Looking for a memorable Super Bowl? If so, the food should be your main concern. You can’t just serve a bowl of Tostitos salsa with a side of tortilla chips and call it a day. The right food can take your game day experience to the next level. For staff and students alike, this guide will help highlight the best restaurants and recipes to acquire the tastiest Super Bowl spread across the city.
Buffalo Wings
If you hear the words, “Superbowl food”, nine times out of ten you’ll think of Buffalo Wings. While not everyone has the same appreciation for wings, it is important to know the few but crucial things that separate a mediocre wing from a great one. First of all, the crispness. The level of crispness rides on many factors, the oil type and temperature, batter, dry rub, and that’s not even all of it. Once the perfect golden brown is achieved, you can move to the sauce. The classic or buffalo Frank’s Redhot makes the perfect buffalo sauce, and it’s my personal favorite. Once every component is complete, the perfect wing has been assembled.
Because of how difficult it is to find good wings in L.A., I had to resort to making my own recipe. I take great pride in my wings, which is why I don’t mind the preparation required to create such a masterpiece.
Step 1: Soak the wings in a brine and leave it overnight to tenderize.
Step 2: Make a dry rub with a starch and a variety of spices. It is extremely important to NOT fry with regular flour, as this will lead to a half crispy wing at best. Ingredients like potato starch and cornstarch are great substitutions to achieve your goal of maximum crispness.
Step 3: Fry the wings. I like to double fry my wings. I place them in 350 degree oil until a light golden brown, then remove them, only to put them back in for another quick fry when the oil temperature has risen to 375 degrees.
Step 5: Make the sauce. While the chicken is cooking, place a bottle of Franks, along with a cold stick of butter, onto a saucepan, and continue to stir until fully mixed. In about 5 minutes you will have made the most glossy, mouthwatering, and flavorful sauce in existence.
Step 6: Place both your peak crisp wings and the sauce in a bowl and give it a good mix until each wing is fully coated. You have now created
P.S. – If you were thinking about replacing regular wings with boneless, this recipe is not for you, as there is no room for ‘boneless wings’ at our table.
Vegetable Platter
A spread of vegetables accompanied by ranch or blue cheese dressing is essential for the Super Bowl. I can’t remember a single year where a vegetable platter has not been present, likely because of how simple but necessary it truly is. The platter should consist of an assortment of veggies like celery, carrots, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, and so on. With little to no preparation needed, the veggie platter is a safe but smart item at the table. A much needed side of ranch or blue cheese dressing goes great with the veggies, and I recommend having extra so you can pair it with your wings!
Guacamole & Chips & Nachos
Guac and chips are a must have at the Super Bowl. You can never go wrong with it. There are many restaurants where one can buy guac and chips, but there is one that definitely beats all. El Cholo is a Mexican restaurant that offers authentic guacamole with freshly made tortilla chips. In addition to Guac and Chips, nachos are a delicious and convenient dish/appetizer to have at the Super Bowl. Nachos can be both simple, only having cheese and jalapenos, as well as complex having many add-ons like ground beef, onions, sour cream and more. El Tepeyac Cafe offers one of, if not the best nachos in LA. At El Tepeyac Cafe nachos are smothered with melted cheddar or jack cheese, guacamole, beans, sour cream, and can include additional protein of your choice.
Pigs in a Blanket
Pigs in a blanket are a well known side dish, and of course, delicious. Though there is no restaurant that has the title of the best pigs in a blanket, there are, in fact, many recipes that can be obtained online. A recipe from The Kitchn includes the less than 5 ingredients needed to make this dish alongside instructions on how to prepare it. It just goes to show not all foods need to be made in a restaurant to be considered the best. Your home can be the best restaurant for any dish.
