As comedian Dane Cook pointed out in his stand-up comedy, “who doesn’t love cinematic adventures?” But a lot of the time, the mainstream movies aren’t necessarily what I’m looking for. Sometimes, my inner cinemaphile would like to catch a much-buzzed-about indie flick.

There also are times when I would like to eat something in a movie theater besides popcorn and drink something a little “heavier” than soft drinks. This has led me to sneaking in hamburgers, calzones and a few well-shaken cans of Natural Light due to stuffing them into cargo pants pockets (it was college and I was broke, so have mercy on me).

There are theaters several miles away that can fulfill both cravings indie and culinary. But why not have places like these in St. Joe?

First, let’s address the independent film fix. I understand that with a somewhat rabid indie fixation I am in the minority of most filmgoers. But there are some people like me who are forced to drive to Kansas City to catch an indie release. Not that St. Joseph theaters are indie-less. Smaller films have found their way to Hollywood 10 after winning Academy Awards. “Juno” had a decent shelf life there after it got a wider release before Oscar season, but that film is the rare exception to a family-driven market like St. Joseph, which wants to see “Indy” rather than indie.

“I think it really takes a culture that is looking for diversity in that kind of art form and a culture that is not afraid to take a risk on something,” says Deny Staggs, assistant professor of acting/directing for theater and video at Missouri Western State University, who also helps organize the university’s Griffon International Film Festival. “In the demographic of this community, that is a risky proposition.”

OK, so I may still have to drive down to KC to see an independent film. Not a huge deal. But what about incorporating dinner and a movie, since this is what plenty of people already do at home when they pick up a movie on DVD? The Hangar Cinema in Maryville, Mo., has one screen in its facility solely dedicated to serving dinner with a flick. John Ensminger, manager at The Hangar, says the dinner theater showing regularly sells out on the weekends, and this is in a town with a population roughly 1/7 the size of St. Joe.

Look, I am not complaining about the theaters we have. Everybody in St. Joe should be lucky that we have even one place to see a movie, let alone three. But which of those three could step up to fulfill the needs of food and indie lovers? The big corporate Hollywood 10 is most definitely not going to take that risk in St. Joe. The Trail Theater downtown probably couldn’t do it either. But, there is hope in the Plaza 8.

The newly re-opened second-run movie theater is now managed by Screenland out of Kansas City. Screenland’s three facilities down south offer a full row of leather recliners to first-comers, a full-service bar, extensive food menu and shows mainstream, indie and classic movies.

David Allison, manager of Plaza 8, has proposed ideas like eventually screening cult favorites like “Rocky Horror Picture Show,” classics like “Gone With the Wind” and “Casablanca” and indie releases in addition to their second-run movies. Butch Rigby, Screenland owner, has a vision of hopefully turning the Plaza 8 into theaters similar to the Screenland’s in KC, with food menus and independent movies to accompany the theater’s low concession and ticket prices.

I think St. Joseph should definitely keep the theaters that show those mainstream releases everybody wants to see while having at least one option for the few movie fans who like cutting-edge cinema while satisfying the many fans who love food and film together. Until then, I may have to resort to bootlegging a burger into “Hancock.”