East Village Sports Bars

OK, Super Bowl has come and gone, the groundhog says six more weeks of winter, and basketball and hockey don’t do it for me.  So I’m focused on February 13, when Spring Training for Major League Baseball begins! A few weeks ago I wrote about Bergino Baseball Clubhouse on East 11^th Street, and I’ve been waiting for baseball season to begin ever since.

Here in the East Village, a neighborhood with many, many bars and restaurants, you will also find some great sports bars with lots of big screens for those days and nights when you can’t get to the game.  Here are some of my favorites:

Standings, at 43 East 7th Street, near 2^nd Avenue, features 8 HD screens. The night I stopped in last summer I was able to watch my Mets (and they actually played well that night) and my nephew Brendan got to watch his beloved Boston Red Sox – on friendly turf. Yes, the people at Standings are a part of Red Sox Nation, and since Greenwich Village is known for its tolerance and diversity, we welcome them, although we may root against them. Standings also has a roster of college alumni groups, so check their website to see if your alma mater has a chapter there, and go have some fun. Hey, free pizza on Friday nights works for me, too. And with Jimmy’s No. 43, Burp Castle, and McSorley’s Old Ale House for neighbors, you can do some serious bar-hopping on just this one street.

Paul’s (Da Burger Joint), at 131 2^nd Avenue, near St. Marks Place, is technically not a sports bar. But on Thursdays during baseball season I often have lunch there because they have 2 screens, and are fans of both home town teams, the Mets and the Yankees. And if you don’t know why I go on Thursdays, you’re probably not a baseball fan at all. Paul’s, as the name implies, serves big burgers, but has a full menu as well. And Stewart’s Root Beer — regular and diet.

On the block of 2^nd Avenue between 13^th and 14^th Streets you’ll find side-by-side sports bars. Professor Thom’s, at 219 2^nd Avenue, has me hooked on their Monday night lobster dinner special, never mind all those big-screen TV’s. Some of the booths even have their own private screen! And the people at Professor Thom’s are good neighbors, too. They are working with our colleagues at Neighborhood Preservation Center on an upcoming program. That’s what makes the Village such a special place.

Next door is Finnerty’s at 221 2^nd Avenue, another multi-screen sports bar that provides a safe haven for fans of San Francisco teams. And for old NY (baseball) Giants fans, too. Back in 2012, when the San Francisco Giants won the World Series, they had a special showing of the World Series Trophy there. Peter Magowan, the former owner of the Giants, was there.  Our friend Jay Goldberg at Bergino Baseball Clubhouse knows him, and has hosted events for the NY Giants Preservation Society. Which brings us full circle. Sometimes it’s a small world, especially here in the Village.

Now play ball!