Hamid Hashemi calls Tanzy an artisanal Italian restaurant. (Taimy Alvarez, Sun Sentinel )
His name may not register with anyone outside of the theater business. But Hamid Hashemi revolutionized the way we eat at the movies when he introduced white-tablecloth dining to the Palace 20 in Boca Raton in 2000.
Fast-forward to May 14, when Hashemi will open the 250-seat Tanzy — which he calls an artisanal Italian restaurant — next to his new iPic Theaters Boca Raton in Mizner Park.
"It you look at the moviegoing experience, it's a commodity experience," says Hashemi, president and CEO of iPic Entertainment. "You wait in a line. You buy a ticket. You're basically rushed into the theater and out of the theater. This is about taking a traditional experience and turning it around."
Unlike other movie-theater restaurants, Tanzy has its own entrance and offers an exclusive menu separate from the rest of the facility.
Angelo Morinelli, who operated Boca's Cucina di Angelo for seven years, is executive chef at Tanzy, where he will introduce South Floridians to the Parma Bar. It's an Italian small-plates sharing menu that includes ricotta-stuffed squash blossoms ($11) and a cheese-and-salumi platter with lavender-grilled leeks ($29). Tagliatelle Bolognese ($21), pan-seared branzino ($27) and a bone-in veal chop ($32) are among the conventional menu entrees.
Also on board is mixologist Adam Seger, who will use grown-on-the-premises fresh herbs in all his muddles and mixes. Seger created Moet's Red Carpet Glamour cocktail ($14) for this year's Governors Ball, the afterparty of the Academy Awards. Called a "spirits guru" by Food and Wine magazine, Seger is also working on a cocktail cookbook.
Tanzy's interiors, designed by Hollywood's Karen Hanlon Design, were inspired by the villas that Hashemi has admired on trips toItaly'sAmalfi Coast.
"You can see how people added to these villas over time," he says. "There might be wooden floors in one area, a trellis in another area. These properties have been there for generations."
Likewise, a trip to Tanzy means experiencing different visual environments. The cocoon lounge is made from tree branches imported from Malaysia. Unpolished marble floors in the bar were meant to replicate the weathered patios of Italian hillside estates. Doors in the bar open accordion-style to reveal a landscaped patio on Federal Highway complete with her herb garden.
Hashemi loves details. So the columns in one area of the restaurant are made from walnuts embedded in resin. Chandeliers are meant to resemble bird cages. The women's restrooms have coconut-shell walls and sinks fashioned from boulders.
Hashemi won't say how much money was spent redoing the space.
"I don't want to wow them with how much money I spent," he says. "I want to wow them with the food we put on the table."
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