City: Los Angeles, CA
Foodie: Jackie, @ThatSportsBabe
Venue: Dodger Stadium, Staples Center
Team: Los Angeles Dodgers (MLB), Los Angeles Lakers (NBA), Los Angeles Clippers (NBA)
Address: 1000 Elysian Park Ave., Los Angeles, California 90012; 1111 S. Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, California 90015
Jackie's Taste
Philippe The Original
1001 N. Alameda St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 628-3781
http://www.philippes.com/
Philippe’s, an institution in downtown Los Angeles, is known not only for its french dip au jus sandwiches but the atomic hot mustard accessory that is "eat at your own risk."
Located on the backside of downtown in a building that was originally a machine shop on the bottom and an Inn on top, it is the go-to place before Dodger, Laker and Clipper games. They serve beer and wine at a price worth going out of your way for to get your grub and chug on before you tackle the expensive concession stands at game-time.
Opened in 1927 (but re-opened in 1951 at this location), Philippe’s has sawdust on the floor and roughly 8 lines across a deli counter. The wait to order your yummies is always a good 10 minutes minimum but worth every second. While they do serve breakfast (all day!) stews, chili and various soups, they are known for their signature sandwiches. You can choose between beef or ham (which they begin serving at 6am) as well as pork, lamb, tuna and turkey. There is also the option of going single dip, double dip or “wet” with the delicious au jus for the accompanying French roll as well as adding American, swiss or bleu cheese. (I recommend plain, no cheese) An array of side dishes are available too for a nominal fee, my favorites being the macaroni salad, potato salad and giant pickles. Word to the wise: Don’t even think of asking them for the "au jus on the side" or ketchup. You WILL be given a very ugly look
Recently featured on the show Man Vs. Food on the Travel Channel, host Adam Richman demonstrated how the fiery mustard was made. Needless to say SARS masks were involved and there were tears and eventual exodus to the parking lot because he “couldn’t take the heat in the kitchen.”. Created in a vat containing 2 gallons of 100 grain white vinegar, 10 gallons of white vinegar, 35 pounds of mustard flour and some paprika and salt, that is only a portion of what they manufacture daily. It is said that they go through 80 gallons of it PER WEEK. The equivalent of cocaine in a paste form, it will nearly put a hole in your nostril from the afterburn thru your sinuses but I guarantee you will not leave hungry or congested from Phillippe’s after a hearty sandwich smothered in signature mustard.
With the emergence of downtown’s new residential communities popping up, the influx of the all-nighter and hungover crowd has boomed making the lines severe morning, noon and night.. Bring your appetite and your patience to this beloved establishment but leave your credit card at home. CASH ONLY.
City: Dallas, Texas
Foodie: Mike Fisher, DallasBasketball.com
Venue: American Airlines Center
Address: 2500 Victory Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75201
Teams: Dallas Mavs (NBA), Dallas Stars (NHL)
Fish's Taste
Dallas is not LA and Dallas is not New York and Dallas is embarrassed by that fact. We fancy ourselves that sort of "entertainment destination," though, and in order to delude ourselves we elevate our sports personalities to movie-star strata. Roger Staubach is our Clint Eastwood. Dirk Nowitzki is our Elvis. Emmitt Smith is our Samuel L. Jackson. Mark Cuban is our George Clooney. Nolan Ryan is our John Wayne. Terrell Owens is our Andy Dick. Jessica Simpson and Angie Harmon get so much gossip/society-page burn around here, you’d think they were Marilyn Monroe and Sophia Loren. Skip Bayless is our Anthony "Psycho" Perkins, or maybe our Nora Desmond, or maybe our Rosie O’Donnell, I don’t know.
Mangia, mi bella!So we worship these sporty sorts. And we eat and drink. What else do we have to do here? God screwed us out of mountains and oceans, leaving us to build billion-dollar monuments to our team owners. (Bow to Jerry.) But the highways meet here, so the food and the booze can be hauled in. As a result, it is said that Dallas has per-capita the most eateries of any city in the United States. We invented the Margarita and the Corny Dog (we also invented the sickness resulting from mixing the two), we re-invented Mexican food (Tex-Mex!) and barbecue, and if we leave any scraps on the table, we brush them to the floor where a waiting Nate Newton appreciatively gobbles them up.
I’m buyin’. You leave the tip:
AMERICAN AIRLINES CENTER Two key points about the grub at the home arena of the Mavs and Stars. One, Mavs owner Mark Cuban long ago made a point to be personally responsible for making sure the nachos has enough cheese. Two, at least one Mavs player has developed a superstitious habit of eating an arena hot dog before every tipoff.
Gerald Green has a famous food association with the cupcake; he’s a past winner of the NBA Slam-Dunk Contest for having blown out the candle on a dessert while slamming one home. But he also slams hot dogs. 82 of them a year. He says one before each game. And if an American Airlines Center hot dog is good enough for a professional athlete – and is personally supervised by a billionaire – it should be good enough for you.
CAMPISI’S EGYPTIAN RESTAURANT There’s a lot of history here. Some Italian stuff. (I don’t know where the “Egyptian’’ comes from.) Some sexy stuff. One of the kids, Amber Campisi, is a recent Playmate of the Month. Nice girl, too. More curves that a NASCAR race at the Texas Motor Speedway.
Thin-crust pizza. Phenomenal. David Campisi is the muscle here. But Amber might be around here somewhere.
CLUB DRAGONFLY at HOTEL ZAZA This is as close as we get to a Beverly Hills Hotel-type scene. The hotel itself is unique and boutique, with expensive “theme’’ rooms. Downstairs is a beautifully-appointed bar, lush with curtains and candles.
And it’s beautifully–appointed with beautiful people, too. If you’re into that sort of thing.
Outside is where it gets a little rowdy; the pool is open most of the year, except when it gets chilly, when they put a plexiglass floor over the pool and erect a tent (with chandeliers) and the party goes on.
Jock regulars include NBA folks like Spud Webb and Erick Dampier, and ex-NFL standouts like Winfred Tubbs and Ray Crockett and Fox broadcaster Joe Buck. And when real-live stars are in town to perform, they often stay here … and then roam down by the pool, behind velvet ropes. Hey, there’s Christina Aguilera with her unnaturally large boobs!
You can look, but don’t touch. … unless you’ve got enough game to buy Christina Aguilera a very expensive drink.
Oh, and say hi to Andrew the bartender. If you want something fancy, do the calamari, specially imported. Me? I order the sliders. They’re affordable, and not as dainty as the rest of the place.
MO & HULLY’S Mike Modano took me into his home some years ago when I got a divorce. Brett Hull took Sean Avery onto his team some months ago with no knowledge of his views on “sloppy seconds.’’
A perfect team to start a new restaurant, right?
They’ll get guidance from hockey friend Bob Sambol of the legendary Bob's Steak & Chop House and from Eddie Cervantes, who will help run the place after years of overseeing Primo’s, an affordable see-and-be-seen Mexican food hangout on McKinney Avenue.
Modano tells me the goal for the soon-to-open joint is “an upscale sports bar with a special room in back for the guys to just hangout.’’ By “guys,’’ I assume he means “Stars teammates from past and present.’’ But go ahead on back there, assuming you’re not scared of getting crosschecked by Craig Ludwig.
MILO BUTTERFINGERS This is where your drunk grandpa can sit at the bar and ogle SMU co-eds, where Oliver Stone filmed part of “Born On The Fourth Of July,’’ where cheap pitchers and patty melts rule, and where the charming bartender who used to play minor-league hockey before falling due to a bout with mononucleosis is nicknamed “Mono.’’
LEE HARVEY’S You’ll go for the controversial name. You’ll stay for the Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, the burgers and the atmosphere – which includes dog owners bringing their pets to hang around in the yard. A dump. A delightful old-fashioned dump.
THE OLD MONK Want something more affordable, more earthy, a little more "alternative?" Let’s go to "the Monk," a hangout for beer connoisseurs, budget-minded consumers and journalist types. (And in this day and age, journalism types – who have always been beer connoisseurs – are now very much budget-minded consumers.) The guys and girls of D Magazine (a glossy chronicler of the city) hang out at the Monk with such frequency that they have their own designated table at which they seem to conduct nightly “staff meetings.’’
And they will quite possibly invite you on over.
SAL’S PIZZA It’s just Sal. And Pizza. Big, greasy, fold-it-over-like-in-New York pizza.
And Sal. I did see former Cowboys receiver Kevin Williams in here once. But mostly, you get Sal.
SONNY BRYAN’S “Since 1910.’’ Barbecue. There are other locations now, but the original is on Inwood, and here’s the deal: Get the affordable dinner plate, with a big pile of brisket and a big pile of sausage. Throw some Texas-sized onion rings on there. Find yourself a Corona bottle full of BBQ sauce and then squeeze yourself into your seat – which is an old-timey schoolkid’s desk. It’s all pretty comical, people from all walks of life trying not to spill on themselves while squatting in a chair built for a third-grader.
VICTOR TANGO Tristan Simon is a brilliant restauranteur who has created a kingdom of bars, clubs and restaurants in the Knox-Henderson neighborhood. Some of it’s a little pricey, but if you want to watch as a visiting Tracy McGrady try to picks up chicks – and struggle on the night a few years ago when I watched him -- it’s worth the price of admission.
ADAIRS SALOON Beer in cans, jalepenos on the burgers and country music on the jukebox. The wooden walls are covered with years and years of customers’ drunken scribbles. Cowboy hats are optional, but you should definitely bring a Sharpie.
NICK & SAM’S Bill Parcells loved this place, and little wonder: This is old-fashioned, men’s-clubby, dark-wood-and-leather East Coast class. The boss is Joe Palladino, who is always impeccably dressed and impeccably mannered and if you have a wallet-full and want to big-time it at Nick & Sam’s, I’d advise you to mind your dress and your manners, too. And when you order that big-ass steak, make sure they bring the mac-and-cheese. Everybody orders the mac-and-cheese.
THE LODGE It’s a gentlemen’s club. I’ve got to include it, though – even though I never go to such establishments because I’m too busy at church and all – because it is unusual in four different ways. 1) It just won an award for Best Gentlemen’s Club In America. 2) One of the managers is long-time Dallas newspaper guy Michael Precker, who is the last guy you’d expect to be a manager in a strip club; 3) The Lodge is owned by a woman, Dawn Rizos, and you wouldn’t expect that, either; and 4) the lunches are extraordinarily good and yes I’m talking about the food.
On a recent business visit – for the purpose of this article, actually, though I am somewhat hesitant to submit my rather large expense tab to FanFoodie – I had the buffalo burger (real buffalo meat) and one of the other guys had the tilapia. Terrific, all of it, and at prices like you’d spend at IHOP or something.
The idea, of course, is to get you and the many jocks who populate the place to spend your money on stuff besides the buffalo burger and the tilapia. But let me make it clear to you – and to my girlfriend, who is reading this over my shoulder – that I went all the way with the buffalo burger and I only flirted a little bit with tilapia and then I left.
Says Precker: “Coming to The Lodge for the food sounds like the old Playboy magazine line, when people say, ‘I read it for the articles.’ But it’s true. Our food is way, way better than it has to be.’’
DAIRY QUEEN This is the one located in Coppell, not far from the Cowboys’ Valley Ranch headquarters. If you’re not a Texan, you may not fully understand this, but Dairy Queens here are part of the old-school fabric of the community. In smaller towns, the DQ is still the congregating place, right there alongside the school and the church and the old lady who lives with 500 cats and tells you to get off her lawn. Now, this Dairy Queen in this town? It’s the one used as a stage for Mark Cuban to laugh at himself after his early 2000’s anti-ref rage. The owner had said that NBA officiating boss Ed Rush “couldn’t manage a Dairy Queen.’’ Cuban then demonstrated his marketing genius by arranging to show up at this fast-food locale, donned a DQ uniform (complete with a nametag that read “Tony’’ and we’ve recognized his alter ego of “Tony Cubes’’ ever since), and labored to get the trademark swirl atop the cones just right.
TEN SPORTS GRILL Nothing is more irritating to a “sports fan’’ than visiting a “sports bar’’ and discovering that it’s not a “sports bar’’ at all but rather just a fern bar with TVs. And you know how so often you’ll go into one of those places and the TV will be on ESPN by rote. … because the manager knows that ESPN means “sports’’ but the manager doesn’t know that right now on ESPN they’re showing a billiards tournament and somebody ought to wake the fuck up and turn it to the Duke-UNC game over on CBS?
They don’t do that at Ten. They’re on the ball, these guys. They’re on the ball the way you’d have to be if, say, you were the former strength-and-conditioning coach for the Dallas Mavericks.
Which co-owner Chad Lewis is.
His employment with the Mavs allowed him to build friendships with a number of NBA players, and even now, when Steve Nash is in town, he knows which bar will be able to find a soccer game for him to watch. (Chad thinks soccer is the reason he and Eddie Najera and some fellas called the joint “10.’’ The best soccer player wears jersey No. 10. But he’s clearly only guessing that’s the origin.)
You can get a 2-for-10 deal here, two lunches for 10 bucks. Fish tacos. I recommend the fish tacos.
Mike Fisher with former Mavs strength-and-conditioning coach Chad Lewis at his sports bar, Ten.CAPITAL GRILLE NBA teams come to Dallas and often stay at the fancy Crescent hotel. That makes for a convenient lunch just around the corner at the Capital Grille, where they are hosted by the extraordinarily mustachioed managing partner Greg Cavanagh. At night, it’s a “Wall Street’’ sort of place. Power brokers. They can buy and sell guys like us. But at lunch? You’re likely to see Shaq or Phil Jackson or KG eating alone, steak and a salad.
Come to think of it, Shaq and Phil and KG can buy and sell guys like us, too.
WILD ABOUT HARRY’S Because it’s located in hoity-toity Highland Park near downtown, it draws neighborhood locals like Mark Cuban, Jerry Jones, Tom Hicks and T. Boone Pickens. Because it has the best hot dogs in town and the most uniquely delicious frozen custard on the planet, it draws Troy Aikman and his daughters in from the suburbs, draws loaded of Sooners during Texas-OU Week, and draws high-school kids made to feel like grandchildren of the warm and personable proprietor Harry Coley. The walls are filled with photos and newspaper clippings. Nothing fancy, no custom framing or anything; it’s like the whole low-key joint is one huge refrigerator, with family keepsakes magnetized to it.
You can’t miss it when you drive away from downtown a few miles north on 75 and then a couple blocks east on Knox: Wild About Harry’s storefront features pink awnings, a 6-foot-tall statue of a smiling hot dog, and a line of smiling customers.
There’s no booze here – believe me, the hot dogs and the custard are a high all by themselves – but Harry’s no prude. Our friendship began in the mid-90’s, when he called into my radio show to brag about his sidewalk tables being “the best place in Dallas to look at the women.’’“In front of a hog dog diner?’’ I wondered.
“Yessir,’’ the avuncular Harry told me and the audience with a wink that was almost audible. “The post office is right across the street. And this is the post office where all the ‘kept women’ in town do their business. Dallas has the most beautiful women in America, and they all come to this post office. I can sit out there all afternoon and girl-watch the day away.’’
CHAMPPS Now, it’s a little fern-bar’y, I know. A little chain’y, too. But the Champps in Las Colinas – near the Cowboys headquarters, near where they play the PGA’s Byron Nelson – has personality. Ask for Will the Waiter – he’s a savant who, when you tell him your birthday, will regale you with stories of every single thing that ever happened on that day. Sports, news, the weather, you name it. After you order the chopped salad and the pulled-pork sandwich and a very cold, very tall beer, Will will dish about the customers, too. All the beefy Cowboys come in here, as does Dallas’ First Couple (at least until George and Laura get here and establish their new home and the Bush Library, the world’s only library its living namesake will never use). Yes, Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson might be right over there, in a private corner. And when they leave, watch as Cowboys-crazed dinners rush Will the Waiter and beg for some of Jess’ leftover buffalo wings and a sip of Tony’s backwash beer.
“I want to taste greatness!’’ one of the scrap-beggars recently exclaimed.
Of course, that was before the Cowboys failed to qualify for the playoffs. So “greatness’’ is a slight exaggeration.
Map of Locations
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Campisi's: Mr. Kimberly's photostream
Lee Harvey's François Hogue's photostream
Sonny Bryan's mysteryship's photostream
Adair's: Roadside Burger Blog
Nick & Sam's: GuideLive
Wild About Harry's: donovanhouse's photostream
City: Portland, Oregon
Foodie: Ben Golliver, Blazersedge.com
Venue: Rose Garden
Team: Portland Trail Blazers (NBA)
Address: 1 N Center Court St, Portland, OR 97227
Ben's Taste
Like any giant corporate arena, the Rose Garden is more than adept at pulling the dollars out your pocket. No matter your budget, you’re probably going to walk out of the RG feeling like you spent too much money. But more than likely you’ll be full. Which is kind of the point.
The best food options at the Rose Garden break down into 3 tiers just like the seats. I call these tiers "Big Ballin," "Sorta Ballin" and "Budget Ballin." Hey, it’s a recession, so if you made it to the building, no matter what, you deserve the title "baller." First, the best places in the RG to ball on; next, the best places for the sports fan around Portland.
Big Ballin
If money is no object, No doubt the place to eat in the Rose Garden is the Courtside Club. Open only to those with 100 level tickets, VIPs, and occasional VUPs (very unimportant people, like your friendly blogger), the Courtside Club provides some of the best service in a city that’s not nearly as concerned with top-class service as most places east of the Mississippi. The staff is courteous and quick to remember a face (and your favorite drink) and does a good job of managing the large crowds that gather pregame. If you’re lucky, you’ll see the Blazers Dancers, a member of the team’s management or a local big shot car salesman stroll through with dime pieces on their arms. Get there early.
As for the food, the menu is mostly burgers and pasta, I usually go with the Southwest Chicken Penne but you’ve got options. The Club also has a full bar with most top shelf liquors, lots of beers (including the famous local microbrews) and they are very considerate about not caring if you get completely blasted. So I’ve been told.
What's made Portland famous.Sorta Ballin
The best section of the 200 level in the Rose Garden is, far and away, the Lexus Club Level. It requires that you sit in certain areas of the arena (along the two sidelines, not along the baselines) but your tickets, which are slightly more expensive, include access to a full pregame buffet and full bars as well. All food and non-alcoholic drinks are free, so you can literally eat 25 pieces of pepperoni pizza and 14 cokes and absolutely no one will stop you. Pretty sweet. The buffets have a lot of options – usually there’s some pork, seafood, salads, dips, teriyaki, you name it. Great place for young couples to go on a date and make out in the bathroom or something. The bars are stocked similarly to the Courtside Club but many knowledgeable fans simply bring a flask and get a free soda to use as a mixer. Much cheaper than 5-8 dollar drinks.
Budget Ballin
The rest of the arena offers your typical overpriced arena food: burgers, hot dogs, popcorn, Subway sandwiches, etc. I’m partial to the Chicken Strip dinner because they don’t skimp on the Chicken or the fries. You pretty much get your 8 or 9 dollars worth and it’s always hot out of the oven.
Another super popular option for the masses to gather pregame or postgame is Schonely’s Place, a makeshift bar/restaurant near the south/west entrance to the Rose Garden. The focus at Schonely’s Place (named after longtime Blazers radio announcer Bill Schonely, a local legend) is burgers and beer. Indeed, the Blazers Burger (two patties with optional bacon) is the best you’ll find in the stadium. It runs something like 10 dollars but it’s well worth it. Again, tons of local beer selections, popular with locals and tourists alike, can be had here.
"Try the Blazers Burger"Outside the stadium
Far and away my favorite sports restaurant in Portland is Nick’s Coney Island in SE Portland. In high school we would drive something like 20 minutes to go there in order to select between a hamburger, a cheeseburger, a chili burger, a single hot dog or a double hot dog. Literally that was the whole menu. Oh yea, they did coleslaw too. We’d marvel when the owner would park his big old Cadillac in the middle of traffic, come in to buy us (usually the only customers) a round of sodas (RC soda mind you, not Coke or Pepsi) and then talk sports. The place is decorated with all sorts of old-time pictures, many of them autographed, and tons of framed newspapers going back 50 or more years. In the last few months, Nick’s was sold to a new owner who has modernized it a bit, but I’m told it’s still worth the trip. The place is no-nonsense, very affordable and located a few miles from the Rose Garden in Southeast Portland.
A few other places worth checking out before or after a game are: Fire on the Mountain (famous for their wings and beers specials, located very close to the Rose Garden), Henry’s (one of the places “to see and be seen,” has a lot of flatscreens and a HUGE bar but closes early and is across the river from the RG), The Agency (brand-new place owned by the son of a Former Blazer, they do cool things like offer 10 percent discounts to customers that name-check BlazersEdge.com, also located across the river), and On Deck (the prototypical sports bar with outdoor seating, kind of sucks during the rainy season but could be a great playoff spot, assuming the Blazers ever make the playoffs, also located across the river).
Never to be overlooked in a Portland food article is Jake’s, which is a local institute famous for seafood, strong drinks, and top-class service. It really doesn’t have much of a sports tie-in (other than some Blazer autographs on the wall) but it’s a must for anyone visiting Portland.
Two other “can’t forget to mentions”: Huber’s (a favorite hangout of Blazers about 10 years ago and the occasional Blazer today, very private feel inside and is known for its famous Spanish Coffees) and Portland City Grill (located on the 30th floor of a downtown building, it’s one of the classiest places in the city and is purportedly Nate McMillan’s favorite spot in Portland).
Map of Locations
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City: Phoenix, Arizona
Foodie: Matt Blake, Fanster.com
Venues: Chase Field & US Airways Center
Teams: Phoenix Suns (NBA), Arizona Diamondbacks (MLB), Arizona Rattlers (AFL), Phoenix Mercury (WNBA) & Phoenix Roadrunners (ECHL)
Address: East Jefferson Street, Phoenix, Arizona 85001
Matt's Taste:
Phoenix, Arizona - What used to be a lackluster downtown area for years, has officially made a comeback…And with the addition of the new Phoenix Light Rail system opening up in late December, it is only going to get better. In fact there are already blogs dedicated to food in downtown Phoenix. So while they focus on the all food downtown, I will focus on the best of the best around my two favorite places in town: Chase Field and the US Airways Center. Lets do this:
Majerle's
Named for none other than Dan Majerle, former Phoenix Sun, Marjerle's is a great place for anything from pre-game drinks, lunch during the week and…of course…watching your Phoenix Suns on the Road. My personal favorite: the Rojo Diablo. Yum Yum. And did I mention that they also have a location in Chandler?
Friday's Front Row
There is no other restaurant in town that beats out Friday's Front Row for stadium views. The reason being: it is located inside Chase Field. The best part about Friday's is that you can actually catch a Diamondbacks game from a table perched high above Left Field.
Friday's Front Row is most famous for Mark McGuire's bombshell batting practice homer that knocked out a light on "R" of the Friday's sign. And they left the sign un-repaired for the remainder of the season….Now was that '99 or '00?
Jackson's on Third
Well, the food ain't great here, but it's got the best value for the area and is located and hop and a skip from both Chase and US Air. The great part about Jackson's is that there is always plenty of room and an outdoor patio to boot. You can sure get lost, but you won't have to worry about missing the game.
Alice Cooperstown
If you feel the need to rock, you need to go to Alice Cooperstown. Named after Arizona resident and legendary shock rocker Alice Cooper. But really, this place is as much a ball park joint as any I've seen. Two items should say everything you need to know about Cooperstown: 'The Big O' Onion Rings & 'The Big Unit' Hot Dog.
Stoudemire's Downtown
Named for none other than….Amare Stoudemire. Want to know where all of the high-ups at the Phoenix Suns are eatin' their lunch? It's at Stoudemire's Downtown. They actually have things on the menu called: ENTRÉES. Plus on top of that they get the occasional celebrity appearance or three.
Among the most recent guests are NFL Eagles Quarterback Donovan McNabb, ESPN Columnist Rick Reilly, and restaurant namesake, part owner and Suns star Amare Stoudemire. They are just a few of the playoff celebrity sightings at Stoudemires.
Coach and Willie's
Nestled between the railroad and the best free parking spots near Chase Field and US Airways, is the always packed Coach and Willie's. The food is always solid and the service is fast. I love this place because it is always packed and lively. It is also located a pinch off the beaten path, so many people don't know about it. I've tried many times to meet up with people who can't even find it….Fun times at Coach and Willie's.
Pizzeria Bianco
Want something gourmet and damn good? You need to head down to Pizzeria Bianco. This nationally acclaimed pizza is seriously THE BEST that you can get on the west coast. That is for sure. I have been to the place twice and it was packed both times. Lines start up outside the restaurant before it even opens. You have to time it right, but to get there before a game can be a great night out. Highly recommended!
Matador
Ah yes, we had to have some Mexican in here didn't we? And Matador is the place to go for some good authentic Mexican food. I recommend the enchiladas.
Tee Pee Tap Room
The Tee Pee Tap Room is located just south of Chase Field and has some more great authentic Mexican food near the stadiums. Can't say it was my cup of "Tee," but my friends sure love the place.
So that is downtown Phoenix ballpark/arena dining for you. There are many good options, from gourmet to cabaret. The bottom line is that you can't go wrong with a visit to downtown Phoenix. I didn't even get into ball park food, but that is pretty run of the mill. Enjoy and feel free to add your own favorites that I may have missed!
City: Boston, Massachusetts
Foodie: Rick Sawyer, Ryan Weaver, and Michael Femia, Bostonist.com
Venue: TD Banknorth Garden
Address: 100 Legends Way, Boston, Massachusetts, 02114
Teams: Boston Celtics (NBA), Boston Bruins (NHL)
Bostonist.com's Taste
Here's the first thing you should know before going to a Celtics or a Bruins game. Yes, it's called the Garden. No, it's not the same one.
People in Boston hate things to be different than they were in the past, so when Toronto-Dominion Bank wanted us to forget that a bank from Canada, from Canada, had bought the naming rights to the building where the Bruins play, the Fleet Center became the TD Banknorth Garden, in homage to the Boston Garden of old. That is, after the internet had bought 30 days worth of naming rights off of eBay.
Here's the second thing you should know. Only eat in the immediate vicinity of the building if a man is holding you by gunpoint and is having your family waterboarded at a remote location. The food in Boston's West End is nasty, and the restaurants are filled with douchebags.
As much as it pains us to say it, your best bet for eating before a game is a trip to tourist flytrap Quincy Market. Sure, it's full of chain restaurants and you may have to fight off a mime or two, but, with food ranging from chowder to Japanese noodle bowls (not to mention pizza and burgers), it's a good bet for feeding a group of people with fussy eating requirements. Besides, some of the chains (Wagamama) are legitimately good places to eat, and you can rub the head of the statue of Red Auerbach for good luck before heading to your game. (That may not work for Bruins games.) Plus, there's breakdancing buskers. And to get to the Garden you will have to pass Boston's City Hall, the World's Ugliest Building.
Do us and the people sitting near your seats at the Garden a favor and don't eat at Cheers.
If you are a gentleman or a lady, however, or if living statues trigger post traumatic stress symptoms, skip Quincy Market. For proximity to the Garden, your next best bet is Boston's historic North End.
Long a haven of the Mafia and once the victim of the world's worst molasses flood, the North End spent the second half of the twentieth century barricaded away from the rest of the city by a giant, elevated expressway. $16 billion and twenty years of the Big Dig has since joined the neighborhood to Boston. There are more tourists around nowadays, and the only wise guys you'll find have nicknames like "Cheese Man" and weigh several hundred pounds. It's a different neighborhood than it used to be, but you can still find some awesome Italian food.
The North End abounds with cheap Italian places serving tourists syrupy sauces out of cans, and you really have to know what you are doing to get something better than the same bland, substandard excuse for Italian that you can make yourself at home. A good option is Bricco, which is authentic Italian, served in courses, featuring handmade pasta and an excellent timpano, the meal from Big Night. Afterward, head down the street to Gelateria, a dessert joint owned by the same guy. Everything at both places is imported straight from Italy, including the staff.
If you drive a Prius or call yourself a "locavore," (or you are trying to impress somebody who does), check out Taranta, which serves its Peruvian-Italian fusion cuisine in the most environmentally friendly way possible. The chef-owner even buys carbon offsets to make up for the energy he burns cooking your food.
The North End is a good bet even if you are strapped for time. We may have once called their country "the soft underbelly of Europe," but there was always one thing that Americans and Italians could agree upon: eating pizza makes you into an extremely aggressive sports fan. Bostonians go on and on about Pizzeria Regina, but skip it if you need to get somewhere fast. Our pick for North End pizza is Ernesto's. The service is fast, the slices are as big as your head, and the pizza is wicked delicious. It's thin crust, New York style, dripping with grease and aggro molecules just waiting for their release in cheering/jeering form.
Once in the Garden, forget about eating. The food is terrible. But maybe you shouldn't take our word for it; some people can't get enough of it.Take the people who are "Hungry for Hockey." It's a ticket package program that includes a clutch of Bruins tickets and the right to eat all that you can at every single game you attend. The only catch? You have to maneuver through a holding area that has been cordoned off by rope to contain you and your ravenous fellow fans as you gorge yourself in the Garden cafeteria of plenty. And it doesn't even include beer.
Speaking of beer, there are no beer deals at the Garden. Your best bet is to buy a Sam Adams, which costs $8. (There's also Harpoon, a localish micro-brew that will make you instantly vomit. And Guiness at the one Guiness stand, but it's $10 a beer.) You can get Sam Adams at nearly every food vendor on the ground and loge levels and at any of the various liquor stands (known, tactfully, as SHOTS), but if you're like us and have tickets in the balcony, go see our friend Jerry, near Section 315.
Jerry has poured beer at one Garden (or FleetCenter) or another for 42 years and he has spent every moment of that time perfecting his mustache. His beer tap is digital—don't ask us why—and he offers Sam Adams Boston Lager or Sam Adams Seasonal, both of which are delicious enough, considering the options. The best thing about Jerry? He always asks for I.D. and he always calls you by your first name.Please tip Jerry.
After the game, there is only one place to take your sex partner. Back to the North End, to Neptune Oyster, where staff will shuck the aphrodisiac bivalves until 10:30 p.m. on weekdays or 11:30 p.m. on weekends. The oysters are written up on the menu as if they were wine, the bar is intimate, and the bartender has a heavy hand. Our favorite oyster joint in the city.
If you don't like it raw (or if you need some chocolate to make the oysters more potent) there's also Bova Bakery, which is open 24 hours a day. Calzones, cannoli, weird pastries shaped like pipes: Bova has it all.
If you are a coke whore, don't miss Alibi, a dance club inside of an old jail at the Liberty Hotel that features Lindsay Lohan and Frank Sinatra, in mug shot form. Like the North End, it's a short walk from the Garden.
Why all this walking? Boston is "America's Walking City," and if you drive around downtown on game day, you are insane. Visitors from out of town should take the T, our subway, as much as possible. You won't be able to navigate our roads, and you will not be able to compete with our moxie behind the wheel. Buy a weeklong T pass if you are going to be in town for more than a day. The 24 hour pass costs $9. The 7 day pass costs $15. You do the math.
Anyway, welcome to Boston! Don't stay on Causeway St. too long after a B's game if you don't want to end up in our crime blotter.
City Hall: Joe Dunckley's photostream
Ernesto's: eyemyth's photostream
Gelateria: therewasonlyonecat ch's photostream
All additional photos taken & provided by authors.
City: Memphis, Tennessee
Foodie: MoonDog, The World According to MoonDog
Venue: FedEXForum
Address: 200 South Third Street, Memphis, Tennessee 38103
Teams: Memphis Grizzlies (NBA); Memphis Tigers (NCAA)
MoonDog's Taste:
Located at the corner of South Third Street and historic Beale Street, The FedEXForum was built in the heart of downtown Memphis at a cost of $250 million and has been the home of the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies and the University of Memphis Tigers since 2004.
There are four primary restaurants and 18 concessionaires within FedExForum with bills of fare ranging from the exclusive to the average grub found at most any sports bar.
Menus are available for fans seated in the lower bowl and the wait staffs from all of the concessionaires will take your order from your seat. Fans can order just about anything they'd expect and perhaps a few items they wouldn't normally find on an arena menu. Snacks, beer and soft drinks are available at every concession location.
Fans attending a game at the FedEXForum can expect to pay anywhere between $20 for a burger, nachos and a beer to $150 for the prime rib at the Opus Restaurant.
The FedEXForum also provides party suites with typical menu selections and varying prices. To view the menu packages and cost of renting a suite for a Grizzlies' game, click here.
The most upscale of all the restaurants found within FedEXForum is the Opus, located on the First Tennessee Club Level with seating for up to 350 guests. The menu features prime meats, chicken, seafood and gourmet salads and prices range from $140 to $150 per guest.
Also located on the First Tennessee Club Level, the Blue Note Lounge offers light food including hand-carved sandwiches and sushi. The Blue Note can seat up to 200 guests and meal prices range from $90 to $120 per guest.
The Opus Restaurant and the Blue Note Lounge are available only to premium seating ticket holders.
The most popular bar at FedEXForum is Jack Daniel's Old No. 7 Sports Bar. Located on the Plaza Level near the Grand Lobby, the bar is accessible to all guests and offers an outdoor patio.
Jack Daniel's is a true sports bar with 22 TV's to watch the game while you enjoy a sandwich, wings or a cold beer. You can spend the entire time at the Forum in JD's place and you won't have to spend a lot of money doing so. A meal with a few drinks will cost you less than $35.
Lexus Lounge is located on the Event Level and is another casual restaurant featuring a backstage view of the hallway leading from the locker rooms to the court. Lexus Lounge is open to ticket holders in the first seven rows at the Courtside level.
Lexus, like Jack Daniel's, has TV's to watch the game and offers a fairly similar menu at the same cost.
Here's a list of all the concessionaires and their locations within the arena:
Plaza Level
Snax, Delta Grill, and Flip Side Diner has grilled burgers and other fan favorites, including BBQ Nachos. Rock Around The Clock features grilled burgers, BBQ specialties and Memphis Hot Wings.
The Metronome Bar offers specialty cocktail or frozen drinks. Beale Street Eats and Crossroads Café offer the Fork and Knife Chili Dog, specialty sandwiches and ice cream.
Spin Pizza serves up pizza and flatbread sandwiches, while Juke Joint Subs offers oven toasted subs and salads.
First Tennessee Club Level
UpTempo Grill and 4/4 Grill feature grilled burgers and hot dogs, French fries four ways, BBQ sandwiches and BBQ nachos.
Terrace Level
Open Mike’s Grill, High Note Grill and Rock-A-Belly’s offer flame broiled burgers and hot dogs, fries and BBQ nachos.
Lucille’s Kitchen has local favorites including fried catfish, popcorn chicken and Memphis Hot Wings. Chart Toppers offers up pizza, hot sandwiches and salads.
DJ Dogs proves that there is more than one way to enjoy a hot dog. The Remix Bar offers the opportunity to sample frozen specialties and cocktails.
Charlie Vergos' Rendezvous
If arena food isn't your thing, fear not, there are plenty of options available to you within a short walking distance from the FedEXForum.
Whether you reside in Memphis or are just visiting you'll soon discover the Bluff City is all about one main food item - BBQ. Recognized as the BBQ capital of the Milky Way, Memphis has over 100 restaurants specializing in BBQ.
My personal favorite is a Memphis landmark, the Rendezvous. Located at 52 South Second Street, just four-tenths of a mile from FedEXForum, the Rendezvous offers the best dry ribs in Memphis.
If ribs aren't your thing you can try the chicken or smoked sausage. Everything on the menu is good and comes with sides that include BBQ beans and cole slaw.
Add a cold beer or two into the mix and you've just had a great meal for less than $25.00. The Rendezvous is family friendly and the service is among the best, if not the best of any restaurant in Memphis.
Beale Street
If you feel like bar-hopping before or after the game, walk along Beale Street and discover any number of merchants offering a wide range of food, drink and music.
Beale Street can be easily accessed from the main entrance of FedEXForum. The street is barricaded to allow patrons safe walking between merchants and the only motorized traffic you'll find will be the Memphis Police Department, and most of them are on bicycles or horseback.
Beale Street offers family entertainment as well as fun for the adults. To view a list of all Beale Street merchants, click here.
For fans visiting Memphis for a Grizzlies' or Tigers' game, the menu options, drinks and other forms of entertainment are plentiful. You can enjoy just about any type of food you like and the costs aren't going to put a major dent in your wallet.
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