FoodyDirect: Delivering The Goods
It's the biggest sports event of the year but it's not too late to plan the perfect Super Bowl bash – complete with wings, pizza and tasty canapés.
The date has been fixed in your calendar for months, you know now the teams competing, you've invited your friends and their plus ones and bought a few decorations to glam up the place, but the key to an amazing Super bowl party essentially comes down to one thing: food. But who wants to give up coveted weekend time to grocery shop, prep, and cook for the shindig? Introducing FoodyDirect, the new company that can deliver food from some of the country's best restaurants right to your door.
"I had regularly placed orders online for events such as the Super bowl," president and co-founder Ken Koenig told us. "However, the shipping costs were unbelievable, the websites were often poorly organized and there was no way to schedule an exact date for delivery." Consequently, in the fall of 2012, Brad and Ken Koenig launched FoodyDirect, specifically to make foods from America's most iconic and renowned regional restaurants/bakeries easily accessible for food lovers everywhere. "We started with a list of 22 purveyors and in just over a year have seen that double to more than 40, so the list of foods is extensive," says Ken.
Benefits of FoodyDirect's service include a convenient ordering calendar where you are able select the delivery date that works best for you. If you want all your food delivered on Thursday just in time for the big day on Sunday, that's when you'll receive your goods. Shipping costs are kept to a minimum too – FoodyDirect offers one low, nationwide shipping rate ranging from $9.95-$29.95 depending on location and perishability of items.
Every food supplier featured on the site has been through a vigorous selection process so you know that the produce you will be receiving really is the crème de la crème of that particular food genre. "We visit each purveyor to try out all the foods and also order online to ensure their shipping/packaging system is up to our requirements," says Ken.
The site itself is easy to navigate with sections highlighting the specific restaurants, cuisines, foods, gifts, etc. Key regional foods featured on the site include Texas BBQ, Memphis babyback ribs, live Maine lobsters/lobster rolls, Philly cheesesteaks, Michigan berry pies and Buffalo's famous wings. Curated sections include meats (Snow's BBQ, Campo's Deli, Pat LaFrieda Meats, Arthur Avenue Deli), seafood (Catch A Piece Of Maine, Sable's, Turner's Seafood Grill, The Narrows Restaurant) and sweets (Fat Witch Bakery, Eileen's NYC Cheesecake, Smith Island Baking Company).
The truly hard work comes in the form of having to select what you are going to eat from the varied and eclectic list presented on their website. Not to worry, though; there's a dedicated section for the Super Bowl and other big eating days, highlighting suggested picks. With such a vast array of products on offer, do you go for Duff's Famous Wings (voted the best wings in America by The Daily Meal) or perhaps opt for tender hand-trimmed barbecued pork loin back ribs from barbeque joint Montgomery Inn? Vegetarian? Then pick a pie from Italian pizza restaurant Bocce Club Pizza. 2014 Super bowl dessert suggestions include treats from Hot Blondies Bakery and a Super Bowl "Booze Cake" Two Pack.
And what's on Ken's own party list for 2014? "I'm ordering 'The Texas Special' from Snow's BBQ, Duff's Hot Wings, a platter from Murray's Cheese and NYE's ice-cream sandwiches," he told us.
We're not going to lie: the unique foods on FoodyDirect aren't cheap, and you're probably not going to win points with your nutritionist regarding your diet that day. But let's face it—you're not ordering these iconic foods to save money or calories. You're doing it because it's incredibly fun, tasty and (seemingly) hard-to-get. And if you can't eat what you want (from wherever you want) on Super Bowl Sunday, well then, when can you?