Watching Baseball in Western MA?

April 6, 2009 7:58 AM

Can anyone recommend a good restaurant/sports bar in the Pioneer Valley (Western MA) area to watch tomorrow's Red Sox home opener? Preferably a place with many TVs, good food, and not too too many undergraduate students?
posted by .kobayashi. to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (7 answers total)

Champions in dowtown Springfield might fit the bill. It's not too close to any of the city's colleges and the menu prices (while moderate) are probably more than a college student would want to pay.
posted by Hanuman1960 at 8:13 AM on April 6, 2009

Also, Samuel's Tavern by the basketball Hall of Fame is good for a more 'professional' crowd. If you're in Northampton, Paradise City is probably your best bet.
posted by Macallister Vagabond at 8:18 AM on April 6, 2009

Seconding Paradise City in Northampton. There's also the Toasted Owl, but I think Paradise City is better.
posted by chowflap at 9:19 AM on April 6, 2009

Thirding The Paradise City Tavern in Northampton. Nice atmosphere, decent food, good crowd, lots of TVs, including the largest TV in Northampton.
posted by TurkishGolds at 11:44 AM on April 6, 2009

... if you want the excitement of standing room only, with people yelling and screaming, try The Toasted Owl (less than a block away from PCT). If you want to be seated, have table service, and enjoy decent food and conversation, there's no question you want The PCT.
posted by TurkishGolds at 11:48 AM on April 6, 2009

Response by poster: PCT and the Toasted Owl strike me as awfully close to the college. Is there usually a large student contingent there?
posted by .kobayashi. at 1:31 PM on April 6, 2009

No. The students are all concentrated in Amherst. Northampton is completely different world from the UMass high-fiving, beer-pong-playing undergrads. As a rule, stay away from every bar in Amherst, and enjoy exploring every bar in Northampton. Also, to be clear, PCT is as much a restaurant as it is a bar. They just happen to have a ton of awesome TVs that will all be tuned to the game. I think that it's unlikely that there will be any UMass undergrads at PCT at all. On the off chance that there are, they will be anti-UMass like yourself. I suppose there could be a few Smith students, but they will blend in with everyone else. It will be mostly townies and working folks, I'm sure.
posted by TurkishGolds at 3:54 PM on April 6, 2009