We all love everything about a tailgate: the anticipation of the big game, seeing your team play, the touch football and of course the food! After tailgating in College Park for 19 years, I have narrowed down what I believe are the top five tailgate foods around.
Hot Dogs
Are you looking to snack on something quickly and not feel like you’re stuffed afterwards? Hot dogs are the tailgate food for you. They cook quickly and are a really easy food to make. You can use all sorts of toppings, like mustard, relish and ketchup. Also, the meat itself can be sliced and chopped up into a homemade salad or pasta for an extra meaty substitute! With this easy-to-make food, it is no wonder why it will probably be the most common food you find at a tailgate.
Chili
Chili night at my house was the best night ever, and what was even better is that I could look forward to having it every Saturday during football season, too. The best part about this is the different types of it you could make: Cincinnati, Texas, beans or no beans; the options are endless. This meat sauce can be applied to any type of noodles or pasta as well for those who don’t like it with straight meat and spices. Talking about this is making me want some right now!
Swedish Meatballs and Pasta
One of the benefits of going to games near an Ikea store is the Swedish meatballs! These little guys will be gobbled up in a second when you first open the top of your pressure cooker and everyone smells them. The thing that goes best with this dish is definitely noodles - Swedish meatballs are a much better substitute for traditional marinara and meat sauces because there is just so much more flavor. But the main thing about these is just make sure you get them when you can because they come in small batches and you can only fit so many in your pressure cooker!
Cheeseburger
You knew it had to be on this list: the American classic, and our favorite comfort food. Honestly, who would turn down a hamburger at a tailgate? They can literally have any sort of topping on it, even peanut butter or a sunny side up egg. It fills you up and you just feel so good eating it!
Wings
This food is the ultimate tailgate classic. With so many flavors to pick from and so many places that offer their own style of these little edible concoctions, wings make the top of my list. With only two dressings to choose from, bleu cheese or ranch, wings make up for in sheer taste, and the sauce that is already on them. They are also the best because you can order so many of them and pick them up ready to go and just gobble them down bite after bite. My favorite place to get these bad boys is Hard Times Café, where you can also get all of the foods mentioned above!
Like I said you can’t go wrong with any of these, but also feel free to try your own tailgate food and tell me about it!
