Between 2009 and 2019, Eli Manning’s Saturdays and Sundays were reserved for playing football, but now that he’s retired, the former Giants QB finally has time to enjoy the game as a spectator.
We ran into Eli at a pop-up in New York City where he was manning (no pun intended) a pretzel cart, handing out Kings Hawaiian’s newest product, soft pretzel bites. While Eli is an expert when it comes to football, it turns out that he also knows a thing or two about tailgating. With that being said, we asked the younger Manning brother his tips for hosting the perfect tailgate.
Eli’s main tip when it comes to hosting the perfect tailgate: having a strong variety of different foods. On the topic of diversifying the menu, the former Giants signal caller said “you want to have the pulled pork, you want to have the burger, you might want to have the grilled cheese. All of it goes well on a King’s Hawaiian roll. So something for the adults, something for the kiddos, something you don’t have to think too much about.”
As most veteran tailgaters know, King’s Hawaiian has the best rolls on the market. They’re just the right size and have the perfect consistency for just about any type of sandwich that you would eat on a roll or bun. Because the brand is known for its rolls, we asked Eli what made them dip their toes into the pretzel game to which he replied “the rolls are obviously the staple, but that pretzel taste combined with the rolls, that extra texture, just makes the perfect snack.” He added that the pretzel bites are the perfect afterschool treat to give to your kids.
While you might not be lucky enough to bump into Eli at an NYC pretzel cart, you can definitely see him Monday nights calling football games with his brother Peyton on ESPN’s The Manningcast.