Super Bowl tickets available Friday - for Taste of the NFL event

Super Bowl tickets go on sale Friday for foodies who want to get in on the party action.

The "Taste of the NFL" event takes place the evening of Feb. 3 at the RiverCentre in St. Paul. The game is played the following day.

The event, which started at the 1992 Super Bowl in Minneapolis, features food from all 32 cities and states with NFL teams. Prices of tickets will be available when they go on sale Friday at www.tasteofthenfl.com

Taste founder Wayne Kostroski said the mission of the event remains the same today as it was in the beginning: Raise awareness of hunger and money for food banks.

Tickets to the event give guests access to free food from some well-known chefs and restaurants as well as wine pairings and an open bar. Live music and celebrity appearances are also part of the deal. Alyssa Milano and Miss America usually attend.

Ludacris was at the event in San Francisco briefly. Olympic track star Carl Lewis was spotted on the event's red carpet as well.

Chef Thomas Boemer, the magician behind the fried chicken at Revival, represents the Twin Cities at Taste events. He will be participating in two upcoming kickoff events.

The first event will be at Boemer's Corner Table in Minneapolis on Sept. 10. Guests will be able to "try their favorite game-day dishes" as well as wines that have reached their time from E & J Gallo Winery. Tickets are $50 and available on Eventbrite.

Cooking with Boemer will be Susan Spicer from reknown New Orleans French Quarter restaurant Bayona.

Taste will play host to a three-course luncheon Sept. 11 at Mission American Bar & Kitchen in the IDS Building to celebrate the Minnesota Vikings' first game of the season.

Bayona and Boemer will be joined in the kitchen by Mission's Jeremy LaFond. Reservations can be made by calling 612-339-1000.