Occupying the stretch of grass between the Art and Design Building and Fieldhouse Drive, the CBT Tailgate attracts friends and onlookers alike with its impressive, colorful setup.
As attendees greet one another and reunite for gameday, they’re never more than a few feet away from the expansive lineup of food and drinks.
Ask anyone at the site about CBT’s tailgate and they’ll tell you Eric Eskew is the one to talk to. Eskew heads the 23-member tailgate krewe, which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year, he said.
CBT, or Chest Box Tailgate, has a trailer and TV surrounded by chairs, cornhole games and several tents where they prep and serve food.
Now based in Lake Charles, University alumnus Eskew studied sports administration and kinesiology while a student at LSU. Win or lose, he never misses a home game, he said.
Each game, three to four members are responsible for setting up the tailgate at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, prepping and cooking the menu for the weekend and breaking it down Saturday evening. With their system, each member works one home game a season, taking turns so they can enjoy tailgating every other game.
CBT feeds around 200 people a game, Eskew said.
The usual gameday fare ranges from Mexican food to traditional Louisiana dishes like jambalaya, gumbo and fried seafood. For special opponents, however, they’ll do a little something extra — when the Tigers take on Arkansas, they’ll likely roast a pig, Eskew said. Sometimes they’ll do barbecue corn dogs, “just to embrace that stupid joke,” he said.
When the University played Florida in 2015, CBT roasted an alligator during its pregame festivities in traditional Tiger fan fashion. Photos of the gator went viral on social media.
For Oct. 14’s game against Auburn University, it’s Izzos Illegal Burrito owner Ozzie Fernandez’s turn to cook. Fittingly, he’s grilling Cajun-Mex cuisine, with massive serving trays of fajitas, chicken quesadillas, seasoned pastalaya, and a taco and margarita bar.
Fernandez has been tailgating with CBT for six years, he said.
“Can you hold my beer?” Fernandez said as he threw tortillas on the grill to prepare another round of chicken quesadillas for the group.
CBT has Southern Craft’s Hyla, Pompous Pelican and Swamp Sting brews for revelers to pour on tap.
As they take more chicken off the grill to feed a new group of tailgaters who just arrived, the men cooking welcome the new additions. “Y’all come back anytime and get something to eat.”
