Vitalia Senior Residences at Stow Cheer on the Teams While Enjoying Favorite Super Bowl Snacks

It all started on January 15, 1967, when the Kansas City Chiefs from the American Football League played the Green Bay Packers from the National Football League. Until this point, the two leagues were separated and considered rivals. They competed for fans and players and didn’t care for each other much. In 1966, the decision was made to merge by 1970, and in 1967 the first Super Bowl was played. It wasn’t until after the game that Chiefs owner, Lamar Hunt, came up with the term “Super Bowl.”

With the invention of the wooden-sided station wagon in 1930 came along a rear folding tailgate. Fans drove the station wagon to college football games, using the tailgate as a picnic table of sorts, and tailgating was born. Once portable grills and coolers were invented in the 1950s, tailgating took on a whole new vibe. Cold beer and ribs replaced sandwiches and red wine. Then, in the 1970s, the car culture took hold and stadiums were relocated out of inner cities to the suburbs where there was ample parking, and the tailgating experience that we know today was cemented into our culture.

In honor of Super Bowl LVII, the culinary team here at Vitalia Senior Residences at Stow will be celebrating the big day with a football cheese ball and charcuterie board, loaded nachos, smoked chicken wings, soft pretzels with beer mustard, Buffalo chicken dip, and pulled pork sliders! As Culinary Director I’ve prepared a lot of different items, but my favorite Super Bowl snacks are, hands down, chicken wings.

We will be making smoked chicken wings. The wings will be dry rubbed with my secret rub recipe and slowly smoked using a mesquite blend of wood chips!

In 1994, following the fourth Super Bowl appearance by the Buffalo Bills, Domino’s Pizza added Buffalo wings to their national menu. Pizza Hut followed suit the next year. As the market for chicken wings expanded, restaurants began to create and use a variety of sauces, in addition to Buffalo sauce.

If you’re in the area, stop by to celebrate the big game with us! And if you can’t make it, check out our social media pages to see the great snacks we made and the awesome time we had watching the game!