouse cookies.

10. Emilia Pérez (Netflix): I love Zoe Saldaña, but this movie is bad. The Twitter controversy is also bad. Do not watch it.

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For Your Consideration: movies in other categories that you should watch

• A Real Pain (Hulu): This is prime Matzo ball soup content — the dish featured in one of the pivotal scenes in the film. Order it from Katz’s Deli or make it yourself.

• Flow (Apple, Amazon, $5.99) This is a remarkable movie made by a random guy in Latvia’s basement, but the plot has no connection to Latvia, or men, for that matter. It does, however, feature the struggles of animals surviving on a raft (a la Life of Pi sans Pi). Prepare your elevated life raft food: hummus and carrots (if you have time, make

  Yotam Ottolenghi
  ’s version, if not, just go to the store), baba ganoush and pita, and a gimlet (for scurvy).

• The Wild Robot (Peacock): For a family movie, you need family food. Prep “movie night ice cream” from Graham Herterich’s Cook — someone who also loves to pair content with calories:

  

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Other Stuff & Things

• Musing over the latest Bon Appetit scandal about the magazine featuring a “Dinner with Friends” piece (plagiarism of a rather unimaginative title of Wishbone Kitchen’s YouTube series, notably a former employee) and thinking that the real affront is that the menu is boring. Should I do a piece on how to throw a better dinner party for $60?

• Continuing to be shocked that investors valued Olipop at $1.85B. Did they even try it?

• Spotted in wearable food: NYT Cooking launched a selection of cute yet obscure food merch. My favorites include this “chickpea anxiety” tote to serve as a constant reminder that there’s no good way to document what’s in your pantry, so you always end up looking like a prepper, and this “Baby Food Critic Bib” for encouraging our children to be both picky and underpaid.

  

  NYT Cooking tote (l) and bib (r)

• Strangely delighted by this gyoza bag charm but worried about 1) the resale value not being anywhere near the Hermes Pegase and 2) when advertisers stop using Kanye’s music in ads.

May the best film win,

Sophia