Austin Passy / Infield Inbox

Fans heading to Dodger Stadium today will be getting more than just a season-opening game against the San Francisco Giants. In addition to new outfield video screens, an echo-minimizing sound system and expanded bathroom facilities across all levels, the 50-year-old stadium has upgraded its concession offerings to reflect even more local fare.

And the best news didn't even come from Dodger Stadium officials but from social media, which let it slip recently that L.A. beer brands are finally coming to Chavez Ravine.

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D. Solomon

Far Bar

March Madness just started, and whether you spent much too much time filling out your bracket or gave up and just let Nate Silver take the wheel, you probably could use a place with beer and maybe even with good food to catch the games. And so, this edition of our food flowchart gives you a few options for where you can watch some quality college basketball, obsess over your bracket selections and cross your fingers that your alma mater makes it at least to the Sweet Sixteen. Even if -- or especially if -- the odds may not be ever in their favor (go Bears!). It's March Madness, after all. Turn the page.

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Triple Tri/flickr

A spread

On Super Bowl Sunday of our senior year of college, a friend's French girlfriend made crêpes. Okay, she wasn't French, but she had lived in Paris long enough to feel like she could affect an accent when speaking English and feign ignorance of the occasion's conventions. She made crêpes and everyone looked at her as if she was the February Grinch. But the crêpes were good. Great, actually. The point is this: Do not be governed excessively by tradition when hosting your Super Bowl buffet. Read on for four Super Bowl snacks that you can make yourself. With or without an accent.

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Guzzle and Nosh

Sandwiches at ink.sack

Much to our annoyance, Los Angeles still doesn't have a football team. But we do have sports fans who enjoy a good game. You might even be one of them. If you are, this weekend you're probably going to a party to watch two teams that aren't from here play in Super Bowl XLVII. We might not have a dog in the fight (editor's note: OK, your tired Michael Vick joke here _____ ), but we're all for the communal binge-eating no matter who's on the field.

If you're looking for something to bring to a potluck, we have a few thematic suggestions. You can order nachos, or pizza, or tacos, or you can go big. Turn the page for five take-out options anyone would be psyched to see on the table between the chili and the chips and dip. Place your orders and may your team win. We'll be over here counting the days until groundbreaking at Farmer's Field.

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Rachael Narins

Stout

FINALLY. Super Bowl is upon us. Brother against brother, East Coast versus West Coast. Dungeness versus Maryland blue crab. (Wait, no, that's not it.) Who will be the winner? Who are you rooting for? Will the Dorito's commercial be awesome? So many questions. If another question on your mind is where to watch the game, turn the page for five places you can plant yourself on Sunday, then eat, drink and scream to your hearts content. Yup. Super Bowl XLVII. It's gonna be XL.

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Bravo

Lam

Francis Lam is a well-respected food writer. He is also the least ridiculous judge on Top Chef Masters. And a keen Twitter wit, which would make him a Twit, though not in the bad sense. Francis Lam likes food a lot. He has chopsticks tattooed on his person. He also likes football.

We don't follow many people on Twitter, but it seems our meager feed is invariably dominated by media personalities who, regardless of their areas of expertise, prefer sharing opinions about sports to discussing what they know. However, Lam's mildly pro-Packer commentary is special enough to warrant actually logging on to our Twitter account. We'd just as soon hear him parse Colin Kaepernick's "smurf" looks than weigh the merits of some sweaty TCM contestant's bogus risotto.

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Screenshot of Pau Gasol's Twitter page

Kathy A. McDonald

London 2012 official Olympics butter biscuits

LONDON -- Game on for eating well during the Olympics, which begins today, July 27, and run through Aug. 12. Already one of the best dining cities in the world, London has been spiffed mightily up for the Olympic Games. Billions have been spent on new athletic venues; streets have been reconfigured so athletes and dignitaries can speed to competitions via designated Olympics lanes. And along with the 36 sports in competition and 302 medals at stake, a slew of grand pop-up hospitality centers hosted by various countries are open. Who wouldn't want to kick back and nosh on some bitterballen at the Holland Heineken House?

Yes, it will be the Olympics of international eating: From Copenhagen's Noma residency at Claridge's, to a pop-up Japanese sake bar overlooking the River Thames, to the world's largest McDonald's seating 1,500, to an elegant pre-game tailgate-style menu at Bar Boulud, no one is going to go hungry or thirsty during the 2012 London Games. However, they might go broke.

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Flickr/Body by Milk

You better believe that's almond milk he's drinking!

Yesterday came the news that the Lakers had landed future Hall of Fame point guard (and all-around amiable Canadian dude) Steve Nash from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for a boatload of future draft picks.

Despite being 38 years old (the fifth oldest active player in the NBA), Nash last year had one of the strongest showings of his 15-season career, averaging at least a double-double per game. Nash might seem like the equivalent of a Porsche 911 with 250,000 miles, but from all angles it appears he has kept himself in near-mint condition -- not to mention the fact that he has played in 85% of regular-season games for over a decade. So how does a guy like that keep the tires fresh and the oil clean?

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THrants

Busby's patrons watching the wrong kind of football

Set to unfold this Sunday, July 1, the 2012 Euro Cup Final is a familiar tale of the tape. On one side, you have Italy's defense, which stays at home and plays it safe, slurping down zabaglione and soaking up an opposition's assaults -- sort of like how the bread in a ribollita soaks up broth. On the other side, Spain's defense is no slouch either, especially when it comes to goalkeeper Iker Casillas, who eats up shots the way our husky uncle hoovers up canapes. Furthermore, a unit ominously dubbed Pata Negra or the "Black Hoof," Spain's burly midfielders have a passing game as silky and sweet as their porky namesake's flesh. On the soccer field, it's a clash of perennial titans. On the dinner table, the match-up is no less compelling.

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