Scoreboard Gourmet

Passover in Professional Baseball

Last year I was pretty new to the idea of Passover and Kosher and what it all really means. This year, while I still have questions about what it all really means, I am much more educated.

"You're not open during Passover, are you?" I asked the guy behind one of Yankee Stadium's Strikly Kosher carts.
"Of course not," he said.

Even TFMJ thought it was possible that they'd go all Atkins and serve dogs sans buns, but obviously not.

For those of you who may not be observant or aware but still like a kosher dog or knish, Passover starts tomorrow/Saturday night and ends next Saturday night. Better bread up tonight.

Kosher Vending Machines at Fenway

I was on Jewneric.com the other day and found some Scoreboard Gourmet news: Kosher Hotdogs Now Available at Fenway Park in Boston. It's a post by Dave Weinberg about the Hot Nosh, a Kosher vending machine, plugged in for Red Sox fans.

I guess we take Kosher for granted here in NYC. Hopefully someone in Boston can let us know the deal with the food - is it good? hot? expensive? is there a line?

Here's the post.

p.s. Bill Bucker threw out the ceremonial first pitch in Tuesday night's Sox v Tigers game. He first declined the offer to do so since Boston fans have been mean to him since 1986, when New Yorkers started thinking of him as a hero. But Bostonians rallied and gave him a great ovation, which is cool. And then the Sox went on to crush the so-called-pennant-worthy Tigers. Hmm.

Coney Combos Sabrett Hot Dogs at MSG

um, what is this? Sabrett hot dogs stuffed into a potato knish; nothing to do with Combos, the delicious pretzel+cheese combo people, by the way. has anyone had one? is it the best thing that ever happened to a hot dog, as advertised? 

I saw the sign as we exited a St. John's game at Madison Square Garden. The concessions were closed but I squeezed my head under a gate and asked where I could find the Coney Combos Hot Dog Treat.
"Do you guys sell those Coney Combos Hot Dogs?" I asked one of the women cleaning the counter.
"Yes," she said.
"Holy cow," I said. "Are they good?"
"They're okay," she said, looking through a pile of soon-to-be-trash foil-wrapped goodies, presumably to show one to me.
"How much do they cost?" I asked.
"Ma'am," another woman addressed me. "We're closed."
"Oh I don't want to buy one," I said. "I'm just wondering how much they cost."

$4.75 for a Coney Combos Sabrett at the Garden.
TFMJ and I are uncertain about the kosherness. it certainly has the vibe (knish + beef hot dog), but we think it's not.

Israel Baseball League Update

I really wish I had some specific IBL food details for you (and me). For now we'll have to live with Mark Mackinnon's Globe and Mail story So there's no Hebrew word for home plate.

I chose this report over others because it has a funny bit about one of the league's players, a 25-yr old Canadian who "confessed that his best Israel moment to date was finding a very non-kosher McDonald's so he could have an oversized cheeseburger after weeks of little but schnitzels and hummus in the cafeteria at the players' quarters."

I didn't realize they were only playing 7 innings, and deciding ties by HR-derbys.

IBL regular season ends August 15th. Playoffs are the 16th and 17th. Championship game 19th.

I'm having a hard time with pictures. Have to work on that.

Norfolk Tides Guest Post! Yea!

Here's what happens when SG sends TFMJ on a Road Trip: his companion sends in a great post...

Hey SG! Just wanted to fill you in on a lovely evening at Harbor Park watching the Norfolk Tides play the Syracuse Chiefs. Besides getting to watch Sal Fasano play for the chiefs (always nice to see either current or former Pinstripers in the Hampton roads area) I had the pleasure of indulging in the famous Fried Twinkie. TFMJ and I had a blast sampling both the Twinkie and of course the Fried Snickers. Truth be told it always a great night at Harbor Park; you can’t beat $9 professional baseball. But low gate prices don’t always mean low concessions prices. $6.75 for a 28oz Bud Light is a little steep in my opinion, but you need something to wash down the fried gooiness of the Twinkie.

The report:
We witnessed the process of frying both the Twinkie and Snickers. For those who want to try it with their own Fry Daddy's: take Twinkie, jam stick in it, put it in some form of Bisquick-looking batter, drop in Fryer for about 2 minutes, Voila! Fried Trans Fat! And pretty darn good.

Then we investigated the difference between a "Tides" dog and a kosher dog. The Kosher dog is $1.50ish more, and apparently has no preservatives. But, as TFMJ so astutely noted, we are talking about a hot dog here…they all have something akin to a preservative in them.

We finished the evening with a picture of the mini-helmet of fries, but were soon seduced, Siren style, by the scent of the salt and oil (cut to driving down the highway picking at the crumbs of the leftovers).

Final tally: souvenir soda-$4ish, 2 beers-$13ish, 1 pretzel-$3ish, Fried Twinkie-$3.50ish, Fried Snickers-$3.50ish, 1 mini-helmet-$4ish…so $30ish plus tickets and $4 parking. Enjoyable easy evening. Highly recommended.

Burgers Bar to Run Food Concessions at IBL Games

Food concessions at Gezer Field and the Yarkon Sports Complex will be run by Burgers Bar, the most popular BBQ grill franchise in all of Israel (can anyone confirm that for me?). Burgers Bar will offer a full menu (below) to patrons before and during all ballgames this season at those two venues. Batting PracticeCrispy Chicken Fingers, Chicken Wings (1/2 kilo), Chips/Pretzels, Bissli, Bamba The Hits: Single Burger 150g Regular or Spicy, Double Burger 300g Regular or Spicy, Triple Burger 450g Regular or Spicy, Grand Slam Burger 600g Regular or Spicy The Lineup: 1st: Hot dog: 2nd: Chicken Breast Sandwich: 3rd: Double Chicken Breast Sandwich: 4th: Steak Sandwich (batting cleanup): 5th: Crispy Chicken in Jabetta Bread: 6th: Portobello Sandwich: 7th: Grilled Chicken Salad: 8th: Crispy Chicken Salad: 9th: Steak Salad: DH: Health Salad: The Bullpen: Steak Fries, Onion Rings Extra Innings: Ices Beverages: Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, Diet Sprite, Soda, Water, Orange Juice, Grape Juice, Lemonade, Grapefruit Juice, Beer Sauces: Garlic Mayo, Chimichuri, Pesto, Thousand Islands, BBQ, Sweet Chili, Hot Chilly, Tehina, Mustard, Ketchup Not only is Burgers Bars Kashrut under strict Rabbinical supervision, but we also ran the menu by Leon Feingold, who is a pitcher on the Netanya Tigers and ranked 12th in the world by the International Federation of Competitive Eaters. Feingold awarded the menu his seal of approval as well.

Labels: IsraelBaseball, kosher

Israel Baseball League Opening Day(s), and Inagural Season

Opening Day is Sunday, June 24, 2007 at 6pm (that's 11 hours from now). The Modi'in Miracle will face the Petach Tikva Pioneers at Yarkon Sports Complex. On Monday June 25, the Ra'anana Express play the Tel Aviv Lightning at 5:30pm at Sportek, and the Netanya Tigers play the Bet Shemesh Blue Sox at 6pm at Gezer Field. The IBL has 6 teams. Here's some SG-related info from their site: With the quality of players we expect to attract, we are going to be able to provide a high-caliber level of play, probably most akin to Rookie League/Class A ball in the U.S. Unlike most spectator sports in Israel, however, the emphasis will be on baseball as a source of entertainment for the entire family. There will be plenty of pre-game, post-game and between-inning entertainment throughout each game. Also, food offerings are emphasized far more than at most American sports stadiums (all strictly kosher, of course). Besides traditional baseball food, there are barbecue stations interspersed at various spots along the perimeter. Healthier food items are also offered, as is a wider array of desserts. The reason for this is that baseball in Israel is truly meant to be a family affair, and that includes mom. Dinner at the ballpark is part of the experience and part of the fun. Outside food and beverage is prohibited at the stadiums. anyone who can tell me anything about this league, the food, anything, please do

is it Kosher if it's adjacent to a Cheesesteak stand?

I semi-misspoke when I said there are no food concessions on the Shea Field Level that ticketholders of other sections can access (see below). There's a Subway (not pictured) and a Kosher stand right next to BB's Sandwich Bar - cheesesteak central (pictured). I love it. These stands so much share the same space that an Orthodox Jew, who cut me in line, mistakenly went to BB's for a Kosher hot dog. Did an actual rabbi approve this set-up?

MLB Kosher for Passover?

Given the mysterious absence of the Kosher hot dog stands at yesterday's game - I have to guess that MLB is Not kosher for passover (which means no bread, etc on top of all the regular rules). Anyone know if I am wrong? Do tell. Longer to post to follow re: food at Yankee Stadium. Things are, er, off balance today as I spent 4+ hours in the ER getting some stitches for my thumb...a vegetable slicing accident...yikes.