Tag: Super Bowl

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Sports

Life without Football

Imagine having no Jets or Giants to root for so passionately.

Imagine not preparing fabulous food for game days a tradition that brings together two things many of us are so fond of: sports and food. Imagine not getting to watch some of the world’s best athletes competing on the gridiron. That happening is a distinct possibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the NFL in its offseason, the league hasn’t been as hard hit yet by the coronavirus.

 

 

Life without Football
Photo by Joe Calomeni from Pexels

 

 

But the NFL is feeling the COVID-19 pinch nonetheless, with commissioner Roger Goodell already canceling the annual league meetings scheduled this March, as well as the 2020 draft event in Las Vegas. The NFL Draft, though, will still push through. As for the NFL season? Well, it remains to be seen. Having said that might as well prepare for life without football—in the meantime at least.

It is a possibility brought up by a Chicago Suntimes op-ed,

noting how COVID-19’s “unsympathetic alacrity” is making it harder to believe that sports will return any time soon. After all, scientists are estimating that 40–80% of the globe will be infected with the coronavirus. With a pandemic of such magnitude, in fact, any return to normalcy might take at least a year, or even longer.

That being said, it would be a shame if this season gets canceled. It was poised to be a good year with the reigning Super Bowl champs, the Kansas City Chiefs, looking to repeat their success from the previous season. They have kept their core, and have been installed by Bwin Sports as the slight favorites to win Super Bowl LV, followed by the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers. But all the player movements this offseason have vastly changed the NFL landscape, and have made it more unpredictable. Tom Brady, a legend in New England, left the Patriots, while wideout DeAndre Hopkins, Stefon Diggs, and Emmanuel Sanders all found new homes via trades

Needless to say, this NFL season has the chance to be super special,

with lots of compelling storylines to follow and a title chase that figures to be ultra-competitive and wide open. In this time of crisis, though, there are bigger things than football. And if that means a season canceled, then so be it. We’ll just have to be ready for it.

It will be for one season only—hopefully.
Categories
Dining Events Featured Sports

We’ve Got Your Super Bowl Menu Planned

Clinton Hall

Whether you’re staying in for the big game or heading out to watch on someone else’s big screen, we’ve got all your Super Bowl snacking covered. Read on for the best places to watch the best commercials of the year and where to order your all important halftime meal from.

 

Going Out:

Due West

 

due west interior

Located in the heart of the West Village, Due West has multiple big screen TV’s and is the perfect spot to start your Super Bowl celebrations! Grab your friends and come check out Due West’s $13 Super Bowl Combo featuring Chicken Bites served Buffalo style with Bleu Cheese and celery plus your choice of one of their signature shots including the Undead (gin, absinthe and lemon) and the Delusional (Mezcal, aperol, chartreuse and lime).

Due West
189 W 10th Street
Sunday: 12 PM – 12 AM

Clinton Hall

 

Clinton Hall

The city’s staple beer hall is offering $30 buckets of beer and $25 giant bowls of wings for the Super Bowl at all Clinton Hall locations. The regular menu, which includes tons of sharable appetizers and decadent burgers, will also be available. Drink up and chow down while watching the game on their 100 inch HD projector screen.

Clinton Hall
90 Washington Street (FiDi)
16 W 36th Street
230 E 51st Street
247 Metropolitan Avenue (Williamsburg)
601 E 189th Street (Bronx)
Sunday: all open midnight or later

Bell Book & Candle

 

bell book & candle

Bell Book & Candle will offer an exclusive Super Bowl Sunday menu while guests watch the game on two 75″ HD projectors complete with surround sound. Menu items include BB&C Smoked Whole Wings with Chipotle BBQ, blue cheese and hot sauce for $3 each, Drunken Bean Dip with goat cheese, tomato, and grilled flatbread for $10 and a BB&C Patty Melt Burger with grilled onions, vintage cheddar and rooftop pickles for $17. Don’t think they forgot to include drinks! Drink up with $25 beer buckets of Bud Light, Heineken, Tecate and Coors Banquet.

Bell Book & Candle
141 W 10th Street
Sunday: 5:30 PM – 2 AM (Kitchen closes at 10:30 PM)

 

Staying In:

Ess-a-Bagel

 

The Ess-a-Bagel near Stuyvesant Town on 1st Avenue and 19th Street will put every other sub you’ve ever eaten to shame with their Super Bagel filled with meats, cheeses, and condiments. Your guests might even get so distracted they loose sight of the game!

Ess-a-Bagel
324 1st Avenue
Sunday: 6 AM – 5 PM

Ed’s Lobster Bar

ed's lobster bar wings

lobster slidersIf you’re a die-hard Patriots fan and want to express that in your food, too, look no further than Ed’s Lobster Bar for all your New England-style food needs. Their catering menu includes mini lobster rolls, garlic parmesan wings, fish tacos, and beef chili. To place an order, call Ed’s Lobster Bar (212) 343-3236 or email Chef Ed McFarland at edward@lobsterbarnyc.com. Orders are available for pickup or delivery (Manhattan only).

 

Ed’s Lobster Bar
222 Lafayette Street
Sunday: 12:00–9:30 PM

Rosa Mexicano

 

rosa mexicano super bowl

This classic Mexican spot is famous for their table-side guacamole…it just usually isn’t your table-side! Take home a Big Game Fiesta Package of freshly made guac, chips and salsa for $55 and all you’ll have to do is sit back and relax. To make your life even easier, add on the Refresher Pack of margarita bases in flavors like blood orange-pomegranate and mango-pineapple-jalapeño. Each flavor costs $29 and makes 16 cocktails, just add tequila!

Rosa Mexicano
41 Murray Street (Tribeca)
9 E 18th Street (Union Square)
1063 1st Avenue (58th Street)
61 Columbus Avenue (62nd Street)
Sunday: all open until 10 PM or later

 

 

Categories
Dining

Samuel Adams Nano Brewery head brewer Megan Parisi on hops, the Carnegie Deli, and what’s coming up for Sam Adams

Sam Adams' Megan Parisi

Sam Adams' Megan Parisi
Samuel Adams Nano Brewery’s Megan Parisi

The flagship brand of the Boston Beer Company, Samuel Adams — or Sam Adams, for short — was founded in 1984 by James “Jim” Koch and Rhonda Kallman. The following year, Samuel Adams Boston Lager was named “Best Beer In America” at the Great American Beer Festival. Three decades later, the Boston Beer Company is the second-largest craft brewery in the United States. Preferring to spread the wealth, the company is known to take place in a lot of philanthropy, including Brewing The American Dream — for which over $400 million in loans has been given out to entrepreneurs — and the Samuel Adams LongShot American Homebrew Competition.

Sam Adams is also known for experimenting with its flavors. Beyond the popular aforementioned Boston Lager and the expected Sam Adams Light, the brand has branched out in recent years with the Samuel Adams Rebel IPA, the Samuel Adams Utopias — believed to be the world’s strongest commercial beer — and its Nitro Project. The brewer also puts out limited-edition seasonal varities and variety packs.

Just prior to the Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day — when Samuel Adams Hopscape and Fresh As Helles were on the market — Downtown caught up with Megan Parisi, head brewer at Samuel Adams Nano Brewery. We did not get to ask Megan about the newly-reformulated Rebel line, which includes the Rebel Juiced IPA, but our Q&A did deliver plenty of insight into what’s ahead for Sam Adams. More on Sam Adams can be found at www.samueladams.com, beyond the company’s homes on Twitter and Facebook.

What do you wish more people knew about Sam Adams?

Megan Parisi: As the craft beer industry has grown increasingly popular over the past several years, it’s important to credit Sam Adams founder Jim Koch as one of the pioneers who sparked the craft beer revolution. Jim took a lot of risks in creating a universally loved beer at a time when people were just settling for fizzy, light, flavorless beer, which was the only beer on the market. Now, Boston Lager has become a staple beer, and Sam Adams continues to be a game-changer in the beer industry by constantly innovating.

To be a brewer at the brewery that pioneered extreme beer and the now-commonplace practice of barrel aging, is an honor. And to oversee our nano-brewery, the epicenter of our R&D beers, is awesome. I’ve contributed to two of our new seasonals, Hopscape and Fresh As Helles, which are now part of our rotating seasonal program, an industry practice our brewery established as well.

How did you wind up working for Sam Adams?

MP: I started my brewing career in 2004, working at a few other breweries before joining the Sam Adams team in 2015. I’ve always felt that Sam Adams had an authenticity and quality that’s unparalleled in the industry, and I knew when I joined in 2015 that I’d be a part of a truly innovative and beloved brewery.

Sam Adams just unveiled two new beers in time for both the Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day. Do you have a favorite of the two holidays and which beer do you suggest drinking for each occasion?

MP: That’s a tough one! Both beers are delicious in their own right but if I had to choose one, I’d say Hopscape is more fitting for the big game as it has a lot of “umph” to it. The hoppiness in the beer also balances the spiciness of food like Buffalo wings, which we all know we’ll be consuming a lot of! Fresh As Helles is also a great beer, but with the honey element, it’s the perfect brew to share with your sweetheart!

February events aside, what is coming up for Sam Adams?

MP: Sam Adams hosts its annual LongShot American Homebrew Contest, which recognizes homebrewers from around the country for their innovation, passion and quality homebrewed beers. We’re excited that craft beer drinkers from around the country will be able to enjoy the Samuel Adams LongShot American Homebrew Contest variety pack in April, featuring the 2016 winning beers. As for other announcements, we’re constantly brewing new ideas and beers, so you’ll have to stay tuned!

When not busy with Sam Adams, how do you like to spend your free time?

MP: When I’m not making beer, I enjoy drinking beer, but prefer to call it “research!” I do like to stay active too. I began running seriously a couple of years ago, and now I really do look forward to the calm and peace of that quiet time to myself — and reward myself with a beer if it’s a later day run, not a morning one! Boston is also such a beautiful city, it’s wonderful simply to walk around here with no real agenda, and take in the sights and people.

Any upcoming travel to New York planned?

MP: I would absolutely love to get to New York soon, it’s been far too long since I’ve been, and I always love spending time there. Right now, I am simply too busy brewing to get away.

Do you have a favorite bar or restaurant in New York?

MP: There are many great places to choose from. It may sound touristy, but I was sad to see Carnegie Deli close. Over the years I have enjoyed many a pastrami there with some 5th Avenue pie after a concert at Carnegie Hall — even one in which I performed!

Categories
Events Sports

Fox Sports Announces Broadcast Team for 2017 Westminster Dog Show

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrgVW445Nx8

With little more than a month until the world’s top dogs converge upon New York City’s Madison Square Garden to vie for the coveted title of “Best In Show,” FOX Sports has named its team of broadcasters who will present the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Also announced were the announcers calling breed judging on FOX Sports GO and Nat Geo WILD and the Master’s Agility Championship on FS1, combining to make 2017 Westminster Week the most widely covered in the event’s illustrious history.

Westminster Kennel Club Director of Communications Gail Miller Bisher provides expert analysis of the breeds alongside FOX Sports veteran announcer Chris Myers during the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show on Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 13 and 14 on FS1. Bisher brings to the telecast more than 30 years of experience in the dog world as a handler, writer and spokesperson. An AKC-licensed conformation judge, her background spans conformation, obedience and earthdog trial competitions. Myers has been a member of the FOX Sports family since 1998 and has called NFL, NASCAR, MLB and more for the network; this February, he will be part of FOX Sports’ Super Bowl coverage for the fifth time in his career.

Also contributing to FS1’s inaugural coverage of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show are social media and backstage correspondent Katie Nolan, backstage reporter Karyn Bryant, and host Jenny Taft. Nolan — host of the Emmy Award-winning original program Garbage Time With Katie Nolan — will be backstage with the dogs and their handlers as they get ready for their moment in the spotlight and monitors what’s trending on social media. Bryant is also backstage and interviews the winners, while Taft sets the scene for viewers leading up to the action on the arena floor.

Play-by-play announcer Justin Kutcher, analyst Terry Simons and reporter Jennifer Hale will return to call the Master’s Agility Championship at Westminster. Kutcher will be joined by Paula Nykiel and Jason Hoke to announce breed judging at Piers 92 and 94, while Rachel Bonnetta serves as a FOX Sports Digital correspondent during breed, group and Best in Show judging. Nykiel and Hoke are both accomplished judges whose credentials include Hoke’s appointment as Toy Group judge at the 140th Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show and Nykiel’s position as Sporting Group judge at this year’s event.

For more information, including biographies and photography, please visit www.foxsports.com.

Categories
Events Living Pets

Beth Ostrosky Stern on the Dec. 12 Beth Stern & Friends’ Bash For The Bulldogs, life with Howard & more

Beth Stern & friend / Photo: Rob Rich/SocietyAllure.com

Beth Stern & Friend / Photo: Rob Rich/SocietyAllure.com
Beth Stern & Friend / Photo:
Rob Rich/SocietyAllure.com

Beth Ostrosky Stern first achieved prominence as an actress and model in the late 1990s. That success helped Beth transition into careers as a television host and a best-selling author. Beth’s first book, Oh My Dog: How To Choose, Train, Groom, Nurture, Feed, And Care For Your New Best Friend — which reached #5 on a New York Times Best Sellers chart — widely-showcased her passion for animals. Now, beyond hosting annual events like the Kitten Bowl and the Hero Dog Awards on TV, Beth is known as one of the top animal rights activists out there.

On Dec. 12, Beth will be hosting Beth Stern & Friends’ Bash For The Bulldogs! at The London NYC Hotel. Attendees are set to include rapper and actor Ice-T, reality TV star and entrepreneur Coco Austin, Talk Stoop host Cat Greenleaf, movie producer Jason B. Hurwitz, and best-selling author Jill Rappaport. The event will include live jazz music, buffet dinner, cocktails and wine donated by Chatham Imports. Sponsors include Bulldog Gin and Tito’s Handmade Vodka, while items have been donated by novelist Patricia Cornwell, Staci Gruber, The RTA Store and The Honest Kitchen for a live auction. Tickets can be purchased at www.longislandbulldogrescue.org; proceeds will benefit the New York-based Long Island Bulldog Rescue.

Long Island Bulldog Rescue founder Laurette Richin arranged for Downtown to speak with Beth. No word if Beth’s beloved Howard will be attending this year’s event at this time. However, Beth can be followed on Twitter and Instagram via @BethStern.

You first became known for your work as a model, but now you are mostly known for your work as a host and a spokesperson. Was there a particular assignment or event that first let you showcase your personality?

Beth Stern: I have been involved in animal rescue my entire life. I was modeling in New York when I was asked if I would walk in a fashion show for a North Shore Animal League event and I didn’t leave the runway until every animal was adopted. I’ve been doing commercials my entire life and over the years have hosted several TV shows. It’s extra special when I can combine my passion for animals with speaking engagements or TV shows that promote animal adoption and rescue.

And what inspired you to become so involved with animals in the first place?

BS: I’ve been an animal lover since I was born. It’s in my blood. My entire family always rescued our pets and we also saved injured wildlife. Growing up my family had dogs, cats, guinea pigs, hermit crabs and chickens. We treated our pets as family members.

Is it ever challenging to be associated with animal-related causes? Or do you find it to be less taboo these days?

BS: I am very proud of the work I do to help bring awareness to animal causes. My husband and I foster cats and kittens, and I’ve heard I’m making the whole “crazy cat lady” stigma different! Go ahead and call me crazy if I’m helping to save lives and find homes for homeless animals in need!

How would you describe the upcoming Bash For The Bulldogs to someone who hasn’t attended it before?

BS: This is my favorite event of the year. It’s a magical room full of animal lovers, especially bulldog lovers! Bulldogs are everywhere! Guests bring their own bulldogs and there are always adoptable ones walking around or fast asleep in the middle of the noisy, crowded venue. It always makes me laugh. I always end up on the floor making out with all of the bulldogs!

Bash For The Bulldogs gala aside, what is coming up for you? Will you be hosting this year’s Kitten Bowl?

BS: Yes, I have been hosting Hallmark Channel’s Kitten Bowl for the past four years. We have an extra fun one planned for this Super Bowl Sunday! And the best part is that all of the dogs, cats, puppies and kittens all find forever homes after the taping. Yes, puppies and dogs will be making an appearance this year! I also am thrilled to co-host Hallmark Channel’s annual Hero Dog Awards as well.

Is there an accomplishment or credit of yours that you are most proud of?

BS: Fostering over 300 cats and kittens over the past three years. We’ve also fostered a sweet bulldog for L.I. Bulldog Rescue and found her forever home as well. Nothing makes me happier than helping an animal in need.

A lot of people became Beth fans a result of Howard. On a daily basis, do you encounter a lot of people saying “Bababooey” to you?

BS: No. People do stop me in the street and ask how my cats are doing, though! Howard and I have been together for over 16 years now.

When not busy with your work, how do you like to spend your free time?

BS: Howard and I are constantly busy with our six resident cats — three are special needs — as well as the foster cats and kittens we have at any given time.

Do you have a favorite restaurant in New York?

BS: Polo Bar and Scalinatella.

Finally, Beth, any last words for the kids?

BS: It’s the perfect time of year to open your hearts and homes to a pet in need. Adopt!