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Super-duper grindz

From pub grub to take-out platters, Maui chefs tackle Big Game Day

Stopwatch Sports Bar & Grill will kick off halftime with complimentary pupu for armchair quarterbacks by Kitchen Manager Miah Visoria (left). Also catering to food and beverage needs are Server Raycheal Williams and Cook Josh Nelons. The Maui News / CARLA TRACY photo

When the Los Angeles Rams battle the New England Patriots this Super Bowl Sunday, armchair quarterbacks can thoroughly kick back as chefs will tackle all of the work on fun menus and take-out platters.

Watch the Big Game at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center in Kahului and enjoy free admission. Gates open at noon and live music will get you in the groove before kickoff at 1:30 p.m. and after the final whistle.

“Pick your party,” says MACC Marketing Director Bob Burrichter. “Watch the game indoors on the largest movie screen in Hawaii in Castle Theater or catch the action at the Yokouchi Pavilion outside on a high-definition LED screen, or both. Mix and mingle. Everyone is welcome, from Maui residents to out-of-town visitors.”

Beverages will be available for purchase in the courtyard before and during the game, and food vendors will be on hand selling ono grinds and snacks. No coolers, outside food and drinks or tailgating will be allowed.

Vendors are Three’s Bar & Grill serving Chef Keali’i’s plate-lunch special, hurricane fries, bacon-wrapped hot dogs, coconut-crusted shrimp, kalua-pork quesadillas and kale and raw-beet salads; Pele’s Pizza Hawai’i baking its 10-inch wood-fired pies (gluten-free on request); and Real Fruit Ice Cream Hawai’i scooping cups and waffle cones. For more details, call MACC at 242-7469.

Upcountry, Stopwatch Sports Bar & Grill is the place to huddle in the heart of paniolo country in Makawao on Super Bowl Sunday.

“We are psyched for our annual Super Bowl party! Not sure what number we are on? Is it 25?” asks Haru Hiu-Arian, Stopwatch partner. “We have lots of door prizes and our grand prize is a helicopter ride from Air Maui. And we’ll have free pupu buffet at half-time! No cover charge; come early for best seating at this adults-only event.”

Complimentary Super Bowl pupu are kalua-turkey sliders with coleslaw, Stopwatch chili, mochiko-sesame chicken wings, sweet-and-sour meatballs, edamame poke, rice, Asian salad, pickled escabeche-style vegetables, spicy queso dip, black-bean-and-corn salsa and tortilla chips. Dessert lovers may scarf down cupcakes.

“We have 10 beers on tap, another dozen in the bottle, liquor and wines by the glass,” says Bar Manager Jerome Gess. Call Stopwatch at 572-1380.

Charley’s Restaurant & Saloon in Paia will do Super Bowl with crowd-pleasing pub grub of burgers, chili nachos, cauliflower bites, calamari, prime rib sandwiches with au jus and salads from Greek to Caesars. Root for your favorite team on the large, 15-by-15-foot screen or on one of four flat screens in the saloon. The Sunday Bloody Mary and Mimosa bar will flow and you may garnish drinks with all manner of hot sauces and pickled and fresh vegetables. For more details, call Charley’s at 579-8085.

Want to throw your own Super Bowl bash? Or take pupu to share at a friend’s party? Stock up on game-day needs at Oki’s Seafood Corner in Foodland Kahului. It offers fresh hamachi, salmon and ahi platters, says owner Elisa Garcia. Just call the Oki’s team as soon as possible to give them some notice. Seafood-loving football fans will also find a dozen types of fish poke such as spicy tuna, California, sea asparagus, kimchi raw crab, sesame-oil tako, edamame and king crab — all top sellers in the iced display cooler and ready for last-minute buys.

“We have snappers to throw on the grill,” says Garcia. ”Like fresh whole opakapaka and onaga. Right now we also have plump Pacific oysters, clams and opihi. We sell boiled peanuts, raw shrimp and fillets of fish from ahi to mahimahi. Call Oki’s at 871-5922.

Maui Prime Fine Foods is where to go for your West Maui gourmet party needs. The retail store at Emerald Plaza in Lahaina features fine wines and seafood, cheeses, meats, olives and crackers.

Talk about steaks on the barbie — Maui Prime boasts prime cuts of the best meats available and a variety of fresh oysters, lobster and crab. The staff can make party platters, shuck oysters, ice your orders and even deliver. Give them 24 hours to prepare the Maui-style Steamer Pot clam bake so it’s as fresh as it gets. Open Tuesdays through Saturdays. Call 661-4912.

TJ’s Warehouse in the Wailuku Industrial Area sells fresh seafood platters that have a range of sizes such as 12, 16 and 18 inches. Order platters by Friday for pickup on Sunday before the big game.

“We also feature combo platters now,” Vice President Joel Kawasaki says. “We always have ahi and salmon and you can request hamachi. And we have beer specials and cater half or full pans of local favorites like Korean chicken and combo yakitori chicken and teri beef.”

Want to pick up some last-minute poke? TJ’s features shoyu ahi, spicy ahi, kimchi cucumber, pickled garlic and pohole fern-shoot poke. Hours Monday through Friday are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more details, call 244-4233.

For decades, Takamiya Market has been pegged the “little giant of Happy Valley” in Wailuku for its impressive array of foods and beverages jam-packed into an intimate mom-and-pop shop. It will be open for sports fans from 7 to 11 a.m. on Super Bowl Sunday. Employees will be grilling free hamburger sliders from its famous housemade beef mix for those who make purchases.

“We’ll be selling Korean kalbi ribs, teri beef and chicken for grilling, too,” says food prep Chef Paula Namahoe. “You will also find sashimi, hot pupu, ahi and tako poke, sushi, potato and macaroni salad, desserts, cold beer and much more. Some sashimi platters and tako and ahi poke platters will be available on Game Day. For bigger party orders, call by Friday at 244-3404.”

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