Concessions Reviews
by Corey
I haven't been in Cleveland very much this summer. It's nice to see the Indians when they come to Chicago, but really, there's nothing to compare with a day at the Jake. Happily, I was able to catch the last two games, which couldn't have been more different. Saturday night, the rain delayed the start until 9:50 -- that plus a fireworks display kept us at the ballpark until well after 1:00. Luckily they let us watch the Browns game on the largest video screen in North America while we waited for the game to start. Wet, but awesome. Meanwhile the Indians lost, 5-3.
This afternoon, however, the rain stayed away, letting the Indians and Sox play a game that started at 1:05 and ended at 3:00! A 1 hour, 55 minute game; the shortest in Jacobs Field history. Amazing. Even more amazing? Scott Freaking Elarton. He's sinking my HACKING MASS team (at one time ranked 3rd out of 1,312... now ranked about 41st), but hey, I'll take a complete game 2-hit shutout any day. The Indians won, 9-0.
Meanwhile, I now feel that I've been to enough Indians games this year to offer my assessment of the many new concessions items that are available at the Jake. I would like to review several of the notable new items. Please feel free to post your own reviews of the items I missed in the comments section.
Bratwurst. Finally! I mean, what were they waiting for? We're a hard-working, Midwestern city; we deserve brats at the ballpark. Thankfully, these brats are rather tasty, and available all around the stadium. Unlike the boiled hot dogs you'll find throughout the Jake, they're grilled, which is absolutely a must. They come with packets of sauerkraut, which is a nice idea even though the sauerkraut is not of the best quality. Throw a little Bertman's on there, though, and you're all set. One thing I would like to see in the future is the availability of bratwurst at the kosher hot dogs kiosks where you get the awesome, grilled hot dogs. Now if we could only correct the other heinous, atrocious omission on the Jacobs Field menu: Polish sausage. I mean, what are we, Seattle? No, we're Cleveland, and we demand hot dogs, brats, and Polish. Grade: A-
Ed. Note: I have been informed that the "European Market" in the Market Pavillion in center field (aka the picnic area) now serves not only hot dogs and bratwurst, but Polish sausage and Italian sausage as well. You can eat for the cycle at Jacobs Field! Who knew?
Chicken 'n' Waffles. Okay, if you're going to open up the floodgates and serve non-ballpark foods like sushi and whatever, you might as well offer things that (a) taste good, and (b) are unique. So while I can understand the argument against it, I'm glad that chicken 'n' waffles, a traditional item on soul food menus, are available at the Jake. For one, it's tasty. Oddly, instead of serving waffles and fried chicken together, they actually serve waffles with pieces of fried chicken inside, much the way you might find blueberries inside a blueberry waffle. It comes with a container of syrup and packets of hot sauce. I used the syrup but not the hot sauce. I'm not certain, but I think you're supposed to pick one or the other. I can't imagine combining the two condiments. The only problem I have with the item is that it must be eaten with a fork, which is kind of awkward at a sporting event. By the way, chicken 'n' waffles is only available in one location, as far as I know: a "Market Treats" stand on the first base side of the main concourse. Grade: B
Johnny Applestix. They're right behind home plate and they're very tasty. Here's the abridged story of Johnny Applestix: two college kids from California invented them, entered them in a competition, won first prize, and got their big break when Jacobs Field decided to pick them up. They're apples, sliced the way a potato is sliced to make french fries, battered, fried, dipped in cinnamon, and served with your choice of caramel or "lemon cheesecake" dipping sauce. With the caramel sauce, you know what you're getting, and it tastes really good with the applestix. The lemon cheesecake sauce, however, is not too great. I like Johnny Applestix; they make good ballpark food because they're fried and you can eat them with your fingers. Unfortunately, they're messy, especially where the caramel sauce is concerned. It would be one thing if they were a national fad like Dippin' Dots, which you can find all over the place, but since, so far, you can only find the Applestix in Cleveland, I already hold them dear. Grade: A
Subway. Expanding the selection of food at the ballpark is one thing. But allowing a major franchise like Subway to open up shop is crossing the line, in my opinion. In various other ballparks in the Midwest, you'll find a McDonald's, a Hardee's, an Outback steakhouse, and so on. I don't like this new trend in concessions; I consider ballpark food to be a feature of the ballpark itself - a unique part of the experience. You can't have a Wrigley Field hot dog anywhere but Wrigley Field, you know? I'm a little sad to see Jacobs Field buckle under corporate pressure by allowing a concessions stand of this nature. As for the food itself, well, you know what Subway tastes like. On the one hand, I'm glad it's Subway and not McDonald's or something like that. On the other hand, I imagine it's hard to eat a sub like that in a ballpark setting, what with the sprawling wrapper, the loose ingredients, and nothing but your lap to hold them. Either way, if you wanted to serve sub sandwiches, why couldn't you have just opened your own sub stand? Grade: D+
Some day, I'll post more reviews like this. Maybe I'll do reviews of old favorites, too. For now, I'd like to see what everyone else has to say. Comment if you like.
This afternoon, however, the rain stayed away, letting the Indians and Sox play a game that started at 1:05 and ended at 3:00! A 1 hour, 55 minute game; the shortest in Jacobs Field history. Amazing. Even more amazing? Scott Freaking Elarton. He's sinking my HACKING MASS team (at one time ranked 3rd out of 1,312... now ranked about 41st), but hey, I'll take a complete game 2-hit shutout any day. The Indians won, 9-0.
Meanwhile, I now feel that I've been to enough Indians games this year to offer my assessment of the many new concessions items that are available at the Jake. I would like to review several of the notable new items. Please feel free to post your own reviews of the items I missed in the comments section.
Bratwurst. Finally! I mean, what were they waiting for? We're a hard-working, Midwestern city; we deserve brats at the ballpark. Thankfully, these brats are rather tasty, and available all around the stadium. Unlike the boiled hot dogs you'll find throughout the Jake, they're grilled, which is absolutely a must. They come with packets of sauerkraut, which is a nice idea even though the sauerkraut is not of the best quality. Throw a little Bertman's on there, though, and you're all set. One thing I would like to see in the future is the availability of bratwurst at the kosher hot dogs kiosks where you get the awesome, grilled hot dogs. Now if we could only correct the other heinous, atrocious omission on the Jacobs Field menu: Polish sausage. I mean, what are we, Seattle? No, we're Cleveland, and we demand hot dogs, brats, and Polish. Grade: A-
Ed. Note: I have been informed that the "European Market" in the Market Pavillion in center field (aka the picnic area) now serves not only hot dogs and bratwurst, but Polish sausage and Italian sausage as well. You can eat for the cycle at Jacobs Field! Who knew?
Chicken 'n' Waffles. Okay, if you're going to open up the floodgates and serve non-ballpark foods like sushi and whatever, you might as well offer things that (a) taste good, and (b) are unique. So while I can understand the argument against it, I'm glad that chicken 'n' waffles, a traditional item on soul food menus, are available at the Jake. For one, it's tasty. Oddly, instead of serving waffles and fried chicken together, they actually serve waffles with pieces of fried chicken inside, much the way you might find blueberries inside a blueberry waffle. It comes with a container of syrup and packets of hot sauce. I used the syrup but not the hot sauce. I'm not certain, but I think you're supposed to pick one or the other. I can't imagine combining the two condiments. The only problem I have with the item is that it must be eaten with a fork, which is kind of awkward at a sporting event. By the way, chicken 'n' waffles is only available in one location, as far as I know: a "Market Treats" stand on the first base side of the main concourse. Grade: B
Johnny Applestix. They're right behind home plate and they're very tasty. Here's the abridged story of Johnny Applestix: two college kids from California invented them, entered them in a competition, won first prize, and got their big break when Jacobs Field decided to pick them up. They're apples, sliced the way a potato is sliced to make french fries, battered, fried, dipped in cinnamon, and served with your choice of caramel or "lemon cheesecake" dipping sauce. With the caramel sauce, you know what you're getting, and it tastes really good with the applestix. The lemon cheesecake sauce, however, is not too great. I like Johnny Applestix; they make good ballpark food because they're fried and you can eat them with your fingers. Unfortunately, they're messy, especially where the caramel sauce is concerned. It would be one thing if they were a national fad like Dippin' Dots, which you can find all over the place, but since, so far, you can only find the Applestix in Cleveland, I already hold them dear. Grade: A
Subway. Expanding the selection of food at the ballpark is one thing. But allowing a major franchise like Subway to open up shop is crossing the line, in my opinion. In various other ballparks in the Midwest, you'll find a McDonald's, a Hardee's, an Outback steakhouse, and so on. I don't like this new trend in concessions; I consider ballpark food to be a feature of the ballpark itself - a unique part of the experience. You can't have a Wrigley Field hot dog anywhere but Wrigley Field, you know? I'm a little sad to see Jacobs Field buckle under corporate pressure by allowing a concessions stand of this nature. As for the food itself, well, you know what Subway tastes like. On the one hand, I'm glad it's Subway and not McDonald's or something like that. On the other hand, I imagine it's hard to eat a sub like that in a ballpark setting, what with the sprawling wrapper, the loose ingredients, and nothing but your lap to hold them. Either way, if you wanted to serve sub sandwiches, why couldn't you have just opened your own sub stand? Grade: D+
Some day, I'll post more reviews like this. Maybe I'll do reviews of old favorites, too. For now, I'd like to see what everyone else has to say. Comment if you like.
2 Comments:
Earlier this year, my father and I went to a game vs the Rockies. We arrived around 6:45 and our seats were in lower right field. Neither of us had eated so we decided to partake in the new European market section out above the picnic area. My experience was anything but enjoyable. We waited in excess of 15 minutes for my father to get a stir fry from the asian stand (this is the first stand on the left). The cashier was sooo stupid it was almost insulting. Not only were people behind us served first, she had to ask what my dad had ordered about four times.
Avoid the Asian stand in the picnic area. You're safest best is a plain old jumbo hot dog smothered with Bertmans.
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