Sunday Adventures With Nick

My friends and I have been going out on Sunday’s to watch football for a couple of years now. We all play fantasy football and it is kind of cool to all meet up at a bar and watch all the games together. Our requirements for a bar are not unreasonable. All that we ask is that they have the Sunday ticket and have some food put out at halftime.

The Sunday ticket is a service by direct TV that has every NFL game on it. A bar needs to have enough receivers and televisions setup to be able to carry all the games. What I usually do is put my main focus on the Bears game and then during down time and timeouts look over to the other TV’s to check out what my fantasy players are doing. For the last couple of seasons we would head to the Sports Dome in Bridgeview. There they always had the games on and offered a buffet for the Bears game that was out of this world. It included home cooked meatloaf, ham, pork chops, roast beef, and smoked butt. It was incredible. Sadly, that bar closed over the summer, which led us on a mission to try and find a new home to watch the games. It is week twelve of the season and we still have not found a permanent residence. Here is a brief rundown of the bars we have tried so far.

The Castle, 5700 W. 79^th St. Burbank – The Castle is the bar that sponsors our softball team so we figured we would give them first crack. I like the bar and the owner is a real good guy. However, the setup for football lacks a lot to be desired. First, they only have about four games on. So, they are usually missing at least half of the early games. Then, the setup of the TV’s is all wrong as they are all over the place. Also, they don’t have a lot of tables so if you get there late you are screwed. On the positives they do have a great kitchen and the drinks are very reasonable but overall it was a miss.

Papa T’s, 7130 W. 79^th St. Burbank – For week 2 we tried Papa T’s which used to be Angie’s. They did have most of the games on, however that was their only good point. All the TV’s are located at the bar. So, if you don’t belly up you are out of luck. The food they put out was basically frozen pizzas and spaghetti-o’s. The drinks were expensive and the service was unfriendly. So, needless to say our search continued after this place.

TC Pub, 9700 S. Cicero Ave. Oak Lawn - We used to go to this place back before the Dome opened. However, there piss-pour service and attitude forced us to move on. With that said, it had been a couple of years so we decided to give it a try for week 3. This place does have every game on and the setup of the TV’s is outstanding. However, those service issues are still present. The bartender is a complete prick. I have never seen a guy with such a bad attitude. Every time you get a beer it is like you are inconveniencing him. They do not put out any food and their kitchen is a joke. Basically, frozen pizzas and soy hamburgers. The place is huge but the cheap owner only has one waitress who has no chance of keeping up with the customers. Just an unpleasant place that even though they set the games up there well, prevents us from going back.

Groucho’s, 8355 S. Pulaski Chicago – For week 4 we tired Groucho’s. This was the worst of a bad lot. First off they only had half of the games on. Second, all the TV’s were behind the bar so, again if you want to watch a game you better get there early to grab a seat. They had no food special so we were forced to eat off the menu, which was brutal. The drinks were over priced and I got a Rolling Rock, which was skunked. A complete shit-hole, which we will not be going back to.

Zante Lounge, 10307 S. Roberts Rd. Palos Hills – Zante Lounge is located right by my house so, I wanted to like it so I could basically walk home if I needed to. Sadly, this place also was no good. They only had four of the games on. Also, their TV setup was all wrong. They put out some bad, bland ribs and some boiled potatoes at half time. The drinks were reasonable but that was all this bar had going for it. Lastly, they had this young waitress who was wearing an outfit that would have made Jenna Jamison blush. With all that said obviously we won’t be going back there.

All Stars’. 8000 S. Roberts Rd. Justice – For week 6 we tried All Star’s. They had most of the games on but were missing a couple. The setup is actually pretty good. However, there was this bus boy that kept changing one televison to put the soccer game on which was a major sin. They put out some roast beef, baked beans, taco salad, and some pulled pork, which was decent. The drinks were also ok, but the fact that they couldn’t get all the games on coupled with that damn bus boy was enough to make me not want to go back.

Jordan’s 13500 S. Harlem Ave. Orland Park – I had to sit out week 7 at home but for week 8, we tried Jordan’s. They had all plasma screens with HD on them so the setup was great. However, they didn’t have enough receivers so they could only get like five games on at one time. They put out some pizza and chicken wings at halftime. The beer was cheap however their mixed drinks left something to be desired. (At least that is what I was told as I was drinking beer.) All in all I liked the place but the fact that they couldn’t get all the games and the mixed drink issue caused us to keep searching.

Champ’s 5728 W. 87^th St. Burbank – Champ’s is as now is the leading bar. It is a dump but they do have a good football setup. They get every game on which is a good start. Plus, their setup is nice as you can see them all. They put out a great food spread for halftime from the Mexican restaurant next door. The drinks are reasonable and the service is good. On the negative side, they don’t have a lot of tables and the bathrooms are war zones. Still, this has been the best place we’ve found and we have gone back three times.

Grove’s 11^th and Austin Chicago Ridge – Even though we like Champ’s we still wanted to keep searching so we tried Grove’s on 111^th. What a mistake that would be. First off they had a whole three games on. The drinks were over priced and watered down. Then for halftime they put out tasteless, burnt hamburgers and fries. The only positive was the setup of TV’s but when you only have three games on what is the point.

So, as if right now we are leaning towards making Champ’s our new home. I have heard about two other places that have the NFL package, one being Lot 4 in Chicago Ridge and the other being Fat Sam’s in Orland. We may give Lot 4 a chance this week. I figure by the time the season is over we should have our permanent home figured out.