The Lazy Person’s Guide to a Marina Barbecue

Hosting a barbecue sounds like a lot of work—unless you have discovered the ancient art of the potluck.

(Illustrative Only)

This is the method I use for marina barbecues, although it works pretty much anywhere there’s a grill, a bunch of people, and a reasonable chance that somebody remembered to bring food.

Step 1: Make Everyone Else Bring the Food

The first rule is simple: make it a potluck.

Everybody brings something, which means I get to do significantly less cooking and, more importantly, significantly less worrying about cooking.

There’s a grill available, so technically, this qualifies as a barbecue. You just need people to bring things to put on it.

I’ll pick up a few things myself, because I’m hosting and I do have some basic responsibilities. But generally, everybody brings something.

A good rule of thumb is:

• Bring your favorite beverage.
• If you’re going to call it a barbecue, bring some meat or fish.
• Bring at least one side dish.

That last part is optional, of course.

The beauty of this system is that if six people show up with snacks and nobody brings dinner, you can simply announce, “This is a tapas barbecue,” and pretend that was the plan.

Step 2: Keep the Cleanup-to-Fun Ratio Under Control

This is a marina barbecue. It’s outside. It’s casual. Nobody is expecting the Queen’s dining room.

So I like to use disposable stuff—paper plates, paper towels, plastic utensils, whatever makes sense. You eat, you toss it, and you move on with your life.

Just remember one important detail:

Bring a garbage can.

Otherwise, you’ve successfully eliminated the dishes and replaced them with a garbage problem.

And that’s not really progress.

The Real Point of the Barbecue

Of course, how you do this depends on who’s coming.

With this particular group, everybody already knows each other. We’ve been doing this for a long time. There’s no reason to impress anybody. We’re not trying to win a Michelin star for marina grilling.

We’re just getting people together to have some fun.

If you’re bringing new people into the group, there is a little more to think about. You could get strategic about it—maybe 60% people you already know and 40% new people, so the newcomers have a chance to meet everyone and get acclimated.

There are people who are very good at that kind of social networking. Socialites. Social climbers. People who seem to have a seating chart for their friendships.

I’m not really that strategic.

My approach is more:

“Hey, I met this person. They’re cool. Come on over.”

Then I introduce them to a few people and let nature take its course.

Why It Matters

And honestly, that’s probably the bigger point of the whole thing.

Life is a long journey, and the quality of your relationships has a pretty big impact on how you experience it.

You need good friends.

You need good family.

And it’s good to have a variety of people in your life—different personalities, different backgrounds, different perspectives. They keep things interesting and, occasionally, keep you from becoming completely ridiculous.

So yes, a marina barbecue is about burgers, fish, side dishes, drinks, paper plates, and figuring out who forgot the charcoal.

But mostly, it’s an excuse to get people together.

And sometimes that’s all the excuse you need.

Bring some food. Bring a drink. Bring a friend.

Summer BBQ Ettiquette

Earn Your Place at the Cookout