Welcome to Movie Club Sandwich!

Now let's all go to the lobby and get ourselves a treat!

Welcome folks to Movie Club Sandwich! My name is Zahra Tangorra, and I am a Brooklyn based chef, writer and big time movie lover. Many of you may know me from my former restaurant, Brucie, or my popup/ catering business, Zaza Lazagna, but what you might not know is that when I’m not in the kitchen, chances are I am watching, reading, listening, talking or thinking about movies.

Long before I ever stepped in a kitchen or knew how to make a fluffy tiramisu, I was plopped in front of the TV at my mothers house—eyes glued to the screen— laughing until tears burst from my face, as the Killer Bunny went on a blood thirsty rampage in Monty Python and The Holy Grail. Growing up in the mid nineties, the weekends meant one thing; movies. Every Sunday my father and I would disappear for hours into the cavernous theater in the Smith Haven Mall for double features and giant tubs of butter soaked popcorn with Reese’s Pieces mixed in. We would come home and watch episodes of his favorite show, Twin Peaks, on VHS, and though I couldn’t understand much of what was going on (I hadn’t realized then that this was kind of the point), I loved it all the same because he loved it, and it established early on that movies were the best part of life, second only to pizza. My home life was very rocky when I was a kid, and movies became my source of escape and comfort, and have remained a sanctuary for me as of this recording.

My mother marched to the beat of her own drum, exposing me to the kinds of things that she was interested in as a hip woman in her early forties, and that included seeing the movies she wanted to see, which I was always thrilled about no matter how inappropriate they were for a fourth grader. We saw everything from Noises Off to Casino on the big screen, and there was nothing I looked forward to more than slipping into a strange and different world for a few hours. I saw Pulp Fiction at the Cineplex Odeon in Huntington Village, on opening night in 1994—and this is not hyperbole— it changed my entire fucking life. Cinema is more powerful than most people are aware of, and that’s okay, we all pay attention to different things. But the ways in which movies can affect people are immeasurable. The same can be said for literature and music, and I have absolutely been shaped by these mediums as well, but movies give us the whole enchilada— the visuals, the story, the music, the style— they are each their own handbook for how to look at the world from endless different perspectives, and as someone who wishes never to stop seeking unique vantage points, I will be forever grateful to film for making that lifelong quest possible.

I also came into professional cooking in a roundabout way via my parents, who had themselves been chefs and the owners of a specialty food shop and catering business called The Lovin’ Oven. They closed up shop shortly after I was born, divorced and both turned their backs on cooking for a long time. How I learned to cook is a study in nature vs nurture, as there were unfortunately not as many lessons on cooking as there were on cinema in those early years, but little by little they revealed their secrets and introduced me to their amazing culinary talents, and their favorite recipes and restaurants as we all grew into adulthood together.

I have started this newsletter not only as a way to talk about two of favorite things in the entire world, but also to use food and film as a means to explore the taboos, humor, irony, bitterness and beauty of human nature. Like movies, some essays featured on here will be meant to be more thought provoking, while others will be zany and fun. No matter the themes or the films discussed, I can assure you that there will always be a lot of intention and effort to make them entertaining, inclusive and accompanied by a carefully paired recipe. Some letters might be about a food-centric film, and others may have a theme you would never think to be attached to a dish you would want to make, but stick with me folks, I will not steer you wrong! I will find the link between Con Air and An Affair To Remember, and give you a chili recipe to compliment them both!

My goal here is to create a real community where we can focus on what we like and enjoy about food and cinema. The world is extra scary right now, and while I do not advocate for putting our heads in the sand, I do think it is more important now than ever to do things that are caring, restorative and fun for ourselves, and for me that means digging deeper into the things that bring me the most joy. My hope is that becomes a place in which we can get loose by tapping into what really feeds us, while discovering new and cool films and recipes that we never heard of before. I want this to be a place where we try new things, and also one where we gush over treasured favorites. Thank you so much for tuning in, and I am so excited to build this whacky and delicious community with you all!

I have found Letterboxed to be the best resource for discovering, sharing and cataloguing films. I invite you to join me there, as I will be making fun recommendation lists to accompany each post. Find me @ZahraRae

If you like this newsletter, please feel free to spread the word, a little, I’ll have what she’s having, moment:)

Big hugs and enjoy the show!!

xoxo,

Zahra