Byline: MARSHA BACENKO, CORRESPONDENT
IT IS A NEVER-ENDING saga for the true sports fan: finding the perfect place to hang out on a cool Sunday afternoon.
My husband and I were looking for a spot with more than one TV, a decent bar menu and a comfortable ambience. Also, and this is a little harder to pin down, patrons who are there to watch sports. If I stand up in my seat and yell at Jets' coach Bill Parcells, this should be viewed as normal behavior.
We started at the Black Pelican in Kitty Hawk. In one way this is the male sports fan's dream. Anyone who has tried to wrestle the remote from a spouse's firm grip will appreciate the wraparound lineup of 15 TVs at the bar. On one afternoon we watched two football games, a baseball playoff game and the end of a NASCAR race simultaneously. You would think this is visual overload, but it is amazingly easy to get used to.
The Pelican's menu is a little different from other bars on the beach in that it doesn't offer standbys like chicken wings or stuffed spuds. It does offer a Kitty Hawk Beach Blossom ($6.95), an enormous deep fried onion big enough to feed four people (or two exceedingly hungry ones.) The Pelican also features an array of tempting wood-fired pizzas ($8.25-$10.95) with unusual and varied toppings, from BBQ Chicken to Red Hot Tuna.
A very popular special every day is steamed oysters for $2.99 a dozen.
Another sports bar in Kitty Hawk, but one with a completely different atmosphere, is Frisco's. The dark wood bar and high-backed bar stools are comfortable, and every seat has a view of one of the four TVs, including one big screen.
Co-owner and chef Mark Dough sets up a free make-your-own nacho and chili bar every Sunday. We enjoyed a plate piled high with our own special combination, heavy on the jalapenos.
We ordered a pitcher of Bloody Marys ($7.50), and ate our fill of the special of the day, 10-cent steamed spiced shrimp. A warning: it's just about impossible to stop at half a dozen. And with the special offered from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., you can put away a lot of shrimp.
Slammin' Sammy's in Nags Head was our next destination. Slammin' Sammy's is probably the ultimate sports bar on the beach, from the sports influenced menu to the abundance of TVs. In fact, there are almost too many TVs. Pockets of fans would gather in front of TVs, each tuned to a different game, thanks to a satellite hookup. Every so often I would hear yells or groans from a distant part of the room in reaction to a play.
At first I tried to watch a little of everything. But after a few minutes of intense head swiveling, I started to feel like the lead character in ``The Exorcist'' and settled down to watch just one game.
While my husband and I argued over a Dallas pass-interference call, one of the two men at the bar in front of us stopped his conversation, leaned over and told my husband he was right. Well, shut my mouth. What do men know, anyway?
Pitying me, my husband bribed me with food. After 10 minutes of studying the very large menu, I decided on a Shrimper Boy ($6.99), a spicy sandwich made in the style of a New Orleans po' boy. The menu is heavy on finger foods; sandwiches, stuffed potatoes, poppers and the like - the better for keeping one's concentration where it belongs - on the TV.
Bottom line? Although it's nice to try different places, proximity to one's home seems to be the key that determines where people watch sports. In fact, proximity to one's couch and refrigerator oftentimes proves to be too much to resist.
But what brings people out of the comfort of their homes and into local watering holes? Frisco's co-owner Cyd Dough said it best - ``Camaraderie, a warm atmosphere and great eats!''
Outer Banks sports bars may lack the slickness of big city franchises, but they more then make up for it in a laid-back atmosphere.
Besides, how many sports bars in Houston or Detroit offer an ocean view?
Here are some other places on the beach to watch football:
Barrier Island Inn, Duck, 261-3901; four TVs, including one big screen; Monday night, free wings at half-time, QB1 sports trivia.
Fishbones, Duck, 261-6991; three TVs; Monday night, 10-cent wings
Jolly Roger, milepost 6.75, Kill Devil Hills, 441-6530; four TVs, including one big screen; Monday night, free buffet, QB1 sports trivia, $1 drafts Sunday and Monday.
Awful Arthurs, milepost 6, Kill Devil Hills, 441-5955; three TVs; Monday night drink specials and surprise treats.
Paradise Billiards, milepost 7, Kill Devil Hills, 441-9225; five TVs, including one big screen, two satellite hookups, QB1 sports trivia.
Van's, milepost 9, Kill Devil Hills, 441-5534; four TVs, including one big screen; Sunday and Monday, 10-cent hot wings
Hurricane Alley, milepost 9.5, Kill Devil Hills, 441-1533; three TVs; drink specials; Monday night, free hot dogs and chili.
Mulligan's, milepost 10.75, Nags Head, 480-2000; three TVs; drink specials; Sunday 4-7 p.m., $2.95 a dozen steamed oysters and all day long 25-cent shrimp; Monday night free hot dogs and chili.
Kelly's, milepost 10.5, Nags Head, 441-4116; six TVs; Monday night, free nacho bar.
Woody's, milepost 11, Nags Head, 441-4881; 17 TVs, including one big screen, satellite hook up; drink specials, QB1 sports trivia (closed Monday).
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Staff photo by DREW WILSON
The Black Pelican in Kitty Hawk is one of several popular sports bars on the Outer Banks, with its wraparound lineup of 15 TVs at the bar.
