Making a meal out of the Super Bowl

Hey you, inventor of the onion loaf: Stand up and take a bow, because your lowly creation is about to be reborn as the Onion Loafa Tatupu. Yes, when a city's team is in the Super Bowl, anything is possible, even molded onion rings — courtesy of Billy McHale's of Lynnwood — named after a rookie Seahawks linebacker.

Football-watching is all about the food, and we're not talking cucumber sandwiches here: It's largely a lowbrow affair whose lineup is judged mainly by whether it complements drinks that can be chugged straight out of the can or bottle.

As excitement mounts over the Seahawks' upcoming NFL title match against the Pittsburgh Steelers, area restaurants are putting up menu items made — or remade — especially for the Big Game. Others, like Seattle's World Class Chili, are running their offense behind signature offerings ideally suited for the occasion. Some you can even make at home (see attached recipes).

Besides its special onion loaf, Billy McHale's will roll out a rib sampler named for quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, spicy "Hawk Wings" and a dozen bacon-tackled prawns called "The 12th Prawn," a nod to Seahawk fans' collective role as "The 12th Man."

"We're also gonna have the Pitts Burger," says co-owner Rick Cannata, with a wicked chortle. "It's no meat, just a couple of buns."

When you're all caught up watching human bumper cars played by guys who can bench press a Vespa, you want foods that are easy to munch, that keep their taste between commercials. In other words, you want the Linebacker, the open-faced jumbo Reuben sandwich that Ephraim Gallor, executive chef at West Seattle's Rocksport Bar & Grill, will serve up with spicy Russian dressing and lots of East Coast attitude.

"Grilled sandwiches hold their flavor incredibly well," Gallor says. "You can sit down and have it with a fork, and it's not a big deal if it sits on your plate for an hour." He says he wanted his creation to show that "we're not just Latte Land out here. We love our cheese and our meats. We're ready to knock some heads."

So is Pagliacci Pizza, which has been serving the "12th Man Primo" — a pizza topped with salami, pepperoni, chicken, olives and Mama Lil's peppers — since the NFC Championship two Sundays ago when Seattle devoured the Carolina Panthers, 34-14.

"All of the proceeds will go toward re-signing Shaun Alexander," joked Pagliacci co-owner Matt Galvin, referring to the Seahawks' running back who was named the NFL's most valuable player this year.

The NFC title game was a boon for local bars and to-go operations. "We had our best Sunday ever for takeout," says Stan Phillips, of Stan's Bar-B-Q in Issaquah. "We have never, ever sold that many smoked wings."

Meanwhile, rather than altering their menus, barbecue and chili establishments are banking on their items' revered place among traditional football-watching foods. "Hot, spicy food goes well with beer, no matter what kind it is," says World Class Chili's Joe Canavan, whose claim to gridiron fame is that he quarterbacked his team to the sixth-grade city football title in Butte, Mont. "Plus, there's a certain tolerance of bad manners at football parties. It's a fun combination."

Canavan tells customers to cut a Hubbard squash in half, scoop out the seeds and strings and slice a swatch off the bottom so they'll sit flat, like a bowl. Baked at 400 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes until the meat inside is tender, they make a perfect serving dish for the chili. "It's a good flavor combination," he says.

At FOX Sports Grill, chef proprietor Kerry White has concocted "Super XL Smoked Ribs," four racks of marinated St. Louis pork ribs to be cooked before game day, then brushed with special barbecue sauce and grilled to order.

Chef John Howie, of Seattle's Sport and Bellevue's SeaStar Restaurant and Raw Bar, will look to lead the region to victory on a special "Good Morning America" segment set to air Super Bowl morning. On the show, Howie will take on Pittsburgh chef Greg Alauzen in a "Dip-Off" sure to be declared pivotal by the show's hosts.

Howie will go to battle with a Hot Smoked Salmon and Scallion Dip (recipe below), "more of a tailgate thing" than the Sizzling Dungeness Crab Cakes he'll make at the 16th annual "Taste of the NFL," which features chefs from every NFL city and raises money for hunger-related charities (including Seattle's Food Lifeline).

If you just can't stomach the idea of tortilla chips and cheap beer, you might try Seattle's Collins Pub near Smith Tower, where a special food menu complementing American-made, Belgian-style beers happens to coincide with the Big Game. The downtown bar runs proudly along mainstream's sidelines, proud to offer Chimay and Belgian Trappist beers rather than those hawked during Super Bowl TV timeouts.

The Collins will pair beers with beef stew, steamed mussels and aged Gouda. Still, says owner Seth Howard: "If I weren't doing what I'm doing, I would probably do what everybody else is doing and go make a mess at somebody else's house."

Marc Ramirez: mramirez@seattletimes.com