With Super Bowl Sunday fast approaching, some people are still unsure of who they’re going to root for.
In Redmond at the Route 20 food truck, they are absolutely certain that the Bengals are going to win.
“Do you think they’re going to win,” I asked the food truck’s owner, Laurie VanMeter.
“I really do,” Laurie said.
Ever since moving to Central Oregon in October of last year, Laurie and her husband Mark VanMeter felt a duty to bring the energy of their native Ohio with food and decor; including Ohio sports memorabilia and the famous “A Christmas Story” leg lamp.
They said that’s their Cleveland version of an “open” sign.
Bringing Ohio to the high desert, is introducing them to a small world of Ohioans in Oregon.
“And the fellow said to me, ‘you know, I grew up in Ohio,’” said Laurie, “and we started talking about all of that. Then another couple came up that were from the Canton area and they just went and sat next to each other and started talking.”
Talking about their hometown teams, over hometown food.
When their beloved Cleveland Browns didn’t qualify for the playoffs, the VanMeters went all in for quarterback Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals.
“And we call him Joe-Ohio, right? Joe-hio. He’s a Buckeye,” Laurie said.
To cheer on the Bengals in the AFC Championship, the Vanmeter’s borrowed a Cincinnati Chili recipe from friends.
“They call it ‘Four-Way’,” Mark said, “which is spaghetti, chili, cheese, and onion.”
“And they believe that the reason why they won is because I made the chili,” Laurie said.
So they’re whipping up that chili again this Sunday, along with several other Ohio favorites.
“We can’t pass up the opportunity with an Ohio team in the Super Bowl playing for it all,” Mark said.
And not missing the opportunity to show the high desert the beauty of the state, just up Route 20.
“Not only does it represent the food and the people,” Laurie VanMeter said, “but it represents a story, and we have one too.”
The Route 20 Food Truck will be open 11am to 5pm on Super Bowl Sunday if you’d like to grab their ‘Cleve-bano’, and cheer on the Bengals.
