PHOTO
SHERRY HECK
“CRUNCHYMAHIMAHI
FISHTACOS”
CHEF:
MICHAELMINA
TEAM:
SANFRANCISCO49ERS
STADIUM:
LEVI’SSTADIUM
MICHAELMINA’STAILGATE
maybe the
most gourmet tailgate theworldhas ever seen.
BayArea favoriteMinahas beenaNiners
season-ticket holder formore than20years
and started the tailgate in theparking lot of
CandlestickPark.When the teammoved
into its newdigs at Levi’s Stadium,Minawas
taskedwith turninghis personal tailgate into
aprofessional endeavor. For $5,000a season,
49ers season-ticket holders get access to
anall-you-can-eat-and-drinkextravaganza
withmore than50dishes, aBloodyMarybar,
raw seafood stations and the largest indoor
rotisserie inAmerica (23 feet long!). Every
gamebecomes a celebrity-chef twofer as
Minapairs upwithguest-chef friends likeJosé
Andrés, Emeril LagasseandMarioBatali to
createdishes that honor thehome stateof
thevisiting team. This season, thatmeans a
10-foot-tall cheese fountain inhonor of the
GreenBayPackers and crunchymahimahi
fish tacoswith shredded radishpicodegallo
when theSanDiegoChargers visit to close
thepreseason. “It’s pretty fun,” saysMina.
“Actually, it’s quite insane.”
Everygame
becomes a
celebrity-chef
twofer asMina
pairsupwithguest-
chef friends.
AMERICANWAY
SEPTEMBER2015
61
