Ian McNulty Goes Tailgating

Embedded tailgating reporter Ian McNulty spent some time at the Dome recently chronicling the distinct smells and flavors that permeate the CBD parking lots before a Saints game. Saints tailgaters, as one might expect, are savvier than your average game-day grill despot, which means that crafting a tailgating menu in New Orleans requires more than just a vague craving for hamburgers:

"The work-a-day parking lots of the CBD are transformed into ad hoc outdoor kitchens while other bands of friends stake out space between, and under, the highway approaches belting the Dome. Aromatic smoke blooms everywhere. Follow it, and you'll find giant vats of gumbo or red beans set over hissing gas jets, great tureens of meaty jambalaya, even clattering hampers of whole crabs roiling in spicy boil. This isn't chili dogs and party subs."

Never has the phrase "party sub" sounded less festive.

· The Food-Minded Saints Fan [WWNO]

Mercedes-Benz Superdome. [Photo: Facebook]