Fat Man's List of Tailgating/Grilling Out Faves

With football season upon us, and Labor Day Weekend at hand, I wanted to look at some of the best and worst foods when it comes to tailgating or grilling out. By no means is this list exhaustive.

BEST
1. Girth Burger: Thanks to Bob Greene for introducing this to me. I believe it was made famous at Zip's. For those of you who don't know what this is, it is a burger topped with a hot mett that has been split and cut in half. This is then all topped with cheese. Simple, delicious, and artery clogging. (Not exact Girth Burger->).

2. Burgers: I had to separate the Girth Burger from a regular burger, but a regular cheeseburger is still one of the best foods around for any occasion. It works especially well for tailgating because of its simplicity: Meat, bun, condiments, and lettuce, tomato, onion if necessary.

3. Metts, Brats, Dogs: These are again so good because they are simple. Anytime you can eat something without any fear of putting down your beer, you are off to a good start. I like all three, but I would personally go with 1. Metts (hot preferably), 2. Dogs, 3. Brats (never been a big fan). Although, I am very tempted to try the Jersey Ripper Dogs (right) which get their name because they are deep fried and rip open in the oil.

4. Wings: Another finger food, although perhaps a little more work to prepare than burgers and dogs (depending on how you cook them). You can't really go wrong with any sauce, but it is best to cook them dry with a variety of sauces on the side to allow the fans to pick their poison.

5. Pulled Pork: Again maybe a little more prep involved, but not really. Pulled pork is as good as the sauce that goes with it, which makes it another candidate for numerous sauces on the side. It is also great with coleslaw on top, much like one would do with ground beef BBQ.

6. Specialties: It is fun and delicious to cook up something that goes with the visiting team. Some examples are cheese steaks (Philly), crab cakes (Baltimore), clam chowder (New England), brats, cheese (Green Bay), Texas chili (Dallas and Houston), fried chicken (Atlanta), pizza (NY or Chicago). There are others out there, but it can be a tad annoying when the foods get a little overboard (fish tacos, sushi).

7. Creativity: Tailgating is a time to be creative and come up with new tasty ideas. Anytime someone can make a dish that no one has had and that tastes halfway decent, they get extra points in my book. Although I will still probably go back to the basics (burger and a beer).

Overrated

1. Steak: I have labeled these next foods as overrated instead of bad because they are all still great foods. Steak is fantastic, especially when cooked right, but it takes quite the effort to eat a steak while using paper plates and a plastic knife. Throw in the fact that most people are standing up at tailgates, and you have way too much work going into eating a steak, and it usually ends up bad.

2. Kabobs: Again, I like kabobs and find everything that is stuck on one usually pretty good. This is just another food that does not fit in with the tailgating atmosphere. I really do not enjoy sliding the food off the skewer while balancing my beer because most of the time the food winds up on the floor. Also, it is never a good idea to give a group of drunk football fans numerous sharp pointed objects.

3. Skyline: Love skyline chili, hate it at tailgates. It is only good in one form at tailgates, and I will address that later. Skyline cannot be eaten from the bowl (too runny), and I don't feel like dealing with spaghetti at a tailgate, again too much work.

4. Vegetable Trays and Desserts: I am lumping both of these together even though they are total opposites. Vegetable trays are way too out of place at a tailgate, so they should be banned out of principle. Desserts are actually great. I always have a cookie or two when I am tailgating. The problem is that I usually have too many, and the sugar hurts my stomach worse than it already is, and I feel terrible for the entire day. Granted, this could be for a wide variety of other reasons, but I still think its best to just ban desserts.

Best Sides
1. Grippo's BBQ Chips (Box only): Everyone has seen the majestic white box filled with a large bag of Grippo's. Each and every chip has an explosion of taste, and it cannot be overstated how excellent these go with drinking and football.

2. Dips and Salsas: Any type of dip or salsa is good when tailgating because everyone likes to dip a chip in something. My personal favorites are: 1. Skyline Dip: As bad as it is by itself, it is unmatched as a dip; 2. Horseradish, or spicy beer cheese: a thicker cheese sauce that is spicy and satisfying. 3. Buffalo Chicken Dip: similar to the Skyline dip, only buffalo chicken in place of chili.

3. Chili: Not Skyline, but Texas style chili is a perfect solution to a cold weather tailgate. Any time the temperature dips below 45 or so, chili can warm anyone up who has been tailgating all morning. Texas style is great because there is a lot of meat, tomatoes, peppers, and spices. Add some hot sauce and cheese and look out.

4. Potato Salad: This side is wonderful with burgers or dogs. I don't know what it is about it, but I have always been a big fan of potato salad, especially red-skin.

That sums of the foods at the tip of my tongue. There are thousands of more out there, and you really can't go wrong no matter what you choose. I will say that I cannot be held liable for any additional weight gain during football season. You are on your own as far as that goes, but I will leave you with this: