The best party in town on Super Bowl Sunday was at Joe Theismann's Restaurant in Alexandria, hosted by Mayor William D. Euille.
Euille has been holding his Super Bowl Party at Theismann's for the past seven years.
"I started having a few friends over to my house to watch the Super Bowl and more and more people came every year," Euille said. "About seven years ago, I moved the party to Theismann's and it's been great."
Euille rented half of the restaurant. "Next year, we're going to have to rent the entire restaurant because this is the most people we've ever had," he said. "This is great and is for families. We encourage people to bring their kids and just have a good time."
The event was a fund-raiser for Euille's new political action committee. For $100, a family of four could eat all they wanted and drink soda or coffee. There was a cash bar for those who wished to drink something else.
"We've been doing this party for a long time," said Susan Grandgeorge, the owner at Theismann's. "We opened the buffet at 5 p.m. because the game started at 6:25. We kept the buffet open until after half time."
THE BUFFET contained all of the food that Super Bowl watchers could want. There were traditional chicken wings, pulled pork barbecue, roast beef, meatballs, mashed potatoes, steamed vegetables, coleslaw, pasta salad and, of course, chili. "We try to have a variety of things so that there is something for everyone," Grandgeorge said.
Judy Lowe has attended the party several years. "It's always a great time," she said. "You see lots of people that you don't normally see at these types of things. There are the usual people, of course, but there are lots of community people as well. It's terrific."
While there was consensus about the good food and the good company, there was not consensus about the game. The room was filled with Washington Redskin T-shirts. Many of Euille's guests were reluctantly supporting Carolina.
"I have to root for Carolina because of Steven Davis," Lowe said. "He used to be a Redskin and it's good to see him doing so well."
Fay Slotnik, aide to Councilwoman Joyce Woodson, chose Carolina for a very different reason. "I don't really like football," she said. "But Carolina's colors are prettier."