Munchies & Beer!

January 31, 2007

ctnow.com

The Super Bowl is Sunday. It's the Colts versus Da Bears. Here are five places to get a cold one and stuff your face with the kind of food that makes you want to watch grown men pummel each other.

Wood-n-Tap Bar & Grill
99 Sisson Avenue, Hartford
860-232-TAPS, www.woodntap.com
Bar Bites $7.79 (small), $14.99 (large): Pint of Hefeweizen, $4.50

It's that time of year again for sports-lovers everywhere. You know…Super Bowl time. Time for football, the halftime show, and those eagerly awaited 30-second spots that come but once a year. And then, there are those of us who are in it just for the food.

To all you proud "Super Bowl Foodies" out there, look no further for the perfect joint to satisfy your munchy-cravings on the big day. The Bar Bites at Wood-n-Tap are billed as little burgers with "big flavor" – and these apps don't disappoint.

A small order comes with four perfectly juicy mini-burgers served with pickles, American cheese, and a Dijon spread on Texas-Toast-style buns. The little bites are accompanied by a generous portion of shoestring fries that carry a flavorful punch of garlic, onion, and pepper. Ask for blue cheese on the burgers for a tantalizing twist.

Paired with a tall Hefeweizen beer, and this is Super Bowl food at it's best.

- MICHELLE MARINELLI

The Main Pub
306 Main Street, Manchester
860-647-1551, www.mainpub.com
Pub's Chicken Quesadilla, $8.95
Pint of Blue Moon with orange garnish, $4

What is it about the annual Super Bowl halftime show that makes it so.... how do I say this... cheesy? Is it because organizers insist upon an all-out stadium spectacle in the span of 20 minutes? Is it because Americans love excess, or at least, expect it?

Well, if the Super Bowl halftime show evokes visions of "cheese" for you like it does me, consider munching on quesadillas this Sunday. The Main Pub restaurant and bar in Manchester serves one mean chicken quesadilla.

What's nice about this quesadilla is that it doesn't include so much cheese that the tortillas flatten out like pancakes and weld together like glue. I hate quesadillas like that. The Main Pub's version was lumpy, meaty and flavorful. Be prepared to use your fork. Two lightly toasted tortillas are packed with grilled chicken, fresh tomatoes and a sprinkling of cheese. Sliced into four big wedges, the appetizer comes with sides of salsa and sour cream.

The chopped jalapenos hiding inside also made the pub's quesadilla ideal bar food, since I had to keep sipping my pint of Blue Moon to quell my taste buds.

The Main Pub is a friendly local gathering place that features oak tables and trim, exposed brick walls, arched doorways and plenty of flat screen TVs in the bar to watch the halftime "cheese."

-- MARIE SHANAHAN

City Steam Brewery Café
942 Main Street, Hartford
860-525-1600, www.citysteam.com
Stone Baked Mushroom Pizza, $10.95
White Rabbit Belgian "White" Beer, $5

Forget about baseball and apple pie, there's nothing more truly American than beer and football. Ok, well maybe a large plate of Buffalo wings to go with your beer while you're watching that football game…

I, sadly, am I vegetarian, and so can't partake of the wings of the buffalo, chicken, or any other animal for that matter, however scrumptious, delectable or mouthwatering they may be. But I do like my football, and I do like my beer. So with that in mind, and with a rather big football game coming up on the 4th of February, I decided to go scouting for that perfect location to watch said game in during the playoffs.

Hartford's City Steam Brewery Café fit the bill nicely. An expansive seven-level restaurant located in the historic Richardson building on Main Street, ardent sports fans need travel no further. Watch the big game on any of the six large screen TVs in the first floor bar area.

The brewery's menu matches its size, offering a wide variety of selections for those with an adventurous palate and for those whose tastes run more towards the mundane. I went with a mushroom-topped stone baked pizza, made from City Steam's own yeast dough, and was pleased with the results: cheesy, thin-crusted and just the right amount of crunchiness and bit to the freshly baked crust.

City Steam's real area of expertise, however, lies in its 11 freshly-brewed beers on tap. The Naughty Nurse Amber Ale, a brew on the lighter side made from English hops and spices, was enjoyable. But my follow-up selection, a White Rabbit Belgian "White" Beer clone was even better.

The White Rabbit had a slight taste of orange and some other agreeable fruity flavor (coriander, I would later discover), but the "hoppy" taste of a mixture of barley, oats, wheat, rye and assorted spices gave the brew a very enjoyable full-bodied flavor.

The food, the drink, the atmosphere at City Steam was so enjoyable that I treated myself to another round and settled in for the second half.

-- DAVE MORAN

Eli Cannon's Tap Room
695 Main St., Middletown
860-347-3547
Buffalo Shrimp $10.50
Strongbow Hard Cider $4.50

With the Super Bowl right around the corner, it seems only fitting to feast on beer and finger foods. Eli Cannon's Tap Room in Middletown has got the beer aspect down. With its dim lighting, tight seating, and over the top décor, this pub is known for its extensive menu of brews on tap, Mocha Porter Rogue to Dogfish India Brown and everything in between.

After pining away at the menu, it seemed nearly impossible for me to pick one of their many beers. So I switched gears and I decided on Strongbow Hard Cider, a crisp cider that goes down nice and smooth.

I paired my drink with some Buffalo Shrimp to munch on. Deep-fried and coated with Eli's own buffalo sauce, this shrimp was spicy enough to keep me reaching for my pint, but tasty enough to keep me wanting more.

- RENEE C. TRAYNOR

Rookies Sports Bar and Grille
51-14 Shunpike Road, Cromwell
860-635-1860, www.rookiesrocks.com
Combo Sampler Appetizer - $11.75
Long Trail Pint - $4.50

Rookies has everything a great sports bar should. There's a ton of TVs - Rookies has 70, including 15 Big Screens. There's lots of beer - Rookies featured 31 beers on tap the day I visited. And how about games to play? Rookies has 12 pool tables and dozens of arcade favorites.

My wife and I were a bit overwhelmed by all the menu choices. Rookies boasts more than 90 items on its menu. We couldn't decide on one appetizer so we sprung for the Combo Sampler.

The sampler had all the best greasy pub-grub on one plate: Potato skins, jalapeno poppers, Buffalo wings, chicken tenders and mozzarella sticks. It was served with bleu cheese and honey mustard sauce and sour cream.

As for drinks, Rookies' beer list spans the globe. From East Hartford's own Ten Penny Ale to Sierra Nevada and Belgian Blue Moon, there is a beer for every taste and every season.

Rookies offers live music almost every night, but Bob Seger, Led Zeppelin and the Doors where among the classic rockers providing the backdrop to the lunchtime crowd when I went.

And don't be fooled when you see Rookies' small store front tucked into a surburban strip mall. At 10,000 square feet and with a 120-foot bar in the middle of the open room, Rookies' menu and beer selection aren't the only things that are big.

- JIM WELCH

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