Creative food choices that go way beyond the standard Philly steak and cheese sandwich, sorry Eagles fans, are only the start of what will make this a super weekend that will bowl over the competition. And if you spent all your dough on tickets to the Super Bowl, there are real deals to be found throughout the Hudson area:
– The Hudson Green Mill menu is just the ticket for visitors just a couple of blocks away at the many motels in the frontage road area. Just take it from a bartender there who is originally from the East Coast, so she knows seafood, and also Italian cuisine, especially for Patriot fans. Recommended as being different from what you will get almost anywhere else in the area is the seafood linguine and lobster macaroni and cheese, as well as a multi-tiered lasagna dish that has highlighted ingredients compartmentalized on your plate. Add to that their limited-time, supper club menu that includes two different forms of chicken with sriracha sauce, and of course the Green Mill signature pizza. What some of the dishes have in common is not one but two or more meaty ingredients such as seafood on your plate.
The chefs who make such food elaborate on-line: “We strive to create dishes that you simply can’t find anywhere else. Yes, we have the classics, but we also feature dishes that are exclusive to Green Mill. But even the best recipes in the world don’t cut it without the best ingredients available. Nearly all of Green Mill dishes are made from scratch everyday with the freshest ingredients available – many provided from local suppliers.” And being Wisconsin, there are Big Beers on special, as well as half-priced appetizers during happy hours and on Sundays such as the Big Game.
– On Sundays, including the next one, the West Wind on the north end of River Falls has happy hour all day, which will keep a smile on your face regardless of how your favorite team does. There is $1 off all taps and rails, as well as appetizer specials, not to mention buckets of beers at five bottles for $10. Many offer such bucket specials, but no one can beat that price. The same can be said of their pizzas with any toppings, plus a beer, for that same $10 price. Add $3 margaritas and you have a parrrty!
– Hey Patriot fans, do you want to taste seafood that is different than your local New England clam chowder? Try on for size the Season’s Tavern take on walleye, in about a dozen different ways that are both totally Wisconsin and otherwise, prepared in various styles and with creative use of other ingredients that include a total of nine different vegetables. All you have to do is travel a couple of miles north of the I-94 freeway to North Hudson’s main drag — which is a no-brainer if you’ve trekked all this way to the Midwest to start with.
– At the Willow River Saloon in Burkhardt, there is the fantastic, usual Sunday special of $2 beers and rails that typically ends at 6 p.m., but still could make for a super pregame activity when taking in the commentary. Add to that the all-day, all-Sunday, all-you-can-eat chicken dinner of only $10. And at The Willow, you don’t have to wait for halftime to get quality music, there is live music on the nights before. The bands are Inside Out on Friday night and Blue Moon Drive on Saturday night. Inside Out, quite new to The Willow, performs rock, classic and current country, Motown, R&B, classic favorites that have stood the test of time, and the latest hits and dance tunes, so you can see why they say they have something for everyone.
– The Bungalow Inn in Lakeland plans to take an often-seen bar special and make it something super. For $5, its an all-you-care-to-eat taco bar that as per the Bungalow’s reputation, provides a nicer than Minnesota Nice offering that’s well beyond the standard — its Mexican comfort food to the max, promising to be tastier than the usual stuff such as beans with a bit of meat mixed in. There also are happy hour specials during the game and $15 buckets filled with domestic bottles of beer. The Bungalow was planning to have an even bigger fest if the Vikes would have made it onward, but this gig will also serve to punch your party ticket.
– And here is another Bungalow gig that’s an option in the days before the Big Game, if you can’t wait that long and don’t want to venture into Minneapolis. The finals of Bungalow Idol will be Friday starting at around 9 p.m., with a dozen-or-so qualifiers, coming from each weekend in January, going after the first three prizes. And the (celebrity?) judges might be another draw. There were plans to bring in members of the St. Paul Winter Carnival, think the likes of Klondike Kate, but did these come to fruition? The staff at the Bungalow were not saying as of Thursday, rather hoping to keep it a secret until the curtain rises.
– Make a rush to, rather than take a pass on, the Hudson Family Fresh Market, which is your Super Bowl party headquarters, whether you’re needing super-size snacks, a people-pleasing deli tray, or the frosting on the cake, specialty dessert items with a football theme.
“We do have party-size items. The deli department has many different sizes of food trays. We have a great deli brochure that shows all the types of trays and what we have to offer,” said store director Mark Hein. “The bakery has a lot of fun stuff for the Super Bowl.” Cakes, cupcakes, buns, whatever people need. All at competitive prices, which offer even greater savings if you choose party size, because of the volume.
“Yes, we have all the main brands that people want for their Super Bowl party,” Hein said. Frito Lay and Pepsi, for example, are a big part of the promotional effort to make your Super Bowl party experience, well, super.
“All these items are easy to find. Produce, bakery and deli are your first departments you see when you come in. Our front lobby is filled with chips and soda and other snack items for a Super Bowl party,” Hein said, and this is where you get a true appreciation of the difference party size makes, in both value and variety.
– Since we’ve worked long and hard on this theme, and after all the Super Bowl is all about excess, we have to point out these locally dreamt up variations of the Philly steak and cheese sandwich and New England seafood, courtesy of the regular menu of Paddy Ryan’s Irish Pub in the town of Hudson.
In order to not get their Irish up, we’ll let them tell it to you themselves, pointing out how these out-of-state-standards can have a new twist in this area, and if you are one of the thousands of visitors from east of here, come eat:
Clarenbridge calamari, breaded with the local touch of house seafood sauce.
Belfast seafood chowder in a rich cream stock with fresh herbs and a splash of sherry.
Prime rib sandwich with Irish cheddar, fried onions and sour cream horseradish sauce.
The Big Paddy of beef, pulled pork, bacon and don’t forget the cheese.
Irish cheese steak sandwich, with sautéed bell pepper, red onion, mushrooms and Irish cheese.
Braised beef sandwich with cheese, various sauces and topped with battered onion straws.
Finally, glazed salmon fillet topped with a maple, Dijon and bacon glaze.