The Super Bowl is nearly upon us. Some people watch the game to be social, some watch for the commercials, and some actually love the sport. But the biggest thing about Super Sunday is not the parties, commercials, or the game. It’s the food. Hey we’re Jews aren’t we—so, let’s talk nosh. Well, the local restaurants have a great lineup in store to ensure that gastronomically the game will be a big success.

The Teaneck Doghouse, Dougie’s Bar-B-Que & Grill, Gotham Burger Co, and Smokey Joe’s are gearing up to serve hungry fans. Jonathan Speiser, owner of Dougie’s, said, “The Super Bowl is our busiest retail day of the year by far.” Joe Godin owner of Smokey Joe’s and Johnny Shore owner of Gotham Burger, said Super Bowl Sunday is one of their biggest days of the year. For the Doghouse, Super Bowl Sunday is different from other football Sundays. Owner Jonathan Gellis said, “People come in for the game and will sit for five hours. On a typical football Sunday, we turn the place over three times.”

So, how do these restaurateurs handle the rush? Shore said that Gotham will be closed to customers Saturday night (typically opens up motzei Shabbos). “We have a full crew coming in at 7 p.m. to prepare.” However, Gotham maintains its emphasis on freshness by staggering pick-up times and delivery. Godin says he and his Smokey Joe staff, “will be there the moment after Shabbos ends to get things ready.” He adds that by bringing in extra staff and through careful planning, the restaurant can care for all its customers’ needs and be very particular about freshness. Speiser says of Dougie’s, “We’ll work through the night on Saturday night. We’ve been doing this for a lot of years and we know how to plan, prepare and execute.”

So, what about the food?

Godin says of Smokey Joe’s food “Our menu naturally goes with Super Bowl Sunday.” He expects ribs, cornbread, guacamole and chips, and their authentic slow cooked wood-fired pit smoked Glatt kosher barbeque to be big sellers. In fact, Godin expects to go through over 1000 pounds of ribs and 500 pounds of pulled barbeque brisket. This is four times the amount of a normal Sunday.

The Doghouse will have an all you can eat buffet and an open cash bar. They also will have take-out specials that include food and alcohol. Gellis added that the sports bar will be “unveiling offerings from our pastry chef which include all different chocolate bark and strawberry pear crumble.” He also noted that there will be extra staff to maintain the buffet and take drink orders. Gillis is looking forward to the big day and is happy providing the community with a bar type atmosphere and quality kosher food.

Gotham Burger will offer their typical fare along with some interesting additions. Those additions include Thai beef salad and avocado grapefruit salad and baby spinach. They also will have different hero sandwiches and chicken schnitzel sub by the foot. Shore says, “A popular addition from last year is back: the beef nacho kit. “ It includes all the ingredients to build your own beef nacho at home. And how much food will they go through? Well, about 1500 chicken fingers and 2000 sliders. Shore is looking forward to taking care of the customers on Sunday

Speiser says of Dougie’s, “A lot of our year round food is popular Super Bowl food.” He added that the restaurant will have Super Bowl specials for takeout and packages as well as its regular menu. Speiser expects big sales of chili, wings, firepoppers (boneless buffalo wing) and heroes. He estimated that Dougie’s will sell between 15-20,000 wings. This is approximately 15 times a typical Sunday. Speiser says the day is both challenging and rewarding.

So, what about the actual game? Gellis is rooting for the Patriots. It comes from pity as his Giants beat them twice. Speiser feels no rooting interest and is simply hoping for a good game. Shore doesn’t care for either team but predicts a Patriots victory. Godin is rooting for Seattle “because at Smokey Joe’s we don’t believe in deflated portion sizes.”

Well, while predicting a winner is a challenge, fulfilling your gastronomical desires isn’t. So, enjoy the food, whatever choice you make.