Yet Another Guy Writing About Food

Let’s go Phils!

Sure, it’s 45 degrees and misting outside. Still, I can’t lie: I have baseball fever. It’s opening day, and while I don’t have tickets to this afternoon’s game, that hasn’t stopped me from wearing my Chase Utley jersey for the first time since I received it for my birthday.Even though I’m not attending the game, I’m going to touch on the subject of ballpark food from afar. (A more in-depth overview will likely follow my first visit to a game, maybe as early as Thursday?)

First, it’s necessary to get one point of the way: going to the game with an empty stomach is like walking around with your open wallet in your hands, encouraging passers-by to help themselves. After an $8 roast pork sandwich from Tony Luke’s in Ashburn Alley, a $4 bucket of crab fries from Chickie & Pete’s, and a couple of $7 beers, I’ll be lucky if I have anything more than the subway token for the trip home left in my wallet.

Let no one think that I don’t heartily endorse any and all of the above items. But a hoagie from Planet Hoagie in Media or a roast pork from the original Tony Luke’s on Oregon Avenue are both cheaper than the ballpark equivalent, and you won’t necessarily miss an inning and a half of the action while waiting in line.

And with any rule, there are exceptions. While I’ve yet to attend one, the Dollar Dog Night promotion screams out affordability (almost as loudly as it does gluttony.) For someone who eats hotdogs very sporadically and selectively in real life, but frequently at the ballpark, I might have to put one of these events on the agenda. Sure, Phillies Franks might not “answer to a higher authority,” like my usual standby Hebrew National, they can’t taste too bad at the ballpark, especially for only one dollar.