Tailgates and Burgers... Are You Up To Standards?
Let's face it, the best part about fall is football. And when your team plays away one weekend, then your main priority is to find something else that revolves around being outside, cooking food, and hanging with friends.
The essence of football is not just the game. It's the whole atmosphere. It's the excitement before the game, the competitiveness in the air, and the certainty that you're team is going to come out on top. But there is so much more that goes into gameday. When I say so much more, I mean tailgating! Tailgates are the best part of gameday (some may beg to differ, but especially from a woman's perspective, tailgating is way more better than the game in most instances...especially if your a Maryland football fan)
Tailgating is not just the few hours leading up to a game; tailgating is the best part of the day. Freshly fired up grills, coolers filled, every kind of chip and dip combination you can think of, veggie trays for days, and if the mom of the group is extra dedicated you will get fresh cut fruits and hot baked desserts. Every tailgate is entitled to have some sort of speakers to play the best mix of 90s bands and country. If you're a serious tailgater than you have a mobile TV with antennas and all, to get all game day coverage of other game going on that day.
Food is not everything though. To get in the competitive spirit, a complete tailgate will have a plethora of games to play. This can include but are not limited too: corn hole, some 'table' pong, classic game of throw the football, the ladder game, stump, and our new favorite... the rope game. (you'd be surprised what some college kids can do with two pieces of wood and a rope). If you are there with plenty of time to spare, it is not to much to make a bracket for a day filled of games that you thought you were good at until you loose to everyone by the end of the day (story of my life).
But essentially, having bad food at a tailgate can put a major damper on the day (possibly ruin the entire tailgate experience all together). Grilling hotdogs and burgers is a must. After having BBP on the regular, I have now accepted than any burger I have at a tailgate from here on out will not be up to standards. But it doesn't hurt to try. BBP conveniently has menus that you can take with you (aka a small recipe book for attempts at making a BBP burger). Last tailgate, I gave my dad a BBP menu and highlighted my favorite burgers asking if these ingredients could be present at the tailgate and these burgers be attempted to be made. Needless to say, my grandmother's avocados for the LA burger were not up to par, and the ham used on the Miami burger my dad tried so hard to make just didn't make the cut.
It may have been a let down that my dad was not able to execute every BBP burger to it's fullest, but it does make going to BBP and getting that fresh delicious burger taste that much better. I now am willing to settle for a less than average tailgate burger knowing that when I go to BBP, my burger expectations are beyond met. I am much more appreciative of all the work going into every burger made at BBP.
Tomorrow, since Maryland Terps have a bye week, I will be going to an event in Delaware called Punkin Chunkin. It is an event in a huge field where pumpkins are catapulted at lengths unimaginable with devices you had no idea where possible to be that big. To keep the competitive atmosphere alive on such a beautiful fall weekend, we are of course going to tailgate before. Best wishes to my dad as he again tries to make a burger satisfying to my ridiculous standards. He can thank Bobby Flay for that.
Have a safe weekend everyone!
