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Puffing in the Postseason
Mapping Out Cigar Opportunities in Baseball's Playoff Cities
Posted: Monday, October 01, 2007
By Alejandro Benes
The frantic last day of the 2007 Major League Baseball season, the "Year of Parity," has left the New York Mets crushed, having suffered the single greatest collapse in baseball history by losing a seven-game lead with only 17 to play. Of course, one team's collapse is another's comeback and so it was for the Philadelphia Phillies, who won on the last day of the season to take the National League East.
More surprising were the conclusions in the other National League divisions. The Chicago Cubs passed and held off a surprising Milwaukee Brewers team. Manager Lou Piniella and left fielder Alfonso Soriano have created hope once again at the intersection of Clark and Addison, the front door to Wrigley Field.
The most surprising team of the year was the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Snakes won the NL West and will play the Cubs. The other team, coming from the senior circuit's west, will be the Colorado Rockies, who won there spot in the 11th hour against the San Diego Padres and will now take on the Phillies.
In the American League, it's mostly the twenty-first century's usual suspects, including the Cleveland Indians. The Tribe held off the defending AL champion Detroit Tigers to revisit the postseason for the first time since 2001. They'll be hosting the Yankees, a team that gave every indication in the first half that they would not make the playoffs. The Bombers reverted to form, but failed to win the AL East for the first time since 1997 (the Baltimore Orioles won that year). The Boston Red Sox, showing early on that they would likely run away with the division, slowed to a jog in the last couple of months, but had enough firepower and an improved cadre of starting pitchers to hold off a late Yankees surge. The Crimson Hose will host the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (in Spanish, that's "Los Angeles de Los Angeles de Anaheim"), who themselves held off a late push by the Seattle Mariners.
All of this makes for wonderful possibilities, but presents some challenges if you're planning on attending the games in person. I have such plans, though I had no idea where I would be going until the end of play on Sunday. In the hopes that you'll be going to a game or two, I've put together a list of some of my favorite places -- in some cases the only places -- to have a cigar in the baseball playoff cities. You should check in with the places on the list, especially the ones very close to the ballparks, for special hours on the nights games are being played.
I hope you find the list useful and will let us know of your favorite cigar lounges if we've missed mentioning them here. Play ball! Light up!
Alejandro Benes believes good pitching beats good hitting and vice versa.
Photo Courtesy Major League Baseball
AMERICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFF CITIES
Yes, they're called the "Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim," but Anaheim, in Orange County, is not Los Angeles, and Anaheim itself has no cigar lounges. The closest one is Red Cloud Cigars Martini & Billiards, about 12 miles away in Fullerton, but it's a private club that charges $250 for a membership. Also in Fullerton is 2J's Cocktail Lounge, which offers a patio on which to enjoy a cigar and big-screen TVs for the true sports fan. If you're willing to expand your zone, check out the Buena Vista Cigar Club & Lounge in Beverly Hills. This is a very casual bar that has some of the most die-hard baseball fans as regulars.
Red Cloud Cigars Martini & Billiards (private)
118 Wilshire Avenue
Fullerton, CA
714-680-6200
2J's Cocktail Lounge
120 West Houston Avenue
Fullerton, CA
714-871-9665
Buena Vista Cigar Club & Lounge
9715 South Santa Monica Boulevard
Beverly Hills, CA
310-273-8100
Boston has great cigar bars and great fans (when sober). My best recommendation for a pregame smoke is Cigar Masters. It's relatively close to Fenway Park or on the way from downtown. It's on the Green Line of the "T," Boston's light rail and subway system. (Click here and read more about cigars in Boston.) I spent a good bit of time there during the 2004 Democratic Convention and found the place very comfortable and welcoming. You can also check out Churchill's Lounge at David P. Ehrlich's and, in the North End, Boston's Italian neighborhood, there's Stanza dei Sigari.
Cigar Masters
745 Boylston Street
Boston, MA
617-266-4400
Churchill's Lounge
40 North Street
Boston, MA
617-227-0750
Stanza dei Sigari
292 Hanover Street
Boston, MA
617-227-0295
I'm telling you right now, I'm not going to Cleveland for the Yankees-Indians series. The first baseball game I ever saw in the old Indians' Municipal Stadium left me chilled to the bone. Sure, it was April, but do you really think October is going to be any warmer? (I think a game I attended at Candlestick Park in May 1981 actually left frost on my eyebrows, but I was a little better prepared that day.) Beyond the weather, Ohio's antismoking law has made enjoying a cigar indoors extremely difficult if you're looking to celebrate a Tribe victory or console yourself in case the Yankees beat them at Jacobs Field. So ultimately, the weather plays a big role in your cigar moments in this rock ‘n' roll city.
If you live in Cleveland and do go to the games and want to have a cigar before or after, lend an ear to John Coleman of Cousin's Tobacco store, a 15-minute walk to the Jake.
"We've got a few chairs in here and you can have a cigar in the shop," Coleman says. "You can't smoke anywhere else indoors, really." Coleman advises that after the games you look into getting a spot at the Thirsty Parrot's patio. It's right across the street from the field. Coleman adds Local Heroes and Panini's to the list. Both are also right by the stadium and both have patios.
Thirsty Parrot
812 Huron Road
Cleveland, OH
216-685-3200
Local Heroes Grill & Bar
2217 East 9th Street
Cleveland, OH
216-566-8100
Panini's Warehouse District
1290 West 6th Street
Cleveland, OH
216-523-7070
Of all the cities hosting playoff games, New York is possibly the most cigar-friendly. Yes, there's an indoor smoking ban, but there are still some indoor venues that were grandfathered in and a new crop that have outfitted their rooftops for puffing. Keep in mind that getting to Yankee Stadium in the Bronx is easiest by subway. The location of the Carnegie Club, my favorite indoor spot, is close to the lines on the west side of town that'll get you to the ballpark. On the east side, Club Macanudo still is open to the public, but has a dress code that "requires gentlemen to wear collared shirts." No flip-flops either. Call if you're wearing jeans. Go to Cigar Bar Central and browse all the locations, including some recently reviewed rooftops.
Carnegie Club
156 West 56th Street
New York, NY
212-957-9676
Club Macanudo
26 East 63rd Street
New York, NY
212-757-8200
Gramercy Park Hotel Rooftop
2 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY
212-920-3300
The Pen-Top Bar & Terrace
The Peninsula New York
700 Fifth Avenue at 55th Street, roof deck
New York, NY
212-903-3097
230 Fifth Avenue
New York Market Center building
230 Fifth Avenue, 20th Floor, PH
New York, NY 10001
212-725-4300
NATIONAL LEAGUE PLAYOFF CITIES
Lou Piniella's money is no good, right now at least on the north side of Chicago. Assuming the Cubs avoid the bad juju allegedly emanating from goats, the Baby Bears should be among the most fun teams to watch and celebrate with a cigar. Chicago has a relatively new smoking ban, but you can still enjoy yourself at two of my favorite places. One is Mike Ditka's upstairs cigar lounge (see the review at Cigar Bar Central). That means it's a big bar with a lot of tables and some TVs. The other place is right there on Rush Street. Gibson's Bar & Steakhouse is the preferred fine dining destination of my best friend in Chicago and also welcomes cigar smoking in the bar only. This might be the best place in all the playoff cities to go after a game. Hey, it's on Rush Street! Steak's pretty good too.
Mike Ditka's
100 East Chestnut Street
Tremont Hotel
Chicago, IL
312-587-8989
Gibson's Bar & Steakhouse
1028 North Rush Street
Chicago, IL
312-266-8999
If you thought the victory by the Snakes was unexpected, the fact that the Colorado Rockies were en fuego during the second half of the season -- winning 11 straight at one point in the last three weeks -- propelled them to a one-game playoff with the San Diego Padres for the NL wild card. In Denver, you'll want to have a cigar at Trios Enoteca, an elegant wine bar that also serves up live jazz and has a cigar lounge in the back. The cigar list is extensive and a big bonus is that Trios, in the city's LoDo district, is just a few blocks from Coors Field.
Trios Enoteca
1730 Wynkoop Street
Denver, CO
303-293-2887
The City of Brotherly Love will have a chance to watch the Phillies play in October for the first time since 1993. That year, the Phils went to the World Series and lost after Mitch "Wild Thing" Williams allowed Toronto's Joe Carter to live out every baseball-loving child's fantasy: A game-six, series-clinching walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth. The Phils have a beautiful ballpark and a rejuvenated pitching staff and some of the meanest fans in the world. The one thing Philadelphia does not have in abundance is places to enjoy a cigar. There's really only one destination, Mahogany on Walnut. It's upstairs from Holt's Tobacco and is very comfortable. (See my January 2006 review at Cigar Bar Central.)
Mahogany on Walnut
1524 Walnut Street, 2nd Floor
Philadelphia, PA
215-732-3982
As big as the collapse by the Mets was the come-out-of-nowhere clinching of the NL West by the Arizona Diamondbacks. The team plays in Phoenix, right downtown, in what used to be called Bank One Ballpark, the BOB. Now it's Chase Field, bank consolidation being what it is. The park still sports a pool beyond the outfield fence that will likely get some use with temperatures forecast in the 90s for the first week of the playoffs. Phoenix has a new indoor smoking ban, but the Ritz-Carlton has accommodated guests by keeping the patio off the bistro available for cigar smokers. There's not much else since the May ban went into effect, but keep an eye out for restaurants and bars that are still adjusting by creating more outdoor smoking opportunities.
The Ritz-Carlton Phoenix, Bistro Patio
2401 E Camelback Road
Phoenix, AZ
602-468-0700
Even though the Padres didn't win the playoff game against the Rockies for the NL wild-card berth, you'll find a cigar bar in San Diego that is most convenient. Cesar's Cigar Lounge and Wine Bar is just four blocks from Petco Park. (See my review from March 2006 in Cigar Bar Central.) Cesar Espinal offers a great humidor, his own cigars, great wines and beers all served up with exemplary baseball fanaticism.
Cesar's Cigar Lounge and Wine Bar
503 5th Avenue, in the Gaslamp Quarter
San Diego, CA
619-233-3166
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