Under the Table with Jen » The Big Game

Henry’s Tavern

admin — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 23:25:42 +0000

With nearly 100 beers on tap, a frozen drink rail to keep them cold, upscale pub grub to prevent your growling stomach from drowning out game day chatter, and flat screen and plasma TV’s strategically positioned so you’ve got a view of the game from the bar or the booth that cute group of Pearl Girls invited you to share with them, you’re pretty much in ballgame heaven at this grand new-old Pearl District tavern.

Grand Central Bowl

admin — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 19:00:35 +0000

“Grand Central Bowl is good. Big portions. Dude Food.” This was my friend Heather’s reply when I put out an inquiry as to favorite local game-watching destinations. Teeming with more plasma than a Ghostbuster’s containment unit, at any given time Grand Central’s probably playing any game you want to watch, whether it’s good old American football or fancy footwork football. Watch the game at the bar or make an event out of it and reserve a private dining room. The menu’s a mixture of pub grub and more sophisticated fare like the Pacific Crab Stack and Seared Ahi Salad, there are a dozen beers on tap, and a full bar in case your pint of Rogue Dead Guy Ale just isn’t strong enough to drown your losing sorrows in.

Saraveza

admin — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 18:56:51 +0000

Saraveza is THE place to watch the big game–if you’re a Green Bay Packers or a Milwaukee Brewers fan, that is–fiercely loyal Saraveza broadcasts nothing else in their laid-back, kitsch and memorabilia-laden North Portland pub. Whatever your own loyalties may be, you might want to consider joining the Cheesehead ranks for the afternoon, if only to view the brilliant bottle cap art and partake of Saraveza’s fist-pump-inducing selection of beers–there are over 200 different kinds in the old-fashioned coolers and 10 rotating beers on tap. Write Devin Frischknecht a get well card while grazing on beer-compatible snacks like pickled deviled eggs, summer sausage, and the spud melt, and nothing goes with a cold Schlitz quite like a The Nater–a hearty golden half moon-shaped pasty stuffed with Porter braised beef and root vegetables. Add a bold garlicky Spence’s Caesar and a Sugar Pimp almond poppyseed cupcake to this balls n’ beers bash and the only thing missing is eye candy–where’s that super hot Benedict Arnold Brett Favre when you need him?

On Deck

admin — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 00:29:06 +0000

I have to state upfront that On Deck isn’t listed here for the food–I’ve had some real misses here. But they know how to pour a pint, the nachos are tasty enough for me and Special Correspondent April to have once wolfed an entire order down faster than Michael Phelps swims the 100-meter butterfly, and the televisions are big. As their name would suggest, they also have one of the largest and nicest outdoor terraces in Portland, and are located right in the heart of the swanky Pearl District.

Bridgeport Brewpub

admin — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 00:24:58 +0000

When my dad’s in town and there’s an important game on, sometimes we’ll all be walking along doing one of those touristy family things you do when your parents are in town, a streetcar will whistle by, and Dad will disappear faster than Nightcrawler. We don’t worry much, because we know where to find him– upstairs at Bridgeport Brewpub, watching the game on one of the bar’s televisions and munching a Bridgeport Burger, a cool pint of Blue Heron at his right hand. And we know he can’t get lost, because Bridgeport is right on the streetcar line, which is also handy if you’d like to celebrate your team’s win with vigor and not have to worry about driving home.

North 45

admin — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 00:11:30 +0000

Big bowls of steaming hot mussels, a chilled Chimay Grand Reserve Blue, and a seat at the bar makes for a pretty good game day at North 45, a Northwest Portland “travel pub,” which sports a menu of mussels and other robust pub grub, an exceptional selection of Belgian beers, and an internationally inspired drink menu. I’ve been known to spend a fair amount of time at North 45 back sipping their signature California Chillum (vodka, fresh grapefruit, cranberry, soda water) and lounging on the comfortable back patio. Sometimes North 45 brings the game to you, with rollicking good in-bar celebrations like their annual Kentucky Derby party.