EVERY TAILGATE begins and ends with consumption.  What may have started as a bag of chips and a case of beer, has progressed into so much more.

The simple snack pre or post event has evolved.  The menu is the main event.  Numbers are showing that a growing trend of parking lot squatters never even make it into the stadium where they have (or have not) procured tickets.  Preferring you see, to just stay in the parking lot and tailgate.

Further evidence to support the notion "it is all about the food" is the recent boom of the Food Truck revolution.  No event or reason.  Just good convenient food, outdoors, easy to consume without much mess.  This has broadened our palate and made our tastebuds crave for a visa.  America may have grown up on meat and potatoes, but today's kids are growing up on sushi, hummus, and pad thai.  Domestic regional food has also expanded outside its traditional geographic boundaries.  We can find andouille sausage from Louisiana, Italian bread from Philly, and barbecue baby back ribs from Memphis, right in our neighborhood grocery store.  So why not put those factors to work?

What starts as "putting together a small meal" for the game quickly escalates.  Your group of tailgaters and your neighboring tailgaters are inspired by creativity.  They begin to ask the magical question, "What can I bring?"  Have an answer.  A specific one.  People love to get involved with whatever concept you come up with.  Create a theme.  

For me, the travel I did for work, provided opportunity to see stadiums and taste local food, up and down the east coast.  My tastebuds are forever changed.  Lobster Roll in Boston.   Pollo Loco and Yucca in Miami.  Brisket in Austin.  Bratwurst in Milwaukee.  Pizza in New York.  Italian Beef in Chicago.  These unique tastes hit me in a profound way.  Inspiring me to reach for more and share these culinary sights, sounds, smells, and behavior.  Taste and smell conjure memories.  There is plenty of time to share a memory or experience at a tailgate.  A beautiful thing about a tailgate.  Just you, your party, and time to interact with others.  Sharing the day and waiting for the event to start.

This taste exploration only heats up when you begin to follow your favorite sports team or band to locations outside your own region.  Competitive instincts bubble like a Low Country Boil.  Your first trip to Louisiana is a mouth watering awakening.  Nashville Hot Chicken and Memphis Ribs trigger your soul to learn, seek, improvise, and sample.  The simplicity of a Philly Cheese Steak gobbles at your ego.  Can I make that?  Could I find that?  How can I re-create that?  You desire to dominate the parking lot with your preparatory skill.  To execute a tailgate party that is so epic it makes others say "You remember that time when we..."  That statement is the ultimate compliment to a tailgate artist.  My friends still talk about the time we chargrilled a bushel of oysters at the NC State/ASU football game in Raleigh.  We left behind our shells in a parking median around a tree (on purpose) so that we could enjoy looking at "Oyster Island" at future games.

Another movement in the culinary world is the local libation and craft movement.  Every region is making their own soda, beer, wine, and craft cocktails.  This provides an endless source of experimentation and taste exploration.  Some of my favorites include beers from Kalamazoo, MI, Wine from Watauga Lake, TN, and Craft Tonic from Jack Rudy's in Charleston.  Each area of the country has something to offer to this obsessive movement.  Why wouldn't you use this to your advantage?  

Slayton Evans, my tailgate co-captain, and I decided we would base all of our home tailgates on the opponent.  This would create a way to honor our opponent, re-live an experience in that location through smell and taste, and challenge our culinary skill.  See www.slaytonevans.com.  The menu is debated pre-season and the plan is laid out long before Game Week.  Hence the answer to the above question of "What can I bring?"  In the pictures beside this article are some of the creations and themes we have produced in the parking lot.  After years of following this theme, there are so many, that we could not possibly capture them all in this page.  We have created menus for so many opponents, that I would assume; if there is a sports team there we have an idea for the menu, if not the recipe.  

please reach out to us via email with a question or better yet with a suggestion (see Contact Us page).

What started as quick snack before the game has escalated into a four generation, multiple family, food fest before, sometimes during, and often after the game.  We continue to challenge ourselves with providing tasty, authentic regional cuisine.  Every year we engage more people around us and inspire others to get involved.  We have created our own tailgate revolution.  We hope to inspire you to take your own event to the next level and "break bread" with your visitors or neighbors in the parking lot.  You would be amazed at the things you can learn from the most random people.

It doesn't take a million dollar RV to own the parking lot.  All it takes is a little creativity, a welcoming smile, and a desire to share the bounty of what life has provided us with others.

Ann Arbor, MI to Gainsville, FL we have so many incredible venues to experience.  Some are massive and some are quaint.  Some are really loud and some are wonderfully solace.  The music and nightlife of Athens to the opening ceremony at Clemson.  Each has its own natural charm.  Get out and experience the tailgate life.  It never disappoints.

Italian Beef Sandwich when playing an Illinois team