Ball Park Food: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly
I was cleaning out my *pictures* folder and came across the pic of the hot dog that I was sold at the Giants game San Dawg and I went to a couple of years ago. Here it is:
It looked remarkably similar to every hot dog I ever bought at Candlestick….
I haven’t been out to a Niners game in years so I don’t know if they are still selling delectables like this bad boy….
The new stadium has always nailed food perfectly. The only time I’m not down with the garlic fries are when they’re too soggy but I felt like I got several good batches last season so maybe they’re fixing that. Aside from this *Candlestick park cooked dog* I have never had a bad hot dog at AT&T. My personal favorite is the Sheboygan brat–those are big, one is my max. There are a crap load of specialty stores inside the park that are selling pretty much everything you can think of–crab sandos, Caribbean food, lemon chicken….
It’s all expensive but the shop that will really get you is back in the left field bleachers where you build your own doll. It seems like a safe enough place to walk into but your wallet is immediately attacked from all sides. They start by stuffing the animal with, well, *stuffing* and then you get to start adding sh!t to it: accessorize the animal. My daughter got this black and white dog and added a Giants hat, a scarf, glasses, some dog-jewelry and freaking roller skates to this poor animal. There was also a leash that I assumed we would use to keep him from skating away to a family who would treat him with more dignity than us. I pleaded with her that it was borderline animal cruelty to put a dog in roller skates and parade him around the park for simple entertainment purposes. She would have none of that and quietly pointed to the line of 10 parents buying this exact thing for their kids. I was stuck. I sucked it up and told the staff responsible for *roller skating* the creature to put the skates on. His eyes were kinda glazed over and he wore a bit of a manical grin but he did as I requested. When the dawg was finished being built I had pleasant looking checker tell me with a straight face that I owed her $77. Here is a picture of the great beast, minus the accessories that were lost long ago. Only the scarf remains:
So I think we can all agree that I got hoodwinked on this deal….
Outside of that money pit store, the ballpark has great food all over the place. Do any of you want to share your favorite place/thing to eat at AT&T? How about Candlestick? Got any horror stories that can beat my san-dawg-diggity dawg-picture?
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
The Candlestick Carnation Malt…it was like one of four things you could buy in the old days…
totally. The wood stick that it came with was like fingers on a chalk board for me. I couldn’t use it….
Oh my God, Head, me and my brothers lived for the Malt. No matter what the temperature. My Dad had no chance.
I love the Sheboygan brat, the Cha Cha bowl is actually a pretty good deal, the carvery inside the Club section makes a good roast beef. I got one of the stands in the Club to make me a chili dog using a Polish, that was pretty tasty.
For only about a year at the Stick,the Chili-Up stand made a jalapeno corndog for about two bucks. That was a great snake. Back in 89 the best dog at the Stick was the Polish dog at the stand behind the play-by-play booths, inside where the Luxury boxes are. The dog wasn’t steamed it came right off the roller and you picked which one you wanted. I know Joe Morgan liked the dog because I was in line with him. I heard that Vin Scully thought it was one of the best dogs in the major leagues (at the time)
A great snack not snake.
We nearly always brought our own food- cold pan fried chicken. little caviar sandwiches on rye, potato salad, brownies would be a typical menu. The garlic fries were a frequent accompiment, and I’ve never met a hot dog I didn’t like.
Candlestick – my favorite hands-down was the Polish.
Pac Bell – cannot beat the Sheboygan brat slathered with onions, kraut and mustard.
Garlic fries seem to be hit-and-miss…had them come out soggy often enough that I have steered-clear of late.
Another that is relatively new (and I believe it is part of/associated with Orlando’s) is the Baby Bull tri-tip sandwich (carved while you wait/watch). Think it’ll set you back 10 bucks…but damn it is good! But my stand-by is the brat!
I remember Opening Day a couple of years ago…we got to the yard early for all the pre-game hoopla and to catch BP…was there all of about an hour, if that, and decided to go grab my brat…they were fricking sold out! We stood around for a while (they assured us that more were on their way up from the bowels of the ballpark). After about 1/2 hour of waiting I bailed and ended up getting either a polish or a Giant dog. When you have your taste buds set on a brat…anything else just doesn’t cut the mustard (literally and figuratively).
First three years at Pac Bell I had season tix in Section 138. The three rows in front of us had a boatload of Filipino decent friends and family. They always packed in food, and almost always had fresh lumpia (and would share, often). Damn, that was good!
And don’t get me wrong…the garlic fries are awesome…as long as they are crispy. If soggy, they suck.
The problem with soggy garlic fries is the garlic. Obviously, you need to get ’em as freshly made as possible..
Years ago I read a story about the Dodgers wanting to add garlic fries to their menu. They asked the Giants for the recipe (don’t know why they didn’t ask Gordon Biersch) and the Giants gave them a different version. Ah yes, the rivalry continues even in the concession stands.
My philosophy about ballpark food is that it’s going to be expensive, so get something that’s an actual MEAL, nutritious and filling, not leaving you hungry again in half an hour. So, that means NO hotdogs.
AT&T Park favorites of mine are the bread bowls, chowder or chili; and the Cha Cha Bowl.
A good deal on a snack is the cinammon almonds. It’s 4 or 5 dollars, and the bag looks kind of small, but they are actually quite filling. They pretty much last me and my wife all game.
Usually we just bring our own food from home, though.
In general, it’s important to not turn into a non-stop eating maching at the ballpark. That’s one of the reasons I keep a scorecard at the game. It keeps me occupied, and not tempted to turn into an eating machine.
“non-stop eating machine”? Try being a drinking machine. Even drinking before a game, I could still drop $100 easy.
Yeah, it was the Polish or nothing at the Stick. Those Carnation things? Yup. The fricking stick was like eating off sandpaper, but it ALWAYS takes me back to being a kid and ordering one of those first thing in the stadium. Back when they had beer vendors at the stick, you had to hunt to find the Bud guy. Then, when they stopped with the beer vendors, the fricking beer down the 1st baseline (I think it was the Miller) tasted like butter. Yech . . . Always had to trek to find the good beer there. Light beer? Fuck that. . .
I’ve barely scratched the surface at Pac Bell. The tri-tip sammy is very good, though. I just can’t justify paying $14.00 for a crab sandwich that’s half the size of a burger.
Candlestick, in the days of my youth, definitely the malt with the wooden stick.
AT&T, in the days of my adultery, a polish and must MUST have a bag of peanuts and a brew
This is for real:
Krispy Kreme burger found at the minor league Gateway Grizzlies’ stadium in Illinois. Modeled after the “Luther Burger,” the Krispy Kreme Burger has a beef patty covered in cheese with two strips of bacon and a split Krispy Kreme donut as the bun.
Dang Twin, I just had to clutch my chest.
Don’t anyone dare tell Timmy ;- )
Add some mayo to that thing and I think you have all the major grease groups covered.
My arteries hardened just looking at this
Ewww…I feel sick just looking at that thing.
That’ll put 2 mph back onto Timmeh’s fastball…
Off topic but I was thinking about DJLoo’s post yesterday as to the proper way to pronounce McCovey’s last name (that it *should* rhyme with anchovy). So to be phonetically consistent, splash hits should go into McCovey’s Cuv
My favorite concession at the ballpark is, of course, beer. Can’t go wrong with that bratwurst sausage, though. I usually make it a point to just get food (usually at Red’s, my favorite pre-game joint) before the game to save some money and heart-burn. The garlic fries are over-rated and are usually just soggy fries covered with garlic leaves. Not that good. Hence, I just stick with beer, preferrably from the beer stand underneath the bleachers that has the “real” beer like IPA, etc.
Save some heart-burn? You must be talking about a different Red’s. The breakfast sandwich is a great deal for like 3 bucks, sausage, egg and cheese. shaman, do you ever sit in the bar area out back?
Did you read my comment closely? I’m saving heart-burn and money by not eating the food at the ballpark and going to Red’s. And, yes, I always like getting pitchers of beer and sitting out on the patio in the back.
I did read your comment, I’ve just had some chili at Red’s that fought me for about a year. If you drink out back then you probably know Rob the bartender. He is a friend of mine, tell him Johnny Jack says hi the next time you see him, thanks man.
IPA…Lagunitas…Pliney…ah yes….
For people making the walk to the ballpark from the BART, at the end of Market St. is a Subway’s. A five dollar foot-long sandwich, and you’re set.
Thanks, Jared
I’ll take a pretzel with mustard and any kind of crap beer no matter where I am.
Hard to beat pretzel and beer, Loo.
Flash: The Budster has been re-upped for another two years through 2014.
$22 million per year. What a guy…
BF — re: the stuffed dog.
Larry Baer is smiling…
You think the stuffed dog is pricey. Wait until Katie goes to college.
Now Kwame Brown is out for the Dubs season with a torn chest muscle. The Warriors are just a pitiful team. And the problem is, even though they want to get better and are willing to spend to get there, the way the NBA is set up, they can’t. They lose their #1 pick in 2012 if it’s higher than #7, so they just need to tank the season to keep the pick. I’m guessing they’ll play just well enough to get the #8 pick. Dubs need an exorcist…
Yikes . . . didn’t know about the pick deal . . .
It’s from a prior trade deal. This year’s draft is deep, so they need to keep the high pick. They’ve screwed up so many trades, all their #1 picks through 2015, maybe 2016, are conditional based on where the pick ends up in picking order each year, so the league has deemed them not tradeable. NOT tradeable. So, they can’t even trade their near-term #1 picks for players. Warriors are just absolutely hosed. Why they continue to sell out is beyond my comprehension…
I just re-read an article that the Dubs cannot trade their yearly first round pick until 2016. And, they will lose the one pick in 2012, 2013, or 2014 to Utah if that year’s Dub’s pick is higher than the 7th, 6th, and 5th pick, respectively. So, the only real assets they have to trade — #1 picks — cannot be packaged to get a player. And, they already stupidly blew their amnesty on Bell for 4.5 million, who had an EXPIRING contract, which is like gold in the NBA. Dubs are hosed. Whatever they do turns to dust. They make the late ’70s Giants and Niners look like dynasties…
My garlic fries in ’09 were disappointing. Soggy.
Hey, here’s a little DJLoo type of tidbit: Kaplan book about Marichal-Spahn 1963 game says our bullpen pitchers wore 49ers jackets to keep warm.
That hotdog looks like a dick that’s dead from the neck down, perhaps a case of Hong Kong Dong similar to the ones that some of the Viet vets achieved on their R&R adventures.
Kwame and his agent knew 7 million was *too good to pass up* but I guess they didn’t know how good.
9 games = 7 million. Not a bad payday for him.
They’ve had a brutal early schedule and played pretty well. The Heat game was great. I’m going to enjoy their season..
Man those pathetic Raiders are just gonna be a joke forever org.Freakin Al Davis son doesnt no jack a bout football,probably doesnt know what one looks like.And that fuckin haircut holy shit what does he cut it with a Flow Bee machine?
Shit and the dude looks like a combonation of Tommy Boy and and Hustler mag Larry Flynt.
Davis got very good marks on his performance in introducing in McKenzie. It seems he picked the brains of some good people- Madden and Ron Wolf. And he’s going to let Reggie run the show.This is the best the Raiders have looked in a long time…
I’d love to see that Chief-Raider rival get cranked up to what it used to be.
Dodgers-Giants could stand a little jolt, too.
Nowadays in NY it seems like people hate the fans of other teams more than they hate the actual teams.
When I go to ATT, or God forfend, an A’s game, I must get a dog and a beer. I must do this. It is required. At ATT, it’s a Brat or a Polish, smothered in onions and relish, maybe some kraut, depending on the state of the stomach. Plus mustard. Ketchup on a dog is a Communist move. Accompanied by the obligatory $9.50 craft beer, maybe a Sierra Nevada. Just one. A dog and a beer, at the ball game. Now, that’s livin’…
As the great Clint Eastwood says….Nobody I mean Nobody puts ketchup on a hotdog.
I agree, Snarkk. I always bring other stuff…like a bag of peanuts in the shell, sunflower seeds, etc. But gotta have the dog and brew.
A few beer vendors at the old Yankee Stadium used to run a little scam for themselves. If you came back to them with your empty cup, they would refill it for a couple of bucks that they would pocket. The key was that you had to come back with the same cup. I think I can figure out how they got away with it.
They count cups at Pac Bell as well. After some heavy tips, I’ve had some nice refills/wrong pours at the park.
Damit you guys, now I want a Brat, Sierra and a ball game to watch.
BTW, you have to show ID every time you buy a beer at Citi Field. Doesn’t matter if you’re 114 years old.
Love the $2 refill policy!
Flav’s reaction to that hot dog was priceless. The way he was freaking out, I thought there was gonna be a dead mouse or something in the bun.
The first thing I thought of when I read this thread was the Carnation Malt. I loved getting those at the Stick. My dad would be sitting there at a night game all bundled up and I’d be eating a malt without a care in the world. The last game I went to at ATT I was in the club level and overdid it with a big pork sando and garlic fries. Give me a large hot dog with lots of kraut and a cheap beer and I’m happy.
I went to a game at Tiger Stadium in 1986 with a friend and one of my brothers. We sat in the left field bleachers. It was the only game I ever saw there. Remember when Anheuser-Busch made “LA” (Less Alcohol) beer? Things must have gotten out of hand out there because that was the only beer the vendors were selling when we were there. There was a guy next to us who must have had 8 or 9 of those LA beers. For some reason, we all got a kick in the ass out of that guy pounding those LA beers—and we still bring it up every now and then. I was 22 at the time, and the craziest thing in the world to me seemed to be drinking multiple beers with hardly any alcohol in them. I still think that’s crazy.
Dawg – agree…got to have a dog and beer at a baseball game. Again, my favorite is the brat smothered in grilled onions and kraut, with a healthy shot of mustard. As long as the beer is cold…I’m good…but if I have my druthers…a good IPA is tops.
And I do recall the malts at the Stick. Again…my dog of choice there was the Polish.
There’s a reason that there are eating contests with hotdogs, and the winner eats dozens of hotdogs in a few minutes. There’s not much there, except calories. Hotdogs are a great money-maker for ballclubs because the hotdog eater is just as hungry the next inning.
I guess I sound like the hotdog Scrooge. (grin)
Nate Robinson’s quote in the Chronicle. Something like “Some teams didn’t like me because I like to clown around before games.”
Hmmm. How many coaches want to see a player clowning around before a game?
Zumie– maybe it’s just me but I don’t feel too hungry after a hot dog–
San Diggity– I’m a little foggy on this but I recall actually eating that disgusting looking thing. Or did I take it back? I will let your memory guide how I retell the story for years to come.
You probably ate it BF, then made a mad dash to the shitter.
My introduction to less alcohol beer was when I moved to Colorado.
First Sunday there (I got there Friday morning), and I’m gearing up for the game. Run to the store, buy 2 12 packs of Bud, and get the Niners and Rams on TV. 11 am start? OK, we’re cool. Round up some people to watch, and about halfway thru the 2nd quarter, about 3 beers in, I’m thinking, this altitude should be fucking with me when I drink, but I don’t feel squat. I don;t think anything of it for a few more minutes, til one of the guys there says ‘did you make your beer run today?’ I said yeah, and he said shit! 3.2 beer! I said what the fuck?
I didn’t know that in Colorado they only sold 3.2 beer on Sundays. Better than Utah, but what a joke.
AT&T NEEDS HAGGIS !!!!!!
S-A-T-U-R—-D-A-Y
NIGHT !!!!
S-A-T-U-R—-D-A-Y
NIGHT !!!!
Oh God, not the Bay City Rollers . . .
Since you guys have covered the ‘Stick and AT&T, I’ll report that to my mind the best and also reasonable bite at Nats Park is from the Ben’s Chili Bowl stand, an outpost of the famed U Street diner. Chili on the dog, a bit of onion–some people like cheese too. At Camden Yards, I’m a fan of Boog Powell’s stand which offers BBQ and sides. A little on the pricier side, but consistently tasty. Boog’s often on hand to sign autographs–he signed my Who’s Who in Baseball 2009. As for brews, I try go local in either place.
But nothing compares to the Carnation Malt at the ‘Stick. What memories. Great off-season post, Flav!
Loved Boog Powell growing up Ed..Something about him reminded me of that Goldfinger character.The Orioles bring back great memories for me,cause my best friends dad was raised in Baltimore area and he was always bragging about Boog ,Brooks,Paul Blair.Frank R,Curt Blefary.McNally,Cuellar,Palmer,Dobson,Belanger,thelist goes on They were fun to watch back then under one of the greatest managers of all time Earl Weaver.
‘Kat, I have found memories of old Memorial Stadium–my first games there in ’87 were summer nights, lots of beer, cheap bleacher seats, and friendly people around you. As I’ve posted here before, I was there for the final game, where as part of the closing ceremony they called out the old-timers, most of whom you list, one-by-one to their positions. The ovations were continuous and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. The franchise remarkably retains some of that spirit, and thus the fans’ loyalty, despite not putting a good product on the field in years. This year’s no different; candidates for GM turned them down, and they’re still shelling out decent money for mediocre or unproven product. Still, all in all, I still enjoy a game at ‘the Yards’ better than Nats Park.
Gaels are taking it to the Zags . . . I should have gotten my daughter’s ticket….
Whatever happened to Adam What’s-his-name, with the floppy hair, who fell to the floor in tears after Gonzaga was knocked out of the FInal Four or whatever? I know he made it to the NBA, but I literally can never remember seeing him play in the NBA.
Adam Morrison. Signed by the Bobcats, played a little for a while, then sat on the bench a bit for the Lakers, cut by the Wizards. All per Wiki. Now playing in Turkey. College player of the year 2006. NBA = total BUST…
Let me edit a bit. Morrison had a torn ACL in 2007, putting him out of the 2007-2008 season. But, even before that, he was getting on the shit list with the Bobcats. Then, traded to LA after rehab, where he grabbed some pine, mostly…
Same kind of thing happened with Patty Mills. Drafted by Portland in the 2nd round. Got hurt, played a little, went to Australia during the lockout, and now he’s in China. He was a stud at St.Mary’s