How to Spend Your Super Bowl in Monterey, California
The time of year for everyone’s favorite holiday-that’s-not-a-holiday has come again: Super Bowl LIV. And, this year, since we’re fortunate enough to live close to the San Francisco Bay, we get to be right in the action for all of the 49ers fans!
If you’re having a party at your house and looking for places to get food or beer from, or if you’re looking for a place to watch the game, keep reading to see who we’ve selected as the best fit for the game!
Food
Heirloom Pizza
Let’s be honest here: There’s never a bad time to have a slice of Heirloom Pizza. It’s deep-dish to the max, with a Chicago-meets-West-Coast feel that melts in your mouth with every bite. Fortunately, they’re open during the hours of the Super Bowl, but if you’re looking to buy a couple of pizzas for a party at your house, we can’t recommend them enough. Additionally, if you join us on our Old Monterey Food Tour that morning, you can sample the pizza for yourself (if you haven’t already.)
Nancy Dean’s
The food at Nancy Dean’s feels like it’s come straight out of grandma’s kitchen, which is exactly what owner and chef Joseph Talley was going for when he opened. The restaurant itself is a 50’s-meets-modern day theme, and the food’s got some soul behind it with a southern-inspired menu. They’ve got some great options on party platters, so if your Super Bowl party needs to feed more than a few people, this is the place to go.
Beer
Alvarado Street Brewery
While you can’t purchase growlers at Alvarado Street Brewery, you can definitely fill them up as you get ready for your Super Bowl party. Of course, there’s so much more than just beer here. You can kick back at the bar and watch the game with some apps or a full meal. You can hang out in the beer garden if you want to socialize without watching the big game. You can even take home some canned beer if you don’t have a growler to fill. But if you want to fill your growlers (especially if you want some from more than one location, we certainly recommend putting them on your options list.
Fieldwork Brewing Company
If you’re on the hunt for a place to purchase a growler, you can start with one of our favorites — Fieldwork Brewing! They’re on the patio next to Peet’s Coffee in downtown, and while they don’t offer a place to watch the Super Bowl, they’re certainly a good option for those looking to avoid it. Although you can’t purchase any food here, you can certainly bring some — or have some brought to you if you join us that morning for the Old Monterey Food Tour. Here’s your chance to try Heirloom Pizza!
Dust Bowl Brewing Company
If you want to hang out on a patio and play games, check out Dust Bowl Brewing Company. They’re also a great spot to both purchase and fill your growlers, so if you’re wanting beer from more than one place (or from everywhere on this list), save room for them! While you can probably catch the Super Bowl here, it’ll probably be extremely busy — it usually is. They’ve also got a great selection of canned choices to take with you if you want more than what’s offered on draft. Outside, you can also check out Wedo’s Tacos — which we hear are some of the best tacos in town.
Peter B’s Brewpub
Peter B’s Brewpub was the start of the breweries in Monterey, and it’s a great spot for those on the hunt for some good wings — or free popcorn. You can purchase and fill growlers here, and since it was the first place to do so, we always like to bring home some of their taps! You can also catch the Super Bowl here, but it might be easier to fill your growlers and head back to your party!
Dessert
Revival Ice Cream
While you can take a tub of Revival Ice Cream home or sample some for yourself if you join us on the Old Monterey Food Tour just before the game, there’s so much more this little ice cream shop has to offer. They’ve got killer ice cream sandwiches (that are gluten free.) They offer their cookie dough for you to take home and bake for yourself (and seriously, who doesn’t love some freshly baked cookies at a Super Bowl party?) And, of course, they do just offer some incredible, one-of-a-kind ice cream that you really just can’t find anywhere else.
BONUS
Green Pedal Couriers
Looking for a special delivery on Super Bowl Sunday? Well, particularly if you’re ordering from Nancy Dean’s or Heirloom Pizza, we highly recommend giving Mike at Green Pedal Couriers a call to deliver it for you (from Pacific Grove to Seaside, that is.) Again, you can join us on our Old Monterey Food Tour and have him deliver our Heirloom Pizza there — perhaps you can place your own order when you see him!
El Torito
While El Torito is a bit larger of a chain that we usually focus on at the Monterey Bay Food Tours, we just can’t pass up an opportunity for free nachos! During the Super Bowl game, all of El Torito’s Northern California locations will be offering free nachos to support the San Francisco 49ers. And hey, we all know one thing — free usually means crowded, so just keep that in mind if you want to try it out!
