*The championship is finally here! After a month of drama, tears, penalty kicks, upsets, and surpises, the 2010 World Cup will come to a close with España and Netherlands. Here are our Campeonato Picks for the best places to watch the finale!
The place needs to be just right. You need the right lighting (low, scattered spotlit sections, easy on the strobe); the right music (ethnic but not kitschy); the right crowd (boisterous but not cafre); even the right outfit (for showy displays of swagger while celebrating victories). There’s a science to watching the World Cup 2010. Which is why Remezcla, like the go-to cultural first aid kit that we are, has compiled quite the list for you to peruse.
Here you can find some worthy options for each of our beloved five cities (NY, LA, San Francisco, Miami, and Chicago) that feature excellent World Cup 2010 viewing opportunities. Some Latino, some not. All pretty awesome. Whether it’s the cheap-as-dirt drink specials or the seemingly implausible amount of jumbo screens, there’s something for all walks of life. Chill, rowdy, Argentinean, and Brazilian. We’re celebrating variedad.
We’ll be updating as we find more great Cup events, but we want to hear from YOU in each city. Share your fun finds with other Remezcleros below in our Comments. Because after all, sharing is caring. Also see below to get a schedule of the matches. And if you’re still not as stoked as we are for the World Cup, then maybe you need to reevaluate your life and watch the epic Nike video at the bottom.
NEW YORK
CAMPEONATO PICK: NOVECENTO
Sure, Argentina lost. Big surprise. But that doesn’t mean Novecento won’t be a good sport about it all. Hands down our best New York spot to watch it all. Head here and even if your team loses, you’ll have a good time.
Ok, so Favela Cubana has instilled a $10-minimum for viewing the Cup, so the casual-stroll-in isn’t an option. But chances are, you’ll spend more than 10 bones once the crowd’s energy gets to you. The zest and zeal at this Greenwich Cubrazilian joint is always contagious, always fun. So forgive them for being…well…stingy? Strict? Snobby? But do love them for trying to keep you happy with weekly drink specials and two projectors.
Hold the rowdiness! Not every game is an excuse for keg stands and beer funnels. Sometimes you just want a chill viewing experience with good food and good drinks. Lower East Side’s Yuca Bar has got your stomach in mind. While you watch the games you can delve into half-priced delights on Sundays (tacos) and Tuesdays (tapas), then wash it all down with $4-mojitos, caipirinhas, and sangria during the every-day happy hour from 1 to 8 p.m.
If you’re going to root for México on opening night (which we’re assuming you are), then keep it in the family. Bowery’s Hecho en Dumbo can be your casa away from casa, supplying you with $3-dollar Tecates and FREE (sí, FREE!) tequila shots if your team scores un gol. Hopefully games aren’t blowouts so you can keep at least a little bit of your composure. But, who needs dignity anyway?! Sober up with their $10-dollar lunch prix fixe and if we know Hecho en Dumbo, it’ll be a damn good lunch.
Brooklyn Brazilian spot Beco is looking to cater to fútbol fiends. The bar/restaurant is so nice they won’t even charge a viewing minimum (we‘re looking at you, Favela Cubana!). So if you’re weird and eating and drinking aren’t your thing, then you can just sit back and enjoy the show on Beco’s big screen. The staff will be updating their specials weekly so check back in.
COQUI MEXICANO WORLD CUP 2010 KICK OFF
FRI, June 11 9:30am-4:30pm
Melrose Mexican joint Coquí Mexicano is enlisting some HD help (a sizable one, too) so you can enjoy all the 2010 World Cup action the way it was meant to be seen. Head to the Bronx for their kick-off event and get ready to witness some serious orgullo mexicano.
Ever the rowdy spot, it just doesn’t really feel right to go anywhere else but Miss Favela for a Brazilian fix. But the Williamsburg sweatshop will spread the love to other teams as well, showing all the games live on their 62- and 27-inch TVs. They’ll even open their doors early for morning matches and they’ve concocted a breakfast menu complete with mimosas and bloody marys.
Two-for-one beers, drink specials, two TVs, World Cup, and Washington Heights crowd. Sounds legit!
THE PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA SCREENINGS
A bar is the usual decision for World Cup watching. But when you have the option to watch it on the big screen, why wouldn’t you? The Paley Center for Media in Midtown will be screening all the 9:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. games in their 200-capacity movie-style theatre. Sure, going to a movie theatre in NYC is like reaching into the eternal abyss of your pocket. Painful. Luckily, watching the Cup in style won’t cost you a dime!
Mexican culture site Mex and the City will host a night of music and games to channel victory vibes for the following México vs. France match. Head to South Street Seaport early to soak up the first hour open bar and all the foosball and chalk ping pong you can handle.
LOS ANGELES
CAMPEONATO PICK: LA FONDA ON WILSHIRE
La Fonda on Wilshire has been loyal to the World Cup this year, playing almost every game and featuring specials and great viewing options. We’re sure they’ll have something cooking for the Cup closer.
Here! Also opening its doors early is The Conga Room for their Waka Waka viewing party. Come here and you’ll also score a Mexico players gratis! Options, options!
WED, June 9 6pm-11pm
If Iñárritu’s commercial didn’t rev you up enough, then let Mexican design house NACO help you out. Get in the spirit at De La Barracuda with some cervezas and tunes courtesy of tropical-dubsters ORO11 and Chico Sonido. Maybe even get rightly outfitted by NACO, who will be selling their 2010 World Cup line at the event after displaying a retrospective on head designer Edoardo Chavarin. Be fashionably early though. First 30 guests get limited edition prints.
Start the day off right with El Morfi’s early-bird special, a $5 desayuno dish of Argentine-Italian cuisine. They’ll be playing every game on their multiple screens so you won’t miss any of the action.
LA FONDA ON WILSHIRE GAME REPLAY
FRI, June 11 4pm-2am
Chances are the opening match is going to be pretty good. So, in the spirit of the sport, why not indulge twice? La Fonda on Wilshire will replay the Mexico vs. South Africa match later on in the day post-happy hour, mariachi, and DJ sets. After the game is over, you can stick around for the fiesta. Free admission, too!
NIKE SPORTSWEAR AT THE MONTALBAN
The store will open up 30 minutes before each game (7 a.m. or 11:30 a.m.) throughout the World Cup month. The Montalban, the Nike soccer headquarters in LA, will have open play rooftop soccer, shopping, and free food and drinks. Not a party, but definitely worth a visit. So instead of spilling cerveza all over your jersey while watching a match, buy one while watching!
SAN FRANCISCO
CAMPEONATO PICK: MERCURY LOUNGE
Mercury Lounge, you might be the holy grail of fútbol. The soccer mecca has made it absurdly easy for you come World Cup time. Go in before 7 a.m., you get a beer for $1. Go in wearing a jersey, you also get a beer for $1. Show them your freakin’ taxi receipt, you inexplicably get a beer for $1. Apparently you deserve cheap beer for being an early-rising, jersey-wearing hitchhiker. We wholeheartedly agree. This match will for sure be the ultimate of all the Mercury Lounge offerings.
Italian eatery barbacco, little sister to Financial District’s Perbacco, will be opening its weekend doors in celebration of the Cup’s second round. During 5 days, the restaurant will show key games at 11:30 a.m. So all you have to do is show up, sit down, and EAT. Not too hard.
CHICAGO
CAMPEONATO PICK: 1492
Keep it in the family at this Spanish tapas spot that houses four stories of food! Which translates into four stories of World Cup!
This Wicker Park hipster hub will rise with the sun to give you your games. They’ll throw in some $4-Carlsbergs and Bitburgers and maybe even some Cuervo if you’re nice.
Fine, fine…it’s a chain! But the Brazilian sushi post takes its fútbol seriously. Dine while viewing on a big screen or lounge out while watching it on their second screen. Drink specials will be updated and mini bar bites will be on hand. But the Sushi Samba World Cup experience doesn’t stop there. Once Brazil comes on the screen, the dancers, DJs, and drummers come out to play, showcasing live capoeira and percussion performances.
With two TV screens streaming the matches, daily specials on beer and cocktails, and the always-satisfying food (ceviche!) that Nacional 27 is known for, this seems like a no-brainer.
We don’t expect you to kick up your morning alcohol intake every single day. Sometimes it’s just nice to watch a game with un cafesito. Map Room can serve up plenty of that and six screens for maximum viewing potential. But if you get jittery off the caffeine, don’t worry. They start serving alcohol at 11 a.m.
MIAMI
CAMPEONATO PICK: SEGAFREDO
You might get soccer sensory overload at Brickell’s Segafredo, what with the 12 TVs they’re rolling with. Segafredo can be your trusty TiVo, as they’ll stream the games live and replay the morning ones later on. So if you slept in or were too hung over from the previous night’s fútbol festivities to catch the a.m. matches, then you can head to the Italian café to catch up. Take advantage of the $6.99 brunch special (scrambled eggs and then some), the salmon platter for $9.50, and the $4.99-priced mimosas and bloody marys. They’ll also have daily specials on beers and cocktails.
Churchill’s Pub in Little Haiti tends to be synonymous with fútbol. So it was silly of me to ask the bartender if they had anything special planned for the World Cup. “Psh, it’s as special as it gets if you can even walk through the door.” Point taken. Rookie mistake. The Brit bar already houses eight TVs and now it has four more on the way. So if there’s a game, make no mistake that Churchill’s will be open, even an hour before kick off just so you can get a head start on the trash talking and chugging.
We know where Baires’ priorities are. Although the Argentinean restaurant will air every game in the afternoon on their three big screens, only one country gets the morning treatment. One guess. Starts with Ar, ends in -gentina.
The host at French bistro George’s In The Grove wasn’t lying when he said they’ve “got BIG things planned” for World Cup month. Aside from the four big screens and constantly streaming feed of Cup games, they’ll also open their doors for some pivotal early-bird matches (i.e. big ratings draws like Brazil and Argentina games). Sip on bière and vin for $4 while taste testing a smaller version of the restaurant’s great menu.
SCHEDULE
(schedule in ET time)
2010 FIFA World Cup™: Spain vs. Netherlands |
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TWITTER TIPS
If you want to give your tweets some World Cup flare then add hashtags like #worldcup (a pelota will appear on your post) or # and country abbreviations and the flags will appear in your post.
And if you can’t make it out to watch the matches (whether it be the ball ‘n’ chain, the daily grind, or laziness), then watch the live stream at Univisión.