This year’s Super Bowl may not feature any hometown teams, but those attending the big game will still be able to get a taste of the Big Apple.
More than a dozen MetLife Stadium concession items created specially for the game are inspired by the city’s diverse food scene.
“New York has so many flavors and textures,” said Eric Borgia, executive chef for Delaware North Sportservice, which manages the food at MetLife Stadium. “It was important for us from the beginning to make this stadium taste like New York.”
That means concessions that reflect the flavors of the boroughs, such as a hot corned beef hoagie and Junior’s cheesecake for Brooklyn, a Tijuana-style rice bowl for Queens, a meatball hero for the Bronx, and an artichoke and spinach pizza for Manhattan. Not on the menu, however, are any dishes that take after Staten Island, while the Jersey Shore will be represented with items that include a cheese-steak.
Overall, Borgia tends to look to trends in New York street food and comfort food for his stadium menu.
“I love finding little mom-and-pop, greasy-spoon-type places, as well as street festivals,” said Borgia. “To me, that’s where a lot of great food comes from.”
Borgia is also inspired by his grandmother’s Italian home cooking, and several menu items that will be served on Super Bowl Sunday are based on her recipes, including Nonna Fusco’s meatballs and jumbo rice balls.
“Growing up in an Italian household, Sunday was always the biggest food day in my family,” said the chef. “Even then it revolved around football, too.”
Here’s how MetLife Stadium plans on feeding the more than 82,000 ticketholders attending the big game on Super Bowl Sunday:
75,000 chicken tenders
21,500 hot dogs
20,000 sausages
20,000 meatballs
12,000 pretzels
7,500 individual pizzas
7,000 cheese steak sandwiches
5,000 slices of pizza
500 gallons of marinara sauce
50,000 10-oz. cups for hot chocolate/coffee
