I thought we had a few obsessives around here. I was wrong. Bowing to the MASTER! Thanks…
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Inquiring minds would like to know how you celebrated opening day, @Cousteau? Where did you go today?
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France beat South Korea 4-zip in today’s opener; it must’ve been quite a jubilant fete for the Frenchie hosts. But I just couldn’t make it today. I wish I could have. The first match I’ll be able to attend is Sunday, England vs. Scotland. Till then…
ENGLAND/SCOTLAND FIELD REPORT: Coming to you live from the Fox and Hounds Pub in Studio City, with an enthusiastic staff greeting its equally enthusiastic Word Cup customers. The venue, a darkened pubstyle sports-y bar which some nights has live rock bands set up on the dining room floor, has set up a super-large viewing screen where the bands usually play, for today’s event. All the smaller monitors are tuned to the match, too. Multiple copies of the official poster of the Cup adorn the walls, evincing the venue’s support of the Women’s Cup. Sparse crowd is divided equally between both teams. The entire menu is available this morning, but I was looking forward to breakfast stuff, so I got a combo plate. It had two scrambled eggs topped with melty cheddar; quarter-inch oval slice of ham, with nice criss-cross grill marks; thick, soft bigslice of griddled sourdough; and deep-fried breakfast potatoes, simply cubed and thankfully not mucked up with bell peppers or pimientos. Nothing extraordinary, but certainly good enough and hit the spot for 10 bucks. Cup of hot tea was excellent. It’s 2-1 England, a tight game and who knows what the outcome will be 15 minutes from now! X-citing!! 
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JAPAN FIELD REPORT: Halftime here in the lounge/breakfast area of the Miyako Hybrid Hotel in Torrance. Pretty quiet in the game gameview/TV area, but I guess the travelers here are on tight Monday schedules doing other things. I’m passing on the $25 buffet, though it looks fine: an American aisle of bacon, pork links, scrambled eggs, brekkie spuds, General Mills mini cereal boxes and an omelette bar guy; and Japanese aisle of chafing dishes of salmon and mackerel chunks, sliced lotus root, seaweedy stuff, and a variety of finely minced plant-based items I don’t know the names of. I’m just getting a tall apple juice on the rocks ($5). All very low-key here this morning, in fact I was the first one there to ask the game put on. The commentators said Japan better step up its game if they are to win…it’s 0-0 now but who knows what the finish shall be!..
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If you’re hungry, the buffet option isn’t bad. It’s a bit pricey, but @Chowseeker1999 has done a review on it before.
Might I suggest Fukugawa for the next Japan game? They open early and their Japanese breakfast is delicious…and a great value for the amount of food you get.
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Thanks to you, Attran99, Fukagawa is now listed above in the main post as a Japan venue. Namaste! 
P. S. Japan tied 0-0 today, with Argentina.
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I love the idea of discussing the venues but I for one would appreciate you not broadcasting current or finished game scores. I like to watch after work and it is a real bummer to see scores here.
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It’s soccer. Assume 0-0 unless proven otherwise.
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Got it. I will no longer mention any scores or wins/losses (in the first 48 hours they transpire). Thank you for reading this post and thank you even more for your support of the Women’s Cup. That you make it a point to watch the games on tape delay shows your passion and dedication! 
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You may be able to catch the next England match at London’s Pub & Grill in Artesia. They’ve been known to open early for matches and various games throughout the year. They can make a hearty English style breakfast in addition to Indian masalas and burgers. Though I enjoy their food the last time I was there with coworkers for lunch for a ManU match, they were completely understaffed and service was terrible. I hope they’ve made the necessary adjustments.
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I would love to get down there and check out that venue, Attran99. I’ve already hit England for the Group Phase, but if they make it to the Knockout, I might be able to check it out! Will let u know in advance if possible. Thanks! 
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THAILAND FIELD REPORT: Wrapping it up here at Thai Patio, which proved to be “the” place to be for today’s match. It is the only venue at the Thai plaza it’s in to have the game on; and my first stop, Palms Thai up the street, did not have the necessary FOX in their TV package. But Patio did, and its staff was enthusiastic about the game, as well as enthusiastic about their customers. The moderate lunch crowd had a few, though only a few, diners interested in the game. Menu was extensive, with many Siam specialties extending far beyond the usual American leanings. My 9-dollar plate of pork pad see-ew was oily, tasty and plentiful; so plentiful that I divided it in half and will take the box home. Would I come back, if for another game? Yes.
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GERMANY FIELD REPORT: The left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing at Alpine Village this morning, as the attendant at the entrance of the parking lot told me as I pulled up that their restaurant/bar was not open yet. I had to tell him that yes it was, for the World Cup. So I parked and went to the door, but found the door locked. Next I whipped out the cellphone to call the Alpine office; a guy answered, but then the call immediately shifted to repetitive ringing. I had to hang up and call back. This time I got through, and informed him their front door was locked. He was surprised and promptly emerged from the restaurant, cheerfully opening the door and saying the game is on. Indeed it was, on all the monitors (though I became the first person in there, since the parking attendant had been sending people away). This is not the first time Alpine has screwed up their soccer; they were a disorganized mess during the men’s Cup last year. (See my 2018 post, if you can stand it.) But it’s such a wonderful facility and concept, and special little LA jewel, that all is forgiven. I’ve been coming here too long and had too many good times, to forsake the big picture.
I ordered the bratwurst brek sandwich from the Cup special menu. I bit in and was surprised a runny yolk squirted out. I’d presumed it would be hard cooked. All those Sausage McMuffins, I guess. I scraped it out as I don’t like them runny. Sandie was otherwise fine. It came with a side scoop of hot German fried spuds, simply prepared. Beverage-less, as I wanted apple juice, but they don’t stock it.
The staff, all male, were very enthusiastic and cheery, and great oldies music softly in the background, like Booker T & the MGs.
The manager mentioned that for this year’s Oktoberfest, they will be staging it all inside the restaurant and around the Village shops; no more big parking lot tent. Fyi.
Whenever I’m here I always duck into the adjacent Alpine Market/Deli, with its exquisite and fun offerings of European groceries, fresh sausages and cheeses. I buy shelf stuff, like import German and Polish Knorr seasoning packet mixes, that I then never use. (Ha!) Today I grabbed some of their fresh kielbasa, plus a pack of Alexandra brand spinach-pork pierogi from the freezer case; all good.
Another pit stop I usually make when in this town of Torrance, is the fabulous Penzey’s Spices (21217 Torrance Blvd.). I did exactly that a couple days ago, after visiting the Miyako Hybrid Ise-Shima for the Japan game. Got some of their superfine-grind black pepper that I’d been wanting, for dusting on delicate things like scrambled eggs. Also spontaneously picked up a jar of their chipotle powder. On sale for 2 bucks; couldn’t resist.
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SOUTH AFRICA FIELD REPORT: Nice little crowd of about 35 here today at the Springbok Bar & Grill; some here for the game, which most of the monitors are tuned to. A few folks are taking advantage of the outdoor patio with today’s mesh spring/summer weather; World Cup monitors are mounted out there too. I staked my place indoors in front of a bigscreen. Venue has stereotypical sportsbar fare, peppered with a few South African entries. It was part of the experience to try something South African, so I chose the piri-piri chicken. It was brought out surprisingly quickly. It turned out to be a plentiful amount of filet chx shards, coated in a pleasant enough spice sauce. Sauce was not super hot/spicy, nor was it complex. It was smooth and creamy-textured (though not dairy). Color was orange-red. I have a bottle of piri-piri sauce at home from a store; it’s more of a blond color. Whatever. Chx was mounded atop a bed of quick-cook/converted whitish rice. The dish was OK. Sides were a litely horseradishized (there’s a word, “horseradishized”) slaw which, I’ll give it credit, tasted house-made; and a simple green salad with mustard vinaigrette. They were all on the same plate, and the courses’ sauces/dressings all slopped into one another. Fare good, but not extraordinary. But that is not to sound critical; sportsbars are not to be held up to 4-star gourmet standards! (LoL)
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ITALY FIELD REPORT: Euro Caffe is such a nice place to watch any televised soccer game. Its quaint courtyard setting and soccer memorabilia decor harken the enthusiasts in. Make no bones about it, Italy is the home team here. The indoor monitor was tuned to the Cup when I arrived, with the manager guy decked out in an Italian soccer jersey; and things got right underway. Menu is caffe-true of paninis, salads, breakfasty egg items, and espresso drinks. Its only lack was flavored basic cold drinks in terms of no lemonade, iced tea, Arnold Palmers, apple juice, Coke. I went with a hot/grilled mortadella panini, which came with mixed green salad on the side; and an orange San Pellegrino to wash it down with. Panini ingredients were mozzarella, sliced tomatoes, and arugula in addition to the mortadella. It turned out the flavor of arugula was a bit too strong for me in the morning, so I scraped that out. Otherwise the panini was dandy. There were no disasters at Euro Caffe this morning, but one sure hit the fan later when I got home. Yikes, that’s another story…
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NEW ZEALAND FIELD REPORT: Tangaroa Fish Market probably excels at its raw bar; 'cause it didn’t with the cooked menu items I ordered. The white “Kiwi chowder” was a bland and almost pasty potage containing only a few visible microbits of the clams the menu description stated, nor any of the mussels and fish. The nine dollars charged for such a petite little cup of soup infers some sort of exquisite rarity or excellence; which it absolutely was not. The 25-dollar Fisherman’s Basket of battered/fried stuff was OK – prawns, oysters, a chunk of white fish, and some calamari. Batter could have used seasoning, at least more sodium. Its oysters were indeed xlnt. The calamari had a different coating, lighter in color, almost like a fine-grind panko or cornmeal. I’ll give them credit for changing it up. There were no dipping sauces; just a lemon wedge. There are not even salt & pepper shakers at the tables. My extremely sweet & cheerful server let me swap the basket’s fries for “collard greens” – but they turned out to be a strange bird: al dente collards mixed with segments of their bitter stems, some kale, little pickled onion rings, sliced cherry tomatoes, edamame, and raw (but heated) white corn kernels. OK once, but I wouldn’t get it again. Washing it down was an Arnold Palmer, shamefully made with that funky-tasting pre-fab “lemonade” which comes out of plastic containers and stocked via restaurant suppliers. I am always baffled as to why top-flight eateries proffering excellence or attempted excellence use this crap as their lemonade. The Farfalla trattoria in Los Feliz is a similar violator (bless their hearts otherwise). Nothing’s cheap here and I left $46 poorer. Would I come here again? Not if I’m paying.
The server flipped the game on and at an uncomfortably loud volume. It was on three indoor monitors. (Tangaroa also has some outdoor patio seating.) I had to put in earplugs. At halftime a manager/owner-lookin guy came in and turned it d-o-w-n. Shortly thereafter he left the game on but flipped audio to house music. Not much of a turnout for the game; a surprise, considering the ravenous way the reviews of this venue read. I got here on the early side, to be sure to get a seat. Turns out, no hurry was necessary. I didn’t like the way the game was going, and left before it was over.
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We really like their oysters and their fresh fish - LA doesn’t have too many good seafood joints at that price point.
TEAM USA FIELD REPORT: I was THRILLED by the gathering at Tom’s Urban sportsbar in DTLA! The venue is opening early (i.e. before 9am) for all USA games, co-promoted by our local pro men’s team, the LA Galaxy. A film crew was there, documenting the crowd. It was vibrant and jumpin on a Sunday morn, 80 (!) people excitedly in the venue already and more popping in as the match went underway; all to cheer on TEAM U-S-A, YAAAAAAAAAY !!!
Tom’s Urban is a big, slick, clean, new-generation sportsbar, with tons of monitors. It has a very large oval-shaped bar (which I sat at), plus tables galore. Parking can get expensive at the LA Live complex, but being early on a Sunday morning I got lucky with a free street space a block away. Menu is “gastro sportsbar,” if that makes any sense; upscaled, gourmetified versions of burgers, pizzas, sandies, wings and fries, plus some further entrees. Of the latter I got a shrimp & cheddar grits, and it was outstanding. The grits held together well and had a great-tasting combo cheese element. Its six shrimp on the top were large, plump, seasoned and griddled. Everything was sprinkled with cubes of juicy bacon which was more smoked than salty and sweet; and my favorite, sliced green onions. Cajun-y spicing was just right. When it arrived the guy next to me’s eyes bulged and he gushed, “Wow, that looks GOOD!” He was right. Hell yeah I’d order it again.
SO much new construction is going on right there, around Staples Center and the LA Live. I was most recently there last year; not that long ago; and just since that time a whole new supermodern sphere-shaped building has gone up on Fig right in front of Staples. It pretty much obscures the sight of Staples from the street anymore. So much gentrification and modern construction is going on in downtown LA (there were cranes EVERYWHERE) and Hollywood that it’s getting so that I don’t recognize these towns anymore. These towns, my town?
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KOREA NON-FIELD REPORT: I tried, but could not, view-dine a South Korea game, because it turned out the Koreatown sportsbar Toe Bang was not open by noon that day, like it said it would be on the website I initially saw. Hence I wandered in to Escala, the recent “Korean-Colombian” venture located in that same “Chapman Market” rococo complex; but whose servers told me the Korea game was not till the next day. Ca-ca! They were wrong; I simply checked the FIFA website with my phone, and there was the Korea game, in progress. I came back in and pointed this out to them; then the server tried, but could not get the game on their TVs. Nobody was there for it anyway. I took a look at Escala’s menu; it is very Colombian, not Korean, despite how it may be advertised. It’s a lovely and airy space, comfortable and strongly designed. I wish them well, and would check it out for a Colombia game. No other eatery in that same K-plaza had the game on. With time ticking away I darted to the mini-mall across the street, with several K-eateries; I sat down at one that was able to put the game on for me, Shin Jung. But I was the only person there to see it. The shortrib combo plate was decent but server forgot to bring me my soup. When I brought this to her attention and she acknowledged the mistake but would not do a make-good on my tab, I took it out of the tip and got the heck out.
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