Scoreboard Gourmet

what you can/can't bring into Dodger Stadium

Food is permitted from outside the stadium provided it is not in bottles, cans, coolers or thermoses. Unbroken, factory sealed plastic bottles of water and other non-alcoholic beverages of 1 liter or less are permitted.

Contraband items not allowed in the stadium include: glass bottles, cans, weapons, poles, umbrellas, backpacks, 14 inch or larger purses or bags, coolers, thermoses, beachballs, inflatables… Contraband items not allowed in the stadium include: banners, signs, flags, use of laser pointers, firecrackers/fireworks, boom boxes, air horns, whistles, musical instruments and pets.

Tailgating and/or the consumption of alcohol is prohibited in the Dodger Stadium parking lot.

Baseball in Beijing; it's just like home, if everyone spoke Chinese and was new to MLB

Baseball Wraps Up First China Trip By Stephen Wade, AP...

Now that Major League Baseball has completed its first trip to China, it's looking ahead to a repeat visit.
"I would love to come back," Dodgers chairman Frank McCourt said Sunday, when Los Angeles lost to the San Diego Padres 6-3 in the finale of a two-game exhibition series. "I feel we would be making a mistake if we felt that by playing these exhibition games the job was done. The job has just begun."

Both had the feel of games played almost anywhere in America with hot dogs and peanuts on sale and vendors selling beer and soft drinks.

The first ball used in Saturday's game will go into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

Read the full story here.

I am so sorry I was not part of this event. It must be so interesting to be in Beijing these days. Has it really been 8 years since I was there? Wow. I need to get more Beijing info up before August. Anyone want to help? Contact me. Thanks.

Eating away the innings in baseball's cheap seats, by USAToday

USAToday, a newspaper I generally only read when I stay in a hotel, did a piece on all-you-can-eat seats in MLB parks. You know what I think - people need to exercise self-control; need to be responsible for themselves. If AYCE disgusts you, sit somewhere else.

here's the intro. story by Michael McCarthy...

Baseball and gluttony, two of America's favorite pastimes, are merging in a controversial trend taking hold at Major League Baseball stadiums across the nation: all-you-can-eat seats.

Fans in these diet-busting sections, for a fixed price usually ranging from $30 to $55, are able to gorge on as many hot dogs, nachos, peanuts and soft drinks as they can stomach. Some teams charge extra for beer, desserts and candy.

here's a little more...

"What's the old saying? A hot dog at the ballpark is better than a steak at the Ritz," says Dodgers chief marketing officer Charles Steinberg, who won't discuss the precise impact the all-you-can-eat seats have had on team revenue.

Among the clubs with all-you-can-eat seats for the first time this year: the Oakland Athletics, Pittsburgh Pirates, Toronto Blue Jays, San Diego Padres, Florida Marlins, Tampa Bay Rays and Arizona Diamondbacks. Besides the Dodgers, Rangers and Royals, those offering them for at least part of last season were the St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves and Baltimore Orioles.

And here's the link to the full story.

Las Vegas 51's Thursday Dollar Beer Nights

The Las Vegas 51s (triple-A Dodgers) will open their 26th Pacific Coast League season at home against the Salt Lake Bees (tripleA Angels) on Thursday April 3rd at 7:05pm.

Dollar Beer Night will be presented at every this and every Thursday home game throughout the 2008 campaign.

There must be some hot summer games in Vegas, huh?

I was just watching an episode of Las Vegas (a show I did once enjoy but have not seen in quite awhile - since when is Magnum on it? between him and the Tad Hamilton Transformers guy it's like the hottest TV show around). Anyway, there was a 2-on-2 half court thing going on in the episode and of course there was gambling (and slight mystery) which got me thinking about the lack of professional sports in Vegas. I mean, they have some minor league hockey and obviously baseball, and they had the NBA All-Star Game there last year. A real team could be there; is it really the possibility of gambling that keeps MLB, NFL, etc away?

Six-Foot Heroes, and What's a Hero (sandwich) in LA?

I bought a Sports Illustrated yesterday for the first time in quite awhile. Many good stories but it's quite thin, no? Is that the paper quality or the fact that it's 70 pages? SI in my memory is more substantial. Anyway, my favorite part of the issue is on the Dan Patrick page. "Caption You'll Never See"

At Spring Training Tommy Lasorda was overheard telling Joe Torre about his frustration at a lunch counter: "So I order a six-foot hero, and the guy says, 'What's that?' I say, 'It's like a regular hero, but it's six feet long.'"

I don't know if the picture with the quote was taken at the moment of the quote, but it's a good match - Tommy Lasorda's arms outstretched, possibly illustrating the length of six-feet.
I have to guess the real issue is that people in LA don't call heroes heroes.

Sandwich 101 from the Food Network: the sandwich is named for the Earl of Sandwich, who is said to have "invented" one while playing cards. A sandwich is two or more slices of bread with a filling, meat, cheese, or vegetables placed between them.
Sandwiches are also called bombers, grinders, heroes, hoagies, Cubans, poor boys, submarines, torpedoes, wedges, and zeps in different parts of the United States.

So what do they call heroes in LA?

more: TFMJ and I got a six-foot hero for our Halloween party two years ago (when I was Barry Bonds Rookie Year and he was Barry Bonds Present Day). We got the sandwich from Defonte's in Red Hook but TFMJ's office is near Manganaro’s Hero Boy and Manganaro Grosseria, where brothers have some sort of feud and they each think they are the originator of the six-foot hero. Hmm.

I wonder what year that was because my parents got six-foot heroes for just about every party I can remember as a kid. I'm going to investigate. Stay tuned or help me out by Commenting below.

Tastiest Ballpark Eats, says Wine X, Part 2

(here's Part 1, if You missed it)

Kansas City Royals
Even if the Royals are cellar-dwellers, you can chow down on some authentic KC barbecue.

Los Angeles Dodgers
Chow down on chicken sausages, grilled chicken sandwiches and veggie sandwiches.

Milwaukee Brewers
Snack on shrimp quesadillas, grilled chicken sandwiches, hand-carved turkey breast hoagies, grilled chicken Caesar salads, BBQ chicken/pork sandwiches, grilled portobello mushroom sandwiches, grilled chicken wraps and bison burgers.

New York Mets
Savor succulent sushi, grilled chicken sandwiches and chicken Caesar salads, then wash it all down with Glen Ellen wines and Red Hook beer.

New York Yankees
The pin-stripers are pretty traditional, but potato knishes are a nice nosh.

Oakland A’s
Get ready for roasted chicken, international sausages, fresh fruit smoothies, herbal teas and 15 different premium beers, including brands like Pyramid, Red Hook and Sierra Nevada.

Philadelphia Phillies
Forgo the cheese steaks and go for grilled chicken sandwiches, grilled zucchini, Cajun fried turkey breast, Rita’s Italian Water Ices and fruit juices.

San Diego Padres
Legend says this was the first Major League ballpark to serve sushi. If you prefer your seafood cooked, go for the tasty fish tacos.

Seattle Mariners
Go fishing for gourmet grub like sushi, salmon burgers, panini sandwiches and Caesar salads.

Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Florida fans favor sushi, fresh shrimp and lobster rolls. Wash that good grub down with Monterey Vineyard and Sutter Home wines, or microbrews like Sierra Nevada and Anchor Steam.

Texas Rangers
Whoop it up with Southwestern chicken Caesar salads, turkey wraps, chicken and beef fajitas, and frozen daiquiris.

Toronto Blue Jays
The sky’s the limit with grilled chicken sandwiches, chicken Caesar salads and pasta salads.

and here's the full article on winexmagazine.com. Thank you, Tina Caputo.

Farmer John S, M, L hot dogs at in California

The Hot Dogs at Angels Stadium are Farmer John. I'm going to guess that what I call "Large" is really the Premium Quarter Pounder Beef Frank (Extra-large franks for extra satisfaction), and "Medium" is a Premium Jumbo, and "Small" is simply Premium.

Well, not simply Premium...it could be Beef or Meat (pork, turkey, beef). Anyone know which one is served at Angels Stadium?
$3 for Small, $4 for Medium, $5 for Large, by the way.

The Farmer John site taught me that Farmer John makes the Dodger Dog, which is the same size, in grams, as the Angels "Medium." Dodger Dogs, however, are all pork.
If you want to replicate the LA ballpark Hot Dog scene at home, Farmer John Franks and Wieners seem to be sold at pretty much every major supermarket in town (and in the state).

What's Your favorite size?   

50¢ Fridays in San Bernardino, and other 66ers food info

The Island Empire Sixty-Sixers (Advanced-A Dodgers, and 2006 California League Champions) have a Food Concessions List with Prices on their site.

They also have their Pastimes Cafe Menu with Prices online.
And their Suite Menu with Prices. That's for ballgames and other events at Arrowhead Union Credit Park

But the point of this post is 50¢ Fridays. That means: 50¢ Hot Dogs & Popcorn, $1.50 Sodas, and $2 Lawn Admission, Domino's Pizza & Beer (16 oz). I guess $2 = 50¢ X 4, and that's why that works.

The 66ers play the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (Advanced-A Angels) at 7:05pm Thursday 7/11 and Friday 7/12.
Thursday, by the way, is Thirsty Thursday: $1 soda and beer.

Labels: dodgers

3000 all-you-can-eat seats at Dodger games

As of April 9th (home opener v. Rockies), the Dodgers will have an entire section devoted to their hungriest fans.

The right field pavilion (read: outfield bleachers, see: picture) will be the place for all-you-can-eat dodger dogs, nachos, peanuts, popcorn, coke products and water. Every seat in the section is part of the deal and, therefore, is the same price. That means: kids cost as much as adults. Mostly $35, some nights $25, and $5 extra if you do not purchase in advance. You can visit each concession stand as many times as you wish, but there will be some limits per trip. Beer, ice-cream and other items will be available for purchase. The feeding starts 1.5 hours before game time (that's 11:40am PT on the 9th) and will end two hours after the game begins. Tickets for the left field pavilion, by the way, are $10. Dodger dogs are $4.50.

'questions and more questions about Saags (A's fans, you hear me)

What happens when a 70-employee family owned and operated meat company gets eaten by a 17,600-person multinational food corporation? (Read: Hormel bought Saag's at the end of last year).

Will the sausages sold in the McAfee Coliseum food court behind home plate still be Saag (delicious and varied) or will they be Hormel (best known for Spam)? I guess we'll find out at on April 9th (A's opening day). Hormel, apparently, is missing "upscale" items from their catalog. Excellent. Just exactly how downscale are you when you're reaching up to hot dogs?

No offense to Saag's, of course; their sausage is the best I've tasted in any ballpark. During inter-league play last year, TFMJ and I had a Louisiana Hot, a Hot Italian, AND a Polish sausage AND we had dinner at Michael Mina that night. More importantly, how will an expanded distribution network play into the 74-year old Saag tradition of making sausage "the old fashioned way, in small batches" by "classically trained" wurstmeisters?

Two years ago the same LA investment banker who got about $12mm for the Saags, brokered another deal for Hormel with Clougherty Packing Co, the people behind the Dodger Dog. Last question: is Lars Ekstrom (the banker) a baseball-food fan, or foe? Before you start thinking I'm overly concerned for the little guy, let me make my point: mass-produced meat = gross. That's it. That's all I?m saying. Having a Saags sausage at McAfee is like having one from a grill in your backyard (unless you're someone who skimps at home). Okay, that's all I'm saying.