The Tailgate, 8028 S. Emerson Avenue #V is (sigh) in a strip mall, in part of the old space where Gallagher's I was located. It's a neat, clean little place (capacity 99, according to the fire marshal sign) with a nice bunch of TV's, including one humongous HD flat screen on one wall. Other than that, it's your run of the mill kind of bar, except that they have a charcoal grill in the kitchen... I said, they have a charcoal grill IN THE DANGED KITCHEN! It's vented to the outside so no one gets asphyxiated, but the grilling aromas nevertheless permeate the place, making you hungry the moment you walk in, just like the Weber Grill Restaurant downtown, but at half the price. We had just eaten, the last time I went in there, but I vowed to retu rn for something from that wondrous innovation in olfactory excitement as soon as possible....
Low and behold, some of The Little Woman's high school buds are regulars there, so we arranged to meat them (d'oh! I meant to say meet them, but the memory of the grill is overwhelming my typing subconscious) to watch the Colts' skin of their teeth win over Jacksonville. I had the Bacon and Bleu Burger, which is one of their "stuffed" burgers. It had bacon crumbles and cheese INSIDE the patty, with additional bleu cheese and bacon on top, which was AWESOME! Really, though, the star of the show was the burger itself: grilled to perfection, with exactly the right amount of char (which I have trouble achieving at home, dangit). The next time, and there WILL be a next time, I assure you, I will eschew the "stuffed" stuff and opt for a simple, ordinary, exquisite Tailgater, so I can enjoy all that charcoal goodness without distraction.
Sorry to run a bit long, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the beer-battered onion rings ($1.99, with the burger) with which I thought I would be disappointed, since they were big and fat, which usually means a concrete-hard coating that is not to my taste, but hallelujah! The coating was light, crisp, and nicely seasoned, making the mild sweetness of the onion inside a nice contrast. TLW had a Chicken Wrap (which she said was good but how could you compare it to that magnificent BURGER?!) which came with homemade coleslaw. Coleslaw, like potato salad and onion rings, is one of those personal preference kind of tastes. The Tailgate's slaw was fresh and very unusual in that it was made with mayonnaise instead of Miracle Whip, making it more savory than sweet, and I actually liked that very much. I can't say enough good things about this place-- The owners, Denny and Paula, are the nicest folks: Denny makes homemade ice cream, I guess as a kind of hobby, and he was giving out free samples throughout the game, and it was deeeeelicious! Ah, Sweet Mr. Reese of Life, I've found my Man-Cave away from home....
