Take Me Out to the Ball Game

[MarketStEl]

Tonight, for the first time in the 24 years I have lived here, I attended a Phillies home game.

My friend and former Penn colleague Jon Caroulis had a spare ticket, and his original guest for the game had to back out, so he called me yesterday.

I must say that Citizens Bank Park is a wonderful place to take in a baseball game. If you're lucky enough to have seats in the front rows of the lowest level, as we did, you are right on top of the action, with excellent sight lines.

And according to a banner that hung just inside the third base entrance, if you get hungry during the game, Citizens Bank Park is also a wonderful place to take in some eats. Seems that the Food Network proclaimed the park home to the "Best Ballpark Food" earlier this year.

There's certainly plenty of variety. Cheesesteaks, in three different versions: Rick's, Tony Luke's, and some place called Cobblestone Grill. Burgers. Pizza. Barbecue ribs and chicken. Crab fries. Hoagies. Tony Luke's legendary roast pork Italian. A sandwich called "The Schmitter." Soft pretzels and soft-serve ice cream. At least four different sit-down restaurants, including one billed as serving bistro fare. And, of course, popcorn, peanuts and Cracker Jack -- and hot dogs. Beef and vegan. For only one dollar!

"So," I asked Jon, "do they charge captive-audience prices or same-as-South-Philly prices?"

"Captive-audience prices," he replied immediately.

And so they were. The hot dogs were the one true value at the ballpark. They were Hatfield dogs, which IMO are pretty good; I prefer their taste to that of Dietz & Watson -- D&W are a bit milder and sweeter, Hatfield beefier and more savory. But from there, it was a short trip from the sublime to the ridiculous. A chili dog? $4.50. A burger? $6. Cheesesteaks? $7.50. A 20-ounce bottle of Coke? $4.

Needless to say, all I ate were the Dollar Dogs (limit 6 per fan per trip to the concession stands; I had two).

"Those Dollar Dogs must exist as a sop to the fans to keep them from saying that this place is a total rip-off," I said to Jon as I returned to my seat with the dogs and a Coke Zero.

Next time I get to go to a Phillies game, I will know that I'd better come with a wad of cash for the food. But if I'm going to spend a wad of cash for food, I'd rather do it at somewhere I will get food worth spending that much cash on.

I thought that Aramark -- which runs the stadium concessions -- had sworn off this kind of gouging. I guess I was wrong.

[mrbigjas]

you thought aramark had stopped gouging at ballparks? what on earth would give you that impression? do you hate america?

hahahaha

ok also, i hate to be the bearer of bad news, but those dollar dogs are a promotion that they only do 5-6 times a year, and never in the summer when their attendance is high enough anyway. they're usually like $3.50 or something.

if you're worried about paying too much, next time you go to a phillies game pick up a hoagie beforehand. get it dry, so the roll doesn't get all soggy, with oil/vinegar on the side.

edited to add: there's already a ballpark food thread here, in which i do a lot of overspending on crappy food and drinking and whining about it all -- but also a tip where supposedly you can find a dollar dog every day. i haven't been down yet this year (first home opener i've missed since 1994, so sad) to confirm that.

Edited May 16, 2007 by mrbigjas (log)

[Tim Dolan]

Wow, Coke's marked up like wine at a restaurant. I can deal with the food prices though. What's a cheesesteak or roast pork at Front and Oregon, $6.50? I can deal with a dollar conveinience fee to get a Tony Luke's roast pork at the stadium. When Geno's was there (now it's Rick's) they charged the same price as their 9th and Passyunk location for the first year, then moved it up 75 cents the next year. I heard they moved out because of the high rent being charged by the ballpark.

[Dignan]

You did right, except you should have invested those Coke funds in a nice cold one. My game day ritual is two hotdogs. One's not enough, and I don't need more than two. If I want something fancier than that I'll go somewhere I don't have to eat it off of my lap. I have never appreciated the new ball park foods, especially at those prices. Ribbon on a pig.

Now, you've lived there 24 years and never went to a Phillies game? You mentioned your next visit. Can we expect another food review from the park in 2031?

[Chris Amirault]

Fenway is the most expensive park in terms of both ticket prices and seats, and the food has forever been mediocre at best, particularly inside the park. We went last summer for the first time in years, and dropped something like $30 on beers and dogs for two.

But aren't there parks with fantastic cuisine nowadays? Or is that just an MLB marketing gimmick?

[I_call_the_duck]

When at Citizens Bank Park, we usually go to Bull's BBQ. Not the best, but I always get a little thrill from seeing the Bull himself chatting with the fans.

The food at Shea is not only expensive, but it sucks. Hopefully the new stadium will be better.

But if you take the #7 train, you can get off at just about any stop along the way get some great take out before the game. We were there for Game 7 of the NLCS, and didn't have that luxury, so we got some Bánh mì in Philly before driving up to New York.

That Bánh mì was the best part of the game.

Edited May 16, 2007 by I_call_the_duck (log)

[Taboni]

When at Citizens Bank Park, we usually go to Bull's BBQ.  Not the best, but I always get a little thrill from seeing the Bull himself chatting with the fans.

The food at Shea is not only expensive, but it sucks.  Hopefully the new stadium will be better.

But if you take the #7 train, you can get off at just about any stop along the way get some great take out before the game.  We were there for Game 7 of the NLCS, and didn't have that luxury, so we got some Bánh mì in Philly before driving up to New York. 

That Bánh mì was the best part of the game. 

←

I'll agree that the food at Shea sucks but at CBP you still have to watch the Phillies play . (P.S. I know they aren't great but I've always had a soft spot for an Italian Sausage and pepper sandwich at Shea)

[Pierogi]

Well now.....my Dodgers have introduced all-you-can-eat right field pavilion seats this season.

For 35 bucks per person, in advance, or $40 on game day (hmmmmm, the *official* Dodger web site seems a mite confused about the price. One sentence says its $25 and $30 and another says $35 and $40.......) you get all the following you can eat/drink in this time frame - 1&1/2 hours before game time to 2 hours after the first pitch.

• Dodger Dogs

• Nachos

• Peanuts

• Popcorn

• Coca-Cola products

• Water

No beer

Now, I *LOVE* Dodger Dogs as much (and maybe more) than the next person. But I don't know that I could eat $35 worth !! And those nachos are just danged nasty. They do have better offerings in other areas of the Stadium, but not in the feed-bag area. And, again according to the official Dodgers web site, you may *purchase* beer, ice cream and candy.

I have to say, at least in Southern California, between the Angels (booooooo-hissssssssss) and my Dodgers (GO BLUE), in culinary terms, the Angels do win the contest. Somehow my Dodgers are stuck in the 40's food-wise.......

And don't EVEN get me started on the garlic fries in San Francisco.....

Go Dodgers (but not for the food..........)

[mrbigjas]

I'll agree that the food at Shea sucks but at CBP you still have to watch the Phillies play .

BOOOOOOOOOOOOO

(P.S. I know they aren't great but I've always had a soft spot for an Italian Sausage and pepper sandwich at Shea)

last time i got one of them at shea i was sorely disappointed. the sausage didn't taste like much, and definitely wasn't spicy. the peppers and onions were barely griddled till soft.

the same thing happened to me in colorado, and here in philadelphia, and in boston too. you know i think i'm sensing a trend here. one would wonder why i continue to order them.

[Kayakado]

At least you have some decent food available, even if you have to take out a loan to buy it. Our park has the worst food ever. The hot dogs wouldn't be too bad if they didn't wrap them as tightly as possible to fit them into the holding oven. The bread is reduced to a gelatinous mass by the pressure. Funnel cakes (sounds good in theory) they are also pre-made and microwaved as they are ordered. A microwaved funnel cake is an abomination. I quit buying food and eat before hand and bring in snacks.

[MarketStEl]

You did right, except you should have invested those Coke funds in a nice cold one.

I call myself watching my weight. In practice, this means I watch it fluctuate in a range between 202 and 207 pounds.

My game day ritual is two hotdogs.  One's not enough, and I don't need more than two.  If I want something fancier than that I'll go somewhere I don't have to eat it off of my lap.  I have never appreciated the new ball park foods, especially at those prices.  Ribbon on a pig.

It's a bit beyond the scope of this discussion, but I felt like an old fogey when I lamented to Jon that even a plain old ball game has become a multimedia extravaganza nowadays. I guess the food had to head in the same direction. Isn't the game entertainment enough?

Now, you've lived there 24 years and never went to a Phillies game?  You mentioned your next visit.  Can we expect another food review from the park in 2031?

←

Trust me, I will be back to "the Park"* well before 2031. And I will probably splurge on a Schmitter while I'm at it -- assuming that I can get one before the game ends. (The lines for the McNally's stand, which is the only place the Schmitter is sold, can get very long, I've been told. "The Schmitter" has nothing to do with Phillies legend Mike Schmidt: It's a one-of-a-kind sandwich -- a cross between a cheesesteak and an Italian hoagie on a kaiser roll -- that originated at and is exclusive to H. & J. McNally's Tavern, a Chestnut Hill institution since 1921. It would probably be cheaper for me to take the R7 or R8 up to the end of the line and eat it in its native habitat, but I don't get up to Chestnut Hill that often either.)

FTR, Jon carried a roast beef on rye sandwich and a bag of precut baby carrots into the park with him for snacking. The Phillies do allow you to bring soft-sided coolers into the park; rigid coolers, glass bottles, and metal cans are banned.

*We in Philly love to refer to our sports facilities by the shortest possible version of their names. There's not much you can do to shorten "Wachovia Center," so that name remains unmolested, but as the Spectrum predates Wachovia's acquisition of the naming rights, only the managers and owners call that place the "Wachovia Spectrum". Lincoln Financial Field, where the Iggles play, is universally called "The Linc," and there have been several efforts to come up with a similarly snappy moniker for the equally unwieldy Citizens Bank Park. For obvious reasons, "The Bank" won't do, and "The Cit" just doesn't sound right.

[I_call_the_duck]

I'll agree that the food at Shea sucks but at CBP you still have to watch the Phillies play .

BOOOOOOOOOOOOO

←

Totally off topic, but the next time the Mets play the Phils at CBP, if you see a crazy woman screaming for the Mets sitting next to a man cringing in embarassment (and denying knowing said woman), that would be me.

mrbigjas, don't hate me because I'm a Mets fan.

Edited May 17, 2007 by I_call_the_duck (log)

[JohnL]

You hit it on the head when you asked: "Isn't the game enough?"

We have such short attention spans today and it seems they become shorter with each new generation.

Today, the sporting event itself is not enough. Fans are bombarded with rock music between innings or periods and during every second there is no action on the field of play. (it used to be a simple organ gently serenading fans between innings).

Huge screens offer games and all sorts of diversions--almost more time is spent watching TV than the actual game. And the folks in luxury boxes actually do often spend more time on comfy couches watching the game on TV. Absurd to the point that one wonders why they bother traveling to the stadium in the first place?

Food?

Why do we have to eat throughout an event? The food becomes more and more elaborate and I see a lot of people at stadiums spending more time stuffing their faces and procuring food than they do watching the game. what happened to the concept of a snack. A simple hot dog and a beverage.

There was a TV piece a while ago, on the marketing of sporting events that focused on a particular baseball stadium and the upshot was fewer and fewer people now attend sporting events to watch the game. Picnic areas and playgrounds and restaurants and all sorts of diversions are now part of newer stadiums. The actual sporting event is rapidly becoming a mere diversion.

And an expensive one at that. Kinda like the typical shopping mall.

I rarely attend professional sporting events anymore. I do have season tickets to a local NFL franchise--I tailgate before the game. This will, I fear, be disappearing when our new stadium is built (I say "our" because a lot of tax money is helping finance it--though like every other instance of my tax money going for something, I have no say in where or how) That new stadium will most likely discourage tail gating in favor of driving fans to expensive stadium food.

The best seats for viewing an event in our stadia now are often situated in actual restaurants. I sat in one at the US open. It was like eating at a fine restaurant with a huge TV screen displaying a tennis match tableside! Few people at tables around me were watching the tennis action, they were eating, talking and doing business deals. Why pay the extra for the tennis match?

Food and instant gratification are really more important than sports these days. Stadiums are constructed like theme parks. The most fun I had at sporting events was sitting behind a pole at Ranger hockey games or four hundred fifty feet away from home plate at Yankee stadium. Food? Not just a second thought but maybe a third or fourth--a sandwich from home or a meatball hero before or after the game.

Maybe a bag of peanuts while the game was in progress. After all eating would detract from the game--the reason we were there--to be fans!

Edited May 17, 2007 by JohnL (log)

[lancastermike]

Trust me, I will be back to "the Park"* well before 2031. And I will probably splurge on a Schmitter while I'm at it -- assuming that I can get one before the game ends. (The lines for the McNally's stand, which is the only place the Schmitter is sold, can get very long, I've been told. "The Schmitter" has nothing to do with Phillies legend Mike Schmidt: It's a one-of-a-kind sandwich -- a cross between a cheesesteak and an Italian hoagie on a kaiser roll -- that originated at and is exclusive to H. & J. McNally's Tavern, a Chestnut Hill institution since 1921. It would probably be cheaper for me to take the R7 or R8 up to the end of the line and eat it in its native habitat, but I don't get up to Chestnut Hill that often either.)

The Schmitter is the real deal. It is almost TOO good for ballpark food. The line at the Schmitter stand moves much more quickly than the Tony Luke's one. I find food at CBP to be really pretty good. My wife likes the crab fries from Chickie's and Pete's. Not sure what they put on them, but they are tasty.

[mrbigjas]

Food?

Why do we have to eat throughout an event?

because sporting events generally run from about 7-10 p.m. (except for NFL, and day baseball games, and the occasional nationally-televised afternoon game in NHL or NBA).

add in travel time and for many people the whole thing runs from more like 6-11. that's the whole evening, no matter how you slice it. gotta eat something.

(edited to add: unless you're one of those wussy fans who leaves in the 6th to make a 9 p.m. dinner reservation or something. i mean, not you specifically, JohnL, but the general 'you.')

Edited May 17, 2007 by mrbigjas (log)

[JohnL]

That's a good point!

The games are becoming insufferably long.

Mainly due to TV--the timeouts and commercial breaks!

The distractions are probably designed to fill the dead time in between plays etc as well as make more money.

Fans are literally held captive for a very long time (by design yet).

Just another reason to stop going.

I can eat better and a lot more cheaply staying home and watching the thing on TV.

(at least I have some semblance of control)

If I just have to be there at the ole ballpark I am convinced it is better to bring my own food--it's gotta be cheaper to buy that Pork Sandwich outside the friendly confines--if ya know what i mean!

[MarketStEl]

Food?

Why do we have to eat throughout an event?

because sporting events generally run from about 7-10 p.m. (except for NFL, and day baseball games, and the occasional nationally-televised afternoon game in NHL or NBA).

add in travel time and for many people the whole thing runs from more like 6-11. that's the whole evening, no matter how you slice it. gotta eat something.

←

Actually, that pretty much describes my experience perfectly.

I live in Center City Philadelphia and work in Chester, as readers of my first foodblog know. The fastest way from Widener to the ballpark via SEPTA is to head all the way back into Center City on Regional Rail, then down to South Philly on the Broad Street Subway. (I-95's path from Chester [edited to add: my office is one block from the freeway] to the Central Philadelphia waterfront takes one right past the South Philly sports complex; it would have been about a 15- to 20-minute drive at PM peak.)

Including a pit stop at my apartment to drop off my briefcase and change out of office drag, total travel time (including walking, wait time and transfers) from Old Main to the third base gate was 1:35. That would have left me 30 minutes to eat something decent before the first pitch if I didn't eat at the ballpark. And no, I really didn't want to make and pack a sandwich that morning and carry it with me to Chester and back for that evening. Okay, I could have left it in the fridge. Still, it didn't seem worth it to me. But at those prices, I might reconsider if I'm short on funds.

Edited May 18, 2007 by MarketStEl (log)

[danf]

At Jacob's Field in Cleveland, which was one of the parks built at the beginning of the new style of parks, the right field restaurant and the premium "club" seats are some of the better seats in the stadium. I haven't been in a while but the few times I got club seats it really did seem like a lot of people just spent the entire game waving down food and drinks service to their seats. I've always thought that Jacob's Field had a lot of people who showed up for something other than the game, but seriously, the food?

I can remember a Sports Illustrate article from several year ago comparing the cuisine at each stadium (they may have done this more recently as well). The west coast stadiums fared much better in the comparison than most of the older east coast ones. I think they had the Anaheim Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in Los Angeles at the top but that was a while ago.

For me it's always been a bag of in-the-shell peanuts and a soda, or more recently a beer.