The time is here again when couples and families battle for the possession of the TV remote. Yes! The football world cup a.k.a FIFA is back after a long four year wait. I don’t know too many women that are into football, but the men go crazy during this time, whether they’re watching the match alone or with friends or even strangers at a bar, they cheer, hoot, yell and swear every time their favourite team scores or loses a goal. Even though I don’t understand much about football, I love the atmosphere it creates be it at home or at a bar. People are watching intensely like it’s a matter of life and death, glugging beer mostly or cocktails and munching on snacks. And as for bars and restaurants, it is the time when their beer sales are at the peak, so everyone is happy during this time. But, can’t say that for the daily soap addicts; however it’s a good thing that the episodes repeat the next day or then the best thing to happen to television so far, the facility of recording programs on the set top box.
Coming back to football, it is somehow a ritual for men at least to always have beer and snacks while watching a match. If the snacks are fried with lot’s of cheese its the cherry on the icing. Everyone enjoys watching matches in different ways, some like to watch alone in the privacy of their homes, some like it with a get together of family and friends while some love going to bars and watching on the big screen with surround sound to get the feeling of being in the stadium with so many fellow football fanatics. I am going to take you all around town to make your football experience even better, no matter how you like watching the match.
The home birds can bring beer home and have some snacks like chips and popcorn along and sit back and relax. The one’s who want more can walk into the nearest Godrej Nature’s Basket, where Rushina has developed snack recipes from different participating countries and paired them with the beers available there. There is a wide range to choose from.
For those who like watching with a bigger audience there are tonnes of options all over the city depending on your budget. Every place from the 5 stars to the small sports bars have something going on for the World cup. Here is a list of places around town:
- The club lounge at JW Marriott has special offers on beverages, a special snack and appetizer with items from different participating countries.
- Three outlets at The Orchid an Ecotel Hotel, Mostly Grills, Boulevard and Merlin’s have special elaborate menus planned by the chefs making sure to include dishes from every participating country.
- Six Degrees – The Champagne Lounge at The Leela Kempenski, Sahar has a lot on offer from, complimentary eats, to offers on beverages and dinner buffets and to top that a special discount on spa treatments for partners (finally something for the ladies!).
- Vista at Taj Lands End, Bandra has dished out a special elaborate finger foods menu during the matches.
- Shamiana at The Taj Mahal Palace and towers have created a whole menu based on the foot ball theme with the names of the dishes also being after either a foot ball player or country.
- Gadda Da Viva at Novotel Juhu has a beer and burger festival happening with great options for vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike, and to top it of every burger comes accompanied by a free beer.
- Zenzi Mills, Lower Parel has gone up a notch with play stations, decorations of participating countries and a T-shirt of your favourite country along with two beers all for Rs. 500 a head.
- Hard Rock Cafe, worli has gone all the way by creating a stadium like ambiance with green carpeting, goal posts, life size cut outs of football players, and they have designed limited edition Hard Rock Cafe FIFA merchandise. They also have a VIP section with a charge of Rs. 999.
- The Den – Wine Bar, Bandra has on offer South African food and complimentary wine.
- Crepe Station Resto Bars across the city have designed a bar menu with drinks named after football players.
Since beer is an important component in the football experience when the match is not on, one can do more with beer than just drink it. The simplest and best way to use beer in food is while making assorted fritters. Use chilled beer while making the batter instead of water. Another great place to use beer is while marinating or barbequing meats, it just adds that extra kick to the dish.
We at APB would love to know how you enjoy watching matches and how you like your beer as a drink or in food, so do leave a comment here or on the APB Facebook fanpage
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