Gavin, Brian and myself had the chance to check out the new bar and grill on campus during fan day. Located steps from the UCF Arena and Memory Mall, Tailgaters is the only restaurant on UCF’s campus with a full liquor bar. With close to 50 different beers also available, this place is set to be the go to drinking spot at UCF.
My eyes have seen the glory...
The menu didn’t strike me as anything to write home about (though, I think it may have been limited when we were there), but the food we ordered was pretty tasty. I went with my stable pulled pork sandwich but with tater tots as the side. I have this thing for tater tots that may be a little tough to explain, but basically I’m convinced they are superior to french fries in every possible category. My friends and I all seem to share in this, so we ordered some extra for the table. Trying to make sure we got a little extra sumthin’sumthin, we made it clear that we wanted a lot of them. Like, a pitcher full. We were downright gleeful when our waitress brought us out exactly what we asked for — a pitcher full of this delicious potato based American delicacy.
“Back in my day,” Loco’s (now Wackadoo’s) was the place to hang in between classes. Older friends tell me that Wild Pizza used to be the place back before that. Whether or not Tailgater’s has the ability to launch itself into that category remains to be seen. It’s a little out of the way for most students going to class (or rather, skipping it.) When it comes to after hour partying and sporting events though, Tailgaters is a lock for now.
Tailgaters plan on offering delivery to tailgate tents during the football season, and I can’t imagine a better place to pre-game UCF basketball games. It’d be great if they could host massive away game super parties, providing the parking situation out there gets worked out. Speaking of parking, if it were ever figured out I’d imagine lots of alumni in Research Park would be there daily for lunch breaks.
All in all I was really impressed. I was able to enjoy a pitcher full of tots (they totally need to offer this as a 2 for 1), my current favorite beer (Kuna’s Longboard), and great/fun service. Make sure to check it out next time you’re over in the area.
UPDATE: There is a thread on rivals about Tailgaters showing the UF game on all TV’s instead of the UCF/Marshall game. I can’t vouch for this, as I wasn’t there.. but… my god. Go ahead and shut that place down immediately if true.
2 Comments
I stumbled upon this post a bit late, but you reminded me of Loco’s and now I want a double-fatass burger. Damn you.
I work for Tailgaters and have been there since opening week. The managers are awesome. They know what they are doing but the owners…that is another story. They don’t know thier ass from the front. They have NEVER ran a restaurant before, and it shows. Greg (owner) harasses EVER server that works there. He has told a couple girls that they are to fat to work there, or they aren’t good enough to work there. Seriously?? he’s a 60 year old, drunk piece of crap. Vicki, Greg’s wife & co-owner, get’s yelled at by Greg, he treats her like garbage…but she deserves it! I’m telling you someone needs to purchase this place! It’s SUCH a great place and i love all the girls I have worked with…I miss all of them!!