DETROIT – There’s nothing like a little home cookin’, and nobody knows that better than Ezell Stephens, the man behind Ezell’s Famous Chicken.
The Seattle-based eatery has two locations in Seattle and one in Lynnwood.
And this weekend it has one in Detroit.
Stephens and his business partner, Lewis Rudd, brought the show on the road to cater to Seahawks fans who made the trip to Detroit for Super Bowl XL.
Stephens and crew rolled in Thursday night and set up shop in a corner of the Steel bar on the corner of Brush Street and Gratiot Avenue, about halfway between Ford Field and the Renaissance Center downtown.
“I’m lovin’ every minute of it,” Stephens said, standing over a deep fryer. “When I knew the Hawks were coming to the Super Bowl, I said, ‘We gotta be there, man.’”
So, why come all that way just to work?
“Work? This ain’t work, man,” Stephens said. “I’ve been doing this for 22 years, and you think I would be calling this work? I’ve been having fun for 22 years, and it’s only getting better.
“This is like heaven. I’ve never been there, but it’s gotta be something like this. It’s like jumping off a cliff, and you know that rush you get? But I’m still in that rush. It’s not stopping.”
Speaking of food
So you want to make your Super Bowl party as real as the real thing?
Here’s a look at some of the concession stand prices folks will be paying at Ford Field today when Super Bowl XL between the Seattle Seahawks and the Pittsburgh Steelers kicks off:
* Draft beer – $6.50 for small, $8.50 for large
* Bratwurst – $7.50
* Polish sausage – $6.25
* All-beef hot dog – $4
* Footlong “fork and knife” Coney Island dog – $8.50
* Bottled water – $4
* Super XL souvenir cup of Pepsi – $6
* Corona with lime – $9.
The halftime show, by the numbers
When the Rolling Stones play the Super bowl XL halftime show today, it will be no small feat.
“It will be completely, 100 percent live,” producer Don Mischner said. “We’d like to keep surprises and unpredictable things happening.”
The stage is 5,800 square feet and comes in 35 pieces. It’s equipped with lighting, monitors, special effects, smoke machines and pyrotechnics, and it will be rolled onto the field by 350 volunteers from Detroit.
Two miles of cable and 67 tons of trussing will hold it all together.
“And the fun part is we have 51/2 minutes to set it up and five minutes to strike it,” Mischner said.
Reporter Victor Balta: 425-339-3455 or vbalta@ heraldnet.com.
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