Team Bonding

CultureMap’s Tailgate fires up Austin foodies and sports fans

While some Austinites were root, root, rooting for their home team, they were also getting to know local restaurants through their best takes on sports-watching snacks. Sports fans and foodies gathered at Distribution Hall on Thursday, December 12, for CultureMap's Tailgate party, presented by Verizon.

Some of Austin's top chefs and their teams set up tasting booths around the warehouse and outside on the lawn, where many of the jersey-clad guests enjoyed a fire pit and cornhole games. Guests took the sporty dress code seriously, although some added their own twist with fun Christmas sweaters.

People from all walks of sports fandom came by — including some F1 fans — but the Longhorns were clearly the favorite of the night. Among all the baseball caps with team logos were plenty of cowboy hats and boots.

Austin Tailgate 2024 There were burnt orange accents in outfits everywhere.Photo by Guillermo Rosas

VIP admission gave guests access to an exclusive meet-and-greet with UT Longhorns legend Vince Young, whois now almost as well-known to foodies for lending his name to Vince Young Steakhouse downtown. Former Longhorns running back Jamaal Charles also posed for photos with VIP fans and joined Young in signing autographs to kick off the evening, courtesy of presenting sponsor Verizon and their On the Road to the Super Bowl promotion.

Guests were also able to register for an exciting chance to win a VIP trip for two to Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans*. And if you missed your chance, don't worry. There's still time to enter now.

With some live sports feeds projected on the walls, the only thing left to make it a real tailgate was a large spread of hearty snacks. Guests filled up on big samples by some of Austin's favorite restaurants, including:

Pulled pork kolaches from Phoebe's Diner
Jerk chicken tostadas from The Jerk Shack
Patty melts from Thunder Chief
Sweet n' spicy bruschetta from Postino
Chicken halloumi arayis from Ezov
Braised brisket bao from Honey Moon Spirit Lounge
Smoked and fried chicken skewer in a blackberry-habanero glaze from Industry
Ramen Frito pie from Ramen Tatsu-Ya
3 Color Vegetable Dumpling from RedFarm
Par 3 red chile braised pork tacos from The Dirdie Birdie
Deboned and stuffed chicken wings from Nido at the Loren Hotel
Green miso chicken skewers from Victory Lap
Chicken wings from Tommy Want Wingy
Hogs in a blanket with jalapeño cheddar sausage and house mustard from Terry's

Some of the restaurants also gave out generous freebies for after the event, including $25 off at Honey Moon Spirit Lounge, $10 off at Phoebe's Diner, and a free smash burger at Thunder Chief.

The Jerk Shack dish at Austin Tailgate 2024 Some team members from the Jerk Shack came all the way from San Antonio to share their food.Photo by Guillermo Rosas

With so many places to pick up a cocktail or a beverage sample, lines were short; the open bars served up signature cocktails by Tequila 512 (the Touchdown Margarita and Mexican Mule Rusher) and Jim Beam Black (the BBG and Rackhouse Black) and beer from EIGHT, along with THC seltzers from Howdy.

What are sports without a little competition? Attendees voted on their favorite dish of the night, and Ramen Tatsu-Ya took home the trophy for their noodle-forward take on a Frito pie. Plus, Tommy Want Wingy triumphed over 15 other competitors in a bracket-style tournament to take home the title as winner of the Ultimate Wing Showdown.

$Tatsu Aikawa and Takuya \u201cTako\u201d Matsumoto of Ramen Tatsu-Ya at Austin Tailgate 2024$ Tatsu Aikawa and Takuya “Tako” Matsumoto celebrate their well-earned win.Photo by Guillermo Rosas

Although attendees would have to part ways with the guest athletes at the end of the night, there was plenty of signed gear and other memorabilia available in a silent auction. Participants picked up jerseys, photos, helmets, footballs, and other cool items with interesting backstories. Some football-loving family members are in for an exciting Christmas morning, according to some secretive auction winners.

Guests also picked up prizes from the Verizon truck and the special activation by Houston Powder Coaters, including clear backpacks that are great for bringing into stadiums and metal water bottles. Sports fans also got a kick out of PicMe Events' selfie robot, which roved around for photo ops and cracked them up by imposing their heads on players' bodies.

Xavier Worthy helmet at Austin Tailgate 2024 Wide receiver Xavier Worthy's shiny helmet looked magnificent on the table.Photo by Guillermo Rosas

The Tailgate got sports fans fired up, but it's up to them to bring their A-game to the Longhorns' matchup with Clemson on December 21, the first time the teams will have ever played each other. Whether the Longhorns win or lose, Austinites can remember these restaurants when ordering takeout to watch the game.

CultureMap Austin Tailgate 2024, Vince Young

Photo by Guillermo Rosas

Vince Young got a lot of use out of his Hook 'em Horns sign.

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The Tailgate was presented by Verizon and sponsored by HOWDY, Eight Beer, Houston Powder Coaters, Tequila 512, Jim Beam Black, PicMe Events, and Audio Visual Consultations.

*The NFL Entities shall have no liability or responsibility for any claim arising in connection with participation in this sweepstakes or any prize awarded. The NFL Entities have not offered or sponsored this sweepstakes in any way.

sports tailgate events

Movie Review

Daniel Craig's risky choices pay off in audacious film Queer

Photo courtesy of A24

Drew Starkey and Daniel Craig in Queer.

As recently as the late 2010s, if a movie was made about an LGBTQ+ character, it was more than likely about their coming out experience. Romance, if it existed, was typically chaste, and actual sex was almost completely out of the question. Things have changed dramatically in the 2020s, to the point that a major movie star has no issue starring in a film called Queer.

Based on the 1985 novella by William S. Burroughs, the film features William Lee (Daniel Craig), whom everyone calls just Lee, a writer living in 1950s-era Mexico City who spends most of his time haunting local bars with friends like fellow writer Joe Guidry (Jason Schwartzman) and hitting on younger men. His early interactions in the film seem to indicate that Lee has a bad reputation within the local gay community, as multiple people avoid him or give him odd looks.

Lee senses an opportunity when he encounters a newcomer, Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey). Despite some awkward interactions, the two of them start spending time together, although Lee has much more invested in the relationship than Eugene does. Their hit-and-miss bond continues until Lee, who’s starting to get into drugs in addition to the booze, convinces Eugene to accompany him on a trip to South America.

Directed by Luca Guadagnino and written by Justin Kuritzkes (making their second straight film together after Challengers), early on the film seems to be mostly about the divide between an older person who’s grown comfortable in his ways and a younger person who’s living a relatively carefree life. The introduction of drugs into the plot changes things, though, with Lee searching out more ways to open his eyes to what the world has to offer.

Guadagnino and his team use some interesting visual storytelling techniques to introduce ideas that may not be present in the actual script. The most successful, demonstrated in multiple scenes, is the superimposition of movements by Lee over what’s actually taking place in the scene. The subtle overlay gives the audience insight into Lee’s true feelings, showing what he can’t or won’t say out loud.

Music also plays a big part in how the plot is perceived, with the use of anachronistic songs from Nirvana and Prince serving to heighten certain moments. The score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is not as in-your-face as the one they did for Challengers, but it complements the film well, especially when the plot starts to get trippy in its final half hour.

Craig, who appears sweaty and disheveled for much of the film, is about as far from the suaveness of James Bond as you can get in this role. He takes multiple risks with his performance and almost all of them pay off. Starkey’s character is subdued by comparison, but still comes off well. Schwartzman and Lesley Manville are given showy roles, with both using altered appearances that make them nearly unrecognizable to deliver memorable performances.

Queer is not as accessible as Challengers was storytelling-wise, but the fact that it tells a story about gay men living their lives as they see fit, with no interference or questions, shows how far the film world has come in a short period of time. It also continues Guadagnino’s streak of making audacious films in a way that few other filmmakers are willing or able to approach.

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Queer is now playing in theaters.

movies film

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Movie Review

Daniel Craig's risky choices pay off in audacious film Queer