In the movie “Cloverfield,” New Yorkers trying to escape the destruction of their city ponder a number of exit strategies: To leave, do they run on the streets — or under them? A number of the young, urban professionals depicted in this film choose the latter plan. In reality, New York foodies have good reason to head underground: The city is home to many enticing basement-level eateries. Dinner and a Movie takes a look at one such restaurant and dares to discover “Cloverfield.”

DINNER

At 211 E. 43rd St., you’ll find a run-of-the-mill Midtown office building, currently shrouded in scaffolding. But if you trek through the lobby, and down a narrow staircase, you’ll find Sakagura. The hunt for the eatery pays off immediately: Sakagura is a sake utopia, offering a breathtaking number of sake varieties, including junmai, ginjo, daiginjo, and options from all corners of Japan. Sommelier Chizuko Niikawa (a female sake sommelier, at that) is from Akita Prefecture in Japan, a region that is well represented on the drinks list: One Akita junmai sake, Ama No To, is full of body, and goes well with the small dishes that Sakagura excels at; those dishes include stewed beef short ribs in a rich broth, and thin and crispy shrimp rolls, which are complemented with fried herbs. The owners of Sakagura also own the popular (and underground) Decibel sake bar in the East Village. (Sakagura, 211 E. 43rd St., no. B1, between Second and Third avenues, 212-953-7253; Decibel, 240 E. 9th St., between Second and Third avenues, 212-979-2733)

MOVIE

Many movie lovers were in the dark as to the story behind this film, whose marketing campaign consisted of vague billboards with cryptic messages that cropped up around the city. It turns out that “Cloverfield” is just a good, old-fashioned monster movie, told not from the perspective of the monster, but through the lens of a handheld camera wielded by Hud (T.J. Miller), a party-going Manhattan resident who tries, with his friends, to escape the path of the monster’s destruction. Before the monster makes its moves, Hud is celebrating at a good-bye party for his best friend, Rob (Michael Stahl-David), who has an on-and-off relationship with Beth (Odette Yustman). The love story between Rob and Beth becomes a crux of the film as they try to escape the monster, which smacks the head off the Statue of Liberty and tramples on the Empire State Building during its city tour. At one point, the escapees head to the subway tunnels — but in the film, it’s only a matter of time before the monster and its offspring discover the underbelly of the city on their own. (Friday, 7:50 p.m., AMC Loews Kips Bay Theater, 220 Second Ave., between 30th and 31st streets, 212-447-0638, $11)

To submit an event for consideration for the Calendar, please wire the particulars to calendar@nysun.com, placing the date of the event in the subject line.