I consider myself an expert on a handful of things but perhaps most literally on popcorn. Like most, my experience with the so-called junk food has been largely in accompaniment with a movie in the theater. Sometimes the movie is just the treat and the large bag of freshly popped and buttered kernels are the main attraction. I see enough films in theaters to be able to affirmatively say that when everything goes dim and you sink into your seat to stare at the screen, you don’t necessarily know what’s going to happen next. The movie could be great or awful, mundane or transcendent, but no matter how entertaining or otherwise your viewing may be, it is undoubtedly enhanced every time by a big bag of popcorn.

Now, being a connoisseur, I’ve experienced a variety of popcorn: buttered, salted, artificial-butter flavoring, cheddar, caramel, chocolate, caramel/chocolate, peanut butter . . . and the list goes on and on. It’s a sweet deal that there is so diverse a mix for such savory bites. You will find my personal favorite at Lincoln Center’s Elinor Bunin Monroe Film Center — a house-made Parmesan truffle popcorn. Hand-grated Parmigiano-Reggiano generously tossed with fresh-popped corn and truffle oil is a sensory overload that can beguile even the tamest of documentaries or lamest of foreign art-house films.

In short, regardless of your taste in directors or genres, you will never be let down by a healthy helping of popcorn. It’s a handful of fun.

— David Coker, advertising manager