Title: Best Sports Bars to Watch the Olympics

Alison Stewart: This is All Of It on WNYC. I'm Alison Stewart. All week long, we've been having an Olympic pre-game party on the air here, knowing that a lot of you will probably be glued to your televisions for the next couple of weeks. I know that's the plan for many of us here at team All Of It. Sometimes, rather than watch at home on the couch, you may want to mix things up a bit of and head to a bar. Finding a good sports bar can be tough. Some people like the hustle and bustle of large crowds, while others prefer low key. Some like to watch with the sound on, others in silence. Melissa McCart is an editor for Eater New York, and she'll be sharing some of her favorite sports bars in the city. Hi, Melissa.

Melissa McCart: Hi. Thanks so much for having me.

Alison Stewart: Listeners, do you have a favorite sports bar in the city? Where is it? What do you like about it? Give us a call or send us a text. That number is 212-433-9692, 212-433-WNYC. Tell us, do you like the sound on or off? Crowds or quieter? Does the food even matter? Give us a call, text us, or hit us up on socials. We're @AllOfItWNYC, 212-433-9692, 212-433-WNYC. What do you think make the key components to a good sports bar?

Melissa McCart: Well, I think it depends on what you're looking for, as you were saying. I mean, for me, I'd want to go to a place in my neighborhood that has really good bar food, where I can actually hear what's going on, and that feels like an extension of my living room, because I want to focus on whatever the events are. For some people, they're going to want to party. Maybe they're going to want to go someplace like Rockefeller Center, where the whole rink has been turned into a watch area and you can get food from, say, Jupiter on their terrace and watch on a huge screen TV where there's like a fake Eiffel Tower in the rink and the whole nine yards. I think since it's a one in every four years scenario for the summer, maybe spend another few minutes to figure out what kind of environment do I want to be in.

Alison Stewart: Yes, let's talk about the Rockefeller rink. Of course, that's where NBC is located. They're broadcasting the Olympics from Rock Center. When you're talking about the bar geared towards the coverage, what does it look like?

Melissa McCart: Okay, so NBC has joined up with Michelob Ultra to turn the rink into a Paris-themed Olympic patio, so you can get drinks there. There are photo ops and all kinds of things. If you'd like to have something that's a little bit more substantive, then there are two restaurants that have patios that are adjacent, and one is narrow, which is a Korean restaurant, and it has a special Olympics menu that is sort of a mashup between classic French dishes and Korean dishes. They're around $18 to $21. Then you have Jupiter, which is an Italian restaurant. It's really fun, super colorful, and they'll have their aperitivi menu and fresh pastas and grilled dishes.

Alison Stewart: Let me ask you a question. Is this more than just a nice commercial for NBC?

Melissa McCart: I think so. I mean, there are big venues around the city that are doing big things in terms of watching. If you want that big screen view that's like jumbotron, then you're going to go to a place like Rock Center, or another option is you can go to the backyard at Hudson Yards, which is a first-come, first-served scenario in the Hudson Yards development that also has a jumbotron and drinks, and you could watch and celebrate with other people. I mean, this is like a next level kind of event in terms of sports, right, or, certainly an international version of, say, the Super Bowl. You might want to have, like a Rock Center/Hudson Yards level experience for one of the days, anyway.

Alison Stewart: Let's talk about the backyard at Hudson Yards. They have 30-foot-tall screens and free viewing. Would you expect that this is going to be a big hotspot? Do I need to get there early? Do I have to grab a chair?

Melissa McCart: I do, especially for the opening and closing ceremonies. I feel like those are going to be the most crowded. I would go a little bit early, but the opening ceremonies is on a Friday and the city does empty out on Friday. While it might be pretty lively, the city might not be as lively as it normally is, say, on a Thursday or a Wednesday, for example for some of the other events.

Alison Stewart: The backyard itself doesn't offer food or drink. There's just these big screens, but there's a lot of adjacent food or drink options? What can I expect?

Melissa McCart: Yes, I would expect mostly street food. There are some vendors that are going to have, like, canned cocktails or non-alcoholic drinks, but super casual. Definitely an emphasis on drinks over food.

Melissa McCart: Melissa McCart is a reporter for Eater. She's talking about best sports bars for the Olympic. Listeners, we want to know, do you have a favorite sports bar in the city? Where is it? What do you like about it? Give us a call or send us a text at 212-433-9692, 212-433-WNYC. Do you like the sound on or off? Do you like a crowded place? Do you like a quieter spot? Does the quality of the food matter? Give us a call or text to us. 212-433-WNYC, or you can hit us up on socials. We're @AllOfItWNYC. Let's talk about George Keeley's at 485 Amsterdam Avenue, around 83rd Street. It's on the Upper West Side. Who would you recommend this bar for? George Keeley's.

Melissa McCart: This is for the regular, like, the person who might be going to watch football or soccer on a weekday night. Super low key. The food is really good. It was just put on my radar by one of my friends, actually, and I love the people who own it, and I really like the spot. If you are looking for an even keel, you know, an even keel watch situation where there's no karaoke in the background or cornhole, this is your place.

Alison Stewart: I understand they have good wings.

Melissa McCart: They do. They do.

Alison Stewart: What do you recommend?

Melissa McCart: I mean, I'm a classic wings person, so I would just go for a spicy buffalo wings with blue cheese over ranch. I might be segueing into some Texas toast variations, too, because it's something that's new. Of course, I cannot resist something that's new to me on a menu.

Alison Stewart: Next up is Cornerstone Tavern on 961 Second Avenue. It's around 51st Street. It's in Midtown. I have a note here that says it's huge. How huge?

Melissa McCart: If you want to go with your entire office, you can go there.

[laughter]

Alison Stewart: Okay, team All Of It. Let's go.

Melissa McCart: There's no shortage of space, which is, that's definitely something that, especially as we move into August when the summer feels like we're getting into the dog days. That would be something that I want to do with my Eater staff, to go someplace big, or you can do some people watching, and there might be some other things going on at the bar.

Alison Stewart: How does the bar size affect the experience?

Melissa McCart: I think that with bar size, there are a bunch of different options in terms of watching. Like, there might be an area where the die hard fans are, where the sound is loud, and people might be shushing each other and cheering really loudly at victories. Then there might be corners where people are playing like some kind of a game and the sound is off and they're more focused on drinking and talking.

Alison Stewart: I understand at Cornerstone Tavern, they do trivia and karaoke. How do you do karaoke at a sports bar exactly?

Melissa McCart: You know, I guess I'm going to find out. I feel like we have sections of the bar where you can participate, but that essentially, it's a going to be a lot of sensory overload.

Alison Stewart: The place is a tavern as well. When you think about sports bars, is there a difference between a bar and a tavern?

Melissa McCart: Oftentimes, I think of taverns as a little bit old fashioned, that might have sort of comfort food-plated dishes, where when I think of a sports bar, you can almost recite the menu [laughter]. It's like you wear my wings, my fries, you know, my burgers, and maybe quesadillas. Taverns, I think of as having some holdover dishes that are a little bit more buttoned down.

Alison Stewart: We got a text that says, "Lou's Athletic Club at 384 Knickerbocker Ave in Bushwick. Great big booths, excellent drink prizes." Thanks to the listener who texted in to us. You can give us a call. Your favorite sports bar in the city. 212-433-9692, 212-433-WNYC. We're talking about best sports bars where you might want to watch the Olympics with Melissa McCart, reporter for Eater.

Next we have on the list, the Turnmill Bar on East 27th street off Park Avenue South. It's billing themselves as Olympic headquarters. They're not affiliated with the Olympics, we should say, but they are calling themselves Olympic headquarters. What makes the name fitting?

Melissa McCart: Well, you know, when I actually talked to some staff, as I was updating our maps, one of the features of this particular spot is that everything is really affordable. They're doing all day happy hour in collaboration with the Olympics schedule, instead of, like, the 3:00 to 06:00 PM happy hours. If you're looking to save a few dollars and have a fun time, I think this is your spot.

Alison Stewart: What's the atmosphere like in the bar?

Melissa McCart: I mean, this is a classic-- if you think about your after work bar in the sort of NoMad Flatiron area, one that feels cheers-like, this is your kind of bar.

Alison Stewart: We got a text from Mario from Brooklyn. He's recommending Union Ground on Smith Street. It's a great little place with decent food, and they have the sound on for important events. Oh, that's a hard one. Sound on, sound off. What do you think?

Melissa McCart: I think it depends on how plugged in the people who are there are to the games. One of the things that I would like to do during the Olympics is to go to, let's say, a German beer garden, where there are going to be a lot of people from one particular country besides the US. People who are going to, like, really into whatever event it's going to be.

Probably one of the, you know, maybe not like, I don't know. I'm a rower, and it's like the least interesting and important Olympic event to a bystander. Maybe something that's like a more of a marquee event. I go to some places that are going to have a bunch of die hard fans from other countries so that you could sort of enjoy that enthusiasm, too.

Alison Stewart: Let's talk to Phil, who's calling in from Brooklyn. Brooklyn. Hi, Phil. How you doing?

Phil: I'm doing great. Thank you for taking my call. Yes. I'm a longtime Brooklyn resident, and I have actually two recommendations for great sports bars. The first one is Roebling Sports Club. It's on Roebling and Northeast in Williamsburg. Then Banter. It's a really great soccer bar. Both of them are great soccer bars. Lots of TVs, great food. Roebling has great wings, and Banter has great, like, kielbasa, locally sourced from Greenpoint, from old school Polish immigrants. Both are amazing and great people that run them.

Alison Stewart: Do they have a different vibe, each one?

Phil: Yes. Roebling is more of, like, your traditional sports bar, but they show everything. Their wings are like the big thing that they do. Then Banter is a traditional European soccer, football bar. You get people from all over the country, like, from immigrants from all over, go there for, like, World Cup, Euro Cup, everything. They have, like, kielbasa, bratwurst, everything. It's great. It's fun time.

Alison Stewart: Thanks, Phil. We appreciate you calling in. Got a text, Keg and lantern in Red Hook. Great food, great beer, tons of screens, but low key. We like that. Let's talk to Gregory from Harlem. Hi, Gregory.

Gregory: Hi, Alison. Welcome back. I want to recommend a place that's going to have its first Olympic party, and it's going to go on the entire time. It's called The Fox, and it's in Harlem on 8th Avenue of Frederick Douglass Boulevard. Tons of screens, lots of fun, lots of neighborhoods. We've become a little bit gentrified, so it is very diverse and it is fun. The sliders are awesome. [laughter] Just saying. The drinks are plentiful and it's inexpensive.

Alison Stewart: Love that.

Melissa McCart: It's called The Box?

Gregory: Fox, as in F-O-X.

Melissa McCart: Oh, okay. Thank you.

Alison Stewart: Fox. There you go. Thank you for the recommendation, Gregory. We have a couple more minutes. You have the Loreley Beer Garden at 7 Rivington, a little south of Bowery. What are they offering?

Melissa McCart: It seems like a lot of beer gardens are good spots for watching the Olympics, and they have gone all out with a campy cocktail. It's like a tri-level frozen cocktail with a red, white or blue rubber duck on it that you can keep. If you're into novelty collecting, that's your place.

Alison Stewart: Explain it. A duck?

Melissa McCart: Yes, it's like a drink in a jar. That's like, the drink is red with a Frosé on one level, a classic Frosé margarita in the middle, and a blue Frosé margarita on top. Then the duck is like the garnish, and there's like a white duck with stars or a red duck or a blue duck. Then there's like a paper blue and white straw that it's served with. It's definitely campy.

Alison Stewart: Finally, the beer garden at the Standard Hotel. Do you have to be fabulous to go into it?

Melissa McCart: You know, anybody who's going to these bars is going to be fabulous. There should be nothing that's keeping you away.

Alison Stewart: I understand they have a passport, though.

Melissa McCart: Pardon me? Yes, so they have five different drinks that represent five different countries. Essentially, you can collect stamps for all the cocktails in a beer garden passport, and you'll get 25% off to redeem before the end of the year.

Alison Stewart: That's a good [crosstalk].

Melissa McCart: [unintelligible 00:16:41] also has a beer Olympics, so you should go with your friends and dress up in the same shirt or whatever for Olympic beer pong, flip, steinholding and cornhole.

Alison Stewart: That sounds good. Melissa McCart, reporter for Eater. Best sports bars for the Olympics. Thanks for your reporting.

Melissa McCart: Thanks so much for having me again. Good to talk to you.

Alison Stewart: That's it for All Of It. I'm Allison Stewart. I'll meet you back here when I meet you back here.

[00:17:13] [END OF AUDIO]

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