NVM Review

By Warren Rojas

“Oh yeah, that’s still THE place to go if you are a Giants fan,” a Tom Coughlin devotee informs me, crowning Crystal City’s sprawling, three-tier, sports-entertainment complex as his home away from the Meadowlands.

Co-owner John Finlay says the multipurpose pub attracts football fans like flies to honey—thanks in no small part to the over 100 TVs spraying electronic athleticism across upturned faces from dawn till dusk.

During NFL games management carves out separate “volume areas” for every contest. So no matter what your team, you’ll never get stuck squinting to follow the action via unintelligible closed-captioning.

If live-action is more your speed, CCSP offers transportation ($40 per bus ride/tailgate pass; $150-plus for a ride and tickets to the game) to every Redskins home game. “We sell out at least one to two buses per game,” Finlay states.

Those who choose to stay behind can enjoy pool, darts and poker downstairs, al fresco dining on the middle floor or meander down memory lane upstairs (the walls are plastered in local sports memorabilia, from a 1971 Washington Senators’ program ($0.50) to a framed Len Bias jersey). Not to mention the full-service bars and omnipresent sports tickers located on every level.

Finlay says game day specials fluctuate from discount appetizers to regional specialties (pulled pork, clam boats). “There’s just some good, old-fashioned gimmes,” he says of their feed-the-masses strategy.

Most burgers work (juicy patties, varied cheeses) until they don’t (a supposedly Thai-style creation was just plain confusing).

Buffalo shrimp are abundant but underwhelming (more sauce, less breading, please).