The Ultimate Tailgate Party

Lovin’ Spoonfuls Ultimate Tailgate Party at Sam’s at Louis this past Sunday night was an event to remember . . . and one I could have rolled out of. There was so.much.food. And it was all made by some of the Boston area’s greatest chefs for this tailgate themed, fundraising extravaganza.

I love Lovin’ Spoonfuls Food Rescue. It just seems like such a simple concept ( that requires a ton of hard work and organization), like the sign says, “There is enough food out there – let’s go get it!”. Why waste so, so much food when there are hungry people to eat it. . . and it’s still good?!

Some important information from Lovin’ Spoonfuls you might not have known:

Currently 1 in 5 Bostonians are classified as hunger insecure, meaning they don’t know where their next meal will come from. To date, Lovin’ Spoonfuls has collected 75,000 pounds of fresh, healthy food that would otherwise be thrown away, and distributed that food at no cost to local soup kitchens, homeless shelters, and other crisis centers throughout the city.

Over 96 billion pounds of food is wasted each year – that is roughly 27% of ALL available food in this country. 5% of that number would eradicate hunger nationally…the numbers are shocking, and quite clear in their message – there IS enough food out there, and available. Additionally, $1 BILLION is spent by tax-payers annually to incinerate discarded, wasted food. Lovin’ Spoonfuls seeks to bridge the gap between abundance and need, and cause systemic change in all aspects of hunger relief.

Ashley Stanley and Lovin’ Spoonfuls are doing amazing, difficult, groundbreaking work in the Boston area, and I was happy to support it on Sunday night, even happier to see such a crowd out and about. The weather was better than you could ask for in November, and with a heated tent right on the waterfront, I can’t think of a better place to have an event. I would like to have a second wedding outside of Sam’s.

Once we got inside the tent, we did a full lap of all of the tables to scope out what was cooking. And then we ate and ate and ate. First up, some scallop tacos from Chefs Gabriel Frasca and Amanda Lydon from Nantucket’s Straight Wharf.

I loved Myers + Chang’s Jersey-style banh mi, like it was made just for this Jersey girl, with spiced meatballs, tomato, ginger, and pickles. Myers + Chang also brought super refreshing and crunchy salmon tartar tacos.

Del Frisco’s was rockin’ homemade potato chips and roast beef sliders with a creamy, spicy horseradish. I skipped the beef and went for some bread and horseradish; the husband didn’t mind picking up where I left off.

Sam’s at Louis had a huge table of tailgate favorites like perfectly crispy fried chicken and these candied bacon grilled cheese sandwiches, definitely one of my favorites, buttery, cheesy, sweet, and salty.

Did I mention we ate a lot?

Harvard Square’s Harvest Chef Mary Dumont was serving up fall-off-the-bone ribs with a tangy slaw and fresh cilantro, the perfect freshness to cut the rich meat.

Flour Bakery got into the tailgate theme with football cookies. I never same room for dessert, but my husband liked these sweet treats quite a bit.

The tailgate tent was filled with culinary celebrity. My camera missed Chefs Ming Tsai and Joanne Chang, but they were serving up food and mingling with the crowd, as friendly as ever. Chefs  Jamie Bissonette and Will Gilson cooked and broke down a whole pig and were serving it up with some shredded Brussels sprouts coleslaw. I was in love. I am definitely going to try to make something similar for Thanksgiving. And the meat was absolutely incredible, easy to cut with the side of a fork, and complimented by the flavors of a nutty nuoc cham. They were also serving up soft tacos, stuffed with shredded pork. It was a popular table, to say the least.

I missed out sampling the dish made by the Pallotta sisters, chefs and owners at the North End’s Nebo, but I did snap a picture of their table. Clearly, I need a bigger appetite for these events so I can really, truly eat everything.

Cocktails, wine, and beer were flowing. Event sponsor Gosling’s was mixing up one of my all time favorite cocktails, a Gosling’s Dark & Stormy, while another favorite, Peak Organic, was pouring delicious organic beers.

And then there was the view. Sam’s has the best views in Boston (well, of any place on dry land) and while I don’t know where this November weather is coming from, I will take it. One of my favorite parts about the evening was being able to take a delicious food sample and a cocktail to the tables on the outside of the tent to eat while looking at this.

The whole Ultimate Tailgate event was incredibly well-organized, and the volunteers were fantastic. Our plates and napkins were cleared the second we were done with them, keeping the room looking as nice as it did at the beginning of the event and making it easier for everyone to enjoy themselves. The event planners really thought of everything, and it was evident in the way the event flowed. I hope they raised a ton of money to help feed hungry people in Boston!