It’s officially football season, which means we’re making all of our favorite tailgate foods. Nachos? Check. Wings? Of course. To get us ready for tailgating, we chatted with former New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning as he passed out tailgate dishes in NYC made with the new King’s Hawaiian Sweet Pretzel Bites. Manning shared his thoughts on tailgating and which teams he hopes to see at the next Super Bowl.
He also knows his way around the kitchen, so we asked him who’s the better cook, him or his brother Peyton.
“I’m 100% a better cook than my brother Peyton. I’ve actually never seen him cook before,” he said. “He’s a takeout […] microwave guy. He has zero cooking ability, no creativity in the kitchen, I’d say. It’s kind of embarrassing.”
Being a big cook, we had to ask: Which NFL stadium has the best food?
“I’ve played in a lot of NFL stadiums, but I haven’t eaten food at a lot of stadiums.” Out of the maybe four stadiums he has eaten at, he said MetLife is the best.
But when it comes to post-game meals, Manning said he would go for steak or a big chicken dish and pasta.
But you might be surprised what item is most popular in his fridge—carrots. “We have a lot of carrots in our fridge,” he said. “My kinds love raw carrots.”
I don’t know about you, but I think I’ll stick with the new pretzel bites, especially for tailgating. Manning likes them for their versatility, as they can be paired with anything from chocolate to mustard and dips.
When it comes to tailgate food, in a game of Kiss, Marry, Kill, Manning added that he’d kill buffalo chicken dip, marry nachos, and kiss wings.
Lastly, we asked which teams would be the most entertaining to see at the Super Bowl. Of course, the first team that came to mind was the New York Giants.
“I think on the entertainment side, you probably want the Chiefs again, just cuz Taylor Swift’s going to be there and my kids would be very happy about that,” he said.
Does this mean Eli Manning is a Swiftie?
While we wait to see how this season plays out, here are some recipes to cook for your next tailgate.
As the Associate Editor at Delish, Allie is a writer, reporter, and producer of features at the intersection of food and culture. Before Delish, Allie worked for publications including Apartment Therapy and Insider. She even spent time working in restaurants and breweries. Allie has dumpster-dived in NYC to expose food waste, reported on the invasive lionfish you can eat, and wrote about the growing trend of weed weddings. Her health and nutrition stories on hydration culture, bananas, and coffee have generated nearly 2M combined views. She loves traveling, running, and eating her way through new places and even has a thorough Google Maps ranking system for her favorite restaurants and bars! When not writing about food, she’s planning her next trip, lifting weights, or training for a race.
Expertise: food & culture (Sustainability, Health, Travel)
Education: M.S. in Journalism from Columbia University, B.S. in Information Science (User Experience Design) from the University of Michigan
