Sports

Patch vs. Patch: Who has the Super-est Food?

While Steelers fans enjoy their particular and impressive culinary delights, Packers fans simply ignore any effort to lose weight when it comes to the green and gold in the Super Bowl.

Cranberry, PA Editor Jessica Sinichak and her counterpart in Sussex, WI, Editor Andy Smith, have compared quarterbacks, fans and even karma to prove whose team is most worthy of the Lombardi Trophy.

This article has nothing to do with that. This time, they’re competing over who has the best food.

And, for all their differences, Pittsburgh and Green Bay have something in common in terms of food — no salads on either menu! Jessica goes first.

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Why Pittsburgh Has the Better Food

Not only is our team going to be victorious on Sunday, our traditional tailgate food also is a winner. Here’s why:

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Pierogies – And I’m not talking about the ones that race around PNC Park during Pirate games. These little dumplings stuffed with potato and cheese and topped – ala the Sinichak household – with onions sautéed in butter beats the Packers' cheese curds any day of the week.

Primanti Bros. Sandwich – A mammoth sandwich suitable for hulking defenders like James Harrison and Casey Hampton. Take two slabs of white bread, load it with steak, pastrami or your choice of meat and top it with hand-cut fries and slaw. I personally like to add an egg, plus a liberal sprinkling of hot sauce to my sandwich. Andy, do you have anything that measures up to this Pittsburgh classic?

Kielbasa – Another 'burgh tradition, kielbasa is perfect for grilling during tailgate parties. Add halusky — that’s noodles with fried cabbage for all our non-yinzer readers — and SCORE!

Heinz Ketchup – So good we named our stadium after it. Nothing pumps up the crowd quite like when the two giant ketchup bottles looming above the stadium pour over the big screen as the Steelers cross into red zone. Check it out here. The ketchup is famous, but it’s also delicious. Is there a better tomato product out there? I don’t think so.

Iron City Beer – And also I.C. Light, Yuengling, Penn Brewery, Rolling Rock, and Duquesne Brewing Company. Let’s just say we like our beer in Pittsburgh.

Why Green Bay Fans Don't Get Any Thinner at Their Game Parties

A Spread of Sausage — When your state is home to a trio of world famous sausage makers — Klement's, Usinger's and Johnsonville — plus a ton of smaller local "wurstmachers" (sausage makers) it's hard to top the Badger State in this category. A lot of jet fuel is burned each year just to carry home the tons of frozen sausage bought by visitors to Wisconsin. Whether it's Polish sausage, Italian sausage, Chorizo (Mexican) sausage or the well-known German sausage called bratwurst, these delights are each about twice the size of a hot dog. We typically grill them, then boil them in beer (yum), then bury them in a blanket of sauerkraut and slather them with barbeque sauce. Of course, their proper home is in a specially baked brat bun, never a little hot dog bun.

The Proverbial Cheese Tray — Earlier in the week I provided a short list of the hundreds of varieties of cheese produced in Wisconsin. From soft brie to hard, aged cheddar, making a creative mountain of various cheese slabs meant to be stacked on a wide selection of crackers that most hosts provide is only improved upon when the thoughtful host also provides thin sliced and spicy venison (deer), all-beef, or traditional summer sausage. Of course, for those who prefer spreading cheese over their crackers, the Merkt's or Owl's Nest brands each produce little crocks of softened cheese that you spread with a cheese knife like peanut butter on bread. Cheese and crackers are just an appetizer.

Meat, and lots of it — You'll see a lot of "Nesco Roasters" in kitchens across Wisconsin. That's because half and full racks of ribs, both pork and beef, start their journey to our big Wisconsin stomachs by enduring hours of slow roasting and basting with sauces and spices, beginning early in the morning. The final step is to drown all this fork-tender meat in your family's favorite BBQ Sauce. Mine happens to be made in Milwaukee and is called Big Boss, with a full line-up of flavors. Since you're gonna lose Super Bowl XLV, you can order your supply for the NEXT time the Steelers ever get to the Super Bowl at Big Boss Sauce.

Beer. Beer! You Think You Can Beat the Beer Capitol of the World? - There's Miller, Miller Genuine Draft, Miller Light, Schlitz, Pabst, Sprecher, Old Milwaukee, Blatz, Icehouse, Hamm's, Killian's Red, Milwaukee's Best . . . and these are just Milwaukee beers. There are hundreds of small craft beer brewers across Wisconsin. Ever try New Glarus? How about Leinenkugel? Just because I'm a nice guy, I've included this link to Cooking With Beer. You'll like it. But, you're still gonna lose the Super Bowl.

So Jessica, I presume you'll have to go out and buy a Green Bay Packers Jersey to wear all week. I don't have the sense that there's one hanging in your closet!


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