RESTAURANT REVIEW:

This is one my favorite times of year for sports. The NCAA Basketball Tournament is a three-week long orgy of college hoops, especially the first two days.

There are 16 games Thursday and Friday, starting at 9.30 a.m. and going through the mid-evening.

Some of the games are simultaneous, and there is nothing better than going to a sports bar and watching two or three games at the same time.

The food was almost secondary, but I was going to spend a good portion of the day at the place I chose, so I wanted to eat something that was going to be somewhat decent.

O’Connell’s Sports Pub and Grille is tucked in a little shopping center at Bushard Street and Garfield Avenue and is one of those neighborhood joints that cater mostly to locals.

That is far more preferable. I am not a fan at all of mega sports bars that have 100-foot screens that always look washed out to me. Besides, I can never seem to get a decent seat.

O’Connell’s has 21 42-inch high definition televisions, as well as three 50-inch HDTVs. They are all well positioned and the seating is a nice mix of tables and chairs as well as bar-high chairs and elevated tables and rails.

The room is a little dark, but that is good for the televisions, it brings out the colors.

I arrived at noon the first day of the tournament. The bar was filled with mostly regulars and the tables were about a quarter filled.

I grabbed one in the back and was extremely happy that they had wireless Internet access free of charge. I was able to check my brackets, errr, I mean do work, while enjoying my lunch.

I began with one of the 16 appetizers, the deep-fried mozzarella sticks. I was a little bit worried when I ordered them that they would be fried beyond recognition like a lot of places like to cook them, but my angst was unwarranted. The eight cheese sticks had a nice golden brown color and a slightly bumpy texture, which added to the crunchiness. The cheese was soft and flavorful and the accompanying marinara sauce tasted like it was out of a can, but worked.

On the plate with my cheese sticks were generous slices of carrots and cucumber. I asked for some ranch to dip them in and liked this touch. It was nice to throw a couple of vegetables in with my meal to subside my guilt, if only slightly.

While I was munching on the cheese sticks I was looking at the entrees and was seeing little out of the ordinary. Burgers, Reuben, club sandwich and roast beef sandwich dominated the menu, but there were a few things I found intriguing.

The grilled teriyaki chicken fillet was one of them. The marinated piece of chicken breast is served with lettuce, tomato, onion and mayonnaise.

Another was the grilled Ivan. This is rare roast beef that is served on rye bread with onion and thousand island dressing.

I settled on the chicken Philly cheese sandwich. This is a take-off on the Philly cheesesteak, but utilizing chicken instead. The chicken is grilled, along with onions and then put in a French roll with melted provolone.

The chicken was perfect little bite-size pieces. The provolone mixes almost as well with the chicken as it does with the steak. I would strongly recommend the macaroni salad instead of fries. It was sweet and creamy, and some of the best I have ever had. The rest of the afternoon was spent watching games and sipping on diet Coke, while I surfed the web and actually got some work done. This was the perfect way to spend a day, if only I could hang out in a sports bar all the time. I am certain my productivity would go up.

O’CONNELL’S SPORTS PUB AND GRILLE

ADDRESS: 19047 Bushard St., Huntington Beach

PHONE: (714) 964-6741

CUISINE: Pub food

SPECIALTY DISH: The daily special

ALCOHOL SERVED: full bar

ENTRÉE PRICE RANGE: $4.25 to $7.50

Family friendly: no

CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED: Visa, MasterCard, Discover

RATING: ***

JOHN REGER reviews local restaurants and may be contacted at [email protected] or P.O. Box 2984, Seal Beach, CA 90740.