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New York Times

Ranking the Super Bowl food options in New Orleans: Alligator, crawfish, po' boys and more

NEW ORLEANS — There is nothing quite like the cuisine in New Orleans — for my money, it's the best food city in the NFL. If I lived here (and I almost did a few years ago), I would need to buy looser jeans. The first time I came to New Orleans while I was in college, my roommate and I went to a restaurant owned by Archie Manning and tried turtle soup and alligator sliders for the first time. I love po' boys and etouffee and king cake and beignets and red beans and rice and and pralines and muffalettas and charbroiled oysters. If the last meal I ever had was at a crawfish boil, I would die a happy man. Advertisement (One New Orleans staple I don't recommend: Hand Grenades on Bourbon Street.) With that in mind, it was an easy choice to take part in the NFL's food and beverage preview ahead of Sunday's Super Bowl at the Superdome. The line to get into the stadium for this event was long, but it was worth the wait. Most of the reporters in attendance seemed to work in television — I am but a lowly writer, with a face for radio, who just wanted to eat some alligator. I waited for all of the TV people to get their B-roll from the sideline, and then we were escorted up to the private suite area where all of the food was on display. We were instructed to wait until every reporter — there were hundreds in attendance, I gather — had a chance to get photos and videos of the food on display. The menu for Sunday's game is significant and full of local flavor. Sodexo Live!, the longtime hospitality partner of the Superdome, has a huge staff of talented chefs — led by executive chef Lenny Martinsen — who helped to cultivate the cuisine that will be available at the game. Interestingly, Rams legend and New Orleans native Marshall Faulk (recently hired by the University of Colorado's Deion Sanders to be a position coach) was involved as the 'official flavor officer' for the game. Fun backstory: Faulk actually worked as a popcorn vendor at the stadium in his youth. He worked with Sodexo Live's culinary team to help curate and taste test the menu for the game. Some fast facts about what's being served (before I get into what really matters — how everything tastes): • 5,000-plus alligator sausages are expected to be sold on Sunday, as well as… • $6,500-plus pounds of shrimp just for po boys • 50,000-plus legally sourced baguettes • 150,000 nacho chips to be eaten • Half a ton of soft shell crabs will be cooked up • 12,000-plus local oysters were purchased • 50,000-plus cocktails will be stirred and served • 1.3 tons of short ribs prepped • 700,000-plus ounces of beer will be served Advertisement One piece of information they conveniently forgot to provide: How much each dish will cost. I don't endorse spending too much money at the game if you've already spent an arm and a leg on game tickets and getting here. Before I rank everything I tried on Monday, a couple notes: 1) Three signature alcoholic drinks were sampled, including a loaded spicy bloody mary, with vodka, bloody mary mix, olives, pepperoncini, spicy green beans, cheese, celery, bacon and spicy okra; 'Voodo Magic', with Don Juliio tequila, lime juice, jalapeno syrup, mango puree and 'black magic seasoning; and the 'Royal Carnival Queen', which had Crown Royal Apple, blackberry liquor, lemon juice and prosecco. All three will be available on Sunday, but I did not imbibe so I won't be reviewing those. 2) I did not get around to trying the Lobster Karaage sandwich but it did look delightful. Without further adieu, my rankings of all of the dishes, most of which will be available to everyone in attendance, though a few will only be available to those lucky enough to watch from a suite. 10. The Big Easy Hen of the Woods Bahn Mi What's in it: Beer battered hen of the woods, mushrooms, pickled veggies, cucumber, mushroom duxelle, remoulade, served on a french baguette Review: I took one bite of this and promptly threw it in the trash. I like bahn mi, and I love mushrooms, but something was just off about the flavors and consistency in this sandwich. It is a vegetarian option but I wouldn't spend money on this one. 9. Chicken and Sausage Gumbo What's in it: andouille sausage, chicken thigh meat, veggies, white rice Review: I ate a lot of gumbo in New Orleans this week. This would rank at the bottom of the list, frankly. It wasn't very well seasoned. 8. Softshell Crab Po' Boy What's in it: Whole soft-shell crab battered and fried, Frito Lay special spread, tomatoes, lettuce on soft french bread Review: I had very high hopes for this — especially after seeing the size of the crabs they were stuffing into these sandwiches. I admittedly didn't read what was in the sandwich other than the crab before biting into it — but I found the 'Frito Lay Special Spread' to be jarring. It didn't work, for me, with the crab — it kind of tasted like peanut butter. Swap out the frito sauce for something more traditional and it probably improves, though I'd expect this to be an expensive bite to eat at the stadium. Advertisement 7. Assorted Sushi Review: The sushi provided was courtesy of a local spot called Rock n' Sake, an establishment I've frequented many times over the years when visiting New Orleans. I only had a couple sushi rolls and they were somewhat underwhelming compared to eating at the actual restaurant. There was a salmon roll with a crab salad mixed in that overpowered the salmon. The shrimp tempura role with cream cheese and tuna on top was a little better. The sushi is only available to the fancy folks watching the game from suites anyway. 6. Seafood Nachos What's in it: Cajun blackened shrimp, nacho cheese sauce with crawfiish, homemade guac, fresh cilantro and pico de gallo on tortilla chips Review: I had high hopes for these (put crawfish on or in anything and I'm game) but they were a little disappointing. Not bad, just didn't meet expectations. I would've loved more crawfish in the queso — which had some kick — and the shrimp was fine. Good, not great — but hard to go wrong with nachos at a sporting event. 5. King Cake Review: I have a sweet tooth. It is a problem, so much so that my fiancée instructed me to make eating fewer sweets my New Year's resolution. It has been hard — but I have been (mostly) good so far. Let me tell you, looking at this table full of sweets (they called it a 'dessert charcuterie,' fancy), it was challenging to hold back. I compromised by getting a bite of a New Orleans staple (that I have a hard time turning down when it's in front of me anytime I come out to this beautiful city): King Cake. There were no tiny baby figurines in my slice (look it up, it's part of the tradition) but the cake was delightful. In my experience, it's hard to mess up King Cake. If you don't live in New Orleans, I recommend finding some online and ordering it wherever you are. It's worth it. Do it. Now. 4. Carved Tomahawk What's in it: Pan seared bone in prime ribeye, peppercorn demi, caramelized shallot butter Review: It would be difficult to mess up a tomahawk steak (unless you overcook it, I suppose). This was cooked perfectly to my liking (medium rare) and was buttery and delicious, topped with a roasted potato and string of asparagus. The one criticism: by the time it was served, the steak had already turned a bit too lukewarm for my liking. 3. Surf N Turf Po' Boy What's in it: Nine-hour smoked short rib with pull bone, five colossal shrimp, mornay sauce, remoulade sauce, dressed with tomatoes and lettuce on soft french bread Review: This was a pleasant surprise, and had flavors I didn't expect when I bit into it. I would describe it as a cheesesteak-esque with shrimp mixed in for an interesting texture. The mornay cheese sauce was perfection. (No, Philly folks, it's not better than the cheesesteak you can get back home. It's only different. Though it might be better than Pat's or Geno's, both overrated.) Advertisement 2. Fried Oyster Po' Boy What's in it: cornflake crusted fried oysters, thick-cut brown sugar glazed bacon, spicy mayo, tomatoes, lettuce, topped with chicharron and chive crumble on soft french bread Review: This was fantastic. If I hadn't eaten so much, I might've gone in for seconds. The oysters were coated in corn flakes (always a good call when frying up fish or meat), and the crunch chicharron was a nice touch, but the thick cut bacon was the star of the show. The flavors from it emanated through the sandwich and complemented everything else perfectly. 1. Alligator Sausage What's in it: Traditional New Orleans alligator sausage topped with crawfish etouffee on soft french bread served with chips Review: At one point, the lovely people running this event asked everyone to turn their attention to the front of the room to listen to their comments about their team and putting the event together. While all the other suckers diverted their attention, I made sure to get in line at the alligator sausage station — both because I'm obsessed with alligator sausage and because the sous chef at the station insisted the line was going to get very long, very fast. I'm glad I did it; it was amazing, one of the best bites of food I had anywhere, all weekend. The sausage was thick and the chef lathered each one to order with crawfish etouffee — a creole/cajun staple that typically consists of some sort of shellfish mixed into a thick, luscious sauce. It was messy (some of the sauce spilled onto my notebook) but worth it. The gator sausage tasted a bit like a spicy brat. Whether you get a gator sausage at the game or elsewhere in town (I recommend the gator po' boy at Cooter Brown's), try it the next time you come to New Orleans. (Top photo of fried oyster po' boy: Zack Rosenblatt / The Athletic)