"What's your favorite Super Bowl food?" —Dan B., St. Louis
The only thing better than the Super Bowl commercials is the super spreads of food duringthe big game. You'll encounterthe usual suspects, of course—RO-TEL queso, hollowed-out rye bread and dill dip, guacamole, pigs-in-blankets, chili, seven-layer dip—but there'susually something new to nosh on, too.
Personally, I'm a wings guy, and my go-to (especially for a Super Sundaypot luck) are theones fromBaumann's Fine Meats. After marinating them in Italian dressing in a vacuum tumbler for half an hour, the wings are rubbed with Baumann's Famous BBQ Pork and Poultry Rub (another personal fave)andslow-smoked for two and a half hours. If you mustdipand dunk, then I suggestMarzetti's ranch and blue cheese dressings.
As an aside,according to recent research performed by Jeffbet, the top 10 most popularSuper Bowl foods in the U.S. are, in this order:pizza, chili, deviled eggs, Buffalo chicken dip, guacamole, jambalaya, chicken wings, sloppy joes, bruschetta, and quesadillas. In Missouri, the top three arepizza,chili, and Buffalo chicken dip. I mention this only because the top contenders were scarcely mentioned by local restaurateurs or members of SLM's dining team.
Here's what they had to say:
Dave Lowry, SLM dining critic: "Favorite Super Bowl snack food?Easy.And it’s also part of one of the True Great Food Events in the St. Louis calendar: buffet line at Costco on Friday before the game.Man.A cornucopia of free samples that would beggar the culinary imagination of Escoffier himself and humble the feasting hall of any medieval Rabelaisian repast.They’re firing on all cylinders hyping their Super Bowl party offerings and, like crocs gathering at a Nairobi watering hole, we’re cruising the aisles for a bite or two. Toothpick-speared diced cubes of smoked gouda marinated in Cabernet. Plump, glistening pierogis—cheese-and-potato-stuffed pierogis. Mini-tacos, egg rolls, artisanal bread, and more sausages than a Polish wedding. We’re talking Jongga kimchi, butternut squash, and caramelized ravioli. Costco’s pre-game buffet is putting on the dog. This is one party that’s got everything but Tay-Tay."
Lynn Venhaus, SLM contributor: "The simpler, the better for Super Bowl Sunday. I don't want to be busy prepping, cooking, or cleaning when the game is on, because I'll miss the commercials. Lately,my preference for communal gatherings is to make chunky guacamole from a recipe froma grocery store advertisem*nt I saw 20 years agoand/or a shareable warm dip, such asTrisha Yearwood's Hot Corn Dip—it'ssimple, cheesy, and always a big hit."
Collin Preciado, SLMcontributor: "I had my first Syberg's chicken wing while watchinga football game when I was 14and have associated them with the sport ever since. I had only known the standard Buffalo wing up to that point in my life, so the seemingly spontaneous existence of a completely different but equally delicious versionwas such a startling, reality-warping revelation to methat I'm still not sure I fully trust they existed prior to that exact moment. It was as if our universe crashed into a parallel one, bringing forth those amazing tangy, mustardy wings into our dimension, and I was the only person who noticed. So, yeah, Syberg's wings."
Amy De La Hunt, SLM contributor:"When I lived in Germany back in the 1990s, a group of male friends wanted to host a Super Bowl party. Keep in mind that the game starts around midnight there. At first, they only invited my husband and said I couldn't come because it was guys only, but eventually they relented and let me come if I brought food.So I brought layered bean dip and tortilla chips, which was very exotic food to Germans back then. They devoured it. And when it turned out that my husband fell asleep during the game and I stayed awake to explain the rules to them, my presence in future years was sealed. They told him he could only come back if he brought beer. This is a roundabout way of saying thatlayered bean dip is still a must on my Super Bowl menu."
Pat Eby, SLM contributor: "My Super Bowl snacks hearken to the time I spent in Cincinnati as a girl and later as a college student, so they’re pretty highly specialized and not to everyone’s tastes—or so I’ve been told. But who wouldn’t love a good Braunschweiger ball with Ritz crackers? It’s like a cheese ball but with a creamy smoked liver center,kicked up with finely minced onions, hot sauce, and chili sauce—in my version, chili crisp—blended with a little mayonnaise, half a brick of cream cheese, and shaped into a ball. This squishy ball gets frosted with an icing made from the remaining half brick of cream cheese whipped with a little milk or yogurt, then finished with finely chopped pecans. (The recipe ishere.)Another good Cincy treat—again, not widely known—the Goetta ball is a mixture of pork, beef, spices, and pinhead oats, a version of steel-cut oats cut into pinhead-sized pieces. It’s kind of like scrapple. The Goetta gets mixed with Bisquick and baked into little balls, sometimes served with mustard dips. (See the recipe here.) Then there’s Cincinnati Chili, a Greek variation that some folks will never accept as chili, with finely ground beef and spices including cinnamon. It must appear on the Super Bowl table in any respectable Cincinnati household, andit will here in mine."
We also spoke to several local culinarians and awell-knownex-pat restaurateur:
Rick Lewis, Grace Meat + Three:"Chicken wings—specifically when dry-rubbed, fried hard, and tossed in super vinegary peppery buffalo sauce.I am a hot wing addict. The crunchier and overcooked, the better! Homemade is always my go-to, but if a local restaurant checks those boxes, I’m in!"
Nick Bognar, indo and Sado: "I love bacon-wrapped dates.I always crush so many. Stuff them with chorizo, Thai sausage, gorgonzola, or all of it. And a little brown sugar on the outside because I like sweet bacon. I also still have a guilty pleasure craving for little smokies every Super Bowl, boiled to make them less salty and served with grape jelly and barbecuesauce.It's an easy winner."
Munsok So, Drunken Fish and Kimchi Guys: "I love snacking on some shrimp chips that I get from the Korean grocery store and some Korean fried chicken wings that I make at home."
Charlie Gitto, Jr., Charlie Gitto's: "I put out a big spread just about every year: brisket, ribs, beef tenderloin, guacamole, and some pasta—yagotta have pasta—and decorate a table, including helmets from both teams."
Cary McDowell, Wright's Tavern: "On Super Bowl Sunday, I like to put my dad’s mustard slawon top of a really nice grilled cheeseburger. It's also the dayI loveto eat Bugles and drink Coca-Cola—so nostalgic of my childhood."
Courtesy of Arlene Browne
Arlene Browne,Robust Bistro & Wine Bar,Madrina:"Chicken wings, hands down! Any flavor, every texture: Thai, Buffalo, barbecue, sweet-sour/hot, and whatever that secret sauce they have on The Parkmoor wings—OMG! Fried, roasted, broasted, baked…I love them all! But I am making a whole slab of ribs sandwich this year (pictured at right). It’s my take on a McRib with my father-in-law’s secret sauce. (Don’t ask—I’ll never tell.)Pork ribs are cooked to tender perfection;the bones slowly pull out with a gentle twist and sit on a footlong loaf of ciabatta.The sandwich melts in your mouth and feeds a crowdif you make two!"
Natasha Kwan,Frida's/Bonito Bar,Diego's Cantina,Station No. 3: "Rick [Roloff] and I are suckers for junk food at parties! home-made Chex Mix, French onion dip (I make mine with cashews), and seven-layer dip. But if I had to pick one, it would be Chex Mix."
Brant Baldanza,OG Hospitality Group: "I've been fortunate to be very good friends with [Three Kings Public House co-owners Derek] Deaver and [Ryan] Pinkston for more than 39 years, andI’ve been hosting the Super Bowl [party] at my house with some longtime friendsfor the past 25 years.One brings his nine-layer dip, and the other brings his killer wings (although they'relike a dessert, sincehe'snotoriously late). I make my mom's pepperoni bread, which is handmade dough rolled out and stuffed with mozzarella and pepperonithen pinwheeled."
Brian Schmitz, Polite Society, The Bellwether, Intergalactic Burgers, Subdivision Sandwich Co.,Well Met: "I'm going to be doing a big taco spread this year. People also like kebabs, and chili is always a winner."
Danny Meyer, Union Square Hospitality Group:"We often make a big pot of Texas chili: chopped beef, suet, chili powder, masa harina, and no beans. This year, we’re letting someone else do the work and ordering an array of favorites from Blue Smoke: chipotle chicken wings, brisket, smoked sausage, baby back ribs, fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, baked beans, and slaw. [Then I'll hit the] gym first thing Monday morning!"
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