Where to watch the World Cup in Southern California: Part 3

This is the third update to the original post.

When I hear of some new places to watch World Cup games, I’ll just add them to the top of the list and repost it.

Thanks to all those who have e-mailed or otherwise let me know where to watch games. Keep the suggestions coming.

Here are the newest places I have learned about:

*Like a little culture with your soccer? Head to ArtWalk 2010: The Los Angeles Arts & Music Festival Saturday, where the Los Angeles Museum of Art is sponsoring this event:

Celebrating the art of the rivalry, U.S. and U.K. fans alike will fill the Petersen’s Special Events Tent for a live screening of the World Cup soccer game between the United States and Britain with the proceeds benefitting LACMA Muse. American and British soccer, photography, music, food, and drink will clash for this juxtaposition of sports and art.

Tickets (including open bar): $15 Muse members | $20 general public. Muse tickets on sale May 24; general-public tickets on sale May 31. Buy tickets online, call 323 857-6010 or visit LACMA’s box office, 5905 Wilshire Blvd.

There’s free admission to all five museums along the Miracle Mile from noon to midnight. (Thanks to loyal blog reader Studs Up for the tip).

*Nike is showing games here in Hollywood complete with free food and drinks (scroll down for the game schedule).

*The new Fox Sports Grill in Westlake Village will open for every game.

*The Village Idiot gastropub on Melrose Avenue will open early for games at 7 a.m. Here’s the schedule of games.

*For those of you in Beverly Hills the Euro Caffe will show some games.

*This sounds like a good spot for Italian fans in Long Beach.

Here are some options I wrote about in the second update:

* Plaza Mexico in Lynwood (3000 Imperial Highway) from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. (kickoff is at 7 a.m.) Friday for the South Africa-Mexico World Cup opener. T-Mobile is sponsoring the event.

From the press release:

Multiple large viewing screens will be placed throughout the plaza, offering a live telecast of the much-anticipated opening match between Mexico and South Africa. In addition to watching the game, patrons will enjoy free food from local food vendors, refreshments, games, prizes, giveaways and live music from bands including Voz de Mando and El Potro de Sinaloa.

Lynwood Mayor Maria Teresa Santillan will attend. Actor Mario Lopez will be stopping by and MTV Tr3s VJ Jazmin Lopez will act as the emcee for the event.

*The folks at San Pedro Fish Market told me they are installing “4 x 55in flat screens on our exterior patio specifically for the World Cup. We have an outdoor seating on the LA Harbor for 2000 and serve over 10,000 customers every weekend.”

Party on.

And here is the initial post:

i-cd5e88f0f8448e9010b960838733633d-aswedishkayla0001.jpgWhen I attended the World Cup in Germany four years ago, some of my best memories were not going to games, but watching them with fans around the world at pubs and bars (and, yeah, that’s the wife above smoothing international relations with a random Swede in Berlin).

I was German for a night at a downtown Berlin bar when they beat neighboring Poland in stoppage time and sent the Poles home.

I partied with hundreds of thousands of people in stifling heat at the massive Berlin Fanfest while England played Trinidad & Tobago. I watched a game in an Irish Pub in the delightful city of Mainz with Brazilians, Australians (and a few Germans). And cheered on the U.S. in a London pub in the third and final group game while bemused Brits filtered in after work wondering why this English guy was screaming for (and at) the American team.

It’s possible to do the same in multinational Los Angeles, of course.

So while it was a blast in 2002 (despite the result) to watch the U.S. play Germany in the middle of the night at Mr. Pockets Sports Bar in Manhattan Beach (and hear the immortal words “first call for alcohol” later that morning), I’ll be hunting down Honduran restaurants and Argentine cafes and generally trying to party with the natives of whatever country is playing this time around.

It’s why in part I free-lanced an article (well a list, really) of potential places in LA County to catch the World Cup spirit for the Los Angeles Visitors Bureau.

It’s a fairly diverse list, I think, and a good starting point, but by no means complete.

i-5c6dd6ab049d710757e3d670078ba68d-akilts0001.jpgWouldn’t you like to hang around with fashionably-dressed gentlemen like these to watch World Cup games?

New World Cup watching parties are being announced all the time:

*The Galaxy, for instance, has just announced they’ll be holding more than 100 viewing parties throughout Southern California So if you’ve been wondering where to hang out with like-minded souls to watch Uruguay vs. France on the opening day of the tournament, now you do.

*Also just announced by Verizon is a free viewing party at Staples Center the company is holding for 2,500 fans on the opening and closing days of the tournament from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. June 11 and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. July 11 (the company is also holding them in New York, Dallas and Tampa, Fla., by the way). How do you get in? Free tickets are being distributed at Verizon Wireless or Verizon Plus stores in each area.

*Personally, I’ll be hanging out at my favorite haunt, the Red Car Brewery & Restaurant in Old Torrance for the huge England-U.S. game June 12. Galaxy fan group the LA Riot Squad is hosting the event and has prevailed upon the owners to open at 10 a.m. for brunch (freedom toast is on the menu, I’m told). There’s happy hour beer prices for those wearing U.S. any soccer jerseys (I’m hoping those of us brave/stupid enough to wear English jerseys don’t pay double the usual price).

Full details are here. (And if you haven’t tasted the RC’s ultra hoppy and highly potent IPA or their Porter with chocolate overtones you haven’t lived. Designated drivers highly recommended).

Other places recommended to me by Facebook friends et al include:

* The White Harte Pub in Woodland Hills, which gets a mention if for no other reason than the cool World Cup videos constantly playing in rotation on its Web site.

* Grand Casino Bakery in Culver City. Said the person who recommended it to me:

“Grand Casino in Culver City had a pretty big contingent of Argentine fans last World Cup. I’d expect the same this time around. Plus, lots of good Argentine food.”

Mmm, empanadas.

*I’m guessing Cirivello’s in Long Beach, owned by Italians, maybe an excellent choice for supporters of the Azzurri.

The places mentioned here have barely scratched the surface of regional watering holes, etc. that will air some or all World Cup games.

If you can recommend others, send along a link and the appropriate info.

I intend to keep updating this blog post as appropriate.

Cheers! (Below is yours truly in a London pub four years ago).
i-eed3e545cf5b51ba5d57841177ef57a5-apottersbar0001.jpg

And, no, “Lost” fans I don’t think I was bending an elbow with John Locke, but it did sorta look like him.

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