It is time to start planning your menus for the Super Bowl. Of course the standard pizza, chicken wings, nachos, chips, and so on are totally acceptable game day food but I like to plan my menu based on who is playing.
This year it is pretty easy. Of course with Philadelphia you have to go with cheesesteaks. Soft pretzels would be a good choice as well. For New England you have a few options. Clam chowder or Boston baked beans are totally acceptable but my choice would be lobster rolls.
Get the idea? You want to pick a food that is a signature dish of the city or area the team is in but it should also be a good football food. Here is the Super Bowl food I would choose for each of the 32 teams:
Arizona Cardinals – Sonoran hot dogs – Wrap a hot dog in bacon and grill it. Top with pinto beans, onions, tomatoes, salsa, mayo, and mustard. I guess you could always throw some avocado and cilantro on it. Basically you have a burrito on a hot dog bun.
Atlanta Falcons – Shrimp and Grits – Fried green tomatoes would be another good choice but it is hard to be a nice bowl of shrimp and grits especially when the grits are more cheese, butter, and cream than they are grits.
Baltimore Ravens – Crab Cakes – Does it get any more Baltimore than crab cakes? You could do blue crabs but I thin crab cakes make for a better gameday food.
Buffalo Bills – Buffalo Wings – This is one of the easiest choices. In my opinion there is no better food to eat while watching a game than buffalo wings. And be sure to have some damp towels around so your guests don’t use your couch cushions to wipe their hands on. Beef on weck would be another option but why would you not take the opportunity to eat chicken wings???
Carolina Panthers – Pulled Pork – Nothing screams Carolina more than some good pulled pork with a nice vinegar sauce to go with it. Throw it on a bun with some coleslaw and you have a great gameday food.
Chicago Bears – Italian Beef – Deep dish pizza or Chicago dogs would be a good choice here but a nice, drippy Italian beef sandwich is hard to beat.
Cincinnati Bengals – Skyline Chili – Have you ever had Skyline chili? Personally I think it is horrid but many people love it. Skyline chili is a pretty standard bean-less chili but it has chocolate and cinnamon in it. Serve it over some spaghetti noodles and you have a traditional Cincinnati dish.
Cleveland Browns – Polish Boys – Grill up a kielbasa and load it up with coleslaw, fries, and bbq sauce. And don’t forget the napkins.
Dallas Cowboys – Texas Chili – A nice bowl of red is perfect for gameday.
Denver Broncos – Green Chili – When I was in Denver I would see green chili on a lot of menus. Have a pot simmering away and people can go back for seconds and thirds throughout the game.
Detroit Lions – Detroit Style Pizza – Of course we have to have a good pizza somewhere on the list. Detroit style is a deep dish square pizza that is wonderful to feed a crowd.
Green Bay Packers – Fried Cheese Curds – Fried? Good. Cheese? Good. Fried cheese curds? Amazing.
Houston Texans – Fajitas – Any sort of tex-mex food would work here but fajitas are great because you can just have the toppings sitting out and people can build their own.
Indianapolis Colts – Pork Tenderloin Sandwich – Basically a fried pork tenderloin cutlet with some mayo, mustard, lettuce, tomato, and pickle. Sounds great to me.
Jacksonville Jaguars – Camel Rider – This is a pita stuffed with cold cuts, lettuce, tomato, and other fillings with some italian dressing on it. There are probably at least 50 sandwich shops in Jacksonville with this on the menu.
Kansas City Chiefs – Burnt Ends – Burnt Ends are the best part of the brisket in many people’s opinion. After the brisket is smoked cube the end of the point, put it in a pan of sauce, and throw it back on the smoker for an hour or so. A good burnt end is hard to beat.
Los Angeles Rams – Tri-Tip – You can’t get much more California than tri-tip. This cut of beef makes for some excellent gameday food.
Los Angeles Chargers – Fish Tacos – Let’s face it, they are still the San Diego Chargers. And a good fish taco is a thing of beauty.
Miami Dolphins – Cuban Roast Pork – This is a great one for gameday because pork shoulders are cheap and you can keep it warm in the crock pot the whole day.
Minnesota Vikings – Juicy Lucy – The only thing better than a burger is a burger stuffed with cheese. A nice hot dish would also be acceptable.
New England Patriots – Lobster Rolls – Like I mentioned earlier you could go with clam chowder or baked beans but a nice, buttery lobster roll will be the perfect food for the big game.
New Orleans Saints – Gumbo – Jambalaya would also be acceptable and maybe crawdads.
New York Giants – NY style pizza – Thin crust pizza covered in pepperoni. You could also go with some halal street meat and nobody would be complaining.
New York Jets – Nathan’s Hot Dogs – Don’t just grab a pack of ball park franks. Go with Nathan’s. Sabrett dogs would be acceptable as well.
Oakland Raiders – Tacos? – Oakland is a tough one to pick. Depending on which history you believe tri-tip would be a good choice but there does seem to be a lot of taco trucks in the Oakland area. Or you could just go with some meth.
Philadelphia Eagles – Cheesesteaks – Slice some meat super thin (ribeye is great but a sirloin roast or even round would work just fine), throw it in a hot cast iron pan, and then load it on a big roll with some cheez-whiz. Grill up some onions and peppers if you must but I like to keep it as simple as possible. Soft pretzels would also be a decent choice.
Pittsburgh Steelers – Pierogies – Potato and cheese pierogies (yeah, go ahead and throw some bacon bits in there as well) are my favorite but there are dozens of different filling options you can go with.
San Francisco 49ers – Sushi – This is probably the hardest of all these foods to do well but if you have a good fish market around they probably have some fish that is high enough quality. If all else fails just get some take out sushi.
Seattle Seahawks – Fish and chips – Specifically cod and chips. Cedar plank salmon would be a good option as well but a nice, steamy basket of fish and chips with some good tartar sauce is one of my favorite meals.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Cuban Sandwiches – Roast pork, ham, swiss cheese, yellow mustard, and pickles all pressed in a nice toasty roll. One of my favorite sandwiches when done right.
Tennessee Titans – Hot Chicken – Since the Titans play in Nashville I am going with hot chicken here. If they were in Memphis some nice dry ribs would be called for but some spicy fried chicken will be a welcome addition to any Super Bowl party.
Washington Redskins – Half-Smoke – A beautiful sausage in a natural casing that gives you that perfect snap when you bite into it. Feel free to cover it in chili or just serve on a bun with some good mustard.
I think my ideal matchup food-wise might be Philly vs Buffalo. Cheesesteaks and chicken wings just scream football, they are both delicious, and easy to make. Of course Seahawks vs. Kansas City (fish and chips with some burnt ends) would be awesome as well.
Did I totally miss on some of these cities? Anything I am missing? Go to my FB page and let me know.
