Scoreboard Gourmet

Opening Day of Hot Dogs

• Baseball fans will enjoy “in the ballpark” of 26.8 million hot dogs at US baseball stadiums this season. That’s enough to circle the bases 36,000 times.
• In 2010, consumers spent more than $1.6 billion on hot dogs in U.S. supermarkets.
• Weight Watchers includes hot dogs in its medically-approved diet regimen.
• Sixty percent of Americans prefer their Hot Dogs grilled.

In case you're wondering why on earth SG would run a Rays photo on MLB Opening Day, Kayem is the official hot dog and sausage of the Rays, and Red Sox (and Patriots, Lightning, Florida State Seminoles, and Boston College Eagles), and they're the ones who provided the hot dog stats.

p.s. Rays Opening Day is tomorrow. Red Sox too.
Go Yankees! Or, more importantly, Go Away Rain!

Gillette Stadium Beer Pourer Wanted

More about the Patriots (sort of)...A Gillette Stadium Beer Pourer is expected to provide fast efficient service to patrons from portable draft, bottled, and specialty beer cart operations.

Position Responsibilities:
Ensure proper food safety and sanitation practices are followed, Serve alcohol only in a safe and responsible manner (what does "only" mean here? don't spit in it?), Committed to providing a high level of customer service, Special projects and assignments as business dictates, Nights and weekends may be required
Essential Skills, Qualifications and Experience: Must obtain a passing score on the Team certification course, Must be at least 21 years of age
Non-Essential Skills, Qualifications and Experience: Outgoing personality, Flexible schedule

They're also hiring Club Concessions Servers, Food Hawkers, Part-time Lead and Prep Cooks, and Bartenders.
Apply Here, and tell them I sent you, and understand that you should be available to work all football games including post-season games.

Can Wes Welker Abate My Patriots Negativity?

I've been hanging around with a Patriots fan. I know. Don't tell me. And, give me a break, you can understand how it's possible in summer. But now it's NFL preseason and the regular season is four Sundays away, and the Giants play the Pats at Gillette Stadium on September 3rd. Am I going? ScoreboardGourmet traditionally focuses on MLB while their season is still in progress. This is a tough call, made tougher by the appealing Gillette Stadium Food Concessions Guide (a mega pdf that crashed my computer: beware). 

So I asked The Patriots Fan to tell me one thing I should know to make me less of a hater. Without hesitation he said Wes Welker. The Patriots Fan spoke about the lack of size of Wes Welker, then he told me about hundreds of catches, then I spaced out wondering how much fun it will be to watch hours of New England football. I just don't know if I can do it. I don't know if I can even hear about it. I am, however, willing to give it a shot, but only because I know another Patriots fan and we're actually friends. And because the Patriots are the opening Monday Night Football. And also because Gillette Stadium allegedly has 46 permanent F&B concession stands plus 60 portable ones. That sounds like a worthy investigation.

I say: Amos Zereoue, You say: West African restaurant in midtown

Who has been to former NFL running back Amos Zereoue's West African restaurant? It's called Zereoue. 13 East 37th in Manhattan. Let's discuss cuisine from the Ivory Coast.

Dunkin' Donuts Everywhere

Today I had a medium Dunkin' Donuts coffee which I very much enjoyed while riding the train up to see my favorite Mets fans, my brother and nephew.Since a medium is pretty large, I had plenty of time to think about the Dunkin' Donuts posts I've been planning to write.

As you know, last month I was in San Diego for a few days; including the Chargers - Pats game (30 - 10). I stayed in the downtown Omni, which happens to be attached by skyway to the Padres stadium. In the lobby of the hotel on some but not all of the mornings of my stay (one of many inconsistencies) there was a little coffee bar set up for guests. The coffee was from my least favorite chain but with enough milk even terrible coffee can be palatable, especially when you're waking up at 5am because you're jet lagged, and even more when you dump the whole cup over ice.

Anyway, one morning in the lobby I was watching two women who apparanetly had never before served themselves. They actually needed guidance to depress the lever on top of the dispenser (that's called a lever, right?). A man standing next to me, also waiting, was equally impressed by their show.

I said to him, "that's a lot of work for some crappy starbucks."
he said, "there's a much better coffee out there."
I said, "what's that?"
he said, "you probably haven't heard of it but we have it at home."
he paused. I waited.
he said, "it's called Dunkin' Donuts."
I said, "Yeah. much better. no question."
He looked at me, somehow surprised that I knew the brand. This is a man staying in a hotel full of Pats fans, meaning tons of northeasterners. And even if it didn't cross his mind that I might also be from "home" it's not like DD is Joe. Dunkin Donuts has a twitter page, it's the coffee of JetBlue, it's in numerous ballparks and stadiums, they now have locations in Phoenix, why must this guy be so smallminded?
I said, "go chargers" and walked away.

Find a Dunkin' Donuts near you

Tomorrow the Chargers play the Steelers (in PA) at 115p. The Pats had that fun Thursday game so they're off (as are the AFC East leading Jets)

Patriots Fans (and others) Whine About Gisele's GameDay Wine

Dorothy J Gaiter and John Brecher, the WSJ WIne Notes people, wrote a perfect Scoreboard Gourmet story (unbeknownst to them). It's called A Super Controversy: Is a Glass of Wine Offside at Football's Biggest Game? The Blogs and Ms. Bündchen Disagree.

It was one of the most controversial moments of the Super Bowl, but you might have missed it amid all that talk about who actually won.

During the game, cameras focused on Tom Brady's girlfriend, supermodel Gisele Bündchen, sitting in a sky box. In her hand was a glass of red wine, and in a lovely, large glass to boot.

Here's the link: WSJ Wine+Superbowl Story

as you can imagine, I think it's ludricrous that anyone is angry about what anyone else is drinking. she wasn't playing; she can drink whatever she wants.

Manhattan v New England Clam Chowder (the Chowder Bowl)

more from me and by me (which I guess is why you come to SG in the first place but this time it's a little different).

THE Giants aren't the only underdog in New York. Manhattan clam chowder isn't known as a favorite either, but that doesn't mean it can't beat its northern competition, that ubiquitous hueless brew. What kind of a color is white anyway? No color at all. Sorry, New England Clam Chowder, New Yorkers like color and personality in their soup...

to read the full story, click here: BIG APPLE CHOWDER RULES, or get a copy of the 2/1 Post (extra tidbits in print)

SUPER BOWL PARTY MENU PLAYBOOK IS EASY STUDY

guess what? this post is more about me and THE Post.

if you can't spare the quarter to get the print edition of today's NYPost, check out my SuperBowl Menu story online: The Post's Super Pigskin Pigout

warning: it's completely overwhelming online And I never should have included that 3Gallion(!) recipe for vege chili (who can eat that much at home?), but there's tons of great stuff in there from some of my favorite NYC restaurants and markets.

The online version also features some comments from Guy Fieri who is super nice and has some great Food Network shows (and you know I'd never plug TFN if it wasn't true). Guy is a Raiders fan, btw, like TFMJ. looks like we might be taking a trip to Oakland next fall, and you know what that means: Saags.

NYC local bars gear up for SuperBowl fans, says Crain's

Thank you Crain's reporter Lisa Fickenscher:

Sports bars in the city are making their own wagers on Super Bowl Sunday—and in each scenario they win. The battle between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots promises to be one of the most profitable Super Bowls ever for local businesses, simply because the match involves a hometown team.

“The Super Bowls that the Giants have been in have been huge for us,” says Mickey Mantle’s Restaurant and Sports Bar general manager, Bart Alexander, who expects revenues from this year’s game to be 50% greater than last year’s. Fans are expected to arrive earlier and stay later, drinking and eating more in the process. “They treat themselves well, ordering a steak instead of burger,” adds Mr. Alexander.

At Back Page sports bar, general manager, Jack Foley, is ordering 3,400 pounds of chicken wings, 800 pounds more than last year.

ESPN Zone employees expect fans to camp outside the Times Square sports Mecca all night to get inside the place on Sunday when it opens at 11 a.m. In previous years, hard core fans gather by the entrance around 8 a.m., says Susan Abramson, regional marketing manager. Groups of eight or more can reserve a table starting at $115 per person, which includes food, beer and wine. For the first time, the Disney-owned bar/restaurant is raffling off two recliners—each one with a team logo—in its lobby. “We expect to be at maximum capacity,” says Ms. Abramson.

Back Page
1472 3rd Ave
New York, NY

ESPN Zone
1472 Broadway
New York, NY

Mickey Mantle's
42 Central Park S
New York, NY

SuperBowl XLII Tailgate Party

Willie Nelson is going to Arizona for SuperBowl XLII. Willie and his band will perform at the SuperBowl Tailgate Party, which will be adjacent to University of Phoenix Stadium before the February 3 game. The game is scheduled to kick off at 4:18p.

This fancy tailgate party is limited to 10,000 attendees known as "NFL associates"

Some Tailgate tickets are being sold at TicketsNow

Having once been to an official vip special fancy nfl superbowl tailgate party (in Miami) I can safely say that they are awesome. I recall standing 4 feet from the performing Doobie Brothers while nibbling a filet mignon mini sandwich. if you can, you should go, and then you should write in and tell us about it.

Randy Moss never hit no woman

sure, maybe he's hit a defensive-back or two, but Randy Moss never hit no woman. he's never even laid his hands on a woman

"if there was a such thing in the court system as a accident, then that's what I'm guilty for"

it's hard because of everything he's been through, mostly the negative

...not the usual Scoreboard Gourmet news but interesting nonetheless, no?