Penn State's 409 Club Has Crab Cakes, Pulled Pork Nachos & Its Own Bloody Mary | Andrew Goldberg

The number 409 means one thing at Penn State: it was Joe Paterno's win total, and it stands for success with honor. Andrew Goldberg built his tailgate around that idea in 2016 — and 409 Tailgate Club has been a Happy Valley institution ever since. Crab cakes. Pulled pork nachos. Bloody Mary mix. A fireball girl. And a Bloody Mary sauce company called GoldHen that started as a tailgate tradition.

Andrew joins Luke to talk about what makes Penn State one of the top three tailgate destinations in college football, the time Saquon Barkley, Micah Parsons, and Allen Robinson showed up at the tailgate at the same time, and the infamous Eli Manning / Chad Powers moment that happened right next to his setup.

What we cover: The 409 number and its meaning at Penn State · Building 409 Tailgate Club from a passion project to a brand · Crab cakes and pulled pork nachos as the signature dishes · GoldHen Bloody Mary mix — use code TGC for 10% off · The time Saquon, Micah Parsons, and Allen Robinson showed up · Eli Manning's Chad Powers visit right next to the tailgate · What makes Happy Valley different from Philly (completely opposite vibe) · The Grove at Ole Miss — Andrew's favorite tailgate outside PSU

Transcript

Intro

Luke 0:00

Welcome back to the Tailgate Connect podcast. I'm your host, Luke Lorick, with Tailgating Challenge. I love all things tailgating. And if you do too, you were in the right spot. Tonight, we're going to talk to Andrew with 409 Tailgate. Penn State Tailgating is one of the best tailgating experiences you can have in college football. And Andrew's going to tell us a lot more about that and a few of the very unique food items he serves as his tailgates coming up next.

Music 0:49

Got a story to tell.

Luke 0:53

All right, welcome back to the Tailgate Connect podcast. I'm your host, Luke. I love tailgating. And of course, I'm with a guy that loves tailgating as well, too, specifically Penn State Tailgating, the man, the myth, the legend of all Penn State tailgates. Andrew, thanks for joining the show this evening. How are you doing, sir? I'm doing great. Happy to be here, man. Heck yeah. You know, one of the questions I get asked, Andrew, all the time, is like, Luke, like, tell me some of your top three tailgates. And Penn State is one of the ones that makes it in there consistently based on my experience of your tailgate and just how the overall atmosphere at Penn State was back. I think it was 2023, if memory serves correctly.

What does 409 mean? Joe Paterno's wins — "success with honor"

Andrew 1:38

I was up there doing that. And yeah, so it's uh no, I appreciate it. And uh you were there on, well, an interesting weekend because I believe it was opening weekend. I mean, I remember it was hot. Uh, West Virginia was in town. Uh, you know, and you know how the tail eat lots are at Penn State. Like, I mean, it was hot. People were dropping, so it was, yeah, it was kind of, it was kind of, it was, it was kind of crazy. But uh, no, it's a it's it's good to be here. Uh again, I did have a fun time that one time that you came into Penn State. Always uh the whiteouts are a great time. But here's my deal. Like, I love tailgating at Penn State. My I with what I'm doing now, and I maybe we can get into this. I'm doing a bloody merry mix and I'm trying to become a national brand. Most of my tailgating has been at Penn State for most of my life, but I have gotten to tailgate at a bunch of other places. And I've been lucky enough to get to the Grove. Awesome, right? Like Ole Miss, everybody talks about it. I was lucky enough to go there. That's it's on the tops of my list. Look, Penn State. Another one of my favorites, though, was actually uh a NASCAR race, which was uh Pocono. Uh, I'd never been to a NASCAR race, tailgated at Pocono one year, and it rained out. They didn't even race any races, but like the vibe, the scene, the just the environment. I always have people ask me like, what are your best tailgates? I'm like, I'm not a NASCAR fan, but you should go to a NASCAR race.

Luke 3:02

It's unbelievable. It's a good vibe, it's a good scene. No doubt. And so I love like we got because I know Andrew, we got right into it. That was going to be one of the questions in the show about some of your top tailgates outside of Penn State, but let's rewind here for a second and let's talk about you. Let's talk about Penn State. Let's talk about 409 Tailgate, because that is the name of the tailgate for anyone that is going to a Penn State Tailgate, 409 Tailgate, like is one of the ones you need to put on your list because that face right there on the screen, or if you're listening, the guy you're hearing on the other side of the microphone, Andrew, is going to be your host for an amazing tailgate party out there. So the first thing that I had to learn when I went there, Andrew, and you can tell everybody, because I was like, what is what is for what is 409? Like, what why is that significant for Penn State?

When did tailgating start? College, then serious in 2016

Andrew 3:51

I guess so. 409 was all right, and I know it's it's all right. So to me, it's success with honor. 409 was associated with Joe Paterno. It was his number of wins. There's controversy associated with that. I get it. Uh I'm a lifelong Penn Stater, and to me, I think that uh the man did the things the right way. Uh 409 was my way of honoring him. And to me, it stands with success with honor. So, like when I started 409 Tailgate Club, which was in 2016, it was, you know, my tagline was tailgate with honor, right? Like we're tailgating now, you know. So um, but that was kind of like how 409 all started. Uh, it resonated with Penn Staters. I did a bunch of Bloody Mary, I did Bloody Mary mix, what I call tailgate sauces, barbecue sauce, dry rubs. I had a barbecue vending catering in company. Um, I just wanted to bring all that specialness to PSU Tailgates and started hosting larger size tailgates. Um, and it was awesome, right? Like that was where I first met Tailgate Connect was uh Dan and Joe had reached out to me and they came up to a tailgate. I believe the first one might have been Ohio State. That the helicopter game, I think, was the first one, which we've talked about, or you guys have talked about on this tailgate. The helicopter game, Dan was there. Um, Michigan game, I know that they were there. Um our whole thing was like, it's funny, I always tell people it's the opposite of Philly. You come to a pen uh tailgate in Happy Valley, and everybody is welcoming. They just want you to have a good time. You go to one of Philly, a couple hours away, whole different ball game, whatever. But like it's the opposite, right? Like, and uh that was what I always wanted to host and to do was just everybody's welcome, right? Like, I don't care if you're a Pitt fan, Notre Dame fan, Michigan, Ohio State. We want you all to come, have a good time, enjoy the game, have great food, and let's have a good time. And that's how 409 Tailgate Club started. And um, you know, you fast forward a few years, um, uh, you know, for it became a branded item, right? And um, you know, things happen. I live in North Carolina now. I'm not a Pennsylvania resident anymore. I live in North Carolina. Um, my boys were born down here. I have a five-year-old and a three-year-old. They've been to Tailgates now, and we'll get to more, but now it's about just kind of spreading the love. It's a little bit different now than the old school Tailgates. We still have the fireball girl. Don't worry, she'll be there. She'll be there. But um, it's a little bit different now. Um, I've started a bloody merry mixed company called Goldhen, and I I actually really want to start making the rounds with all the Tailgate Connect hosts and spread the love and just enjoy everybody, right? Like so, um, but yeah, that's how we started was the 409 Tailgate Club, man. Just hardcore barbecue pen steak guys, just getting after it. And here we are now.

The 409 Tailgate Club origin story

Luke 6:45

No, that's awesome. So, so take me back. When did when did the tailgating start? When did you put your first tailgate on? What year?

Why tailgating? Show up and it's already done for you

Andrew 6:53

Oh, well, college, right? But again, and you want to fast, I mean, rewind back to then, that was a whole different ballgame. But, you know, so yeah, me and all my buddies again, Penn State alum started in college, uh, but then it was just, you know, 30 racks of cheap beer and no food, you know, and uh then uh as a as adults in 2016 is when we started 409 Tailgate Club. Uh, and that was when uh, but it was it was probably about a good three to four years prior to that that I started really hosting larger amounts of people and taking a pride and uh a passion in trying to put on a good tailgate. People really enjoyed it. And to be honest, I can't even remember the first time the tailgate connect guys reached out to me, but when they were like told me what they were doing, I was like, hell yeah, bring it on, right? Like we know, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's tailgating, the more the merrier. And um it's it's it's been a lot of fun, you know. A little sidelined by the COVID years, whatever, but now we're rocking and rolling again. We've got some big games coming up this year, and it's been a lot of fun. And you know this. I mean, you it's unbelievable what tailgating does, just to meeting new people and just the relationships. Because here's the deal if you're going to a tailgate, you're showing up to have a good time. And if you're not, don't go. Like, I mean, that's to me, it's like, right? It it's like unbelievable the relationships that it's it's created.

Same vibe — let's hang out and have a good time

Luke 8:17

Yeah, I mean, again, I always tell people that's one of the reasons I love tailgating, is that I can show up, I can show up by myself with no friends to any tailgate in the country, and I can make friends, get food, have drinks, and just and and make friends that I'm going to remember and connect with long after that tailgate of that football game ends. That's right. That's right. It's it's the best.

Fresno State experience — the opposite of welcoming

Andrew 8:41

Uh like I said, I mean, it's just like everybody's showing up with the same vibe. Like, let's hang out and have a good time. Doesn't matter away team, home team, whatever. Like, let's have a good time. But I also do feel like, and again, I know that I feel like there is a difference between college and NFL. I feel like the college vibe. Yeah, yeah, totally. I feel and it's weird because yeah, the NFL vibe can be a bit tough. Um, but everywhere I've been, uh, and I know that you always ask all your hosts where you don't want to tailgate. Um you've been listening to the show. I love it. I've been listening to the show. That's probably why I led immediately with where my favorite places the tailgate are. I listen to the show.

Luke 9:22

You don't even need it, eh? Just answer all the questions you heard.

Best tailgate if Luke could only go to one — Oregon

Andrew 9:25

Like, yeah. And it's funny, like Dan's thing on Fresno was hilarious. Um, I one of the things I want to do now is experience more tailgates. Most of my experience has been Penn State tailgating, where I've been hosting. I again, I'm lucky enough to have visited a few others. Um, but I want to experience more of what's out there. I really do. Um, I feel like most places probably aren't like Fresno. Everywhere, because everywhere I have been has been awesome. Like, yeah, and um, you get around. Like, wouldn't you find that like more times than not? It's having great.

LSU night game is a must

Luke 9:59

Yeah, I like if somebody asked me that question and flip the script, like I don't know. Like, you usually if it's a air quote like bad experience, like something else like happened. Was the was the weather terrible? Did just like other stuff outside the tailgate go wrong? Right? Was there like maybe that one fan? Because again, like I feel like Fred Fresno's over here, like every time every episode, they're like, We're not bad, we're not bad people. Um over there. We all need to go to Fresno, I guess, and go uh go Tailgate, go tailgate out there, give them the uh chance for redemption. We I feel like we do. Yeah, I'm with it. I'll I'll go. I'm gonna take Dan with me. You come with you can come too. Um I'll do that, dude. I'll come. But so so tell me, so you you were you kind of leaned into a little bit in regards to like places that you really want to go, like bucket list tailgates. What what do a couple of those look like that you have kind of the top of the list circle? Like, I've got to get to X, Y, or Z.

Andrew 10:54

Okay, so having talked to your folks, uh, and just uh like LSU for a night game, I gotta get to. Right? I just feel like I've got to. Um having been to the grove, that for that certainly kind of like like checked one off, but um it's funny, like I as much as I love a Penn State tailgate and like the expansiveness and how great it is, one of the things that drives me nuts are the limitations, right? It's not like a Southern or an SEC school tailgate. Uh, they don't allow cooking with smokers wood charcoal. And I like I get it with the fraternity parties and stuff like that, uh what they're trying to do. But like um almost I feel like any just good traditional school where you could just get after it and cook good food and not have your limitations, that's where I want to go. And uh I love I did love going to uh to the grove. Uh I've communicated with a number of the Tailgate Connect hosts, and I hope they'd be able to visit with them. Um I do feel like LSU is on my bucket list. I've had LSU people come to my tailgate, even though it had nothing to do with an LSU game, and I want to go. Uh it's it, yeah, absolutely. Um, but I will say this, it's kind of crazy. After going to that one NASCAR event, I was like, I think I want to go to more of them and just hang out and party. Like it was a crazy good time in terms of pure tailgating. If you're looking at college football, I do have a I've never been, and I'm from the Philadelphia area, and I've never been to Army Navy. I'd love to go. And I know they rotate locations now, but um that's another one that's on my list. Uh in my professional experience outside of tailgating. Um, I've done a bunch of work actually in Knoxville in Tennessee, and I'd love to talk about the river boat, the river, you know what I mean, the the boats going tailgating there. Yeah, sailgating. Uh, I'd like to do that. So yeah, I have a number of places. I mean, just I want to go everywhere. Uh I don't know, man. I'm not a soccer fan, but some of these games look insane. I'll bring it all in. I want to go everywhere and anywhere.

Penn State outdoor hockey game at Beaver Stadium

Luke 13:00

It doesn't matter the sport. Like there's now pillow fighting championships. We're tailgating for pillow fighting. We're tailgating for everything out there. Let's go.

What can guests expect at 409 Tailgate?

Andrew 13:08

That's right. Oh, so Penn State plays, uh, they have a hockey game this year, outdoors Beaver Stadium against Michigan State. I think it's January 31st. I'm a tailgate for that. And I am looking forward to that. Uh first, I mean, Beaver Stadium. Used to be Hallowed Grounds. They didn't have anything but football games there starting to change, top golf concerts. But outdoor hockey, you know what I mean? They're there, I feel like uh being able to tailgate in the wintertime for a hockey game at Beaver Stadium is gonna be awesome.

Great food, great company, all-inclusive

Luke 13:38

No doubt. No doubt. All right. So let's uh let's get back to your tailgate for a second. So if somebody's like, hey, I'm I'm getting tickets, I really want to come experience the Penn State vibe, like what can they expect? What can they expect at your tailgate when they show up?

Crab cakes at the tailgate — unique food choice

Andrew 13:52

Yeah, well, uh great food, great company. Uh I'm sorry, I shouldn't say all you can drink, all inclusive. Uh yeah, well, I got it, man. No. Um, but that's what we try to do is uh great company, great food, a lot of fun. Um, you know, you want to enjoy some beverages that all that's going to be provided. Uh good music. Uh, but one of the things that we do, again, so uh having a uh a Bloody Merry company, uh, we have a lot of unique food dishes and appetizers that we do featuring our Bloody Merry mix, whether it's uh crab cakes or deviled eggs, uh different barbecue mops. Um I, you know, um I used, like I said, I used to have a barbecue vendoring uh catering company, so we have a lot of good smoked meats. For the whiteout game in particular, we're gonna have a sweet. I find and I agree with this. A lot of people don't like to make sandwiches at Tailgates. They don't want to fill up on the bread for a long game. So we're gonna do a slider bar, minis, right? If you want to put it on a roll, put it on a roll. If not, no big deal. But we're gonna have all sorts of barbecued meats, smoked meats, all sorts of different stuff. Um, that's what you can expect. Um, we're gonna have good liquor, good beer, the best bloody merry mix you've ever had. Uh, and then a whole bunch of really good food and just have a good time. And like I said, I and I do mean this. Um, I'm a little biased. I and again, being from Philly, I was always just kind of taking aback on like it's how great it is in terms of hospitality tailgating at Penn State. Um, people are extremely welcoming. Uh everybody just wants you to have a good time. Um, it's almost like they relish in you showing up in an away jersey. Like, it is great, right? Like uh, you know, it's um again, all are welcome. So yeah. Happy Valley there, Luke. Happy Valley, happy Valley. Happy Valley. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Commercial slicers, preparation — it's a production

Luke 15:47

So I heard something right there, Andrew. You said crab cakes at the tailgate. That that is a unique food choice to have at a tailgate. So let me ask you this question. Is crab cakes the most unique food you've ever served at a tailgate? Is there something even crazier than crab cakes?

Andrew 16:04

Yeah, no, but it because it did so you got to prepare accordingly. I mean, I've brought in commercial slicers up to tailgates to do, you know, smoked roast beef sandwiches and stuff like that. However, this is one thing, and I've never done this, but I'm looking forward to it. I'm gonna do table nachos this year. Table set up, uh full, like just loaded up, like it's interactive, right? Everybody wears gloves, all the fix-ins. I'm gonna smoke a whole bunch of pork butts. We're gonna have it's gonna be pulled pork table nachos. I'm gonna do it at the White House. I've always wanted to do it because I've made nachos, like pulled pork nachos. Like they serve those in restaurants. Oh, it sounds good. I thought it would be cool to have a giant table where people could like it would be table nachos, like a giant table of it, interactive, but like going big with it. Uh, so we're gonna do that this year. Hopefully it works out. It's gonna be good. I know all the ingredients will be good. Um, but yeah, so we're gonna do some fun things this year. Get people involved with the tailgate a little bit more besides just drinking and eating our food.

Box of gloves to handle crab cakes

Luke 17:04

I mean, I've heard nachos, I've heard crab cakes, I've heard sliders. Like, so far, this might be some of the best food of any tailgate that we've heard from so far. So again, like this was amazing. I appreciate it.

Whiteout menu — pulled pork nachos, sliders, bloody Mary bar

Andrew 17:16

I'm gonna remember to bring the box of gloves to the tailgate because then I gotta make sure people can throw. No, it it was funny. Like, at I for years I've been talking about like it'd be fun to make pulled pork nachos, but like in a big style at a tailgate. People like you should do it. I'm like, well, we can. We just gotta do it, right? So we're gonna do it at the whiteout.

Luke 17:36

Excellent. So white white out this year, pull pork nachos.

Just come to eat — tickets are worth it

Andrew 17:41

Pull pork nachos, full slider bar, bloody merry bar. Um, and here, every tailgate has to have burgers and dogs. Like, I don't care. It's to me, it's like that's it's a you got the grill going. Burgers and dogs are a staple. Like, you don't gotta fancy them up, but like, but so yeah, that's kind of the deal. Um, we you know, for the people that show up early, we've got some brunchish stuff going on. But yeah, man, we're gonna have it loaded up all day long, and then you got a big game coming up against Oregon that night.

Luke 18:11

I mean, again, it sounds amazing. I'm like, some people are like, man, I'm gonna buy a ticket just to go eat. Yeah, all that good food.

Bloody Mary as part of every tailgate

Andrew 18:18

Okay, well, and I didn't even mention, uh, well, obviously, yeah. I mean, I know I talked about Bloody Mary, it makes me the company, but yes, craft beers, light beers, well, whatever you want. We got it all. We got the liquor. So we we we we're gonna have everything set up for anybody that wants to come and join us.

Luke 18:32

Excellent. No, that that sounds amazing. And and I feel like let's talk about it. I've heard Bloody Mary Mix a few times in our conversation today. I think you might have a bottle over there. So go ahead, shout out Gold Hen. Am I saying that correctly for the brand?

What makes GoldHen different?

Andrew 18:47

That's right. Gold Hem Bloody Merry Mix. Um, so me and my uh my business partner, we're both Penn Staters. Uh, my last name is Goldberg, his last name is Hennigan, hence Gold Hen. It was actually an LLC name before ever a business name. Or I'm sorry, before ever like a product branded type thing. Uh, but yeah, Gold Hem Bloody Merry Mix. Um, it's unique. Our whole thing is sweet with little heat. Um, it's awesome to cook with, really good with shrimp, all sorts of uh we and again, we have like also we do a lot of cooking. Uh, so it's great with a lot of different recipes, which are on our website. But yeah, we started a bloody merry mix company. And um, you know, with the 409, like I was saying earlier, I had like Penn State branded products, and now um I want to become uh, you know, a nationally branded Bloody Merry Mix. And part of my deal is like, again, because it goes so just well, hand in hand with tailgating is just get to with all the tailgate connect hosts. But yeah, the gold hen, man. Sweet with little heat. Uh it's uh I it's I'm excited about it. We we love it. And uh yeah, that's what was it. We're gonna do some high-end bloody merry bars at all of our tailgates this year.

High-end ingredients, no high fructose corn syrup

Luke 19:57

All right. So, you know the question I gotta ask you. The hard-hitting question is like there's other there's other bloody merry mixes out there. Tell me why gold hen should be something people put above everything else when they're making that purchasing decision.

People say it tastes lighter and more fresh

Andrew 20:12

Cool. All right, um, all right, all high-end ingredients. Um, you'll see if you purchase a bottle of this. So it's you're you don't need to spruce it up with anything. Load it up with horseradish. Uh, we've got organic coconut sugar and honey to give you a little sweetness up front. Okay. Uh, we're North Carolina guys based now, so we got some Texas peat. Actually, interestingly enough, from North Carolina. Texas peat is from North Carolina. So we got Texas peat, we got horseradish, we got cayenne pepper to give you a kick on the back end. Um, it's uh a very unique mix. Um I actually think it's a one-of-a-kind mix in terms of flavor profile out there, but that's just me. Uh, and on top of that, um, we love tailgating more than any other uh bloody merry company that's out there. Here we go. That's the way it is that we need it today. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And we support Tailgate Connect. So uh and Zing Zhang doesn't or any of those uh Mrs. T or Mr. T, whatever you call them. They don't. We do. So there you go, Luke.

Luke 21:12

Now, Andrew, did I hear in there? Because again, I'll be honest, I'm not a huge bloody merry guy. Uh like I've never really been my jam, but as I'm listening to the ingredients, it sounded like they were more natural ingredients versus maybe like some of the stuff that could go in there. Am I hearing that correctly?

Pull up the bottle for YouTube viewers

Andrew 21:29

That's right. Yeah. So no high fructose corn syrup. Um, I would say when people taste our mix, a lot of people say it like, oh, it has a uh barbecue-y profile, which it does. I mean, it's tomato-based, it's got a sweetness, but uh all natural ingredients, all high end ingredients, no high fructose corn syrup. Um low and even still equally because using good ingredients lower in calories and sodium than a lot of other mixes. So, yeah, man, you're right, you're right on point.

Get it at goldhenlc.com

Luke 21:55

Hey, go ahead. I think you have a bottle. Put it up for those on YouTube right now. Go ahead and pull that. thing up on screen. We got the Gold Hen. Where can people find that? If they want to get it, where can they get it from?

Coming to nationwide distribution soon

Andrew 22:07

They can get it at goldhenlc.com. Uh if they happen to be in North Carolina or Pennsylvania, there's a whole other host of uh places that they could get it at. Again, we're North Carolina based, so lots of people around here. If not, we ship nationwide and yeah, goldhenlc.com.

Have Pitt fans ever come? Yes — it works

Luke 22:27

Excellent. Soon to be nationwide. You'll be able to find everywhere soon, right? That's right. Soon. Very soon. Very soon, Luke. Excellent. All right. I'm going to ask you another bloody merry question in a minute as we as we move on with the show. But right now, let's let's talk about you've kind of alluded to it, but let's let's just hear it one more time. If somebody's coming to the game, they get a ticket from tailgateconnect.com, they show up, but they're wearing the opposing team's gear. Are they going to be put over in a corner? Are they going to be chastised? Like what does that look like for the if if somebody's wearing an opposite team color that comes to your tailgate? What's that going to look like for them?

Andrew 23:03

Not not good. No, I'm just kidding. I've I've looked I've hosted uh I've I I've I'll I can say I've hosted Pit fans. No, uh it's all it's all good. And uh we love it, man. Like the more the merrier. That's I kind of feel like that's actually one of the better things about like with like a tailgate connect type thing where you're involved like when you're putting yourself out there as like yes I'll host people for whoever's coming in. I want them to have a good time like you better damn well know they might be coming in from another college right so like I think it's awesome. I love it. Right. So um I think that most other Penn Staters love it. I can tell you our core crew loves it. So yeah there's no no worries there. I can tell you there's a lot of other teams um well look it you know Penn State goes back a long time you got your robberies and whatnot but like we've hosted everybody. I think it's the best ever. Like to me it's the way it should be you should have a mix. It's awesome having people from other teams. So yeah everybody of course everybody's welcome excellent excellent all right so if we if you have somebody coming in for a game and outside of the tailgate in the game you said there's one thing around the Penn State area to do around campus that local area what would you tell them to do what what's kind of a must-see item you know you know it's weird say college um has changed so much over the years you know when I was growing up as a kid and going to Penn State games it was this little tiny podunk town in the you know central Pennsylvania now it's it's grown quite a bit but even back then and even now I and again even though it's a I feel like they're known for the creamery right their ice cream like and I feel like it's one of those things if you're coming in for the game and maybe people like ah I could you say the creamery but like it they're famous for that but there's a reason to it and you can get to it on campus you're at the tailgating lots you can get over there. You know Penn State's been an ag school around since the 1800s and um just happens to be one of the things that they do really well and they have a very famous creamery on campus. I think people should go and I think they should check it out. I mean to be quite honest with you Penn State even though the town itself has grown quite a bit uh it's still out in the middle of nowhere if you have the time I would say the other thing that it's very well known for as one of the best in the country and you're out in Colorado so I believe right like so you get this well but like uh the fly fishing um there is some legendary fly fishing instructors there. Um Penn State is got some great just outdoor experiences fishing hiking camping but uh the fly fishing in particular is very well known especially on the east coast um but it's um you know other than that it's weird like State College you know it's dead in the center of like kind of like you know Philadelphia and Pittsburgh and there's not a lot going on there so it's not as much as like oh you got to go to this restaurant and that restaurant and here and there. But uh it's a beautiful spot. Hiking fishing outdoor life is incredible. If you're fly fishing do that out there uh but and then again just coming in for the weekend go to the creamer get some ice cream and you'll probably have it sent back to your house it's like it is actually super good. Yeah that's it's yeah it's it's well or come visit us at 4 or at the uh whether it's our 49 tailgate club gold and bloody merry mix um come visit us and have a great time at a tailgate and I didn't mention this I don't know if you chicken wings I'm gonna put it on there right now it's our specialty come have the best chicken wing grilled chicken wing that you'll have at a tailgate.

Personal food preferences discussion

Luke 26:32

Yeah the chicken wings I remember were on point for sure when I came to tailgate so I can vouch for that statement.

Made progress with bacon-wrapped gator at Florida

Andrew 26:38

All right so let's let's talk about food let's talk about you let's talk about your personal favorite food to eat at a tailgate you don't have to worry about cooking it you don't have to worry about pulse just what you think is your favorite food on game day man that's a tough one like I said so like I I I I'm kind of a foodie but when it comes to tailgates if somebody's got like a black stone set up and making Smash burgers I'm so all in like or if you show up early and they're doing like breakfast sandwiches and whether it's bacon again we're from Pennsylvania we eat scrapple pork roll stuff like that anything with a black stone setup but if somebody's making that stuff I but like I honestly feel like um I alright it's weird I love a good brat I love a good smash burger I do feel like every tailgate should have burgers and stuff even though it's like a traditional thing right there's nothing fancy to it but I feel like a a good grilled burger is something that should be had um but in terms of my favorite and again because I heard some of your other shows where people were like oh like bacon wrapped like by Gallagher I'm like holy shit like we don't make stuff like that stay acknowledged like they they don't like we just yeah we just can't we just can't do that right um yeah oh all right here's what I will say uh one of my favorite things is uh central Western Pia is known for uh kobasi you know Polish sausage okay and there are some cheese infused sausages the my I hot a spicy kobaza hot cheese infused breakfast sandwich might be one of my favorite things at a Penn State tailgate there we go all right um and just for the viewers out there because this was me at one point being a southern guy you said the word scrapple tell people that don't know what scrapple is what in the world is scrapple it's king of the breakfast meats now uh uh it's you know scrapple yeah in Pennsylvania it's very popular because of the Pennsylvania Dutch uh they basically would take uh all parts of the pig that were typically not utilized you know what do you call the scraps and when you look at the ingredients on the labels like the liver the hearts and all the scraps but like they would mix it into a loaf with some spices and some yeast and you actually slice it very thin and you pan fry it um it's delicious it's weird it's like one of those things if you looked at the ingredient label you'd be like no way but if I just gave it to you you would be like oh that's delicious so in Pennsylvania Scrapple's big man but like I said it's a Pennsylvania Dutch thing uh but scrapple is delicious okay delicious I looked at I probably didn't do a good way of describing it but it is delicious I promise you that I I have not personally had it I learned about it about 10 years ago and then I I made the maybe the mistake of going look at the ingredient list and being the guy like I am I was like oh I don't know if I could do that without because I was like oh fry up some liver and hearts in a pan and you'll love it.

Drink preference — whiskey and beer separately

Luke 29:48

Like yeah I didn't do a good job but I promise you however the people that make it do it it's really good. Fair enough fair enough okay let's shift gears over to what's in your cup um I think I've got to put a parameter on it you can have you get two options I know one of them's gonna be a Bloody Mary we already know that but what's your other drink gonna be that's gonna be in your I'm gonna go two more because even though I bought a Bloody Mary mix I'm a one and done guy to be honest with you I'll have one first thing in the morning and I'm good.

Pepperoni straw in a Bloody Mary — Demetri's brand

Andrew 30:16

I like I love it. Uh I am a I'm a whiskey and beer guy. So mixed together or separate? Separate separate uh but also uh yeah close together but no separate um but I am I'm trying to get smarter in my old age I I I I am a beer drinker I do like um I mean not an IPA drinker but you know these all day tailgates um there well there's so many flavorful ones out there now where you don't have to crush yourself with doubles but I am a beer drinker that is my just go to I will drink beer during the day uh I do like whiskey um I'll always have a couple bottles of bourbon at the tailgate I'll always invite some people to do some shots uh but I am a and and recently I've been onto the rise um and I don't know if any of these things are good for a uh long day tailgate type thing but I'm just answering the question uh I'm onto the rye whiskeys what's in my cup it's gonna start with a bloody Mary it's gonna go to beer and then at point there will be whiskies in there as well all right now build the perfect bloody Mary all right so to me it's all right this is America so you do what you want right now uh but like uh spirits of choice I'm a vodka guy but I've been introduced recently to some bloody maria's uh but with tequila you gotta choose right um not all tequila works I think vodka you can you can get away with a lot of different things I know people like Jin I'm a vodka guy so to me it's uh it's vodka bloody marriage mix two to one ratio nice spicy rim rub um I like a chili lime rim rub that we carry um in terms of garnishments I love shrimp with our bloody merry mix but then anything um I think pickles go always go great with it uh anything so kind of I I like spicy I like pickled um again I make some bloody marry inspired appetizers with our stuff so like the deviled eggs like there's a lot of different things but one thing I really do like is actually uh as a garnishment on a Bloody Mary mix is just a all beef hot dog. That's my unique thing. I like a that's it hot all beef hot dog put the hot dog in the bloody marry scored right on top scored right on top.

Luke 32:38

Well wasn't there like a trending video was it last year or something where somebody I put a hole in the hot dog and they were using it as a straw like is that is that a thing?

Unique tailgate games seen on the road

Andrew 32:46

Oh so yo there yes it is um there's a famous bloody berry company called oh Demetri's they make a pepperoni straw which is awesome it's a literally a stick of pepperoni it's got a hole in the middle you can use it as a straw eat it when you're done fantastic so yeah it's a thing and recommended as well okay okay all right so we got your drinks we got your food all right now for your entertainment what's your favorite personal tailgating game all right so I got introduced quite some time ago to QB54 which I do like uh quite a bit um you know there's a lot of your standard ones I mean everybody likes corn I do like I I really do like QB54 I do like that uh and one I guess that's not well known there was um somebody had sent me a game years in the past that was called it was throwing darts at beer cans do you remember this one Luke I don't know maybe like oh yeah there's actually a few different versions of that that uh some are still out there okay yeah so I wasn't sure but we did set that up and play like multiple tailgates and it was very well received it was fun a lot of fun um but I am I think I'm a um I'm a traditional beer pong royal but like I do like QP54 a lot i yeah that it is I do like that game quite a bit yeah no all of those there's no wrong answers with that there's so many games I mean again cornhole that's not a wrong answer but again there's literally hundreds of tailgating games now that people can play considering oh you know what there's one and I forget the name of it people used to play or they do play it in the overnight RV lot which I think you went over to whereas it's kind of like a reverse game whereas you're trying to peg another cup with your ping pong ball but like if you hit it you're actually trying to chug your beer faster than they can retrieve their ball i do I forget the name of it but it was like a reverse beer pong game where it was like and it was very good I'm gonna pull it up I'm gonna send it over to you it I've played like a few times it was great.

Luke 34:57

There was I like unique games there was a game we met the inventor out there now now that you're bringing that up I I don't know if it was that game but now I'm wondering whatever happened with that game it might have been if I heard about it again but anyways it might have been going tricks down memory lane here yeah my buddy's played that you know what you're right it might have been those guys that we met out there but yeah fun game for sure all right tell me this has there ever been as I coin it a failgating moment at at the tailgatey your tailgate or around that area where just something just it didn't go right and it was almost comical because it was failgating versus tailgating oh man you know I it again having watched the other episodes I knew this question so thankfully not at any of my own I mean I've been in some disastrous ones where just uh actually I tried to do an NFL tailgate that you know being the Penn State connection uh it was one of Saquon's first games and um met life at the Giants tried to do a tailgate up there.

Weather failgates — rain that came down sideways

Andrew 36:02

I mean like just and just the weather didn't work out right like the shit came down sideways pouring just like absolute train wreck of a disaster. Thankfully though like personally I've never had one of those experiences um that was just downright disastrous um and again most of my experience has been tailgating at Penn State I I I want to experience more um and it's funny I knew you were going to ask this question especially after Dan said he'd rather tailgate at a funeral than Fresno State and I was like damn it like I got yeah but um I haven't to be honest with you man I haven't had that experience yet like I've been to some away games where I was like not my cup of tea but like I haven't had any of my own tailgates or been to one where I was like this is a total train wreck. I know it's not the answer you're looking for but I got to answer it.

Away game fan behavior — Penn State away games

Luke 36:51

No, no I mean it means I need to step to more tailgates yeah I mean step one but I mean I even have those moments right where I was shooting a video the other day and like in the middle of the video like half the products just fall off the table and I just yelled out failgating right because again it happens to all of us right yeah yeah so like I'm saying we've had weather things that messed with us and stuff like that but and again I always laugh when I heard about again your first episode when Dan was talking about Fresno but like I haven't had any experiences like that.

Andrew 37:21

Um I have again I've been to some Penn State away games where away fans were a bit unruly uh it's fine whatever I'm from Philly I get it like uh but the tailgating experience though in itself was like the yeah was was was all great right you just get some a-hole fans giving it to you on the way out which is fine it's part of the deal um yeah but I don't have any of those ones where it was like ah we yeah we um all right yeah now the only thing I'll say is the very first year of when I started doing the 409 tailgate club thing at Penn State we were trying to do a combination of hosting and catering at the same time and you were up at Penn State it's massive right so like I did get caught in a pinch up there where it was trying to make deliveries and get to overnight RV lots and here and there and then I was having my own hosted tailgate and I had to have my wife and my best friend uh cover for me as I was stuck in other lots for just uh trying to make deliveries and keep other people happy and I was called and I'm like look just make everybody drinks I'll be back as soon as possible and everything went well but um you know I haven't had any it's it's my tailgate experience has all been all been pretty good.

Luke 38:35

Well good hopefully that continues but if you have a moment where things just don't quite go right just yell out failegating and then just laugh and move on.

Andrew 38:43

I know man I know it's uh like I said I've had some tense experiences and stuff like that but I really don't have any where I was like ah like complete just train wreck right or on the flip side visiting someplace uh that just wasn't good um yeah now like I said although that uh NASCAR race I went to in Pocono that I rank as one of my top tailgates I never saw one lap of racing like I said the the race was canceled because of rain you could go but like I didn't care I was there for the tailgating so again I guess in that aspect it was a it was a good thing.

When Saquon, Micah Parsons, Allen Robinson showed up

Luke 39:17

Yeah no no doubt I've I've been to plenty of tailgates where I did not go into the actual event because the tailgate is so good that it's not lost on me for a moment.

Eli Manning's Chad Powers moment next to the tent

Final pitch — Whiteout coming up vs Oregon

Andrew 39:26

All right so when I came to your tailgate I remember that at least it was like right beside your tailgate I think Saquon and Michael Parsons showed up have you had other celebrity guests so to speak come by your tailgates in the past you know a number of X-Ball players but it's always funny um yeah you know um just and I don't know it's funny like being a Penn Stater like some of the guys that come by our tailgates are very well known Penn Staters but like wouldn't be to uh the you know the average fan but you know they're well known amongst the college ranks but that tailgate that you were at when yeah you had Saquon and Allen Robinson and Micah Parsons and all those guys show up um yeah that was uh as you remember though that leads to craziness so again when you I and again not that I brought them in but um that as you remember like it's funny when I think about like things get a little bit intense like that place was about to blow up like it got a little bit crazy back then right like and I and I get it. But well actually you know what's funny though I will say one other funny one was the year before remember the whole Chad Powers Eli Manning thing when he was doing that thing where he showed I don't know yeah so Eli Manning showed up at one at he was like in between my tailgate and another and um things got a little bit crazy there. But that was when he did that ESPN thing when he showed up as Chad Powers and stuff like that. You know we get a number of guys that again are a little bit you know well known amongst the the Penn State alumni but maybe not to you know everybody else but it's always fun when ex-players can come in because quite frankly at the collegiate level like their stories are like like people kind of relish in them right like when you kind of hear those behind the scenes stories or things about them growing up playing college ball for maybe Joe Paterno or whatever it may be or uh you know their away games in Notre Dame and Pitt and all this stuff um it's it's like I I love that type of stuff. But yeah but I will say in terms of no itoriety you saw probably the tops of the tops when Saquon and Micah came by.

tailgateconnect.com + goldhenlc.com (code: TGC, 10% off)

Luke 41:31

No doubt no doubt that was that was a fun day for sure. All right well Andrew with that like let's I'm gonna give you the mic one more time I want you to for the people that have been listening like you know what Andrew's like a great dude I want to go eat crab cakes and nach shows and all the all the fun that he has is going to come to your tailgate mark to the one more time to pull the trigger go to tailgateconnect.com and get tickets. Give me that final pitch.

Andrew wants to visit as many TGC hosts as possible

Andrew 41:58

Yeah well well like Luke said tailgateconnect.com we're gonna be rocking and rolling for the whiteout uh coming up against Oregon's gonna be a good one we're gonna have all the food that Luke referenced and more um but yeah like we do things top notch and like I said we like everybody to join us um check out the Tailgate Connect site because we have other games that are going to be going on throughout the year but uh again um you know we got Villanova next week not sure how many Wildcat fans from outside of Philadelphia are there but bye week then the big one the whiteout so please join us it is uh have you have you've heard from other guests um I know I'm bragging here beer Penn State it is awesome but we would love to host you come join us uh if it can't be that game any other game um yeah we welcome everybody and Luke I appreciate your time buddy excellent well hey speaking of awesome it was awesome chatting with you Andrew we appreciate you for being on here appreciate you for being a tailgate connect host for everybody that stayed to the end of the episode we thank you as well too and again if you love bloody Marys Andrew where can they go to get them? GoldhenLLC.com gold hen gold chick goldhenlc.com uh we've got some great bloody mary mix and some other products I think you'll love it and you guys have a special code TGC 10% off all orders I'll throw that in there put it in I didn't even know so here dropping knowledge for me yeah you guys excellent so um yeah please check it out give us a try and uh also um for all you hosts that are out there I do want to come and try and experience as many tailgates as possible so you may hear from me love to come and join you.

Outro

Luke 43:49

Excellent excellent I hope to join Andrew and all of our hosts and maybe see some of our viewers at some tailgates out there as well too appreciate you Andrew for being here appreciate everybody for hanging in with The show. And until next time, we hope to see you at a tailgate soon.

Music 44:04

Tailgate connect. It's all here for you. Food drinking friends under sky soul blue.