For L.A. restaurants and bars gearing up for Sunday’s ‘Sports Equinox,’ churros and wings are home runs
If you’re heading to the downtown area on Sunday, you may want to leave early to beat the massive crowds flocking to regional arenas during an unprecedented convergence of a half-dozen Los Angeles professional sports teams playing home games on the same day.
And then prepare to be creative heading home to avoid being ensnared by traffic.
By winning Game 3 of the World Series against the Boston Red Sox, the Dodgers triggered an event that awestruck statistical wags have dubbed a “Super Sports Equinox” involving all five major U.S. professional leagues — Major League Baseball, NFL, NBA, MLS and NHL.
In this sports bash, it’ll be the Dodgers vs. Red Sox in Game 5 at Dodger Stadium; the Rams vs. the Green Bay Packers at the Coliseum; the Clippers vs. the Washington Wizards at Staples Center; and the Kings vs. the New York Rangers at the same venue. The Ducks are also home against the San Jose Sharks at Anaheim’s Honda Center, and L.A’s Major League Soccer team the Galaxy is hosting the Houston Dynamo at StubHub Center in Carson.
Various other events, including Dia de los Muertos at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, the largest Day of the Dead celebration in California, and Los Angeles Comic Con at the L.A. Convention Center, which drew 90,000 visitors last year, will add to the numbers — and possible delays — on the road.
The inundated areas will have a few things in their favor to mitigate traffic snarls, including such options as restaurants and sports bars with special offerings for packed houses.
“We expect to be super, super busy,” Sara Visser, a bartender at Public House, a popular watering hole in the Los Feliz neighborhood, said. “So, to keep our kitchen from being completely overwhelmed, we’re streamlining our menu to push mostly burgers and chicken wings.”
The Goal Sports Cafe in the Beverly Grove neighborhood features more than a dozen 50-inch televisions and a projection screen, also tinkered with its menu for the big event.
“To accommodate our Dodger fans and clientele, we initially planned to stock up on hot dogs,” he said. “Then we thought, nah, they’d prefer churros instead.”
“So, our sports Sunday special will be churros — hot, aromatic, right out of the oven,” he added. “They’ll go for $10 a plate with a side of chocolate dipping sauce.”
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