Super Bowl Sunday is a festival of food | Business

COLONIE - It seems Super Bowl Sunday is more then just a football phenomenon. For many Americans it is a festival of food.

Super Bowl Sunday ranks second -- only to Thanksgiving -- when it comes to American holidays known for food consumption. And that raises the question -- What is America's most quintessential culinary celebration?

"To me, it's Super Bowl Sunday," said Cheryl Brannock of Latham, taking in the Super Bowl with friends at Wolf's 1-11 in Colonie. "I like to be surrounded by my friends."

"I would say Thanksgiving is a more important American holiday," said Logan Rieth of Castleton. "You're with your family and it's a quiet time to talk about what you've done over the years."

In other words, if you're looking for a quiet family time and place, you probably won't find it at a sports bar like Wolf's 1-11, where many families and football fans gathered Sunday night to watch the Giants defeat New England 21-17 in Super Bowl XLVI.

"I think we eat more and enjoy the food more (on Super Bowl Sunday)," opined Terry Holohan of Altamont. "As far as having this much fun at Thanksgiving, I don't know that. I think we might have more fun here."

"Here it's really loud and you can't really talk with (family)," said Jaclene Rieth of Castleton. "When you're at home and you're with just family, it's quiet and you can talk about other stuff besides football."

Pigskins weren't the only things flying through the air on Super Bowl Sunday. At pizza parlors across the country, millions of pies were flying out the ovens.

"This is huge. It's the biggest day of the year in the pizza industry, " said an enthusiastic Lorenzo Scavio, owner of Paesan's Pizza in Albany. "I'd say we have about 20 people total working today when ordinarily we'd have maybe eight or night."

Scavio says he expects to sell as many as 600 pizzas, which is two to three times more than a normal Sunday.

At I Love NY Pizza on Madison Avenue, owner Lewis Ferrara says he hates to wake up to Super Bowl Sunday, but once he gets in gear and the adrenalin starts flowing, it becomes fun.

"I have five extra drivers on today," Ferrara said. "I have three extra counter girls on to take phone orders."

The National Restaurant Association estimates that 48 million Americans ordered take out food on Sunday -- mostly pizza and chicken wings. Another 12 million were expected to watch the Super Bowl at sports bars and restaurants.