Taking the Beef Out of the Ballpark

Baseball and hot dogs are pretty much synonymous.  I am willing to bet that the vast majority of your childhood ballpark memories include at least one, if not two hot dogs consumed with gusto and washed down with a Coke.  As ballparks became more sophisticated so did their attendees.  No longer were they satisfied with the simple ballpark frank and beer; now, along with a win, fans demand a culinary experience to go along with their field box seats. This new era experience must now include options for the traditionalists as well as those new wave health nuts.  Leading a healthy lifestyle creates quite a dilemma at most sporting events.  Those foods not covered in batter and fried to a crisp are few and far between.  During my visits to PetCo park I faced the ultimate question - should I give in to the mouthwatering aroma emanating from the chicken finger kiosk or should I battle on in search of something slightly less artery clogging.  Ultimately, what I found satisfied both my need for traditional ballpark fare as well as my need not to experience heart burn on the ride home.

With a few exceptions my previous ballpark experiences were either at the old Veteran's Stadium in Philly or Fenway Park in Boston.  The old Veteran's Stadium offered up typical ball park fare: hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza and pretzels.  The Phillies new stadium, Citizen's Bank Park, got more sophisticated offering the Philly Cheesesteak and the Italian Sausage, as well as the French Dip Sandwich or for the truly adventurous Eggplant Fries.  Fenway was and remains a traditional style ballpark food wise - hot dogs, burgers, chicken tenders and pizza.  Outside you could get a sausage and peppers sub but aside from that there really weren't too many other food options.  Of course when we lived in Boston we were less concerned with what was healthy than what could be consumed while stuffed into those tiny Fenway Park seats.  By the time we arrived in San Diego our mind set had shifted slightly and given California's healthy lifestyle reputation I was curious to see what type of food options awaited us at PetCo Park.  

PetCo Park was built in 2004 steps from the Gaslamp Quarter.  Unlike most baseball stadiums the exterior of PetCo is Indian sandstone and stucco; its exposed steel is painted white and the seats are dark blue. The design is meant to evoke the sandy color of San Diego cliffs and beaches, the blue of the ocean, and the white sails of boats on the nearby bay.  On our first visit to PetCo we did several laps around the concourse taking in the various tempting options.  There was Anthony's Fish Grotto where we could get fish and chips, New England Clam Chowder or a Shrimp and Avocado salad.  Club 19 had Bacon Popcorn and Homestyle Meatloaf (not sure how great it would be to eat meatloaf in stadium seating, but for those adventurous folks out there, have at it.)  Friar Fit had the healthiest food options - Glutton Free Hamburger, Hummus and Vegetables, California Roll Sushi.  We continued on, curious about what other options laid ahead.  At the other end of the spectrum, Randy Jone's BBQ had a smoked, chopped brisket sandwich as well as a pulled pork sandwich.  And for those with fancier tastes, The Pier had, amongst other menu items, a duck taco as well as ahi poke (though personally I don't think I would do the raw fish thing at a baseball game, but that is just me.)  Clearly this ain't your granddad's ballpark.

Here is where I make my confession, on our first visit to PetCo. I gave into my old demons and got the chicken tenders with fries...oh the shame.  But dang were they good!  Having failed the chicken tender will power test our first visit, I was determined to do better on our second.  This time I opted for the veggieburger.  I took mine with BBQ sauce.  It was pretty much what you would expect a veggieburger from a baseball park to be.  I missed my avocado.  Happily there was a soft pretzel in my future, so the meal was not a total loss.  But this experience did beg the question, taste wise, are you better off putting your diet on hold for this one evening and embracing the full ballpark experience.  Or, once again, was I just being too picky, wanting my veggieburger to taste as good as when my husband grills one up for me.

Never one to give up easily, I came back for round three.  This time I had tacos on the brain.  I had read on the Pet Co. website that there was a taco place call Baja Bistro and they were serving up a wide variety of tacos.  So we set out to find me a fish taco with some yogurt sauce on the side.  After an exhaustive search and harassing several park employees we came to find out that Baja Bistro had been replaced by Hodad's several months ago.  Dejected I nearly gave in and got a fish sandwich - deep fried (when I fall I fall hard).  As fate would have it, the line was extremely long and slow giving my husband plenty of time to pop into an adjacent line and get himself a veggie dog.  I must point out at this juncture that my experiences with the veggie dog have not been positive, which is why I was loath to give them another whirl.  But, when prompted to try a bite, I was pleasantly rewarded with the taste of a real(ish) hot dog.  Shocked, a stood stunned for a moment before heading to get one of my own.  This veggie dog was the closest thing to a real hot dog I have ever tasted, without it being an actual real hot dog.  You could even eat it plain!  I know - it sounds unbelievable but it is true.  I augmented mine with some BBQ sauce, but that is just a personal preference, not a requirement.  I will go so far as to say that we even questioned whether these were actually veggie dogs.  But after contemplating the texture we were reassured - there was a "smoothness" to the interior portion of the veggie dog that is not typically present in a standard dog.  Amazed at our discovery I happily consumed my veggie dog and restrained myself from getting another - I swear, they were that good.

Visit three to PetCo. park taught me some important lesson in dining.  First, never give up, if you want to eat healthy, do it.  There is almost always a healthy option available.  Second, not all healthy options are made equal.  I love veggie burgers, but did not like the one I had at PetCo.  Conversely, I didn't think I liked veggie dogs, until I had a good one.  Going the healthy route at a ballgame is not easy but if you can manage to find something under 1,000 calories per serving, that leaves room for that beer that you know you want.  After all, what's a ballgame without a dog and a brew?  Play Ball!