Super Bowl: Basement Tavern, City Tavern, Rush Street & more

Basement Tavern: Sports fans can enjoy happy hour specials all night long at the Basement Tavern at the Victorian on Super Bowl Sunday. There will be $3 beers, $5 well drinks, $5 house red and white wines by the glass, and 50% off all bottles of wine and champagne. Hot dogs, hamburgers and other dishes will be complimentary with a two-drink minimum. Feeling indulgent? The tavern is also offering a Bottle and Bacon package: For $1,000, guests will receive a bottle of whiskey and bourbon and bacon-wrapped hot dogs for 10-20 friends. 2640 Main St., Santa Monica, (310) 392-4956.

City Tavern: This "new American tavern" is offering all-day happy hour in honor of the Super Bowl.  Spectators can sip on $10 craft beer growlers while munching on Super Bowl meatballs and pigs in a blanket made with Spanish chorizo. If you are going with a group, reserve your own table tap booth where you can pour your own beer throughout the game. 9739 Culver Blvd., Culver City, (310) 838-9739, www.citytavernculvercity.com.

Pink Taco: The Century City taco joint has 11 LED TVs and one jumbo projection screen for your Super Bowl viewing pleasure. The restaurant is serving crispy carnita tacos with salsa fresca and chipotle mayo, adobado chicken mini tortas, mini churros and more, all for less than $6 (or pick four for $22). 10250 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, (310) 789-1000, www.pinktaco.com.

Rock & Reilly's: Located on the Sunset Strip, this pub boasts more than 45 Irish whiskeys and 14 antique framed flat-screen TVs as well as a 120-inch projection screen. It will be serving Super Bowl favorites with an Irish twist including whiskey bingo wings, Irish nachos (made with potatoes, peppered bacon and Irish cheddar), wee burgers and corned beef sliders. If you are not a beer drinker, the bar will have its signature Irish whiskey flights available. 8911 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, (310) 360-1400, www.rnrpub.com.

Rush Street: This high-end sports bar is serving up gourmet snacks on Super Bowl Sunday. Diners will be able to try dishes such as warm pretzels with beer cheese fondue, avocado fries, lobster and shrimp egg rolls, and a trio of hummus. For those with a bigger appetite, the gastropub will be serving pizzas, like caramelized onion, fig, pancetta and goat cheese, along with burgers, sandwiches and salads. It will also have an extensive drink menu including team-themed specialty cocktails. 9546 Washington Blvd., Culver City, (310) 837-9546 www.rushstreetculvercity.com.

ALSO:

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Tar & Roses open in Santa Monica

--Leah Rodrigues

twitter.com/Leah.Rodrigues24

Photo: Jeremy Back, assistant general manager of City Tavern. Credit: Gary Friedman/ Los Angeles Times

Vegan Super Bowl specials at Tony's Darts Away

Craft beer hot spot Tony’s Darts Away will be offering vegan Super Bowl specials on Sunday, Feb. 5. Patrons can watch the big game while munching on hot buffalo style “wings” with "818" valley ranch dressing or fresh tortilla chips with five-layer dip made from spicy vegan beans, tomato salsa, vegan cheese, avocado salsa and vegan sour cream. Many menu items come in either a vegan or nonvegan option, such as the the Frito pie or the barbecue pulled pork sliders on biscuits with slaw. Wash it all down with Golden Road Beer, $3.50 per glass, the Super Bowl drink special.

1710 W. Magnolia Blvd., Burbank, (818) 253-1710, http://tonysda.com/

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-- Leah Rodrigues

twitter.com/ LeahRodrigues24

Photo: Tony's diners chow down on vegan and nonvegan sausages. Credit: Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times

World Cup: On our list of where to watch, what did we miss?

A list of places to watch the World Cup accompanied today's World Cup dining story. We already know we missed plenty. That's not for lack of trying. Hunting down the many places in and around Los Angeles that will have their TVs tuned to the games in South Africa was a bit like trying to track down all of L.A.'s taco trucks. There are just too many to count. And definitely too many to fit in print.

So I'd like to take a moment to list a few players that came to my attention after the list was written. And I'd like to encourage anyone who has additions to please leave them in the comments. 

ESPN Match Truck: These food trucks on steroids are decorated with sports-centric designs of questionable taste and equipped with LCD TV screens that will show the games. They also are equipped with menus of international street food designed by Kogi chef Roy Choi. L.A.'s truck hits the street on Friday; you can track its whereabouts on Twitter.

Palihouse: Palihouse will begin hosting World Cup parties on Saturday, which is when England goes head to head against the U.S. Singer Oliver Trevena hosts the day's festivities, and hamburgers, fish and chips and pitchers of beer will be featured. 8465 Holloway Drive, West Hollywood. www.palihouse.com.

Cecconi's: Breakfast (pizzette with fontina, tomato, spinach, speck and egg and a Bloody Mary) or lunch (pizza and a pint of Peroni) will be served for the games that start at 7 a.m and 11:30 a.m. 8724 Melrose Ave. (310) 432-2000.

The Bar at the Langham Huntington: Beginning Friday, this ritzy hotel bar will feature special prices on signature cocktails and highlight a new menu of “street food” created by Chef Erik Schuster and inspired by countries competing in the World Cup. Offerings include a South African snack called “FIFA Balls” (semi- sweet coconut curry millet puffs); fish and chips fried in duck fat; brown-butter spaetzle with shaved beer cheese; and manchego and serrano ham churros. In addition, if you follow the Langham Huntington on Twitter (@LanghamPasadena ), you can find out which dishes are featured each week, and if you re-tweet the news, you could win two complimentary World Cup street-food dishes.1401 S. Oak Knoll Ave., Pasadena. (626) 568-3900. pasadena.langhamhotels.com.

More choices after the jump.

Combo Plate: Eating up the Lakers, Engagement Chicken, free knives and more

--Here's the problem: If you read Bill Plaschke's column Thursday, you know that this L.A. Lakers / Boston Celtics championship will be decided within 48 minutes, if not sooner. That doesn't leave much time to indulge in Staples Center Executive Chef Pilar Sanchez's revamped playoffs menu. A lifelong Lakers fan, Pilar named dishes after current and former Lakers faves, including: Kung Pau Jidori Chicken Breast, Mini Kobe Beef Sliders, A.C. Green Salad with Wilted Arugula and, in a nod to Chick Hearn, the Jell-O Is Starting to Set Shooters made with sparkling wine, fruit Jell-O with seasonal berries and Chantilly cream. There are also Baby Back to Back to Back Ribs and the L.A. Dawg, above, a specialty hot dog topped with yellow mustard and purple onions. (Get it? Purple and yellow.) If you have access to the Chairman's Lounge, you can try specialty drinks named after the starting five including the Spanish Fly, in honor of Pau Gasol. It includes brandy, Kahlua and Baileys.

--You should be happy that Ree Drummond (a.k.a. The Pioneer Woman) is having a lousy week: It's one of the reasons why she's giving way a free set of Wusthof knives. [The Pioneer Woman Cooks]

--"If you're eating non-organic celery today, you may be ingesting 67 pesticides with it, according to a new report from the Environmental Working Group." [CNN]

--Clever: Hyperion and Glamour magazine are launching a series of books aimed at the magazine's 12 million female readers. First up: "Engagement Chicken and 99 Other Recipes to Get Everything You Want Out of Life" will be written by the magazine's editor in chief, Cindi Levine, and is scheduled for Valentine's Day 2011. [Publishers Weekly]

And if you do not know what Engagement Chicken is, click here.

--Beans and greens collide this summer. [The Orange County Register]

--Amusing mash-up of Judy Garland ostensibly shilling for Cream of Wheat. (It will leave you wondering "How did they do that!?") [Brand X]

--If you don't have playoff tickets, you can also try toasting your team with a Purple & Yellow Cocktail now being served at Morton's steakouses in Burbank, Los Angeles, Beverly Hills and Woodland Hills. They kindly agreed to pass the recipe along. Click below for the ingredients and a pic.

--Rene Lynch
twitter.com/renelynch

Beer cheese and pizza-sized pretzels: Dodger Stadium's new menu items for 2010 season

Few things about sporting events make me giddy. I mean, I like the cheering, the good-natured rivalries, the spirit colors -- but the part that really makes me swoon? Game food. So when it comes to baseball -- where it is completely acceptable to hang out with friends and guiltlessly down hot dogs and beer -- I say count me in.

Dodger Stadium understands that the food gets (almost) as much attention as the game. So Executive Chef Joseph Martin and restaurant partner Levy Restaurants have made sure that when the Dodgers play the Arizona Diamondbacks on Opening Day next Tuesday (April 13), fans will be able to munch on exciting new food while warming those bleachers.

New on the menu is the giant Victory Knot pretzel with beer cheese dipping sauce, gourmet Niman Ranch sausages and the spicy Picante Dog, back by popular demand (literally -- it has its own Facebook fan group which was dedicated to bringing it back from menu dormancy).

The new pizza-sized Victory Knot is made with two pounds of dough, topped with sea salt and served with three dipping sauces -- chipotle honey mustard, sweet cinnamon crème, and beer cheese. The calorie information wasn't available when we wrote this, but we can surmise that it's best not to try and eat one by yourself -- it’s supposed to serve four.

If hot dogs and beer cheese don’t sound like something you want to stomach for nine innings, three Health Plate carts serve healthier fare: spicy shrimp cocktail, fresh seasonal fruit salad, curried chicken lettuce wraps and sushi. Spicy tuna rolls at a baseball game, though? I might just stick with my $5 Dodger Dog.

(Keep reading about Dodger Stadium's new grub after the jump.)

Super Bowl ads set a record (and make us hungry)

Let's see if we got this straight: McDonald's will help you dunk like LeBron, Snickers will keep you from playing football like you're Betty White, dogs will do anything to get their paws on Doritos, and having a house made out of Bud Light cans would be really cool. Think Sunday night's Super Bowl seemed like it had a lot of ads? You're right. Commercials took up nearly 48 minutes of the game — the most for any Super Bowl. Read the rest of the story, and watch ad highlights, here.

Photo credit: (AP photo / Doritos)

Small Bites: Steak with Spike Lee, celebs cook up comfort for Thanksgiving

Meat/meet with Spike Lee: Have a hankering to discuss the recondite narrative mechanisms of "Girl 6" or the New York Knicks' defense? Filmmaker Spike Lee will join Andrew Siciliano and Mychal Thompson of 710 AM ESPN for a luncheon that combines steaks and sports. Morton's The Steakhouse. 735 S. Figueroa St., L.A. 11 a.m. Tuesday. $50 (includes tax and gratuity); cash bar.

Celebs donate recipes for suicide prevention: Actors Glenn Close, Marcia Gay Harden and Joe Pantoliano, comedian Joan Rivers, singer-songwriter James Taylor, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and Melissa d'Arabian, winner of last season's "The Next Food Network Star," are sharing their favorite holiday recipes as part of an awareness campaign for National Survivors of Suicide Day. Held every year on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, this year's campaign includes a recipe contest featuring Pelosi's chocolate mousse, Close's baking powder biscuits, Rivers' pumpkin bread pudding and more.

-- Elina Shatkin

Photo: Spike Lee takes in a meal from a court-side seat before a Lakers-Knicks game in 2008. Credit: Alex Gallardo / Los Angeles Times

Small Bites: Weeklong Mexican Independence Day at Rosa Mexicano; Monday night football at Riva

Viva Mexico: To celebrate Mexican Independence Day (Wednesday) Rosa Mexicano at L.A. Live is offering $37 three-course prix-fixe dinner menus all week long (Monday to Sunday). The menu will feature traditional dishes such as chiles en nogada, which are poblano chiles stuffed with pork picadillo and topped with walnut sauce and pomegranate seeds (a dish that's red, white and green, like the colors of the Mexican flag). See the full menu after the jump. Part of the proceeds will benefit Feeding America, a hunger-relief charity. L.A. Live, 800 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 746-0001, www.rosamexicano.com.

"Football for Foodies": Riva kicks off football season by offering happy hour all night long on Mondays. Watch the game, eat and drink from the bar menu, which instead of Buffalo wings features lamb ribs, a trio of crudo, squash blossoms with feta, and warm cerignola and gaeta olives marinated with orange zest and garlic. Cocktails are $4 and draft beers (Scrimshaw, Allagash, Stone Smoked Porter and Paulaner) are $3. 312 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica, (310) 451-7482, www.rivarestaurantla.com.

Capitol City blends sports bar appeal and Hollywood glamour

The 7,000 square feet of opulence that was the ill-fated nightclub Goa will re-open later this week as the sleek sports bar Capitol City. Aiming to broaden the sports bar's appeal beyond the traditional clientele of dudes, more dudes and the occasional bored girlfriend, proprietor Curtis Nysmith is going out of his way to brand Capitol City as a lounge. It has couches! And a menu! That includes Sicilian meatball sliders, house-smoked pork ribs, an ahi tuna salad, bacon mac 'n' cheese, lamb lollipops and such standards as nachos, wings and burgers.

We get it. This isn’t just a place for bros to watch USC shame Ohio State into submission. This is a place where a girl can kick off her gladiator stilettos and sip a cosmotini while petting her mini-labradoodle as he nips at the inside of her imitation Louis Vuitton tote bag. In all seriousness, one of the signature cocktails is the Pussycat, made with black cherry vodka, raspberry liqueur and a Champagne floater.

[More pictures after the jump.]

Bud Light's 'fan can' leaves a bad taste

A U.S. official and some colleges are telling the brewer of Bud Light to can it.

Bud Light rolled out a marketing gimmick, "Fan Can," with the beer cans decorated with college team colors in selected markets just as the schools -- and their football teams -- were gearing up for a new season.

But the campaign drew criticism from Janet Evans, a senior attorney with the Federal Trade Commission who oversees alcohol advertising, and from certain colleges because the cans could encourage underage drinking on their campuses.

"We've told them we don't ever want to see a campaign like this again," Evans said Wednesday. "We're concerned about the promotion because it's targeted to college campuses where there are a large number of binge drinkers and underage persons in the audience." Read more in Sports:

Photo caption: Design of the proposed fan cans, which would come in school colors. Photo credit: Associated Press