USA USA USA

The day finally came for any US World Cup fan. USA-England to open up group play. For this momentous occasion, a simple restaurant or bar would never do. Luckily, one of A's coworkers had organized a get-together in Astoria.

Off we went to Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden to cheer on team USA, eat bad-for-you food, and drink copious amounts of beer.

Immediately when we arrived, we searched out our friends, staked our claim on the table they had acquired, and went off to grab some beers. M started with a glass/cup of Pilsner Urquell while A grabbed a pitcher of "Slovakia's finest" Golden Pheasant to "share". A had hoped to write more about each beer, but sadly it has been too long.

Eventually we ordered food. The menu had lots of choices, and we had a hard time figuring out what it was we really wanted to eat.


We were quite excited that, in our World Cup challenge, this could cover USA and Slovakia! (Although we weren't really that concerned about the USA part of the challenge...)

We decided on fries and onion rings (USA!) and klobasa and bratwurst (Slovakia!). Armed with this choice, A marched off to the grill to place the order. A knew that there was still a fair amount of time before the game was to start, but the line was very long, and it wasn't moving very quickly. Luckily enough A returned with the food right before the game started so he didn't have to miss a second of the action.


The food itself was nothing special: fries were fries, onion rings were thick and crispy, and the sausages were good but nothing really special... but hey, it satisfied two countries.

We don't think a recap of the game is necessary. If you didn't watch it then, you probably don't care about it now. During the game, though, a call was made (twice) for $10 pitchers. Regular price is only $15, but discounts are discounts. A was designated as the runner for the group, and he quickly made it up, throwing elbows, and generally using his size advantage. He considered diving to get ahead, but there were no refs present. In the end, an employee tapped him on the shoulder and informed him he was the last customer for the $10 pitchers. Success!

We really wish we could remember what two beers A was able to procure. One was a blond ale that M really liked and was hoping to get outside of the beer garden. The other was darker, but still light and crisp. The menu is sadly of no use as those two were not listed, and they seemed like either specials for that day or only available on the satellite taps.

It was a great afternoon - gorgeous weather, fun with friends and World Cup excitement. What a great kickoff (no pun intended) to a month of soccer!