Super Bowl party preparations: A food-focused unofficial holiday

OAKLAND, Calif. - All over the East Bay on Friday, football fans were getting ready for the big game on Sunday, with a lot of red and white, including food and wine. It's one of America's favorite food-focused days of the year. 

At Southshore in Alameda, many shoppers were looking to get a kick-start on preparing for, or attending, a Super Bowl party. 

Everything from red velvet cupcakes to rosé and chardonnay, lots of shoppers getting ready to kick off an eventful weekend, but it all seemed like a warmup for Super Bowl Sunday. Party planners were buying up everything from paper plates to snacks and candy. 

Shoppers prepare for Superbowl parties in advance of Sunday (Alice Wertz)

Ryan Eula of Alameda said, "It's just always a lot of fun when the local teams are in any of the playoffs. The Super Bowl is the pinnacle." He said, "It’s going to be especially fun with the Forty Niners playing in a game that will be watched by an estimated hundred million viewers.  

A critical part of any Super Bowl game is food. Everybody has their favorites. 

Rhouel Santelices of Oakland said, "Lumpias. I'm going to grab some frozen ones so we can cook them up on Sunday. But we’re going to have a lot of snacks, a lot of burgers. A lot of bar-b-que. That's what I like." 

Sergio is a courtesy clerk at Piedmont Grocery. He said, "A lot of people are buying chips, Doritos, and salsa."  

Others like Damon Thompson of Oakland shared he gets a kick out of planning his menu for the Super Bowl. He said, "I like a nice fruit tray, some wings, some chips, some soda, some dip, that’s it." 

When asked what dessert he likes to serve with his Super Bowl spread, Thompson said, "I like cheesecake. You can’t go wrong with cheesecake, strawberry preferably, or plain. But you also can’t go wrong with cookies, brownies, or ice cream either." 

But Thompson agreed, the cherry on top of any dessert, would be the Forty Niners winning the Super Bowl. 

Alice Wertz is a freelance reporter at KTVU Fox 2 News. She can be reached at Alice.Wertz@Fox.com