The Super Bowl of Eating is Tomorrow!
February 6, 2009
Richard J. Garfunkel
Recent prognostications about eating tomorrow forecast that 30 million pizzas will be consumed by fans of both the Colts and the Saints, along with the casual and curious, chow down with their buddies while watching Super Bowl XXXXIV.
With all that in mind, while Linda and I were watching another DVR recorded episode of “Have Gun Will Travel,” which featured Paladin supping on fine San Franciscan cuisine, I decided to make my culinary choices along with my football pick.
Therefore, before I get into my football crystal ball, my culinary choices are the following:
Hot Dogs- Nathan’s Coney Island, Brooklyn (1916) Yonkers
Pizza- Johnny’s Mount Vernon (since 1942)
Hamburger- Nat’s, Elmsford, NY, Prince George Hotel, Manhattan
Seafood, The Black Whale, Anna’s, Lobster Box and others on City Island, the Bronx
French Fries, Bethany Beach Boardwalk, Delaware, the Farm, Brugge, Belgium (1000 ce)
Chowda in a Loaf of Bread, Alioto’s. Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco (1925)
Oysters and Cherrystones, The Union Oyster House, Boston (since 1826)
Popover’s, General Glover’s Inn, Lynn, Ma., (since 1957), Popover Café, Manhattan
Steak, Maloney and Porcelli’s, Manhattan, Bern’s in Tampa, Fl (1956)
Onions and Tomatoes, Peter Lugar’s, Brooklyn (1887)
Pastrami, Katz’s Deli, Houston Street, Manhattan (since 1888)
Brisket, Leshin’s, 27th and Broadway (out of business)
Pacific Rim Cuisine, Dish of Salt, Mid Manhattan (out of business)
Lamb chops, Keen’s Chop House, Manhattan (since 1885)
Lobster, Smith and Wollensky, Manhattan, any place in Newport or Maine
Tortellini with Bolognese sauce, Barbetta’s Manhattan, (1906) Ernesto’s White Plains
Veal parmigiano sandwich- Albanese’s, Eastchester, NY (out of business)
New England Clam Chowder, Any food bar, Quincy Market, Boston
Manhattan Clam Chowder, Thwaits, City Island, Clam Box, Cos Cob, Ct (both out of business)
Dim Sum, Empress of China, Grant Street, San Francisco
Chinese food local, Lum Yen, Mamaroneck, Hunan Village, Yonkers
A turkey dinner, The Washington Arms, Mamaroneck, NY (out of business)
Bread- Onion board, Zabar’s, Manhattan (1934)
Triple-Decker Sandwich, Jack and Marion’s, Brookline (out of business)
Greek food local, Santorini’s, Sleepy Hollow
Rye bread, Alters, Tarrytown (out of business), Moishes, Manhattan, Chester Heights, Mt. Vernon
Gazpacho, Columbia Cigar Bar, Sarasota, Fl, Marfil Café, Madrid, Spain
Alaskan Stone Crab legs, Joe’s Miami Beach, (1913) Tale of the Whale, Ocean City, Md
Roumanian Steak-Wilsker’s, County Center, Yonkers (out of business), Sammy’s, Manhattan (1976)
Roast Beef Wedge. Knopf’s Deli, the Circle, Mount Vernon (out of business)
Melon- Hand Melons, Saratoga Raceway, Saratoga Springs, NY ($8-10 per slice)
French Onion Soup- Brasserie, Manhattan, (1959)
Chicken Pot Pie- Durgin Park, Quincy Market, Boston (1942)
Pickles, Guses, (1915) Pickleman, Manhattan
Roast beef- Downing Square, Manhattan (out of business)
Best Deli in LA- Brents
Best Deli in Palm Springs- Sherman’s
Olives- King David’s Palace, Jerusalem, Israel
Israeli breakfast, King David Hotel, Jerusalem, Israel
Gorgonzola Salad, Manero’s, Greenwich, Ct (out of business)
Italian Food- Lusardis, Larchmont, (1982) Guido’s, Ossining (out of business)
Part II
Of course, without betting interest on this game, the broadcast network would lose about a third of its audience automatically. According to, Mike Francesca, my radio guru on the latest point spread, the Colts are 5 point favorites. As any half-interested sports fan will tell you, betting games with the spread and consistently picking winners “ain’t” easy. With that in mind, I like the Colts, who are the favorites to win the game, but they haven’t done well covering the spread and Super Bowls can be close. The better, who gives the points, always fears a last minute “back-in” cover, when the losing team, who cannot possibly win, scores a late touchdown, while the winning team is willing to have the clock run down and plays uninspired and loose defense.
Personally I would like to see the Saints win. But their play over the past 5 or 6 games has been mediocre. Their last playoff game, they were way outplayed by the Vikings featured four obvious (conceded by the NFL brass) screw-ups by the officials enabling them to squeak out a victory. Bret Favre’s poor judgment on the Vikings’ last possession didn’t help their cause much either.
On a personal note, I would like to see Payton Manning beaten. Not that he isn’t great, and deserving, but I don’t want him placed in the top, top, echelon of quarterbacks of all-time as of yet. Many have anointed him already as the greatest, and if he gets his 2nd ring in three years, he’ll be more popular than corn flakes and Lucille Ball. Of course, times have changed, and the rules protecting quarterbacks have made his life a lot easier than his predecessors. For my money, the top five quarterbacks since WWII, in no particular order, are: Johnny Unitas, Otto Graham, Dan Marino, Joe Montana, and Tom Brady. Sentimentally, I could throw some others into the mix, namely, Joe Namath, Norm Van Brocklin, Bobby Layne, John Elway and Roger Staubach. So, in the meantime, let’s go Saints.