Milford’s football fandom has traditionally been split between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots. My love of football has led me to watch many Superbowls and attend many Superbowl parties without much rooting interest. My Superbowl dreams and hopes always burst like Aaron Rogers’ Achilleas, so all I want from a Superbowl party is good food, good drinks, and good company.
For this year for Superbowl LVIII—in honor of our local teams being horrible—I will throw a party and celebrate the town of Milford and all the delicious foods and drinks it has to offer. It will be a Super Milford Bowl, and I will stock my well-decorated tables and house with meats, breads, pizzas, tacos, refreshing libations, and then some additional meats. We may have nothing to root for, but we can all root for overeating on the second Sunday in February.
The first thing I must do is decorate my party space for a football game. This will be a festive display that will express that even though I am broken-hearted and embittered by the fact that my team is a cursed, poorly run rabble of losers, I am a good sport who somehow still enjoys the game. I will start with the usual football-shaped paper plates, balloons, tablecloths, and napkins, all the things you can find at your local Dollar Tree (Milford has three) or Party City (292 Boston Post Road). But to make this a really WOW party, I’ll call in the big boys, The Party People (46 Quirk Road). They are event planners extraordinaire who will build a Superbowl package that’ll put the halftime show to shame, bringing tables, chairs, all sorts of games, photo booths, psychics, hypnotists, magicians, tattoos, inflatables, and all-around nonsense to my party. 
Okay, I’ve decorated, I’ve got a hypnotist, a fake tattoo, and an inflatable football toss booth crammed into my living room because it’s -10 degrees outside. Now I’ve got to bring in some local beverages. It’s a Sunday game, and Monday is still not a national holiday, so we’ll all agree to take it easy. For this, I will pick up some beer from our finest local breweries. We’ll be steering clear of the stronger beers and go for medium- to low-alcohol. Since this is a day to celebrate our great American game, I’ll bring in cans of Tribus Brewery’s American Lager with the no-nonsense American title—Beer—and throw some of their Loosey cream ale into the cooler because at 4.4% alcohol by volume (ABV) no one is getting a hangover. To mix things up, I’ll also grab two growlers of Milford Point Brewery’s Settlers Stout; it’s got a low ABV, yet it’s hearty for the winter.
At this point, my stomach calls out loudly, “Let there be meats!” And I listen. Since it can’t be called a Superbowl party if there are no chicken wings, I go to the best place in the town, state, northeast region, Archie Moore’s (15 Factory Lane). I’m a traditionalist and usually go for the Buffalo wings, but for the sake of diversity I will also order some Thai chili, garlic parmesan, peach chipotle, and raspberry bourbon wings as well. All extra crispy. Keep ‘em in the fryer a couple minutes extra, I always say.
asian style honey garlic chicken wings
One cannot live on wings alone, so I’ll go to Napoli (982 Bridgeport Avenue), one of the best delis in Milford, for meats and so much more. From the tried-and-true cold cuts, platters, and 6-foot subs to sausage and peppers, beef brisket, eggplant rollatini, cavatelli with broccoli, garlic bread, and antipasto, their catering menu is deep and filled with mouth-watering dishes. This is almost one-stop shopping for any party.
But there is still room for more.
Sticking with the Italian theme, pizza is a must-have for any Super Bowl, and my go-to in Milford is Papa’s Pizza and Pasta (258 Naugatuck Ave.). I go with the Pizza Di Luigi covered with shrimp, mozzarella, parmesan, olive oil, garlic, bacon, and oregano. Delicious.
Now to throw in a few wild card non-traditional football foods: an order of tacos from Don Rene Taqueria (50 Broad Street) or a sushi platter for two from (Momo Sushi (17 Turnpike Square) can juice things up, but if you’re looking for a difference maker with the best bang for the buck, I’d go to The Dumpling House (868 Boston Post Road). Whether you order their dumplings steamed or pan-fried, they are delicious and only cost about a dollar per dumpling.
Now my party is all set, I have everything I need, my big eatin’ pants are on, my 8-foot TV is blaring, the hypnotist I hired has convinced me that I’m a chicken, and all the delicious foods and wonderful drinks that Milford has to offer are laid out sumptuously on a gridiron covered table.
—Gerry McGuire
