Big Food for the Big Game is Big Business for Toms River Eateries

It's Super Bowl party time. We resurrected a feature on some of the business impact the big game has. Here's a look from at how Toms River businesses get ready to make thousands of chicken wings and extra-large pizzas.

What's that? You're having a Super Bowl party and haven't ordered the take-out goodies you're planning to serve?

Whoot! That's a referee's whistle signaling the two-minute warning, pal. What the heck are you waiting for? You think you're the only one counting on Portugese-style wings from ?

“Last year was our first Super Bowl and we ran out of food,” laughed Brasas owner Victor Santos. “If they call ahead, I can guarantee them the food.”

You can order a party of 50 wings, two racks of baby-back ribs and rice or fries.

“That's a whole lot of food for not a lot of money,” Santos said -- and they'll deliver. “These are jumbo wings, not little baby wings – deep fried, with our barbecue sauce. We can make them hot or mild.”

Santos explained the wings have a “unique” flavor and are not coated in a thick molasses-based sauce, but have almost a dry rub.

“A lot of people down here are transplants from North Jersey and they already are familiar with our food,” Santos said. What about rookies who haven't had it before? “As soon as they try it, they love it,” he promised.

On Route 37, Toms Riverside Deli and Subs owner Tom Ekleberry said there's plenty of reasons to enjoy the big game, but good food can make a big difference. There's homemade salads – macaroni, cole slaw or potato – or catering trays like chicken franscaise or penne with vodka sauce.

You'll also find three- to six-foot subs on Riverside's menu, made-to-order with such fillings as ham, capicola, salami, pepperoni, turkey, roast beef and your choice of cheese.

“Everything is store-made,” Ekleberry said. “I've worked as a chef my whole life. Of course, it's always a good idea to order ahead.”

Eddie Testa, proprietor of Chicken Town at 931 Fischer Blvd., has one word to describe why you should order your Super Bowl party fare from him: FRIED. After all, if you can't blow your diet on fried deliciousness on this day, what day can you?

“That's the busiest day of the year for us,” Testa said. “It's our last hurrah until after Easter.”

From the fryer come buffalo chicken wings, fried chicken, fish and shrimp, cauliflower, mushrooms and zucchini. Chicken Town also has ribs and salads; plus,  Italian trays like baked ziti, manicotti and stuffed shells.

But what people at a party really want, Testa said, is fried chicken, which he claimed recently was named No. 1 food of the year.

“People say they don't eat fried chicken, but if you put it in front of them, it will be gone before just about everything else,” Testa said, maybe because people don't make it for themselves.

So, Testa – will you be wearing black and gold or green and yellow on Super Bowl Sunday?

“I can't say,” Testa demurred. “I gotta be a politician on that one. If a guy walks in with a Pittsburgh shirt, I say, 'Go Steelers!'” And vice versa, of course.

Wolfie's Restaurant at Route 37 has been serving up Super Bowl and everyday fare for generations.

“Our big thing is our Sloppy Joe,” owner Steve Wolf said – and he's not talking about the juicy ground beef concoction you might be think of when you hear that. Wolfie's version is a deli-style triple-decker, with corned beef, pastrami, roast beef, turkey, cole slaw and Russian dressing.

Wolfie's also has wings, either hot and spicy or not.

“Pretty much anything you want we can get,” Wolf said, noting Super Bowl and St. Patrick's Day are “huge” for the eatery.

Wolf makes no bones about his favorite team – Giants.

“I can't root for any other team,” he said. “We always got next year.”

Manager John Leonard said Charlie's Pizza & Restaurant on 860 Fischer Blvd., expects to sell 2,000 to 3,000 wings on Super Bowl Sunday, even though his preferred team (Buffalo Bills) didn't come anywhere close to being in it.

And, last but not least, Zuka's Hot Grill on 570 Fischer Blvd. might have the most unique menu of the eateries we contacted. Among the specialties – deep fried hot dogs with some 15 toppings, including the most popular chili; nine different kinds of sliders, with fillings such as pulled pork, eggplant, fried chicken, roast beef and cheesesteak; and the No. 1-selling Fat Niki sandwich – a 10-inch roll filled with buffalo chicken, French fries and fried mozzarella, topped with bleu cheese dressing.

“Someone ate two of these the other night,” owner Lynn Wozney said, in awe.

Wozney threw down the gauntlet on what might be the most typical Super Bowl fare.

“We've been told we have the best wings in the state,” she said -- and she's not talking wings with just the run-of-the-mill buffalo sauce.

Zuka's (named for Wozney's dear departed mutt) has three sauces in addition to homemade buffalo – mojo, a combination of pineapple and habanero pepper (“Sweet at first, then it hits ya,” Wozney said); drunken Rudy, a combination of Guinness beer and whiskey (“My favorite because it's not spicy and you get the taste of the whiskey”); and Asian plum -- citrusy, with a Japanese spice.

“They go down nice with beer,” Wozney said.

Whoot! Game over! Because, that, folks, is really what it's all about when it comes to Super Bowl food, isn't it?