Yeah it definitely was a tale of two halves.
Anyway, Peony and I support El Tri this World Cup. We’re going to watch them take on Argentina in Mexico City. Olé, Olé, Olé!
1 Like
I watched at a friends house and had domino’s. Pretty American if you ask me!
6 Likes
Could be worse…
Regards,
Argentina
12 Likes
Glory hallelujah, goodness has prevailed with the malevolent posts taken down; so I will put back up in full my post with the long list of World Cup view-dine venues. Go USA! 
1 Like
PeonyWarrior – Do not go to Brussels Bistro tomorrow; they will not be open. Possibly after December 2.
1 Like
I wouldn’t call the second half a disaster. It was what it was; if not for that penalty kick, USA would likely have won. Soccer is a game very easy to lose, due to a random quirk. It can frequently be heartbreaking in that way. (not to bum you out, LoL)
Berhalter should have made adjustments but he didn’t. We were completely outplayed and would have lost without Kellyn (ACOSTA!) making the foul of the tournament.
3 Likes
Wow PeonyWarrior, what an experience that will be!
I’ll be thinking of you that same game, this Sat. Nov. 26, while at my table at Guelaguetza; savoring the finest in Oaxacan cuisine while “yay”-ing at the bigscreens. If Argentina doesn’t win that game, yikes, they will be sinking into quicksand.
I just watched the Monday Night Football game last night, rather special as it was held where you’re going, Mexico City. (The NFL reaching its tentacles down there, as it’s done with London.) The stadium was packed, with both people and excitement!
1 Like
Rohto – I’m going to get a little cosmic on ya here and say that Wales’ first World Cup in 56 years likely had a karmic aspect in which the powers of the universe looked upon the game and pulled a couple strings to achieve the end result; Wales’ big joyful return not marred by a loss, though not a defeat for the glorious USA either. The powers will now uplift the USA for the purpose we served in Wales’ karma, and propel us to kick ass from here on out.
2 Likes
Too bad MNF wasn’t a better game! I’m not sure Kliff Kingsbury is going to survive the season. I like how Jimmy Garoppolo just keeps on keeping on, as if nothing happened last offseason. What a great story it would be if the 49ers win the Super Bowl this year!
All the World Cup games (not just Mexico games) are being shown on a big screen in the zócalo (main plaza). Pretty amazing! That’s where we plan to watch the “fixture” between Mexico and Argentina, as they say in England. We will be “supporters” of Mexico, but a Mexico victory would be bittersweet given that this is Messi’s last World Cup.
I enjoyed the Mexico - Poland game today. What a save! Good action throughout.
Guelaguetza is going to be a blast! That place can be a zoo on an ordinary day.
PeonyWarrior – If you think Guelaguetza is normally a zoo…for the World Cup: ON STEROIDS!!! I will be parking three (!) hours in advance of the gametime, i.e. park 8am for 11am kickoff. That is what it takes, to be sure to get in and a table. If eating (yes), I like to sit. If y’all are going to be standing, not sitting, in Mexico City’s zocalo, I salute your bravery! (LoL) Bring thirst-quenchers. Give us a field report on the food at the viewing, if any. (Let me guess, elote?)
Re yesterday’s American football, I was born a 49ers fan so was totally down with it! Jimmy G is and always has been the consummate class act. Before the season, when they were trying to trade him, I thought that was way short-sighted; “Trey Lance needs quality backup. Keep Jimmy G!” I thought. Then look what happened. If the Niners win the Super Bowl with Jimmy G leading the field, it would be legend of the level of “all-time great stories” in sports.
The sportsy-bar I went and saw the game at, Hyperion Public, in LA/SilverLake, was a friendly little joint. After ordering a hard cider (they passed me a tall can of some local/California stuff; it was fine), I got the “Build Your Own Burger.” It was 18 bucks and came with no sides. The burger was decent but I wouldn’t get it again, especially at that price. Then ordered a happy hour guac & chips ($8). The guac was decent but I’ve had much better/chunkier and wouldn’t get it again. The tortilla chips were homemade but over-browned and would certainly not get those again. Altogether I left there nearly $50 poorer and the game was worth it, but the food was not. In the event I go back, which I might, the one remaining thing on the menu that I’d try is the blueberry wings ($9 during happy hour, 5 pieces). The rest of the menu looked meh.
Report card: Food/drink C, venue B+, value D.
2 Likes
NETHERLANDS FIELD REPORT: Most of my wardrobe is temporarily in storage, so from the limited threads I have at hand I didn’t have anything orange to wear to Springbok Bar & Grill. Dang. But when I got there, its small but magnetized crowd who’d faithfully shown up for Netherlands were not in orange, either. OK. Game was against Senegal, who lost, so the viewers were happy. Glad I brought a jacket because it was early nippy morning and the room not heated. Venue was offering its full menu – nice! – which features only one brek plate, so I got that: 2 eggs, bacon, toast, tomato, sausage ($13.47). The scrambled eggs visibly had streaks of white in them, which tells me they were cracked fresh for me by the chef as opposed to using those inferior pre-blended kind from restaurant suppliers. Thumbs up. Bacon was plentiful, normal/thin cut, and on the crisp side. Toast was good quality thick bread, with butter on the side. Tomato was half a petite one, served hot with grill marks and well-seasoned with thick-ground black pepper. When the menu said “sausage” for breakfast I didn’t think twice about it; as you know that usually means Jimmy Dean. But it turned out to be a butterflied link of boerewors, the signature sausage of Dutch South Africa. Beef-based, and spiced with cloves and coriander, it was juicy, tasty, and hot off the grill. To drink I ordered the pink lemonade; although it certainly was not made in-house and came from a carton, it was still good quality, i.e. Paul Newman’s or Minute Maid. All good.
Report card: Food/drink B, venue B, value A.
Pix of Springbok’s all-day brek; the Springbokmobile; and the Springbok’s fabulous dual bigscreens, with lots of orange on them.
5 Likes
Probably the midst honest assessment of the team over seen
6 Likes
WALES/USA FIELD REPORT: I caught the unfortunate-for-USA game vs. Wales at The Robin Hood. When I got there boxes were on the dining room floor and workers popping by to access them. I thought it was last-minute hustle of set-up stuff for the Cup. Turns out, they were putting up Christmas decorations. Ha! Quite a crowd there, and everybody got a seat. Based on sonics and observation, about half the people were there for Wales, and half for USA. As I was already full from dining at a prior game I couldn’t really eat, so I looked the menu over and ordered one small, seasonal item which caught my eye: “Southwest Pumpkin Soup.” Certainly not British, and as there was no detail/description of it I began to imagine what it might be like: chunks of autumn-gold pumpkin in a broth greenish from cumin and Hatch chile, or reddish from Chimayo chile…some corn or hominy included…toasted pepitas topping. The server proceeds to bring me a cup of what was pre-fab canned pumpkin pie filling (!) thinned/mixed with whipping cream, heated up, and called “soup.” Unbelievable. I took a few spoonfuls and left it at that. It was a joke, so bad it was actually funny and made me laugh. The Brits are not renowned for their culinary proclivities but at least this ridiculous concoction should have not absurdly been labeled as “Southwest.” I’d also ordered an Arnold Palmer. Upon taking one swig I could tell its lemonade component was that notorious artificial foul-tasting stuff which is made by restaurant suppliers and furnished to buyers in plastic jugs. What a way to obliterate good English tea. Fortunately the total damage including tax & tip was only $11. I don’t mind, because we’re supporting the USA and the World Cup and a local, indie business. And The Robin Hood really is a terrific venue, and with much better items on its extensive menu. No matter what the foregoing may have sounded like, I always enjoy coming to this place.
Report card: Food/drink D-, venue A-, value B-.
Pic of pathetic “Southwest Pumpkin Soup” swill:
3 Likes
Roma Specialty Pizza says they are already sold out for tomorrow’s game. Head to a different Brazilian venue instead, such as Cafe Brasil, which is opening at 10am. (However, get there earlier and be prepared to stand in line outside)
3 Likes
Probably best to lower expectations. Their star player is a substitute for Chelsea. They’re ranked about the same as Wales in the FIFA rankings (16 vs. 19). Men’s Ranking (fifa.com). (Wales has a population the size of Iowa.)
U.S. needs to face the reality that the reason we aren’t good and will never be good is that our best athletes like Lamar Jackson aren’t playing soccer.
giggling thinking about 6 2 230 pound Lamar Jackson playing soccer. Athleticism has never been USA soccer’s issue.
2 Likes
Well, obviously he wouldn’t put on so much weight if he were playing soccer all his life. But he would be a superstar. Russell Westbrook is another example of a guy I think would be dominant.
I completely disagree with you about athleticism not being the USMNT’s problem. I recognize a lot of people agree with you. But I think the common sense explanation for why American men have found no success in soccer is that our best athletes are playing football, basketball, and baseball. As a corollary, the reason that American women have found so much success in soccer is that they don’t have nearly the same level of opportunities in other sports.
FRANCE FIELD REPORT: For the first half of the match, I was the only female in Atmosphere Mar Vista; fine by me, considering the coterie of appealing, charismatic French hommes there enthusiastically yammering about the game – en Francais, of course! FWIW there were some Brits watching, too. During the break I pointed out to the handsome France-expat proprietor, on my cellphone’s Googlemaps, the village in France my ancestry comes from; but he’d never heard of the place (LoL). After Oz scored one goal early on, France roared back and prevailed 4-1, so the smallish crowd was happy and it was a fine day at this cafe. I consumed a frosty Arnold Palmer, artfully presented; and a BLTA. The sandwich would have been good as-is, but what took it to another level was that it had just a slight touch of aioli. This is in addition to the toasted bread’s already being spread with regular mayo. Dang it was good. It came with a simple side of lettuce + carrot shreds dressed with invisible vinaigrette; which side I felt should have been something else, i.e. fruit or slaw, in light of the redundancy of lettuce’s already in the sandwich. I had a post-sandwich hot cocoa; fine quality from the espresso machine, but a touch of excellence would have been a crown of whipped cream or at least a marshmallow. Atmosphere Mar Vista trots out its more French-formed selections later on its dinner menu; currently appearing are morel-sauce pasta, moules et frites, merguez et frites, steak frites and brussels salad with lemon vinaigrette. I’ll be back. (for the food, in addition to the hunks)
Report card: Food/drink B+, venue A-, value B.
Pix of Atmosphere Mar Vista’s AP (note presentation of straw wrapper) and BLTA.
3 Likes
I noticed the restaurant next to Dinosaur Coffee in the old Sunset Sushi/Ma’am Sir space open and playing the game this morning with multiple tvs