The Pandorica opened…

…in Beacon, some time ago.

The Pandorica is the name of a cafe in the artsy town of Beacon, NY, not far from where I grew up and am currently based while on a vacation in America. It’s a Doctor Who-themed establishment, which is probably pretty obvious for any fans of the show, though I witnessed several non-fans wandering in just because they were looking for a place to eat.

I went there with two of my daughters, both big Doctor Who fans. It’s a smallish place, but fairly decked-out in Doctor Who memorabilia. It wasn’t crowded when we entered, so it was easy to find a place to sit. A very courteous, attentive and enthusiastic waiter looked after us, ready to answer questions about the show or the various bits of art or props that adorned the walls (though that wasn’t necessary in our case).

The food was nice but took a long time to came. That was okay, though, since they were actually playing episodes of the show on a TV.

So while we waited (and then while we ate), we watched the end of Planet of the Ood and stayed all the way through The Sontaran Stratagem / The Poison Sky and the start of The Doctor’s Daughter. I like the Sontaran two-parter better than most, it seems, so this was good fun.

Of course we also had a look at the various bits and pieces that were around the room. The owner (or someone from the establishment) had obviously been to a bunch of conventions and also had a number of autographed pictures of some of the stars.

There was also local art depicting some familiar faces from the show…

A bunch of replica props sitting in the front window…

A side hallway to the restrooms that had some very particular design…

And a large feature painting based on the simulated Vincent van Gogh images from Season Five.

Plus a few other random bits and pieces scattered about.

The menu had a number of items that were themed after the show, like “Roasted Leadworth Duck” or “Gallifreyed Potato Pancakes” or “Bill Potts’ Cheezy Chips.” All three of us ended up having the “Big Bang Burger,” which were quite nice and definitely filled us up, although not so much that we didn’t also have deserts. One of these that my kids’ ordered was actually “Fish Fingers and Custard,” (a bizarre dish that the newly regenerated 11th Doctor enjoyed) but the fish fingers were actually battered dipped French toast, so it wasn’t really the full-blown experience. (There is also an appetizer version of the same that might have been more literal, I’m not sure.)

My youngest daughter also had a 12th Doctor-themed pot of tea (I can’t remember what it actually was) that came in this cute little pot.

When it was all over, we had only positive comments to put into their little guest book, which resembled River Song’s journal, even though it would have been a bit frustrating if we were in a rush.