Superbowl Party

Ok...ideas for a superbowl party?
The best pizza?
Chicken wings?
Chili? :?:

JeffB outlines a perfect party here.

Get the Barnaby's carryout pizza- or order the parbakes and finish 'em off yourself in the oven. Its gonna be COLD that day and ya gotta have something hot!

My question is, where am I going for the Super Bowl?

As I posted last year:

Super Bowl Sunday is, without question, the best day to eat out at a restaurant that usually draws crowds and does not have televisions. The busiest place in Chicago will be deserted, you can just waltz right in, bring your rowdy 4-year-old, take a leisurely 2-1/2 hours dining (unlikely with the 4-year-old, however), and enjoy yourself completely and comfortably.

Last year we went to Avec, it was perfect, the place was empty, the staff was bored and happy to see somebody, anybody... however I am informed that this year, apparently one of the teams in the contest will be from Chicago and so I fear even Avec may bring a TV in and have a crowd. Should I look for some place where they're culturally oblivious to American sports entirely, like White Nights or something? Where should we go?

Mike G wrote:My question is, where am I going for the Super Bowl?

As I posted last year:

Super Bowl Sunday is, without question, the best day to eat out at a restaurant that usually draws crowds and does not have televisions. The busiest place in Chicago will be deserted, you can just waltz right in, bring your rowdy 4-year-old, take a leisurely 2-1/2 hours dining (unlikely with the 4-year-old, however), and enjoy yourself completely and comfortably.

Last year we went to Avec, it was perfect, the place was empty, the staff was bored and happy to see somebody, anybody... however I am informed that this year, apparently one of the teams in the contest will be from Chicago and so I fear even Avec may bring a TV in and have a crowd. Should I look for some place where they're culturally oblivious to American sports entirely, like White Nights or something? Where should we go?

Bears in the Bowl or not, Avec still seems like the last place to haul in someone's leftover TV to play the game. I would check with them. My sense from dealing with their staff is that they'd be surprised to learn that the Bears were in the Super Bowl.

When was it discovered that there are bears in a superbowl? It must be a super-bowl to accomodate bears. How many bears are in this bowl? Are they pandas...
My picks would be Chinatown, Argyle St. or Devon Av. Is White Nights any good?

Maybe I give them too little credit... anyway, I think I'll try Avec again, it was the perfect (as in only) time to eat there with the kids in tow. (Then the rest of th family can come home and watch a Tivo-shortened version of the game.) This year, if any LTHers turn up, say hi!

I would check first with any restaurant that's not a sports bar or that already has a TV, as some may be closing for the day. My husband told me that he saw that Dave's Italian Kitchen had posted a note saying that it will not be open for dinner Sunday. I'm sure they figure they won't get much business and the staff would rather be at home watching the game.

ToniG wrote:I would check first with any restaurant that's not a sports bar or that already has a TV, as some may be closing for the day. My husband told me that he saw that Dave's Italian Kitchen had posted a note saying that it will not be open for dinner Sunday. I'm sure they figure they won't get much business and the staff would rather be at home watching the game.

That's good advice. On my way to the train, I noticed that both Erba and Fiddlehead Cafe in Lincoln Square have posted they will be closed for dinner on Sunday.

I was wondering when something was going to be posted about the big game this year. I have the same kind of question, HOWEVER, I have no interest in Pizza. Since it's the Bears in the S-bowl this year, I plan on skipping the big party, and going to a friend's house for a get together with just a few of the guys to settle in and watch the game closely and critically without all of the "big" party distractions. I'm leaning towards
UJ's BBQ, but the drawback is that they are not open on Sunday, so I'd have to pick up on Sat, and re-heat. I don't have time to fire up a grill,
and smoke my own this week, and I have never had UJ's bq, and I'm willing to give it a shot after the lth praise. My other thought was another bq joint - Barbara Ann's or Lem's, or a tamale/carnitas/carne asada spread, (but I'd have to make multiple stops for mex spread.) I'm still
looking for any suggestions, so I'm piggybacking on this thread. (I'll bet I wind up getting some uj bq, and some tamales since I can't decide, and they are both decent rewarmed)

seebee wrote:I'm leaning towards UJ's BBQ, but the drawback is that they are not open on Sunday

Honey 1 is open on Sunday.

Carnitas, Barbacoa, Pollo Asado and cooked jumbo Camarones along with roasted onions and jalapenos, fresh tortillas and avocados from Supermercado Morelia (cicero and diversey).

No tamales? Come on people. They are the perfect hand snack!

Barbara Ann's and Uncle John's are closed on Sundays
Lem's, Honey 1, and Smoque are open on Sun.
Would you rather:
Pick up from BA's or UJ's on Saturday and reheat on Sun
OR
P/u from Lem's, H1 or Smoque (which one?) on SUN?
BTW - If it makes any difference, I'm going for ribs and tips. I'll eat a hot link, and really try to be impressed, but for the most part, they just don't do it for me (My dad would disown me if he heard that - he is the sausage king.) I'm a smoked rib guy not looking for meat jello. I can do meat jello in my oven.

seebee wrote:Barbara Ann's and Uncle John's are closed on Sundays
Lem's, Honey 1, and Smoque are open on Sun.
Would you rather:
Pick up from BA's or UJ's on Saturday and reheat on Sun
OR
P/u from Lem's, H1 or Smoque (which one?) on SUN?
BTW - If it makes any difference, I'm going for ribs and tips. I'll eat a hot link, and really try to be impressed, but for the most part, they just don't do it for me (My dad would disown me if he heard that - he is the sausage king.) I'm a smoked rib guy not looking for meat jello. I can do meat jello in my oven.

If you're going for ribs and tips, Smoque is not a contender because they don't serve tips (or links, for that matter) and their ribs, while not meat jello are a bit on the mushy side. Depending on where you live, either of the other two would be a good choice, with my own preference being Honey 1.

seebee wrote:Barbara Ann's and Uncle John's are closed on Sundays

When Mack was at Barbara Ann's they were open on Super Bowl Sunday. Barbara Ann's is continuing the tradition (open from 11 to 5) but Mack (Uncle John's) is taking the day off.

A lot of places are closing since the Bears are in the bowl, as it were. All the indoor soccer places I frequent are shutting down by 4 or so. The city will be dead.

I am hosting a small group and the menu will be:

Pork loin braised in milk (ala Marcella Hazan)
Roasted root vegetables with thyme and marjoram vinaigrette

1982 Lynch Bages (Bears in the Super Bowl means break out some good stuff).

Others are bringing the snacks and desserts. There will be some sparkling wine for before and after the game, and I believe I have some cuban cigars at hand, just in case there is some demand.

I really wanted to be in Miami, but I lost the lottery. Took the son to Detroit last year as the game fell on his 18th birthday, and actually won the lottery and had tickets in 1986, but:

I had just startd a busines, just gotten married, my wife was pregnant with our first, and money was tight. She told me to go, but I sold the tickets . I did the right thing, and I was still a fool, plus ca change...

Oh well, things work out. I am thinking I will have a very good time this year and the food will be warming to my heart and soul.

seebee wrote:UJ's BBQ, but the drawback is that they are not open on Sunday, so I'd have to pick up on Sat, and re-heat. I don't have time to fire up a grill,
and smoke my own this week, and I have never had UJ's bq, and I'm willing to give it a shot after the lth praise. My other thought was another bq joint - Barbara Ann's or Lem's, or a tamale/carnitas/carne asada spread, (but I'd have to make multiple stops for mex spread.) I'm still
looking for any suggestions, so I'm piggybacking on this thread. (I'll bet I wind up getting some uj bq, and some tamales since I can't decide, and they are both decent rewarmed)

I was actually considering the very same thing - but remembered UJ's wouldnt
be open on Sunday.

Havent quite made a decision yet, like you. However, I think Iam currently
leaning towards going to the *other* UJ's... that is, Uncle Joe's, and getting
the best Jerk Chicken in the city They are usually open on Sundays, but
I'll probably check before making the trip this weekend.

(And yes, just like you, my other option was Tamales - for me, from the place
on Clark Street up in Rogers Park).

c8w

Avec was closed, alas-- for the historical record, here's where we went and didn't quite avoid the Super Bowl.

My menu was full on Superbowl cliché...and I loved every morsel. We started off with The Chow Poodle's world famous "taco dip" and homemade crab rangoon, which had more crab than cream cheese in the filling. That was followed up with ribs and baked beans from the smoker accompanied by fresh cut double fried Belgian frites. By the time it appeared that the Bears would lose for sure, we consoled ourselves with home made chocolate chip cookies.

I had BQ on the brain, so I made my first visit to Barbara Ann's. Tried to get some Honey 1, but they were closed? I started calling at 1:10 pm (they were supposed to be open @1,) but no answer, and same outcome on subsequent attempts. Anyway, It didn't take long for me to give up on Honey One after I called BA's to get some price quotes. The ladies over there were extremely congenial, and absolutely hilarious. They answered all my phone questions, and convinced me I should order from them - even tho Honey 1 would have been 99% easier for me to pick up. Full Slab, and a tip - link combo.
It could have used some more smokiness, (had a nice pink ring, but smoky flavor was slight) but all in all, I think I could actually eat that for a BQ fix in these winter months when I can't (or won't) smoke my own. I may even be able to bring that into my parent's house, and offer it without being kicked out for BBQ heresy!
Next up - Uncle John's!

seebee wrote:I had BQ on the brain, so I made my first visit to Barbara Ann's. Tried to get some Honey 1, but they were closed? I started calling at 1:10 pm (they were supposed to be open @1,) but no answer, and same outcome on subsequent attempts.

Honey-1 wasn't closed - they were was completely swamped by takeout orders! So much so that Robert Jr. was telling people there was over a 2 hour wait. My large tips and large links may have taken over an hour and a half to get, but they were damn tasty as they were devoured during the first half of the game. By the second half I had taken to drowning my sorrows in a Unibroue edition 2005.

Fujisan,

I was at Honey1 yesterday from 4:15-5:45. I probably crossed your path. They were clearly overwhelmed by all the orders, but well worth the wait! They ran out of food at one point, and had to go back and reload the ribs, and they completely ran out of chicken wings, so they started subbing in extra slabs of ribs and reducing the prices as compensation. This, I had no problem with.

Love,
John

Mike G wrote:Avec was closed, alas

Yeah, Avec was closed.

Timo was closed.

Hot Chocolate was closed.

Sweets and Savories was closed.

Sol de Mexico was closed.

Zascianek was closed.

All of the above learned by direct inspection.

WTF, it's not a federal holiday, people!

Ended up at Sabatino's, which is like the polar opposite of Avec, at least until someone opens a place called Sans. The place was empty, the staff was, to say the least, distracted, and they were out of bresaola. Still good, though.

TOO FUNNY!! I was calling to try and order a party pack #1 and substitute
an order of tips for the chicken wings!! I started calling at 1pm, and wanted to pick up at about 4. I figured they were either closed, or completely swamped, or simply forgot to take the auto msg off of the phone. I was happy with BA's 'cue. Honey 1 is still on my list to try.

i ordered stuff at honey 1 for the playoffs last year & after that debacle, had to stay clear of honey 1 BBQ during the postseason this year.

however, as i drove up western avenue about 2 am early sunday morning, i SWORE that the smoker was going full steam & a bunch of people were still inside. it sounds like they probably worked quite late due to the comments on here, i just wish we had a better game outcome

thanks to honey 1 BBQ as usual!
miss ellen

Great ideas. I ended up making red beans and rice, a big cheese and meat platter, we got some pizza from Phils on Halsted (the best) which we pre-ordered the day before and had brownies and cookies for desert. I had too much food, but it was all good.

Mike G wrote:My question is, where am I going for the Super Bowl?

As I posted last year:

Super Bowl Sunday is, without question, the best day to eat out at a restaurant that usually draws crowds and does not have televisions. The busiest place in Chicago will be deserted, you can just waltz right in, bring your rowdy 4-year-old, take a leisurely 2-1/2 hours dining (unlikely with the 4-year-old, however), and enjoy yourself completely and comfortably.

Last year we went to Avec, it was perfect, the place was empty, the staff was bored and happy to see somebody, anybody... however I am informed that this year, apparently one of the teams in the contest will be from Chicago and so I fear even Avec may bring a TV in and have a crowd. Should I look for some place where they're culturally oblivious to American sports entirely, like White Nights or something? Where should we go?

I know an employee of a high-end seafood joint who had to work on Sunday. She said they had one reservation for the SB. She was furious that she had to miss the game because of one unthoughtful dining couple. While you may think the staff is happy to see you, I suspect it is more likely they want to watch the game.

AngrySarah wrote:I know an employee of a high-end seafood joint who had to work on Sunday. She said they had one reservation for the SB. She was furious that she had to miss the game because of one unthoughtful dining couple. While you may think the staff is happy to see you, I suspect it is more likely they want to watch the game.

Her anger is misdirected, if I may say so. This seafood joint employee maybe should have been disturbed with her boss for leaving the place open, but I can't really fault the customers for thoughtlessly dining out while there's a game being aired.

I was planning to go to Depot last night, but I called and they said they were closing at 2:00, which is totally cool, but if the place is open, then it should be welcoming of whoever shows up, don't you think?

Hammond

HI,

Most of the Super Bowl was spent piddling in the kitchen cooking stuff to eat during the week. I watched Billy Joel sing the National Anthem. To catch Prince, I asked my niece to phone me when the half-time show was on. This coincided with our dinner of Spaghetti Carbonara. My friend Helen came over with candy fresh from the Philippines. She finished the last of the Carbonara.

We decided to go for dessert at Baker's Square in Deerfield. There were lights on in the interior and almost no cars in the lot. A patron came out as we were approaching, he confirmed they were indeed open.

Our waiter advised we were the 13th and 14th visitor since 5 PM when it was almost 9 PM. While we were eating pie, we noticed an increase of traffic on Waukegan Rd that seemed to indicate the game was over. When the waiter came by to give us the bill, we asked if the game concluded. He was ready to check his cellphone to give us the precise score just received by text message. All we needed to know was who won.

As we were leaving, the manager thanked us for coming. He said he liked hearing our conversation because it made the restaurant feel less lonely. Earlier in the day they had a rush of pie pick-ups, then it quickly died down.

Regards,