Bringing Your Ballpark Food Favorites Home

You know what I love? Baseball. There’s just something about it, you know? As America’s pastime, it’s so historically and culturally significant—patriotic, in fact. As a summer sport, it was always a game I enjoyed during a break from school, when fun, relaxation, and baseball was what life was all about. As a daily sport, it’s great for someone like me. The practice to game ratio is great; when you win, you get to keep the momentum going; and when you lose, you can get right back to it the next day.

Now that I’m older, and no longer play the game myself, it’s this last reason that really sticks with me. Baseball is an everyday sport. Sometimes it’s a grind. Sometimes it’s full of highs. In that way, it’s a lot like life. It also becomes a part of your life due to this same, everyday nature. For six months, it becomes your routine. You watch, or listen, spending time with the announcers for a few hours, as you go about your day. It’s a hobby, a passion, habitual.

You know what else is a hobby and a passion of mine? Food! Maybe it’s a coincidence that I love food and baseball. Then again, maybe there’s a unique intersection between the two; one that doesn’t really exist for any other game. There really aren’t any basketball, or tennis, or golf, or hockey, or football (no, wings and Papa John’s don’t count) foods. But there are baseball foods. No other sports have relationships with food quite like baseball. I mean, come on, take a look at the lyrics of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game:”

Take me out to the ball game,

Take me out with the crowd,

Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack,

I don’t care if I never get back,

Let me root, root, root for the home team,

If they don’t win it’s a shame,

For it’s one, two, three strikes you’re out

At the old ball game!

See! One line reads, “Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack.” There’s no sport that celebrates food quite like baseball. When you go to the game, you expect to consume certain items. Those foods conjure up feelings of being at the ballpark, relaxing on a warm, summer night, enjoying a bite while enjoying the game. Those foods are baseball foods. Now, if you’re lucky enough to have the resources and time to buy season tickets and attend the games, you’ll have your fill of ballpark favorites. However, if you only make it to your stadium of choice every once in a while, you can bring the flavors of the ballpark home for a fun way to experience the nightly telecast. Here are nine items to take note of:

Hot Dogs

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These are the quintessential baseball food. In “Field of Dreams”, when Ray goes to the game with Terrence, what do they order? A dog and a beer. Fenway Franks, Dodger Dogs, Coney Dogs—it doesn’t matter where you are or what park you visit, hot dogs are there. Now, all hot dogs aren’t made equal. Sure, you might like a steamed dog, wrapped in foil, purchased from a vendor (for real?), but for me, I’m going with a grilled, all-beef, kosher dog with caramelized onions and yellow mustard. For a nice caramelized onion recipe, click here.

Brats

Culinary Hill

When you’re in the mood for an encased meat, but you’re not interested in a hot dog, you’re likely to seek out a brat. For a great, ballpark experience, I recommend buying some uncooked sausage from a butcher, boiling them in beer, and finishing them on the grill. For a great recipe, check here.

Roasted Peanuts

Pixabay

There’s no ballpark snack like the next two items—they’re in the song, for goodness sake! It’s tough to beat sitting at a game, working your way through a bag of peanuts. At home, I’d recommend roasting your own. Doing so gives you access to a freshness you can’t get with peanuts out of a bag. Never roasted your own peanuts? Try this recipe here.

Cracker Jack

Tasty Trials

In case you’re not familiar with this wonderful snack, Cracker Jack is the brand name of a caramel popcorn mixed with peanuts that comes with a fun prize at the bottom of the box. Imagine this, though: making your own peanut caramel corn. Sound delicious? Of course it does! Check out a recipe here.

Nachos

Damn Delicious

Nachos aren’t necessarily a traditional ballpark food, but they’re now ubiquitous in stadiums across the country. In fact, my cousin Danny always gets a batch of nachos when he attends a game. At the end of the day, if you’re not in the mood for peanuts or Cracker Jack, you could do a lot worse than nachos. For a nice recipe, check here.

Sundaes

Julie Wendell

When you’re at the game on a hot summer night, and you’re looking for dessert, chances are you’ll be looking to get a helmet sundae. Don’t know what a helmet sundae is? It’s an ice cream sundae, in a mini (or sometimes, if you’re lucky, a large) MLB helmet. For an authentic and fun ballpark-at-home twist, get some MLB mini helmets to use for sundae dishes. It’ll be a big hit with the kids! Check out mini helmets at Amazon here.

Beer

Pixabay

This beverage is everywhere at the ballpark, and nowadays, you’re likely to have a choice between macro- and micro-brews. Ever wonder about brewing your own? Now’s your chance. Check out how to brew your own suds at home.

Cotton Candy

Diana Rambles

As kids, there was always one thing my sister and I looked forward to consuming once we were done with our hot dogs, peanuts, and Cracker Jack. Cotton candy. The spectacle of a cotton candy vendor was something to behold, and seeing it hand-spun, in person, was a miracle of science. Want to bring that fun and wonderment home for all? Check out this recipe here.

Now that baseball season is here, you might find yourself craving some of these goodies. Hopefully, you’re able to get to a few games this year, but in case you don’t, never fear! You can bring the tastes of the ballpark to your home. Play ball!

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A 91-Year-Old Man May Make One of the Best Burgers in LA

Tucked away in the San Fernando Valley in an industrial section of Van Nuys stands one of the last of a dying breed: a true old-fashioned Southern California burger stand. Welcome to Bill’s Burgers.

Originally opened in 1965 by WWII veteran Bill Elwell,  the man, the myth, and the namesake remains at the forefront of the operation, cooking his perfect little cheeseburgers Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Always closed on weekends and holidays, Bill’s is the only cheeseburger you’ll ever need to call in sick for in order to enjoy. Yes, it’s that good.

Bill’s Burgers/Facebook (Thomas Shea)

As a crowd grows around the eight-seat counter, Bill takes a step away from the grill to pop his head out the window. “McDonald’s closed today?!” The man of few words chortles to the gathering of burger lovers. What is it exactly that makes this literal shack in Van Nuys so much better than the burger spot down the street, or In-N-Out? The short answer is: everything. But to begin, let’s go over some ground rules when dining at Bill’s Burgers.

Rule #1: If there’s an open stool, take a seat at the counter. If not, wait patiently for one to open up. Like most burger counters, the honor system is implemented. Some people may be waiting for a friend or a to-go order. However, if you plan on eating with any more than a friend or two, I suggest seating yourself at the community table located in the back of the shack. But for anyone looking for the true Bill’s Burgers experience, you MUST sit at the counter.

The counter at Bill’s is where you witness this 91-year-old man doing what he was put on Earth to do. Viewing the cooking process is essential to eating at Bill’s.

Rule #2: Know your order so that you can place it promptly when called upon. This brings us to Sharon, one of Bill’s five ex-wives. Sharon is a get-to-the-point order-taker who has seemingly been serving Bill’s burgers as long as he’s been cooking them. When it comes to beverage refills, additional orders of chips, and paying your check,  it all runs through Sharon.

Bill’s Burgers/Facebook (Mark Mackie)

Rule #3: Speaking of chips, Bill’s does not serve french fries. Only potato chips and, more specifically, only Lay’s Classic potato chips. The minute you ask for a side of fries, you reveal your cards as an ignorant amateur to all of the Bill’s regulars surrounding you.

Rule #4: Wait patiently for your burger to be made. Sometimes the backlog of orders can lead to waiting upwards of 20-30 minutes after ordering. Trust me though…the wait is worth it.

While waiting for your order to arrive, take in the environment. Bill’s burger stand/shack is quite small, but there’s still plenty to soak up. From the fat and grease-encrusted grill that appears to be from the 1920s, to the sign adorned beneath the cash register (also from the ‘20s/’30s), stating: “YOU CAN’T HAVE IT YOUR WAY — THIS IS NOT BURGER KING!!!” Even gawking at Bill’s considerably low menu prices (cash only) is an appropriate use of time. For those curious, a cheeseburger costs $4.20, a double cheeseburger is $5.30, a hot dog is $3.60, chili dog is $3.80, and chips are 50 cents a bag.

Bill’s Burgers/Facebook (Phaedra Cook)

The best way to pass time, as your order is prepared, is to just sit back and bask in Bill’s process. Hunched over the grill, the 91-year-old slaps each thin piece of meat, cheese, and bun onto the flat-top cast-iron grill with his bare hands. First he toasts the buns and seasons the fresh meat. The buns are then passed down the line to longtime friend, Hiroko, who spreads mayo on the top bun. The bottom bun is then topped with a slice of tomato, pickles, diced onions, and iceberg lettuce.

Meanwhile, Bill munches on a piece of bacon (if it’s not sold out) or even raw burger meat (it’s that fresh), as he waits to flip. After flipping the burger, a slice of cheese is topped and quickly melts into the meat. The mayo-topped bun is then placed on the cheeseburger so that it can all finish cooking together. This is when the flavors truly start to combine and the real magic happens. The smoke billowing from the cheese melting onto the grilled meat is easily one of the greatest aromas of all time.

Finally, the mayo-topped bun and cheeseburger(s) is reunited with the bottom bun and vegetables to create the magnificent meat marvel known as Bill’s cheeseburger. And there you have it: The quintessential Los Angeles cheeseburger. It’s even better as a double; and if you’re really feeling gluttonous, go the extra mile by adding bacon and/or a fried egg.

The charm of Bill’s Burgers is its history, delicious product, and the old-school nature with which it’s all presented. Bill’s is old school all the way down to the powdered soap in the bathroom. It’s the definitive example of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”In fact, he’s often quoted saying, “I don’t want anymore business.” Yet, for as long as he’s still hunched over that timeworn grill, breathing in clouds of mouth-watering cheeseburger smoke, new and old customers will continue to come. And they better like it, because Bill isn’t going to change a thing.

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In Miami, Stone Crabs are King

If you were to design the perfect food, what would it look like, what would it taste like and how would it exist in the world around you? If you contend that there is no such thing as a perfect anything, you still might have to concede Florida stone crabs are very nearly perfect. Perhaps that’s why they’ve helped define Miami’s food culture by way of one special restaurant and a now century-old partnership that’s brought fortune and fame to both.

What’s so special about Florida stone crabs? Besides their firm yet flaky meat that’s sweet to taste, like lobster but not quite so rich, stone crabs are also a little magic.

The crustaceans are defined by their rock (or stone)-hard claws, black-tipped, plump, and full of the good stuff, but what separates them from their crab cousins is a distinct ability to regenerate said claws quickly and completely, when carefully separated from the carapace (body). Magic.

Stone crabs are hauled in from southern Florida waters by the boatload from October through May to be measured for legal size, declawed, and released to regrow more of the prized pincers. A single crab, with lifespans as long as eight years, can give as many as six or seven meaty claws all while enjoying a full life, interrupted only by the occasional divorce from appendage. A gift from the sea but one that uniquely keeps on giving.

For Floridians and those who seek its warm pleasures, stone crabs are as synonymous with the state as sunshine or college football. For the last several decades, a towering restaurant wrapped in pale yellow stucco and perched on the southern edge of Miami Beach has itself become synonymous with stone crabs.

Joe’s Stone Crab Restaurant

Joe’s Stone Crab, or “Joe’s” to any self-respecting local, has earned its rightful place as gold standard in Florida Stone Crab culture. And with its doors having opened officially in 1913, is quite literally older than Miami Beach itself, which incorporated a full two years later.

Originally a lunch counter called Joe’s Diner, the restaurant was first opened by a Hungarian immigrant couple, Joe and Jennie Weiss. It wasn’t until the 1920s when the restaurant found its footing selling previously scoffed-at Stone Crabs. On a whim, Joe started serving them boiled and chilled with lemon and a (now famous) mustard sauce. Folks started coming in and they haven’t stopped for the better part of an astounding 105-year run and just last year Joe’s was ranked the second highest-grossing restaurant in America.

Joe’s Stone Crab Restaurant

In 1931 after his death, Joe’s hyper-social son, Jesse, took over and helped cement his father’s legacy in the American food pantheon by courting influentials like J. Edgar Hoover, Gloria Swanson, Damon Runyon, and Al Capone. On any given evening, starlets and politicians could be found rubbing elbows and dipping claws in mustard sauce as cool jazz fought its way through hot Miami air.

The regal dining room with high ceilings and white tablecloths still invokes an era with rolling red Cadillacs and fat cigars and though it has seen an evolution over the years, it’s never been at the expense of its trademark vintage South Beach charm. To this day, during official season, plates of Stone Crab (sold at market prices) stream out of the kitchen with sides like conch fritters and creamed spinach as a perennial line at door grows longer.

Joe’s Stone Crab Restaurant

As the legend of Joe’s grew, so did that of it’s cornerstone offering. Always famous for seafood, stone crab-specific joints began popping up in South Florida and, as October hit and northern air cooled, bands of snowbirds began hopping on trains and in cars from New York and D.C. looking for warm sand and sweet stone crabs to crack.

In 1943, Golden Rule Seafood opened its doors across the bay and south in a slightly more humble digs and has been mostly family-owned ever since. More recent additions to the Miami stone crab scene include Truluck’s, which slings stone crabs in a more upscale setting with pricing to match. For true titans, Truluck’s offers an all-you-can-eat stone crab feast with salad and bread for $79 every Monday, while the more understated Triad’s in Everglade City, a town which claims ownership of the birth of stone crab cuisine, lays out a similarly endless offer.

Many of the restaurants, including Joe’s, now own their own boats and fisheries to keep stone crab supply and quality under careful control. From catch, to cook, and finally to plate, Joe’s claims agency over the product at all times, something they know is becoming more and more important to even casual diners.

Joe’s Stone Crab Restaurant

Stone crabs as a species offer a lot but demand a little extra in return too. Brian explains that while a softer blue or Maryland crab might splinter and cut you if not careful, a stone crab will absolutely break your tooth or jaw, so care is encouraged. He’s even recorded a video tutorial on how to crack a Stone Crab here and help out first timers.

Down in Florida, the stone crab craze is hardly a craze at all, if that somehow implies a beginning, furious middle and eventual fizzle, like with drop crotch pants or Cronuts. For stone crab in Florida, the furious middle is all there is and ever has been and it shows no sign of slowing. The’ve even named a local minor league baseball team the Charlotte Stone Crabs, just in case there was any confusion.

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Each and every fall, Everglade City marks the start of stone crabbing season with a ceremonial blessing of the fleet that resembles a block party fit with with lively games and music. This past year’s was somber on the heels of a hurricane season which devastated much the region and hammered the fishing industry, but the town went ahead with it anyway; a tribute to the importance of stone crabs to their local livelihood and a true symbol of regional pride.

Back at Joe’s in South Beach, the fervor takes its own unique forms. The restaurant and its staff, many of whom have been working inside the walls for more than 30 or 40 years, brim with a pride all their own at the chance to talk about Joes’ legacy. Their dedication is as much of what makes Joe’s special as the crabs themselves.

Brian tells me stories of devotion to Joe’s from patrons, which quickly reach Victorian levels. “This one guy,” he remembers, “will regularly fly in all the way from Alaska for just a day or two, eat four straight meals at Joe’s, and fly home.” Another long-time regular and former pilot for the now defunct PanAm Airlines, Charles Sharp, has since passed on. Oddly, or so I thought at first, the restaurant has a picture of his gravestone hanging on their wall. Engraved in the stone just below Mr. Sharp’s name and birth/death dates reads one very simple quote, “I’d rather be at Joe’s”.

Joe’s Stone Crab Restaurant

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The Latest Ketchup Innovation, Mayochup, Is Basically Just Fry Sauce

While ketchup is considered the king of condiments by many, mayonnaise and mustard also have their ardent fans. All three have equally passionate detractors as well, but there are others who can’t bear to choose between them. Luckily, “mayochup” now exists—and while it’s not available in the States (yet), we do have fry sauce, which is basically the same thing.

So, is this the best thing since sliced ketchup? Some people seem to think so, while others are more reserved, or even aghast. But it’s not even new, really.

While the Internet is currently going wild about it, other brands have already been making and marketing the mixed-up condiment, sometimes by the same name, sometimes literally spelling it all out:

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Even Heinz has been selling it since 2016, but only in the Middle Eastern market.

And then there’s the aforementioned fry sauce, a popular American combo of ketchup and mayo that is said to have been invented in Utah around 1948. While fry sauce by any other name may be just as delicious, there’s always something particularly appealing about a mash-up (was “ketchannaise” ever a contender?)—and why should celebrity couples be the only ones who get fun portmanteaus? Mayochup could be the Brangelina of the condiment world! With a happier ending, one would hope.

What’s slightly surprising is that people actually buy these fairly basic blends instead of just, you know, stirring some ketchup and mayo together at home. It’s not like it takes years off your life, despite a certain fantastic “Mr. Show” sketch for Mayostard and its offshoots, Mustardayonnaise and Mustmayostardayonnaise. (Speaking of, why not try our Spicy Mustardaise recipe on your next sandwich?)

Heinz isn’t limiting itself to mayochup, either; they offer a wide range of flavored mayonnaise products, including lemon mayo, chili mayo, and garlic mayo:

Heinz

While you can’t get those in the US at this time either, you can certainly whip them up in a matter of moments in your own kitchen (and everyone knows Hellman’s makes the best commercial mayonnaise, anyway). But if you still feel left out, Amazon offers a collection of Heinz sauces comprised of hot chili sauce, cocktail sauce, curry mango sauce, and Knoblauch sauce with garlic and herbs. None may have the same ring to them as mayochup, but they’re probably all just as good on fries, burgers, and sandwiches, and that’s what’s really important.

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Taco Bell’s Latest Breakfast Hybrid Is the French Toast Chalupa

Taco Bell is no stranger to fast food mash-ups. This is the chain that invented Kit Kat Quesadillas and Nacho Fries after all. Their latest breakfast item follows in their long and glorious tradition of taking literally any food item available and turning it into a taco shell. Seriously, they’ve used everything from Doritos to fried eggs as makeshift, faux-Mexican wraps.

Their newest creation is just as strange and ambitious in its hybrid appeal, so let’s all give a warm, sticky welcome to the French Toast Chalupa. The item is just like you’d expect. It’s essentially a slice of French toast that’s used as a chalupa shell, which surrounds eggs, bacon, or sausage crumbles. Naturally, it comes with a side of syrup for dipping. What brunch would be complete without it?

But don’t get too excited just yet. Right now Taco Bell is only testing the item at one location, so you’ll have to trek all the way to Dayton, Ohio to get your French toast fix. (Hey, we don’t blame you if it’s the impetus for your next road trip. It wouldn’t be the first time someone drove all the way to Ohio for fast food.)

And while you’re at it, you might as well stop at the Taco Bell in Birmingham, Alabama and try out something called the Queso Quesarito. That alliteratively named product consists of two tortillas wrapped around beef, rice, sour cream, and spicy chipotle sauce. Currently,  there’s no plan to roll out either of these items nationwide just yet. So you’ll have to settle for a standard breakfast burrito in the meantime. But at least there is some good news on the horizon. Nacho fries will make a triumphant return in the coming weeks. So at least we have that to look forward too.

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Singapore Noodles with Shrimp

Ok, a disclaimer before we get started: The Pu Pu Platter in a Chinese restaurant isn’t something you would find in a restaurant in China. And Singapore noodles are unknown in Singapore.

My Singaporean friend was surprised when he noticed the item on a Chinese restaurant menu here in the United States, and couldn’t imagine where it was from.

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