Drinking your way
through Super
Bowl Sunday

Montreal’s bars roll out the welcome
mat for the NFL’s big day

by PATRICK LEJTENYI

If you like drinking, farting, belching, sweating, cheering and the odd side-bet, this is the weekend for you. On Sunday, Feb. 1, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers meet in Super Bowl XLIII in sunny Tampa Bay, Florida (Pittsburgh -7, as of Tuesday morning). With the All-Star weekend now in the past, and a Habs-Bruins home game starting at 2 p.m., Sunday is undoubtedly the single best opportunity for sports fans to leave their loved ones at home, drink themselves stupid and cheer themselves hoarse, at least until the NHL playoffs start in April. Here are some places to go if you like football, or to avoid if you don’t.

The CEPSUM (2100 Édouard-Montpetit) will host its “Méga Party du Super Bowl” for an estimated 2,000 football-mad UdeM students, with a hi-def giant screen, a live “band rock,” and a meet and greet with former Alouette and Carabin ambassador Bruno Heppell and other TV pseudo-celebs. Tix are $10 (with complimentary drink), and tables for 10 are also available with a reservation. Call (514) 343-6160 for tickets. Doors open at 3 p.m.

Speaking of the Cage aux Sports (multiple locations), this weekend will be your last chance to sample their “Tailgate Plate,” a great big appetizer combo—yum! Patrons can also become eligible for a $10,000 draw.

At Champs (3956 St-Laurent), there will be deals, Molson product gifts and beer promotions, as well as an opportunity to win a sofa shaped like a football—guaranteed to impress the wife! There will also be betting squares and a zone set aside for Super Bowl reservations. Call early, they expect a full house Sunday: (514) 987-6444.

Up the street, Chez Serge (5301 St-Laurent) has screens everywhere, and they will be trying to find the American ads on the airwaves. Call for reservations: (514) 270-3262. Meanwhile, down the street at Le Pistol (3723 St-Laurent), things will probably be tamer but perhaps gassier. They’ll be hosting their annual chili-fest, and will be open all day as of noon. For $5 a bowl, patrons can choose from four separate recipes, and wash it down with $4.50 pints of their home brew.

Downtown, the pub circuit—the Old Dublin, Hurley’s, Mad Hatter, Brutopia, etc.—will be screening the games, each with its own level of hoopla and food deals, but McKibbin’s (1426 Bishop) will host an indoor tailgate party starting mid-afternoon. Look for free chili, chicken wings and pulled pork, $7 two-for-one Moosehead (at the West Island location—6361 Trans-Canada—it’s Coors Light) and lots of Super Bowl pools. If your tastes are more continental, try Benelux (245 Sherbrooke W.), which will serve its mainstay Eurodogs and paninis and pre-Super Bowl $4 pint specials. They’ll be opening early for the Habs game. The Burgundy Lion (2496 Notre-Dame W.) will likely screen the game and add chili to its menu.

In the West End, PJ’s (6910 St-Jacques) will be open as of 10 a.m. for the Chelsea-Liverpool match, so they’ll be busy all day. Their 60 plasma TVs and 16 giant screens (!) will be showing sports all day, and the bar will have a massive Budweiser promotion, prizes, specials and of course chili.

Finally, if you like to ease your heartburn with a dose of do-gooding, you might want to check out any of the three Ye Olde Orchard Pubs (20 Prince Arthur W., 1189 de la Montagne, 5563 Monkland). They’ll be screening the games, but proceeds from their $5 bottomless bowl of chili or sausage and sauerkraut sandwiches will go to local charities.

Kickoff is 6:20 p.m.