Across Flavortown, an uneasy truce held between Patriots and Seahawks fans hours before kickoff.
They were far outnumbered by people in 49ers jerseys milling around the Cow Palace parking lot, drinking margaritas in plastic boots, and eating monster-sized plates of nachos. The burrito line was 25 minutes long, but the mood was easygoing — jubilant, even.
The guy who got beaned in the coconut by a perfect spiral thrown from the stage by retired quarterback Eli Manning laughed it off. As for the autographed football, it wound up in the hands of a grateful little girl.
This was the scene at Guy Fieri’s Flavortown tailgate — 40 miles north of the site of the actual Super Bowl — a deep-fried Super Bowl party that brought out a particular species of populist food lover raised on a steady diet of diners, drive-ins, and dives.
There was tons of food on offer Guy Fieri’s Flavortown event on Sunday. | Source: Jason Henry for The Standard
Some dug into the rarefied fare, like Peking duck fat popcorn from the China Live stand. Alternatively, others ambled over to the Best Foods kiosk for a somewhat punitive-looking ham sandwich slathered in mayo.
“For the kids,” a harried-looking mom muttered to no one in particular.
Business was brisk at the adjacent Velveeta activation, where bowls of mac and cheese couldn’t be ladled out fast enough.
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Backstage, however, not everyone was in good spirits.
“You can’t hear my stomach growling? I skipped breakfast for this,” the irascible comic Bill Burr said on the patch of green fake turf that was standing in as a red carpet.
“I’m here to eat and maybe smoke a cigar, if that’s allowed.”
Guy Fieri at Cow Palace on Sunday Feb. 8, 2026. | Source: Jason Henry for The Standard
The world-famous Kegchup made an appearance. | Source: Jason Henry for The Standard
Some attendees learned that former tight end Rob Gronkowski knows his foodie terminology. (Gronk correctly identified the starchy liquid in a can of garbanzo beans as “aquafabs” and not “pea juice.”)
Other festival-goers might not have known that such a thing as a “Kegchup (opens in new tab)” existed, but a 20-inch, 114-ounce novelty Heinz product was triumphantly held aloft on stage.
“I’m stealing this!” Fieri said, whose hair had returned to its normal pale blond state after a brief flirtation (opens in new tab) with a combed-down brown look. “Put it in the Flavortown party bus.”
Chelsey Tuell and Chelena Apodaca in Guy Fieri costume at Cow Palace on Sunday Feb. 8, 2026. | Source: Jason Henry for The Standard
The tailgate also brought out the lookalikes. Sporting glued-on Fieri goatees and his signature spiky blond hair, San Francisco residents Chelsey Tuell and Chelena Apodaca said they’d been avid fans for more than 15 years.
“It’s hard to eat with our facial hair,” Tuell said. “I get why it’s called a flavor-saver now.”
The most dedicated Fieri double was a Canadian-born UC Berkeley student named Fisher Hall.
“I shaved most of my beard off,” he said. “And I bleached my hair in December, so the stars aligned.”