Ranking the 5 best types of food for game day
It’s not a game without the grub. If you’re sitting down to watch your favorite team, the spread is just as important as the spread, you know what I’m saying? OK, maybe you don’t. Either way, you can’t properly enjoy the big game without the food to match. Consider it a sin. Sometimes you have to eat your emotions and I am here to help. There’s no way to expertly navigate a good faceful of food to ease the pain of a bad turnover in crunch time without a proper guide. Come on, take my hand as we frolic through the list of great game day grub.
What? You’re surprised? Don’t be. We have just taken the first step toward game day bliss.
The nacho.
Such a versatile snack. Dress it up or dress it down. It can take the heat of the oven or anchor a high rise of toppings at room temp.
I actually prefer the delightfully aching, spicy pain of some sliced jalapenos and hot salsa with shredded cheese at 400 degrees. Eight to 12 minutes later, you’ve got yourself a warm delight which can be replicated again and again without calling for delivery or breaking the bank.
There’s nothing like a good, cheap date and nachos are always a solid citizen on the road to happy taste buds.
Bathe me in it. Pour it on my bald head and let it ooze down my face while … sorry, getting a little carried away, but what an excellent game day treat, huh?!?
Imagine a slow-cooked brisket or pork shoulder just waiting for you to tear into for the big game. What about some tender ribs all slathered in sauce, plus some burgers and hot dogs with beautiful sear marks and char to accent the main dish? Don’t get me started on the seafood. Some cedar plank salmon or even shrimp and shellfish cooked right over the open flame!?! Yes. Sir.
Now, there’s an extremely high probability of falling into a food coma and missing the first or second half of the game action when barbecue is involved, but these are the risks we must take ...
Flying in at No. 3 is the mother clucker herself, the charming chicken wing. Drums or flats? Did someone say lemon pepper? Oh. That was just me? My bad.
But seriously, is it even a game if you don’t have wings? Most people are prone to order out and get their wings delivered smothered in buffalo sauce, hot, medium or mild. It’s a tried and true game day staple. Not much debate there.
I prefer to make my own for a more crunchy, personal touch. For some reason I tend to eat way more when I make them myself, go figure. I’ll have to invite you guys over sometime. You know, when we’re not all boxed in by a pandemic.
Not having some type of sandwich on the game day grub list would be like not including “The Godfather” in the greatest films of all-time. You just don’t do it.
Around these parts, the undisputed, all-divisions, unilateral, heavyweight champion of sandwiches is the cheesesteak. Not the roast pork sandwich, not to be confused with the pork roll (egg and cheese) and definitely not roast beef. What do you think this is, Chicago?
What makes a cheesesteak amazing is when the bread, cheese and meat all marry together to form a kinship, so that when you bite into it, you can already see yourself having another immediately. That’s how you know you’re in cheesesteak heaven — when you’re thinking about eating a second steak just one bite into your first. If you’ve never experienced it, you’re not ordering from the right places. It happens more than you think.
Listen, I’m just gonna hit it and quit it on this one. It’s not fair how many levels there are to why pizza is the perfect game day grub, so I’ll just name a few.
What makes a snack great is optionality. It’s incredible by itself, but when you doctor up said snack to your own personal preferences, it takes you straight to your happy place.
No snack is more customizable than the pizza. You can make it with bagels, sauce and cheese from your kitchen or order a large pie from the place down the street that uses the kind of pepperoni you like.
How about the excitement you feel when the delivery person finally knocks at your door and you know that delicious pie is on the other side awaiting you?
You bring the pizza inside and the wafting smell of the hot cardboard accented by the lip-smacking gift it carries fills your home.
What about when you finally open the box and survey the pie to determine which slice is staring back at you like, 'Sup?' It’s a real situation. Give respect where it’s due. Pizza wins every time.
Hey, relax. I know breakfast isn’t something an East Coaster would ever really consider as a game day food, but hear me out. I had the pleasure of living on the West Coast for almost four years and it is hard to argue against pancakes and pigskin.
Think about it. It’s 10 a.m. and they’re kicking off the Sunday NFL schedule for the first group of games while you douse your flapjacks in syrup and slice into that warm, fresh stack of doughy goodness. The edges of the pancakes have that perfect crisp and so does the route running of your team’s best receiver. Life is good.
Mix in waffles, sausage, bacon, grits, an omelette and even mimosas if you’re feeling hoity toity. There’s really not one bad turn you can make. Delicious food and all the excitement of game day, and it’s three hours earlier than the 1 p.m. ET kickoff you’re used to.
It has some distinct advantages. Breakfast with the big game is near the top of the list.
