When it comes to capitalizing on Super Bowl Sunday, it is impossible to overstate the importance of the spread. But with all due respect to our colleagues monitoring the Super Bowl 60 betting scene, the only discussion of sharps and squares you’ll find below revolves around cheddar and crackers.

Here we’re focused on curating some next-level catering to complement the upcoming battle between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots. Similar to last season, after assembling an All-Pro pool of delectable options, we invited eight epicureans to stock their Super Bowl fantasy smorgasbords in a snake draft that flowed from 1-8 then 8-1 for even-numbered rounds. Our GMs (Gastronomy Maestros, naturally) crafted their menus in accordance with several requirements, including designated slots for an appetizer, beverage, main course, chip/snack, dip, dessert and a Flex food that could come from any category.

To suit this particular Super Bowl, they also had to select one item that showcased a regional food/drink from Seattle or New England, as well as the host city. With apologies to Santa Clara and the “Valley of Heart’s Delight” (as the orchard-rich area was known in its pre-Silicon Valley days), we selected San Francisco to help diversify the options beyond prunes. Though, those could serve a purpose after devouring some of these spreads …

Below you’ll find all eight menus (including links to some related NYT Cooking recipes) and commentary about the rest of the field from each drafter (complete with jovial barbs), followed by the draft board.

See something we missed? Take issue with a selection? Sound off in the comments. For now, let’s dig into the following feasts.

Victory con Queso

GM: Brandon Funston

You’re gonna get messy at my party, so bring a bib, because it’ll be worth it. My top pick, crab, was a Travis Hunter special that satisfied both the host city and the participating team city (Seattle) requirements. Not only that, crab is delicious; it has the highest market value on the board, and working the meat out of its shell is a perfect place for Seahawks fans like me to channel nervous energy.

In addition, BBQ ribs (wet naps to be provided), taquitos and shrimp cocktail are among my spread, along with soft pretzel bites (much to Jake’s dismay). My dip is queso, which happens to make a heavenly pairing with all my other aforementioned offerings (I mean, is anything worse with queso?).

Thoughts on the field

I’ll admit, I was steamed when PNW neophyte Steven Goldstein took Seattle craft beer with his first-round pick (!), but then he used another pick on water. With Rainier beer, I get a Seattle beer and water combined in one pick! You’re welcome for the economics lesson, Steven.

I considered giving kudos to Jake’s party, but after observing Dry January, I’m gonna need the full cocktail bar that Hannah offers. Hannah has a bunch of other solid picks, too, with potato skins and Seattle dogs being among my favorite values.

Clear Theme, Full Plates, Can’t Lose!

GM: Vik Chokshi

I preface my picks by saying I’m a simple Midwesterner who loves football, family and Super Bowl parties. Once you know that, my food selections will make perfect sense.

With my first pick, I took pizza. It’s the quintessential Super Bowl party food, and I was elated that it fell to me at No. 2. An assortment of pizzas covers the kids, vegetarians and carnivores all in one swoop. Ask yourself this question: Have you ever gone to a Super Bowl party that didn’t have pizza?

In Rounds 2 and 3, I took a couple of staples, with mozzarella sticks and mac and cheese to slide into my appetizer and flex spots. Both are simple yet versatile. Mac and cheese, especially, is a classic that can be eaten as an appetizer or main course. More importantly, if you have a picky kid who doesn’t like pizza, I have you covered.

There was a chip-and-dip run before my picks, so I ended up securing the safe hummus-and-pita-chips combo back-to-back in Rounds 4 and 5. After loading up on cheesy delights early, this should hit the spot for people looking for something light and crispy. Also, I was happy to pair my chips and dip perfectly, which not everyone did!

People always remember a party for the good food and drinks. That’s why I grabbed straight liquor in the sixth round. My plan is to enjoy some bourbon, whiskey, or tequila with big cubes while watching the game and the halftime performance. I also found a loophole and grabbed soda (pop) in the eighth round. This way, we can get some mixed drinks going for the adults that want them and keep the non-drinkers and kids happy, too.

Lastly, for dessert, I chose Boston cream pie, which satisfies the regional requirements and gives my guests a perfect dessert for all ages.

Thoughts on the field

I have to show some love to Steven. He stole both beer and chicken wings from me when I had them queued up with my next picks. Either would’ve been perfect for my spread. He also grabbed Mission burritos, which was a brilliant move.

I love Jess, but we’re just on different stratospheres when it comes to our party foods and drinks. As you can see from my draft, if you want to please me, just keep it simple.

Wing Kings

GM: Steven Goldstein

We committed to the theme last year and built around our first pick. Well, what did it get us? Steven’s Super Bowl Seafood Spectacular. Marketing insisted this name would stick. It didn’t. Scouting promised that talent would translate at the party. It didn’t! After colleagues and commenters ripped our work, we decided to clean house.

This new front office made a statement. Beer-and-chicken-wings is the quarterback-left tackle pair that can anchor a dynasty. The drink in question is sourced from Seattle’s Ballard brewery district — nine taprooms across a half-mile walk, basically a Mike Macdonald blitz package. Our Mission-style burrito main course represents the host with pride. Subs and chips are everywhere for those with eyes to see or mouths to chew. Crab dip endures as last year’s holdover, but it’s also a value pick in the final round. Cookies come in victory formation.

Thoughts on the field

Much respect to Vik. He rolled with a theme this time, and that theme was cheese. We’re circling his hangout on the team pocket calendar. They still make those folding schedules, right? If not, let’s bring them back. Forgive my skepticism, Mike, but pairing fried clams and pork bao sounds like a first-round exit, or at least the wildest of wild-cards.

Guacamole is a Franchise Quarterback

GM: Dan Santaromita

I was thrilled to get guacamole with my first pick (for the second year in a row) and lock down the best chip for dipping with the tortilla chip pick. That combo is what you can build a franchise around. I overdrafted Pisco Punch (something I had not heard of until about 15 minutes before I picked it) because I felt like the drinks were going fast and I needed something. Given how others drafted, this may have been a mistake. Similar for the Dutch baby. I needed a local Seattle or New England pick, and offerings felt thin by the time I got around to fulfilling the requirement. In this case, though, I am very familiar with Dutch babies (hello to any fellow Walker Bros. fans in Chicagoland), so I am proud to rep them.

Main courses have the deepest options, which is why I left that for later. I can’t believe nachos made it to the sixth round, and pulled pork sandwiches are a nice complement. I went off the board with focaccia bread for my last pick. This may be my Italian last name speaking, but how can you go wrong with warm, fluffy bread brushed with olive oil?

Thoughts on the field

When you think Super Bowl parties, you think wings, pizza and beer. Those are the classics. That’s why Brandon’s first overall pick of crab is fairly insane to me. Crab is one of the most expensive items on our draft board, so it’s hard to think it’s a terrible pick, but if I went to a party and they said, “We have crab,” I’d be nervous about what else I was in store for.

Unlike Funston’s funky first-rounder, I like Steven getting wings in the second round. To get a classic staple with the 14th overall pick feels like a steal. He went for beer with his first pick and wings with his second. Not original, but hard to argue with.

One Banger After Another 

GM: Hannah Vanbiber

Like any good blockbuster entertainment, I wanted to build my Super Bowl party around two set pieces: the New England lobster roll and the Seattle dog. East Coast vs. West Coast, sea vs. land, shellfish vs. unspecified protein! They complement each other visually and put the central conflict — New England vs. Seattle — center stage. Bonus: They’re both delicious.

My supporting cast is made up of Super Bowl snacking classics, focusing on traditional favorites that punch above their weight class: Potato skins are the best food invented by humankind and have endless variations, 7-layer dip has basically all the food groups, and jalapeno poppers add another “veg” and some heat that goes well with the other two. I completely lost my mind and forgot about the chips category until Danny swiped up tortilla chips, but I feel good about corn chips — Fritos (the Scoops kind!) — as a second-best chip for dipping, and they are elite with 7-layer dip. I guess Mike is putting salsa on his brownies or something.

Finally, we round it out with bowls of Ghirardelli chocolates all over the house. Easy to eat, tons of flavor options — and repping San Francisco (founded there in 1852 by Italian chocolatier Domenico Ghirardelli).

Last year, I got totally screwed on the drinks by leaving them for a late-round pick when all the good options were gone. And if I’m anything, it’s a learner-from-my-mistakes and a lover of a G&T. This year, I came out of the gates ready to get the most versatile drink option: cocktails/mixed drinks. Something for everyone, including zero-proof options.

Thoughts on the field

If I hypothetically had to bail on my Super Bowl party, I’d head over to Jess’s Finger Foods Around the World extravaganza.

My Healthy Life Journey Starts Tomorrow

GM: Mike Hume

At the outset of this process, I took a slip of neon yellow paper and scrawled out a reminder that, despite all the noise, all the calls for fan-favorites like wings or pizza or nachos, with my first round pick, I had to stay true to my gut: “NEIPA. No matter what.”

New England Craft Beer is the Vontae Mack of food drafts. Yes, there are many other running backs/brews you can snap up later down the draft scroll, but there’s only one choice that will make me feel good when I’m looking at myself in the mirror. Now the hard part: Do I go with Alchemist? Long Live? Trillium? Two Roads? Maine Beer Co.? Solution: All of the above.

I admit I probably reached for salsa, but the dip draft pool was decidedly shallow, and there was already a little bit of a dip run. Had trades been allowed, I would have liked to put together a package to jump up and snag tortilla chips to pair with it, but I’ll make use of it on my Tots. Totchos, anyone?

On the whole, this is a pretty blue-collar spread with the exception of the Bao. But I could eat approximately 2 million Bao, so will I sacrifice my theme to include them? Yes. Yes, I will.

Thoughts on the field

Prepare the plunger. That’s all I have to say about Vik’s cheese-heavy spread. On the plus side, I really wanted lobster rolls, so I wouldn’t mind swinging by Hannah’s food fete. Overall, though, I’m so intrigued by the global feast Jess assembled that I’m going to have to learn how to properly pronounce Pão de queijo. And more bao?!?!?! I’m in!

Buffaloaded

GM: Jake Ciely

Obviously, I was thrilled to get the 1.01 of any party food — buffalo chicken dip — at the seventh pick. This is just like letting Christian McCaffrey fall to 1.07 this past season. I was playing with house money at this point, but even so, I nabbed the amazingly wonderful lumpia in the second round. Honestly, we could have called it a day. Nothing else is needed. While I loathe Brandon nabbing my other Top-3 favorite — soft pretzel (Bites) — before the draft got back to me, sliders are an amazing main course with bags and bags of the never-ending-flavor-options Doritos.

Somehow, pigs in a blanket were still there in Round 5, as many bemoaned my value pick there … like Drake Maye in Rounds 8-9. And you know, Nerds Gummy Clusters — bowls of them everywhere! — were going to be involved. The best part was knowing I had true secret sleepers for the final two picks, both satisfying the regional requirements (SF and SEA or NE) with It’s It ice cream for the dessert (if you’re ever in San Francisco, this is a MUST visit), and Dutch Bros. energy drinks, slushies and even coffee. That energy drink/slushy/coffee combination is the equivalent of an athletic-prime Bo Jackson in the final round. There is no contest here; everyone else’s party is battling for second place.

Thoughts on the field

I would have originally been happy to stop by Vik’s party, despite needing a colon cleanse from all the cheese, but hummus makes my stomach turn. So, I’m stopping by Steven’s place, even though his first pick was craft beer. Wings, Mission-style burritos, subs and crab dip in the final round is a heck of a draft. Sorry, but once again, I cannot get on board with Brandon, as you need a table, seat, wet naps, and full-on utensils to enjoy his. The only saving grace were the soft pretzels (not surprising) and taquitos. I don’t mind the sneaky maple bar (doughnuts) either, but man, I just want to be able to one-hand my food and not be forced to sit to eat … or need to shower off my hands.

Bow Chikka Pão Pão

GM: Jess Bryant

I’m a 39-year-old queer woman who loves poetry and theater. Most of those on my couch for the Super Bowl are there for the food and halftime show. Sporting traditions elude them, so while they might be happy with the ritualistic beer and wings, I can’t risk my reputation on it. Instead, I played to my audience and went for a local, curated spread.

My strategy is simple. Build a culinary experience around Seattle-based food (BBQ Pork Hom Bow, inspired by Mee Sum Pastry at Pike Place Market, and Seattle-style teriyaki), give an anecdote about how I went to Eastern Washington during Cooper Kupp’s record-setting tenure, and provide an emotional rundown on Sam Darnold’s career and comeback. With a little setting of the scene (and table) and narrative-building, I have faith that my non-sports-loving friends will follow the thread, get amped and cheers (pop the champagne!) to a Hawks win.

Thoughts on the field

I respect Brandon’s bravery, selecting crab out of the gate. It’s not the simplest food to eat at a Super Bowl party, but he set himself up for a high-end event. Hannah’s fifth-round lobster rolls were also a near-perfect pick, and I think they pair well with the more accessible Seattle dog. Jake’s menu has zero skips (aside from the Dutch Brothers energy drink, which I haven’t tried). I need that buffalo chicken dip and lumpia stat. On the other hand, I had a guttural reaction to Vik’s pizza, mozzarella sticks and mac-and-cheese combo with straight liquor. I wouldn’t survive that party or remember it.

The draft board