Kate Krader (@kkrader on Twitter) is Food & Wine's restaurant editor. When she tells us where to find our culinary heart's desire, we listen up.
Finally, we’re down to two teams for Super Bowl XLVII, to be held February 3 in New Orleans. It’s the Baltimore Ravens up against the San Francisco 49ers. It’s the Harbaugh Bowl: Ravens coach John Harbaugh versus his brother, 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh.
Do you know what I want to know about Harbaugh v Harbaugh? Nothing. I’ve already heard enough. I also have more info than I can handle on Ravens superstar linebacker Ray Lewis playing his last NFL game.
I do have some questions about both Super Bowl-bound teams, though. Namely, what are they eating? Who has the most outrageous diet? I did a little research so I could pick my Super Bowl diet winner.
The 49ers: The Diet
Chef Chad McWilliams told FoodRepublic.com about the food he serves: “We’ll do about 120 pounds of chicken per service. That’s just chicken. And steak, we’ll do 60 pounds per service. And fish is close to 95 to 100 pounds per service. That’s for players, coaches and staff.”
The Meat Eater: Brian Jennings, the team’s long snapper, will only eat beef (according to team chef McWilliams and head of logistics Steve Risser). Says Risser, “He does not touch chicken. He does not touch fish. He’s very strict with his starches. Has to be whole grain.” Jennings’s pregame meal: filet mignon with brown rice and vegetables.
The Competitive Eater: Punter Andy Lee. “He’s probably the skinniest guy on the team but he does not stop eating. I’d put him up, if we had to do a competitive eating contest,” says Risser. “And he puts ketchup on everything. Ketchup and pickles. No matter what it is. It’s actually pretty disgusting to sit down and eat next to him. He’s a very nice guy, but he’s an eating machine.”
The Ravens: The Diet
Starting last summer, the Baltimore Ravens’ chefs began making the team’s food options healthier. No more white bread, white pasta or white rice; instead, whole-wheat everything; olive oil instead of vegetable oil; fried tater tots replaced by baked sweet potato tots.
A recipe for the “Power Man’s Salad” hangs in the Ravens cafeteria. It includes commandments, like:
1. Romaine or Boston lettuce. Dark green leafy veggies provide a variety of nutrients.
2. Add power with quality proteins. Hard-boiled eggs, cottage cheese, grilled chicken, baked ham or tuna
3. Increase antioxidants with veggies and fruit:
Red—radishes, red peppers, tomatoes, apples
Orange/yellow—carrots, corn, peaches, tangerines
Blue/purple—grapes, raisins, eggplant, blueberries
White—cauliflower, mushrooms, onions, potatoes
Green—broccoli, green beans, cucumbers, avocado
The Power Eater: Ravens guard Marshal Yanda “eats like a death row inmate granted his last meal,” according to the Baltimore Sun. “He'll start with pancakes, follow that with a huge helping of hash browns, then polish off a small steak. Strawberries and melon are next, and he washes the meal down with at least two glasses of orange juice. Kickoff is four hours away. “It’s basically just loading up for battle,” Yanda said. “You just try to get as much as possible.”
Chia Fan Club: Running back Ray Rice believes that adding chia seeds to his diet pumps up his energy and is good for his digestion. Under-the-radar linebacker Ray Lewis has said that he puts chia seeds in his shake every morning; if you didn’t know, he’s said he’s lost more than 20 pounds this year.
Pizza Fanatic: Ravens center Matt Birk says, “My favorite food is pizza. No matter what city I go to, I Google, I ask people at the front desk, I stop people on the street: I want to know what’s the best pizza in town.”
Me, I’m going with the Ravens.
More from Food & Wine:
Best Chicken Wings in the U.S.
Best Pizza Places in the U.S.
Best Burgers in the U.S.
America’s Beer Bars
Ultimate Super Bowl Recipes
© 2011 American Express Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved.
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"... fried tater tots ..." Healthy? Oh yeah!!
[sarcasm off]
"fried tater tots replaced by baked sweet potato tots..."
Explore reading comprehension classes before commenting
Why would you be a Ravens fan? SF clearly has better restaurants and is better know for food & wine.
... and, of course, limper wrists.
lame article
I think I could out eat ANDY LEE! I challenge you to a DUEL!
He tweeted me back once when I asked him what the menu was when he posted something about having a barbeque last summer. That was pretty cool.
whoops. forgot to change handle back
Niners, BABY
http://blogs.nfl.com/2013/01/24/superbowlrecipes/
i havent planned on what I'm eating on Feb 3.Thats a few weeks away.A dumb football game isnt going to influence that.Why we care about this sillyness.
Especially if it's not even your favorite teams playing.I dont really like watching sports.And I'm sure as hell not going to sit in front of a TV for 4+ hours looking at these teams I care little for.I don't care how much the media makes me think this is some big event.
It's just a footbll game.They play it the same way like throughout the year
You need a drink.
And almost 1 billion people disagree with you.
go shove a kiwi up your bunghole
What a maroon!
Haha, almost a billion people,wrong buddy. No one cares about NFL outside of USA. World Cup has billions of watchers.
... and that shows you how lame the "rest of the world" is.
Enjoy your reruns of Search For Tomorrow, Dearie. The rest of us will be at the game.
This "silliness" that you condescendingly refer to is the most watched sporting event in the nation. But naw, enjoy Jersey Shore reruns on MTV, followed by Honey Booboo
Can you win a Super Bowl with salad? It depends. What position is it playing?
LOL!