World Cup Watching and Eats

Hi Folks, in the past during world cups I've enjoyed eating during games in spots frequented by a community playing in one of the games. I thought I'd seek out help/recommendations on the issue of eating while watching the world cup and if folks have good spots to do so.

Here are important considerations (not necessarily in order of importance)

1. Tasty Food
2. Lively atmosphere (but since I'm trying to include my 8 year old in this iteration of "the world's greatest spectacle" TM it'd be great if it wasn's solely a bar
3. Number/Size of TV's and line of sight to them

The perfect spot would be nice but I'm not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good.

Specifically I'm looking at these games:

Colombia - Greece (Saturday, noon) - looking for a Colombian joint - brasa roja?

England - Italy (Saturday, 5) -there's got to be a go to italian joint here, just not sure which one

Argentina - Bosnia (Sunday, 5) soccer wise, probably likely to be a fun game - both these teams noted for goals and weak defense - I think an Argentinean place is more likely to be welcoming to outsiders, but which one?

Russia - Korea (Tuesday, 5) - I was thinking Dancen but don't remember the TV situation


Also if folks have recommendations for other communities (mexican, brazilian, honduran, etc) I'd love to hear them

oh, by the way - one of the coolest things about the world cup?

mind-controlled robots helping folks in wheelchairs

My favorite tactic is to use a guide like the following and then cross-reference it against the GNR map.
http://chicago.eater.com/archives/2014/ ... ld-cup.php
I grab a bite at a GNR before the game and then settle in at a pub with the first of several beers.

Another list - http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/ ... 2032.story

I'd have to imagine that Forno Rosso would have the World Cup on. Call to confirm. Definitely family friendly.

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=38569

Forno Rosso Pizzeria Napoletana
3719 N Harlem Ave
Chicago, IL
(773) 295-5697

Grand Tour bills itself as a neighborhood futbol and rugby bar.

They also have a handy schedule of the the World Cup games they will be showing here: https://www.google.com/calendar/embed?s ... ca/Chicago

The food is well-executed, though the nebulous "international" concept means the menu is all over the place, and it's a tad pricey for the neighborhood. But the screens are big, the seats are comfy, and it's more of a restaurant than a bar, so the atmosphere is family friendly. Probably worth checking out.

Argentina - Bosnia (Sunday, 5) soccer wise, probably likely to be a fun game - both these teams noted for goals and weak defense - I think an Argentinean place is more likely to be welcoming to outsiders, but which one?

I'd try Folklore (Argentinian Steakhouse), 2100 W Division in Chicago. They have tons of World Cup signage on the patio outside. I live across the street from both SmallBar (a big soccer viewing spot, pro-USA) and Folklore and there was a lot of cheering during yesterday's Brazil-Croatia game (for both sides), but I would guess they are particularly partial to the Argentinian team.

Small Bar in Wicker Park is a huge European soccer bar. It's also a restaurant, but I don't know their policy on kids. I have seen babies in there, but sometimes babies are welcome and school-aged kids aren't, so I'm not sure if that would work for you.

Do not go to Smallbar for the US game with a kid. Last World Cup it was very very very very insane.

Not country-specific, but Old Town Social has good food and drink, I take my kids (8, 6, 3, all boys -- they love the "to the floor" urinals) there fairly regularly, and they have a ton of TVs and hype their World Cup coverage.

Incidentally, this thread/inquiry seems to come up every four years, so some good recs here and here.

Its only like 13,000 miles to drive to Northern Brazil.

I stopped in for a burger at the Redhot Ranch at Ashland and Barry around 3 on Thursday. The had both TVs tuned to World Cup opening ceremonies and I watched JLo perform along with a landscaping crew and some ComEd guys. Gentleman behind the counter said they'd have at least one TV tuned in for matches.

mbh wrote:I watched JLo perform along with a landscaping crew and some ComEd guys.

JLo performed with a landscaping crew and ComEd guys??

Ahhhh......for the want of a comma.

Today Artist's Cafe had on Greece vs Colombia (with staff in appropriate game attire rooting for the two sides). They have the bracket poster up, so my guess is that they might continue to show games even if they aren't personally invested in the countries playing.

Artists Cafe
412 S Michigan Ave
http://www.artists-cafe.com/

Went to Grand Tour yesterday to stare at Argentina with a friend who's a bit of a footie fetishist. It wasn't very crowded, but those who were there were enthusiastic. The sightlines and TVs are excellent. The nibbles pretty good. And I loved the beers I had: To Øl, Mikkeller, and Evil Twin's Yin and Yang (try a black and tan). Also drank a nice selection of Glenmorangies in anticipation of Bloomsday. Skål/Sláinte to Grand Tour.

This place is in a suburb just outside of Chicago.. in Franklin Park by OHare ..across the street from the Franklin Park Metra stop.

It is a popular place to watch all the sporting events...it doesn't get too crowded.

It is Hopscotch Beer and Whiskey in Franklin Park. They have a ton of parking and is sort of a hideaway.

The food is good too.

https://www.facebook.com/HopScotchBar

thanks for the suggestions - did make it to pampas in elmwood park for Argentina v. Bosnia (interestingly they have uruguayan chivito on the menu, but were out of it) and Gyros on the spit for greece v japan. Neither was quite the community cheering and watching sort of locale but both had games on and folks rooting on their team and pretty good food.

Thanks for the update but that's a bummer. I was really hoping some good suggestions would come in that had both good food and a large group of supporters for one of the countries playing.

Cafe Europa for Russia games?

v. Belgium 13:00 22nd
v. Algeria 17:00 26th

The GP wrote:I'd have to imagine that Forno Rosso would have the World Cup on. Call to confirm. Definitely family friendly.

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=38569

Forno Rosso Pizzeria Napoletana
3719 N Harlem Ave
Chicago, IL
(773) 295-5697

Confirmed. While I was there, they were showing Honduras v Ecuador.

Slightly different take on this question:

I am looking to take a larger group (10) to lunch on Thursday and be able to view the US-Germany match with a good TV set-up. It would be great to go to a place with better than typical bar fare, but in brain-storming I am coming up pretty empty. We are in the Loop but would travel to S. Loop, W. Loop or River North, or even, I think, Taylor or Chinatown/Pilsen. It occurred to me that there might be a good place in Greektown, but I can't visualize any place in particular where a large table would have a good view of bar TVs or that might have a special occasion drop-down screen.

So far I have State/Lake in mind, which is not very exciting.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

If you appreciate an enlightened world view, there are probably better choices than Waffle House . . .

Waffle House calls for Belgian waffle boycott in support of U.S. soccer

“We don't believe in Belgium (sic) waffles,” the company’s official Twitter feed said.

The Georgia-based company sells “American waffles,” spokesman Pat Warner said. American waffles are round, while Belgian waffles are square, he said, and American waffles also have smaller and shallower indentations, which allows for better syrup distribution.

*Groan*

=R=

Contemplating checking out Kaiser Tiger for the game today - anybody been?

Went last week for the USA-Germany game with my brother. Beer list was good and fairly priced. The food, on the other hand, was tasty but pretty expensive given portions. An Irish currywurst appetizer was a single skinny link with some curry and fried onions that disappeared in three bites. Flavors were great; price was $9. I'd have had thrice the food at PQM for nearly that same price. Bacon grenades were delightful overkill and a better calories-per-dollar value.

We also got fries, which were fine. A large order was quite a bit, so if you need to fill up, this seems the way to go.

We also did a bacon and a sausage--again, tasty, but not a good value. Bacon was two to three half-slices of four different kinds, while sausage was four different kinds of about a third of a link each. Two pieces of bread, a few pickles, and a dab of mustard rounded out each. I felt disappointed.

Looking around, the thing to order is likely an individual sausage, as they seemed nicely dressed and a good size, plus some fries. And plenty of beer to help you swallow the bill.

In case anyone else was like me and didn't know about Kaiser Taiger:

1415 W Randolph St
Chicago, IL
(312) 243-3100
http://kaisertiger.com/sausage/