One of the key choices to be made is what type of grill will you be using, charcoal or propane. At the Stiftungfestivities, the unofficial tailgate party of St. John's University, we have two grill masters and they use different sources of heat to prepare their masterpieces.



Mike Fahey, the pioneer and originator of the Stiftungfestivities, uses charcoal to grill his secretly seasoned burgers, which he has specially prepared at Mackenthun and Wischnack Meats in Norwood-Young America, Minnesota. Our other grill master is Dave Verkuilen who uses a Weber model Q100 propane grill to prepare the wild rice sausages from Thielen Meat Market in Little Falls, Minnesota. Both of these gentlemen take their job as grill masters very seriously and they are quite good at what they do. Keeping the hungry fans busy eating the delicious burgers and sausages prior to game time is choreographed like a Broadway production and these two men make it look effortless.

Once the preparation of the entrees has gotten underway the accompanying side dishes need to be organized. Potato salad, baked beans, chili and a variety of chips will accent the entrees nicely.

During the down time prior to the grills being warm enough to prepare the entrees people want to have a snack while they socialize. A nice meat and cheese tray works well for this time in your tailgating experience.

During the early part of the season, you will want to have plenty of cold drinks to quench your thirst. As the temperatures drop in the later part of the season, hot chocolate or coffee will most likely be the beverage of choice. Make sure that you are prepared for tailgating with a properly insulated mug to keep your beverage cold or warm, depending on the time of year.

Having plenty of your favorite desserts will put the finishing touches on your tailgating meal. Cupcakes, brownies, or cookies all make great choices for tailgating desserts.

Proper dishes whether they are paper, plastic or stoneware will be needed to enjoy your tailgating meal, also remember flatware. Flatware can be either plastic or metal. This is especially important to remember if you are serving chili or soup.

By doing some advanced planning your will enjoy your tailgating experience to the fullest.